The climb to the Sancuary of San Miguel de Aralar is 9.4 kilometres long and the average gradient sits at 7.9%, which is a meagre indicator of the actual difficulty of the climb. Ramps at 15% play leapfrog with false flat sections, while the road turns into a bumpy concrete track at times. So the ascent is much harder than the statistics suggest.
The course leading onto the Alto de San Miguel is not very special. Two modest climbs and a lot of flat to rolling roads. So the battle for the stage win – and probably the GC as well – will come down to the ascent and the ensuing descent.
Attackers should be aware of a false flat stretch inside the last 3 kilometres, while the last 500 meters are pan-flat.
Sprint of a select group or will we see a solo triumph?
Favourites 2nd stage 2020 Vuelta a España
*** Richard Carapaz, Primoz Roglic, Andrea Bagioli
** Tom Dumoulin, Matej Mohoric, Enric Mas, Luis León Sánchez
* Davide Formolo, Daniel Felipe Martínez, Wout Poels, David Gaudu
Another interesting read: route 2nd stage of the 2020 Vuelta.
Vuelta a España 2020 stage 2: profiles
Click on the images to zoom
Related articles Riders - Vuelta 2020 Withdrawals - Vuelta 2020 Favourites - Vuelta 2020 GC Favourites - Vuelta 2020 More articles Giro 2025: Live report stage 4
Giro 2025 Route stage 4: Alberobello – Lecce
Giro 2025 Favourites stage 4: For fast men #1
Giro 2025: Withdrawals
Giro 2025: The Route
Giro 2025: Riders
Giro 2025: GC Favourites
Giro 2025 Route stage 5: Ceglie Messapica - Matera
Giro 2025 Favourites stage 5: For fast men #2
Giro 2025 Route stage 6: Potenza - Naples
Giro 2025 Favourites stage 6: Hilly race with flat finale
Giro 2025 Route stage 7: Castel di Sangro - Tagliacozzo
Giro 2025 Favourites stage 7: First mountain top finish
Giro 2025 Route stage 8: Giulianova – Castelraimondo
Giro 2025 Favourites stage 8: Attackers in the Apennines
Giro 2025 Route stage 9: Gubbio - Siena
Giro 2025 Favourites stage 9: Strade Bianche alla Giro
Giro 2025 Route stage 10: Lucca – Pisa
Giro 2025 Favourites stage 10: For pure time trialists
Giro 2025 Route stage 11: Viareggio – Castelnovo ne’ Mont
Giro 2025 Favourites stage 11: Attackers in promising finale
Giro 2025 Route stage 12: Modena – Viadana
Giro 2025 Favourites stage 12: For fast men #3
Cycling Calendar 2025
Tour de France 2025: The Route
Tour de France 2025 Route stage 1: Lille - Lille
Tour de France 2025 Route stage 2: Lauwin-Planque - Boulogne-sur-Mer
Tour de France 2025 Route stage 3: Valenciennes - Dunkirk
Vuelta Femenina 2025 Route stage 6: Becerril de Campos - Baltanás