It’s been two years since the Vuelta last visited Luintra. That finale was marked by the Pombar-climb, a 2 kilometres ascent at 7.5% with steepest ramps of 9%. Simon Yatres went out on his own, gobbled up early attacker Mathias Frank, and soloed to victory. Over the Pombar-climb there were 3.6 kilometres remaining – firstly a flat and with 2 kilometres to go a steep drop, while the last 500 metres were a false flat.
The finale of 2018’s 11th stage is exactly the same.
But before that the riders face a long, hard and hilly day in the saddle. The Puerto de Padornelo is the first climb (6.5 kilometres at 3.7%), and on it goes via the Alto de Covelo (9.3 kilometres at 3.6%), Alto de Trives (11 kilometres at 4%), Alto de Santigueiro (15.5 kilometres at 3.2%), and a host of non-categorized hills in between those KOMs.
The Alto de Santigueiro is crested with 18 kilometres remaining before the riders fly on descent to the abovementioned finale.
The backdrop in the last kilometres is breathtaking. The narrow road meanders next to the River Sil. The area is known as Ribeira Sacra, famous for its wines.
Vuelta a España 2018 stage 11: Route map, height profile, and more
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