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 Tour of Valencia 2021: Riders
Tour de France 2021: Riders
Giro 2021: Riders
Tour of Flanders 2021: Riders
Milan - San Remo 2021: Riders
Strade Bianche 2021: Riders
UAE Tour 2021: Riders
Cycling Calendar 2021
Tour de France 2021: The Route
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 1: Brest - Landerneau
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 2: Perros-Guirec - Mûr-de-Bretagne
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 3: Lorient - Pontivy
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 4: Redon - Fougères
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 5: Changé - Laval
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 6: Tours - Châteauroux
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 7: Vierzon - Le Creusot
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 8: Oyonnax - Le-Grand-Bornand
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 9: Cluses - Tignes
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 10: Albertville - Valence
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 11: Sorgues - Malaucène
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 12: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux - Nîmes
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 13: Nîmes - Carcassonne
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 14: Carcassonne - Quillan
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 15: Céret - Andorra la Vella
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 16: Pas de la Case - Saint-Gaudens
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 17: Muret - Col du Portet
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 18: Pau - Luz-Ardiden
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 19: Mourenx - Libourne
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 20: Libourne - Saint-Emilion
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 21: Chatou - Paris
Volta a Catalunya 2021: The Route
Volta a Catalunya 2021: Riders