Ponferrada is a city in Northwestern Spain, surrounded by stunning nature. Vuelta came here often the last few years. Michael Alabasini won the 13th stage in the 2011 edition, Eros Capecchi was second, Dani Moreno third.
Route
The individual time trial opens with a section of 30 kilometres through the valley of Bierzo – so it’s fairly flat. Then the riders are going slightly up. In a little under 10 kilometres they rise from 550 meter tot an altitude of 700 meter.
The ascent overlaps partly with the road race for men, which means the steepest part has a negative gradient of 16%. After 40 kilometres in the saddle another climb awaits the riders. Still no alpine monsters, that’s for sure. In a few kilometres they reach the highest point in the route, located at 709 meters – reached after 43 kilometres.
The remainder of the race is going downhill. So the message is quite simple: as fast as you can to the finish line (without crashing).
World Championships 2014: Details of the time trial
Distance: 47,1 km
Maximum altitude: 709 m
Minimum altitude: 450 m
Maximum positive gradient: 10%
Maximum negative gradient: -16%
World Championships 2014: Time trial images and more
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