Following the start in Granada it’s clear what kind of day this is going to be. Not a flat metre a sight. No inhumanly steep ramps though, yet the terrain is demanding.
With 38 kilometres done the riders move through Lanjarón, a spa-town in the Alpujarras. Yearly, on the 23rd of June, a huge water fight rages here for one hour. Starting at midnight until 1 am, the streets are packed with people and their buckets and water pistols.
The riders could use some of this refreshment underway, as they are still racing Andalusia, the southernmost province of Spain. Riding on the flanks of the Sierra Nevada, they head for the toughest climb of the day at Alto El Marchal, which is crested with 26 kilometres remaining. A 16 kilometres drop leads to the last 10 kilometres on the flat.
Roquetas de Mar was the arrival place of the last editions of the Clásica Almería. In 2017, Magnus Cort Nielsen sprinted to victory, while Caleb Ewan bested Danny van Poppel last February.
Vuelta a España 2018 stage 5: Route map, height profile, and more
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