Vuelta 2020 Route stage 15: Mos - Puebla de Sanabria

Thursday 5 November - The 15th stage of La Vuelta is, at 234.6 kilometres, the longest race of this edition. With hardly a flat metre, the route travels from Mos to Puebla de Sanabria. The finish lies 17 kilometres after the last summit.

The riders clip into their pedal in Mos, the Galicia town where Óscar Pereiro – Tour de France winner in 2006 after Floyd Landis’ disqualification – was born. On undulating roads the route climbs gradually higher until the Alto de Carracedo is crested after 76 kilometres. The climb to the top is 7 kilometres long and slopes at 5%. Following a short descent the ascent continues for a bit before the downhill begins.

Back in the valley the road goes straight back up again on Alto do Furriolo, a hill of 7.2 kilometres long with an average gradient of 4.7%. A short descent takes the riders to one of the few flat sections of the day. It is 25 kilometres long.

After an uphill stretch the riders descend into the Támega valley. After crossing the river they tackle the Alto de Fumaces, a 12 kilometres climb at 4.2%. On the summit there are still almost 80 kilometres eft to race.

The Fumaces evens out at the top and the route continues on a plateau for a few kilometres. After a short descent the road continues in undulating and uphill fashion to the foot of the Alto de Padornelo. The climb to the top – at 1,340 metres the highest point of the day – is 6.5 kilometres long, while the average gradient sits at 3.7%. The riders plunge down a 6 kilometres drop before they reach the last 11 kilometres on the flat.

The 7th stage of the 2016 Vuelta a España serves the exact same finale, although the race itself was less demanding. That day, Jonas Van Genechten outsprinted Daniele Benatti and Alejandro Valverde to take the best win of his career.