Vuelta 2020 Favourites stage 16: Attackers with climbing legs

The 16th stage of la Vuelta serves two big climbs in a lumpy route. Probably, the route is not hard enough for GC contenders to put pressure on one another, so chances are that the breakaway will be successful.

Two climbs stand out on the sixteenth day of action. The Puerto El Portillo and the Puerto El Robledo. The first climb is crested with 72 kilometres remaining and the second with 35 left. After the Robledo descent the riders enter an uphill false flat plateau until the route descends to the final 10 kilometres on the flat.

Chances are that the best climbers in the breakaway will drop their rivals on the Robledo, either to go solo or to push on with a group.

The Robledo adds up to 12 kilometres, but a better way to look at it to chop it up into three separate parts. The first 3 kilometres rise at 4.5% before a descent runs onto a false flat section. The Robledo then serves 1 kilometre at 10.5% (attack!) before the gradients of the last 5 kilometres hover around 6%.

Favourites 16th stage 2020 Vuelta a España

*** Tim Wellens, Michael Woods, Marc Soler
** Luis León Sánchez, Rui Costa, Alex Aranburu
* Rémi Cavagna, Gonzalo Serrano, Gino Mäder, Mattia Cattaneo

Another interesting read: route 16th stage of the 2020 Vuelta.

Vuelta Stage 15

Vuelta Stage 17

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