The first phase goes either up or down before the riders crest Puerto de Manquillo at kilometre 39. A long descent at shallow gradients with a number of short uphill kicks takes the peloton towards the midway point of the race.
The riders enter a flat zone of 70 kilometres before the Alto de Bocos appears, a 2.8 kilometres climb at 6.3%.
The descent leads onto a false flat – first up, then down – before the riders move through Espinosa de los Monteros, a village at the foot of the Picón Blanco at an elevation of 762 metres. The climb leads to an abandoned military base at 1,468 metres. The average gradient of 9.3% is biased as the 7.6 kilometres ascent begins relatively shallow, while it climbs kilometres long at more than 10% in the second half.
In recent years, the finish climb was included on the Vuelta a Burgos. Mikel Landa (2017), Miguel Ángel López (2018), Iván Sosa (2019), and Remco Evenepoel (2020) took the spoils at the top, while the last week’s edition finished with a descent of the Picón Blanco. Romain Bardet reached the top in first position to extend his lead in the downhill.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds. Furthermore, 3, 2 and 1 seconds are available at the top of the Alto de Bocos.
Another interesting read: results 3rd stage 2021 Vuelta.
Vuelta a España 2021 stage 3: route, profiles, more
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