*Vuelta a España - Stage 19* Friday 11th September

Stage 19  »  Medina del Campo  ›  Ávila   (185.8k)

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Another stage that doesn't look excessively hard and could suit another breakaway, but unlike yesterday, this does have a slightly uphill finish so possibly affords those chasing time an opportunity to make some. However, it is likely that the finish is not hard enough to cause any gaps amongst the main contenders. They start today in Medina del Campo, in the province of Valladolid, and head South. There are two categorised climbs on this 184km long stage, and they both come in the second half of the race. The riders pass through the finish town of Avila for the first time at 85km, and this first part of the stage is predominantly flat. They then do a 100km loop in a clockwise direction and come back to Avila for the finish. There is a reasonable amount of climbing on this second half. First they have the Cat 3 Alto de Valdivia which is 13km @ 2.7%. This is a fairly easy climb but there are several short steeper ramps. Following this there is 800m of descending over 35km broken up by several short ramps. They then start heading back uphill and by the time they hit the second and final categorised climb they have already climbed 250m. The final climb, Alto de la Paramera, is a Cat 2 and is 8.7km at 4.7%. This does have some steep ramps and could be suitable for Astana or others to use as a launchpad for attacks. The problem is, there are still 19km to go when they get to the summit of this climb. The next 14km are all downhill except for a short, sharp uncategorised lump that comes with 11km to go and last for nearly 2km. Dumoulin was superb today, Aru attacked all day, but Dumoulin sat in his wheel and never once looked in danger. He had some decent team support and you'd expect a similar show today, at least until the Paramera.

The last kms into Avila do have some uphill ramps, including some cobbled sections, although whether they are difficult enough for GC contenders to gain time on remain to be seen. With about 2400m to go they hit a ramp of roughly 5.5% that lasts until just before the flamme rouge. There could be attacks on this section, but the last 1100m are at a much smaller gradient and it should be straightforward for any attacks to be brought back. It would be a big surprise if any of the GC contenders can gain time in this finale. It looks like another stage for strong breakaway riders. Dumoulin is pretty suite by the finale of this stage. I think we will again see Astana give it everything they can and again they will burn matches but not be able to shift Dumoulin. It should be enthralling viewing and we should be set up for fireworks on Saturday.