The first 80 kilometres run along the coastline before the route heads inland. The riders tackle three climbs in quick succession and following a phase of relative camp the finale begins with the Salto del Caballo – or, Mas del Moro. The ascent is 10.4 kilometres long and the average gradient sits at 4.6%. The first part is steepest, mostly hovering around 7%. The climb levels out in the last 3 kilometres.
The Puerto del Salto del Caballo is crested with 21.1 kilometres remaining. Effectively, the race will come down to the last 4.1 kilometres though, which is the extremely challenging Mas de la Costa. This is basically a Wall with an average gradient of 12.3% and stretches up to 22.5%.
The route lends itself for the attackers to open up a substantial gap. If De Gendt is up the road with a few breakaway artists, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think that they will tackle the last climbs with a comfortable lead. On the other hand, it isn’t far-fetched either to suppose that a lot of GC riders are eager to put pressure on their rivals with the aim of winning the stage and gaining time bonuses.
Possibly, Teuns will want to extend his GC lead, so Bahrain-Merida is likely to control the breakaway.
A GC battle in this trying finale – let’s hope so.
Favourites 7th stage 2019 Vuelta a España
*** Primoz Roglic, Alejandro Valverde
** Miguel Ángel López, Esteban Chaves, Dylan Teuns
* Sergio Higuita, Fabio Aru, Tadej Pogacar, Wout Poels
Take a look at the route of the 7th stage of La Vuelta.
Vuelta a España 2019 stage 7: profile and finale
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