The riders kick into gear in Lodosa, an unremarkable village in Navarre, to head in southwesterly direction. Slowly but surely the route rises until the riders reach the summit of the Alto de Oncola after 79 kilometres.
The route descends to a section on a gently rolling plateau – 1,000 metres above sea level -, which last for some 60 kilometres until reaching Vinuesa. It is here that a sheer endless uphill appears.
The first 10 kilometer of the Laguna Negra climb run false flat uphill, after which the gradient kicks it up a notch to 6 or 7%. The steepest kilometre is the last one, as this slopes at almost 10%. Perfect for a puncher to have it his way.
Laguna Negra rises 1,753 metres above sea level and the lake is shrouded by legends. The most common one is that the lake is bottomless and meets the sea hundreds of miles away through caves and subterranean currents. In fact, the maximum depth is ten metres. A Nessie-like tale also resonates, saying that a creature lives in its depths, devouring anything that falls into the water and sinks.
The intermediate sprint – located in the approach to the finish 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 3rd stage 2020 Vuelta a España.
Vuelta a España 2020 stage 3: route, profiles, more
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