Pola de Laviana was the start point of Hugh Carthy’s successful 2020 expedition to the Angliru. La Vuelta returns to the Asturian town for a similar race, although the Fancuaya is hard, but – obviously – not as hard as the insane Angliru.
The race opens with a climb, as the Alto de la Colladona is crested after 10.9 kilometres. It’s an ideal warm-up as the average gradient increases along the way. The climb itself is 6.4 kilometer long and averages 7%.
Up next: the Alto de Mozqueta. The summit is reached after a 15.8 kilometres climb, but the last 6.8 kilometres is the only part that carries some weight. It rises at 6.6%, while the average gradient from foot to top lies at 3.9%.
The race steams up, as the following climb begins right after the descent. The Alto de Santo Emiliano is 5.7 kilometres long and averages 5.3%. Still 87 kilometres to go at the top.
The Puerto de Tenebredo appears 20 kilometres after the Santo Emiliano descent. The 5.3 kilometres climb serves a section at 15.5% early on, but it cools off fast and the average gradient – 6.2% – reflects a much more friendly profile.
The route descends to the base of the Perlavia – 4 kilometres at 7.7% – before continuing on lumpy terrain towards The Great Unknown. The roads starts to go up at shallow gradients with 18.7 kilometres to go, but the Collado Fancuaya kicks in hard in the last 10.1 kilometres. The average gradient sits at 8.5% and the final 700 metres go up at almost 11%.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 8 Vuelta.
Another interesting read: results 8th stage 2022 Vuelta.
Vuelta a España 2022 stage 8: route, profiles, more
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