He’s held the race leader’s red jersey since Tuesday but Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel has admitted that he believes his legs will finally crack on what is being billed by some as the steepest finishing climb ever in a Grand Tour.
Today’s eighth stage of the race heads to San Lorenzo de El Escorial, which has some sections of 20% difficulty. According to Vuelta technical director, the gradient is tough but so too the wildly fluctuating steepness on the climb.
“It’s a very complicated finale”, he said. “It’s everything but regular. It climbs at 20%, then it’s 0% and 20% again further up. The riders aren’t used to that.”
Chavanel is a respected rider who has taken numerous big wins including stages in the Tour de France, but he has essentially admitted defeat. “I have no illusions,” the 32 year old admitted. “I won’t be able to follow [Katusha rider Joaquim] Rodríguez on that wall and I expect to lose the red jersey. It’s not due to a lack of ambition. I’m just honest! This is something very specific.”
A strong, small rider who weighs in under 60 kilos, Rodriguez is one of the punchiest competitors in the peloton. Many see today’s finish as being tailor-made for him and certainly if he rides as he did when winning Wednesday’s stage to Valdepeñas de Jaén, he should be able to overcome the 23 deficit he has to Chavanel. The Catalan will however also have to take eight seconds out of his team-mate Dani Moreno and seven from last year’s race winner Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale).
He realises the importance of the stage and has the advantage of having checked it out before the race started. “This is one of the very few stages that I went to reconnoitre because I knew all the others,” he explained. “I can tell you this uphill finish can create more differences than a mountain stage with a few climbs.”
Vuelta a España Javier Guillén has said the idea was in the making for some time, but the race had to make sure it could happen. “I’ve known this location for a long time,” he said. “One day I asked my technical directors Abraham Olano and Francisco Giner to visit the site and to let me know if there was a way to put together a stage finish of the Vuelta up there or not. Here we are! I’m convinced that it will be a great spectacle.”
The day will begin with the first category Puerto de Mijares, which tops out 57 kilometres from the start and will turn the screw early on. This is followed by the second category Alto de San Bartolomé de Pinares (km 111.7) plus the second category Alto de Santa María, which comes 31.7 kilometres from the line. The final climb then caps things off, and will further shatter an already-fragmented main bunch.