Morella is a beautiful historic hilltop town in Castellón, a northern province of the Valencia region. It’s situated at almost 1,000 metres above sea level, but still, shortly after the start the route climbs higher on the Ares del Maestre. A downhill and another ascent takes the riders to Culla with 46 kilometres done.
La Vuelta then descends to enter an undulating phase. In Onda, with 75 kilometres to go, the route could have taken a left turn to reach the finish line in 20 kilometres. But instead the route continues inland towards the Collado de la Ibola, which is a 15 kilometres climb with an average gradient of 3.6%. The statistic is biased though, since the road goes slightly downhill in the village Ain only to continue a lot steeper in the last 5 kilometres. This section features some double digit ramps.
There are more than 50 kilometres remaining after the Collado de la Ibola. Mainly downhill, although a gentle climb at shallow gradients appears near Azuébar. The fist half of the last 30 kilometres go downhill, the second half is flat.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Vuelta a España 2023 stage 5: profile, more
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