After two weeks of mega climbs with the GC guys duking it out, the Vuelta gives the sprinters another (rare) shot on Wednesday. There may be a few more days that this might happen, but there are also a bunch of mountain stages and a tough TT coming up.
Stage 17 of La Vuelta a España
Stage 17 runs 189 km from Dos Hermanas to Seville and packs just 838 m of elevation into the route. There are no meaningful climbs, and most of the elevation comes from itty bitty false flats. Barring a late surprise, this one looks built for a bunch finish.
That should make it a smidge hard for a breakaway to stay clear. For that reason, it gives the sprint teams plenty of reason to control the race. And remember, proper sprint stages this year are a bit of a rarity. The majority of the guys you saw at the Tour de France duking it out skipped this year’s Spanish Grand Tour for that very reason, opting instead for the Renewi Tour in Belgium.
The finish
As far as Wednesday’s finale, the last few kilometres should be straightforward, too. The last major turn comes around 1.3 km from the finish.
The obvious rider to watch is Visma – Lease a Bike’s Matthew Brennan. The 21-year-old Brit has already won four stages at this Vuelta and has been almost impossible to beat when his team has committed to a sprint.
Wout van Aert already has a few wins, but on a stage like Wednesday’s, look for him to play the role of super-domestique or poisson-pilote .
Racing is broadcast on FloBikes.com at 8:40 a.m. EDT. After the race, check back with Canadian Cycling Magazine for a full report. And speaking of races, the crew is headed to La Belle Province to cover Les Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal. Racing starts Friday in Québec, and Sunday in Montréal. Lots of big names are there and many will hang around for the road worlds too. There will be lots of content from all of those races, not just on our website but on our Instagram too!
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