From the 5th to the 9th of August we have on the road what is potentially the single most important preparation race ahead of the Vuelta a España. The Vuelta a Burgos takes the riders through the hilly and mountainous terrain necessary to prepare for the final Grand Tour of the season whilst also helping the riders adapting to the weather conditions. We preview stage 4.
Stage 4 of the race is a hilly day and one that is hard to predict. The 162-kilometer long course from Doña Santos to Regumiel de la Sierra is potentially one for a breakaway as it should be hard to control and there won’t be ‘riders to beat’ on the day.
The start features plenty small climbs where the strong rouleurs and classics specialists can make the difference, and later on there will be a few explosive climbs to tackle before the finish. This includes a 4-kilometer ascent at 5% that ends with just under 15Km to go and then a short uphill pitch of 1.5Km at 6.3% that ends with 10.8Km to go. After a small descent the last aproximately 5 kilometers are flat, where it is still possible to organize for a small peloton sprint if this is the scenario that a few teams work hard for.
In a regular World Tour race this would likely end in a bunch sprint but the reality is that the fastest men here do not have much of a climbing edge and that can give way to a ‘surprise’ sprint winner or less control which can see a late attack succeed.
Stage 4: Doña Santos – Regumiel de la Sierra, 162.7 kilometers
Prediction Vuelta a Burgos 2025 stage 4:
*** Roger Adrià, Luke Lamperti
** Matteo Moschetti, Juan Sebastián Molano
* Matteo Malucelli, Giovanni Lonardi, Erlend Blikra, Pierre Gautherat, Isaac del Toro, Rui Oliveira, Andreas Kron, Jordan Labrosse
Pick: Luke Lamperti
How: Bunch sprint but with a few of the fastest sprinters dropped on the climbs.
Original: Rúben Silva