It has been four years since La Vuelta last visited Lugo. Back then the town hosted a finish. Despite a late attack by Philippe Gilbert and Simon Clarke the race boiled down to a bunch sprint with Gianni Meersman taking the spoils.
The route traverses the rugged interior of Galicia on a route that should suit attackers. The route is going either up or down in the first half of the race. The uphill sections are not hard in itself, but the ceaseless succession will add to the fatigue.
The second half of the race is more even, although three categorised climbs stand out. Again, the slopes are not spectaculair – Alto de Escairón (8.7 kilometres at 3.3%), Alto de Guitara (7.8 kilometres at 3.8%), Alto de Abelaire (7.6 kilometres at 3.8%) -, but given the length of the stage and the lumpy first part, the sprinters are expected to have a hard time surviving these ascents.
While it was only four years ago that the Vuelta last visited Lugo, it has been sixty years for Orense. In 1960, Frans de Mulder won three out of four stages in the town. The Belgian also took the GC that year.
The intermediate sprint – at kilometre 126 – comes with time bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds, while the first three riders on the line gain 10, 6 and 4 seconds.
Other interesting reads:
– results 14th stage 2020 Vuelta a España
– KOM classification
– points classification
Vuelta a España 2020 stage 14: route, profiles, more
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