Vuelta 2020 Favourites stage 12: Heroism at El Angliru

El Angliru is a mythical climb and it serves as the finale of a, hopefully, legendary stage. Following four intermediate climbs the riders tackle the Angliru in a race of merely 109.4 kilometres.

So it is a relatively short race and since the first 26 kilometres are flat the climbing becomes even more condensed. The first two climbs, Alto del Padrún and Alto de San Emiliano, are perfect to stretch the legs before La Vuelta serves Alto de Mozqueta (6.6 kilometres at 8.4%) and Alto de Cordal (5.4 kilometres at 9.3%. Riders will get a first taste of the Angliru on the Cordal climb, as it is a sort of miniature version with shallow gradients playing leapfrog with excessively steep ramps.

Of course the race comes down to the Alto El Angliru and to the last 7 kilometres in particular. Steep, steepest, steepest. Riders almost come to a standstill and attacking is virtually impossible with ramps up to 23.5%. It is more the other way around. Only the strongest climbers survive, while others drop of the back before the Angliru treats the ultimate survivor to a 400 metres descent to the line.