The first 50 kilometres are perfect to stretch the legs. Or to battle your way into the breakaway. Following the start the 16th stage of La Vuelta serves a sheer endless false flat to the first proper uphill stretches. The Puerto de San Lorenzo kicks in at kilometre 50. It is a grinding ascent of 10 kilometres with an average gradient of 8.5%.
Up next is the Alto de la Cobertoria, which is another slow burner. Again a prolonged false flat before the actual ascent of 8.3 kilometres goes up with an average gradient of 8.2%. The Cobertoria is a regular in La Vuelta. Pedro Delgado, Laurent Jalabert, Aleksandr Vinokoerov, Luis León Sánchez, Thomas De Gendt and Fränk Schleck – all these big names did crest the peak in first position. In 2017, the ascent was included in the heroic Angliru race during Alberto Contador’s last mountain stage.
A short and steep descent brings the riders to the foot of the last mountain. Alto de la Cubilla links Asturias with its neighbouring region León. A 16 kilometres false flat precedes the actual climb. The Cubilla is a 17.8 kilometres grind with an average gradient of 6.2%.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint (10 kilometres before the Cubilla climb) comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
The race starts at 13.28 and is expected to finish around 17.35 – both are local times.
Take a look at the favourites to win the 16th stage of La Vuelta.
Vuelta a España 2019 stage 16: route, profiles, more
Click on the images to zoom
Related articles Route and stages - Vuelta 2019 Winners and records - Vuelta a España Enter Vuelta pool with 17,500 euros in prize money Favourites - Vuelta 2019 More articles Vuelta 2019 Stage 1: Starting times TTT in Torrevieja
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 1: Las Salinas de Torrevieja - Torrevieja
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 1: TTT with red lining
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 2: Benidorm - Calpe
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 2: Versatile ride to Calpe
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 3: Ibi – Alicante
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 3: Sprinters or daredevil attackers
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 4: Cullera – El Puig
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 4: For pure sprinters
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 5: L’Eliana – Javalambre
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 5: Mountain goat on steep last climb
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 6: Mora de Rubielos - Ares del Maestrat
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 6: Breakaway Day
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 7: Onda – Mas de la Costa
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 7: GC battle on finishing Wall
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 8: Valls – Igualada
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 8: Sprinters or (late) attackers
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 9: Andorra la Vella – Cortals d’Encamp
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 9: Short thriller in the Pyrenees
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 10: Jurançon - Pau (ITT)
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 10: Roglic for glory
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 11: Saint Palais - Urdax
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 11: Sprint of brave attackers
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 12: Circuito de Navarra - Bilbao
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 12: Punchers with strong descent
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 13: Bilbao - Los Machucos
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 13: Monster race with brutal finale
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 14: San Vicente de la Barquera - Oviedo
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 14: Back to the fast men
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 15: Tineo - Santuario del Acebo
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 15: Steep and irregular ascents
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 17: Aranda de Duero - Guadalajara
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 17: Fast men in longest race
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 18: Colmenar Viejo – Becerril de la Sierra
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 18: Attackers in the middle mountains
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 19: Ávila - Toledo
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 19: Cunning sprinter in technical finale
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 20: Arenas de San Pedro - Plataforma de Gredos
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 20: Attacks on all fronts
Vuelta 2019 Route stage 21: Fuenlabrada - Madrid
Vuelta 2019 Favourites stage 21: Madrilenean sprint fiesta
Tour of Britain 2019: The Route
Tour of Britain 2019 Route stage 1: Glasgow - Kirkcudbright
Tour of Britain 2019 Route stage 2: Kelso - Kelso
Tour of Britain 2019 Route stage 3: Berwick-upon-Tweed - Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Tour of Britain 2019 Route stage 4: Gateshead - Kendal
Tour of Britain 2019 Route stage 5: Birkenhead - Birkenhead
Tour of Britain 2019 Route stage 6: Pershore ITT
Tour of Britain 2019 Route stage 7: Warwick - Burton Dassett
Tour of Britain 2019 Route stage 8: Altrincham - Manchester
Tour of Britain: Winners and records
World Cycling Championships 2019 Yorkshire: Route ITT - men
World Cycling Championships 2019 Yorkshire: Route road race - women
World Cycling Championships: Winners and records
Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec: Winners and records
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal: Winners and records
History of the Tour of Lombardy
Tour of Lombardy: Winners and records
Tour Down Under 2014 Route stage 1: Nuriootpa - Angaston
