Pamplona hosted a stage start in 2014 for a hilly race to the Sanctuary of San Miguel de Aralar, where Fabio Aru outgunned Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim Rodríguez, Alberto Contador and Chris Froome with a late attack.
Again, La Vuelta sets off from Pamplona to travel a undulating to hilly terrain to Uharte-Arakil, which lies at the foot of the Artxueta, the mountain with the sanctuary situated just below its peak. The climb is hard and bumpy – 9.4 kilometres long and with an average gradient of 7.9%, while the steepest ramp at 15% appears in the last part. But you’ll also find several double digit stretches on the lower flanks.
After cresting the Alto de San Miguel the route drops on smooth asphalt into Lekunberri.
The first part of the route is perfect to establish a breakaway. Undulating terrain and two uphills standing out – Puerto de Guirguillamo (8.2 kilometres at 4.3%) and Puerto de Urbasa (9.2 kilometres at 4.7%) – before the tension rises at the foot of the Alto de San Miguel, aka the Artxueta. The riders are 125 kilometres underway when they reach the base.
The intermediate sprint – located at the base of that last climb – comes with time bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds, while the first three riders on the line gain 10, 6 and 4 seconds.
Another interesting read: results 2nd stage 2020 Vuelta a España.
Vuelta a España 2020 stage 2: route, profiles, more
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