We are used to it in La Vuelta and the 12th stage is one of many races which is far from flat without including any huge climbs. The route – running mostly on the Galician coast- travels from one hill to the next. The section between kilometre 30 and kilometre 85 is predominantly flat.
If the breakaway riders are given too much leash the race should come down to a battle between the early attackers. If not, a late attack could lead to glory. In both cases the finale should be the tonic to ignite the fireworks.
With 31,2 kilometres out a 2.9 kilometres climb at 6% ushers in the finale, but the party really gets going almost 20 kilometres before the line. A series of hills runs to the last kilometres on extremely narrow roads, making it hard to reel in attackers. A late attack is possibly even more promising as a rider who has been tucked away in the belly of the peloton will have fresh legs.
Obviously, a late attacker could also be a GC rider. For instance, strong time trialists like Kelderman or Porte…
Favourites 12th stage 2018 Vuelta a España
*** Thomas De Gendt, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Mark Padun, Rohan Dennis
** Wilco Kelderman, Simon Yates, Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde
* Peter Sagan, Iván García, Lukas Pöstlberger, Michal Kwiatkowski
Vuelta a España 2018 stage 12: Route maps, height profiles, and more
Click on the images to zoom
Related articles Riders - Vuelta 20 Withdrawals - Vuelta 20 Favourites - Vuelta 20 GC Favourites - Vuelta 20 More articles Tour de Romandie 2024: Nys wins from breakaway to take yellow
Tour de Romandie 2024 Route stage 3: Oron ITT
Tour de Romandie 2024 Route stage 2: Fribourg – Les Marécottes
Tour de Romandie 2024: Riders
Tour de Romandie 2024 Route stage 4: Saillon - Leysin
Tour de Romandie 2024 Route stage 5: Vernier - Vernier
Giro 2024: The Route
Giro 2024: Riders
Giro 2024 Route stage 1: Turin - Turin
Giro 2024 Favourites stage 1: Hilly race for pink
Giro 2024 Route stage 2: San Fransesco al Campo - Oropa
Giro 2024 Favourites stage 2: The King of Oropa
Giro 2024 Route stage 3: Novara - Fossano
Giro 2024 Favourites stage 3: For fast finishers #1
Giro 2024 Route stage 4: Acqui Terme - Andora
Giro 2024 Favourites stage 4: Mini Milan-Sanremo
Giro 2024 Route stage 5: Genoa - Lucca
Giro 2024 Favourites stage 5: For fast finishers #2
Giro 2024 Route stage 6: Viareggio - Rapolano Terme
Giro 2024 Route stage 8: Spoleto - Prati di Tivo
Giro 2024 Route stage 15: Manerba del Garda - Livigno
Giro 2024 Route stage 16: Livigno - Monte Pana
Giro 2024 Route stage 17: Selva di Val Gardena – Passo Brocon
Giro 2024 Route stage 19: Mortegliano - Sappada
Giro 2024 Route stage 20: Alpago – Bassano del Grappa
Cycling Calendar 2024
Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes 2024: Brown wins six-up sprint
Tour de France 2024: The Route
Tour de France 2024: Riders
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 1: Florence - Rimini
Vuelta 2024: The Route