Stage 20 of the Vuelta a España will almost certainly decide the overall winner, with the peloton tackling 164.8 km from Robledo de Chavela to the summit of the fearsome Bola del Mundo on Saturday. It’s the last day for general classification riders to make their move before Sunday’s ceremonial finale in Madrid.
The route crams in more than 4100 m of climbing, including the Puerto de Navacerrada before continuing up the Bola del Mundo — a 12.4 km climb averaging 8.6 per cent, with the final 3 km ramping to a leg-breaking 12 per cent at over 2200 metres. A breakaway could survive if the GC favourites mark each other until the base, but fireworks are expected on the final slopes.
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike) leads the race ahead of João Almeida (UAE). Tom Pidcock rounds out the podium, followed by , Jai Hindley, and Giulio Pellizzari. After the TT, the Dane has only 44 seconds on the Portuguese rider. That’s not much if he falters. So far he’s been in control on every summit, but all it takes is one bad day.
On Friday, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin – Deceuninck) used the last chance for the sprinters to take a win, beating Lidl – Trek’s Mads Pedersen.
To watch the race, tune into FloBikes.com. Be sure to check back on Canadian Cycling Magazine for a full report!
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