La Vuelta 2020 - Stage 2: Pamplona > Lekunberri - 151,6 km *Spoilers*

Stage 2: Pamplona > Lekunberri - 151,6 km
Wednesday 21 October, 12-50 BST.

The 2nd stage of La Vuelta is a hilly race with a interesting, downhill finale. Firstly, the riders will travel along the Ribera del Ebro. The climb of the bumpy concrete road to the Sanctuary of San Miguel de Aralar is designated as 1st category. It is followed by 17 kilometres of smooth asphalt into Lekunberri.



Pamplona hosted a stage start in 2014 for hilly race to the Sanctuary of San Miguel de Aralar, where Fabio Aru outgunned Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim Rodríguez, Alberto Contador and Chris Froome with a late attack.





The first part of the route is perfect to establish a breakaway. Undulating terrain and two uphills standing out – Puerto de Guirguillamo (8.2 kilometres at 4.3%)



and Puerto de Urbasa (9.2 kilometres at 4.7%)



Finally the riders reach Uharte-Arakil, which lies at the foot of the Artxueta, the mountain with the sanctuary situated just below its peak. The climb is hard and bumpy – 9.4 kilometres long and with an average gradient of 7.9%, while the steepest ramp at 15% appears in the last part. There are several double digit stretches on the lower flanks.



The intermediate sprint – located at the base of that last climb – comes with time bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
The 17kms descent is uneven and includes and uphill section, so is rather rollercoaster in nature.



Pamplona

23 stages of La Vuelta have departed from Pamplona
199.066 inhabitants

Pamplona is the political, economic and touristic centre of the Chartered Community of Navarre.
Pamplona is also the second-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region, composed of two Spanish autonomous communities, Navarre and Basque Country, and the French Basque Country.
The city is famous worldwide for the running of the bulls during the San Fermín festival, which is held annually from July 6 to July 14.



La Vuelta '12 already took advantage of this wide range of possibilities, with one of the most spectacular Official Departures in recent years: the inaugural T.T.T ended in the heart of the Pamplona Bullring.



Pamplona's favourite son may well be Miguel Indurain, five time Tour de France winner.
The Movistar Team, the direct descendant of Indurain's Banesto team, is based in Egüés, a municipality in the metropolitan area of Pamplona.

Food
Cordero al chilindrón, is a dish which originated in Pamplona.



Lekunberri

Unprecedented Vuelta finale
1.535 inhabitants

Lekunberri is nestled in the heart of Navarre. This small, traditional municipality contains such marvellous treasures as the Mendukilo Cave. Located in the Aralar Mountain Range, near the San Miguel Sanctuary, already visited by La Vuelta in 2014, this magical enclave allows visitors to enter the ancient mountains and discover their secrets. Rooms with impressive geological formations and ancient lakes can be enjoyed thanks to the enigmatic lighting and the fact they have been adapted for every kind of visitor.



Basque dish of the day.
Bacalao pil-pil

The Basques love cod fish, and many of their most iconic dishes feature it as the main ingredient. Bacalao pil-pil is cod fried with garlic, olive oil and chilli, until the oils form a creamy sauce-like emulsion. It is called pil-pil because of the noise that the skin makes when it fries in the pan.









"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
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Comments

  • Today's final climb looks like another shake out similar to yesterday's. Jumbo Visma with the same tactics?
  • Carapaz fancies it then.
  • jam1e
    jam1e Posts: 1,068
    WTF is he doing?
  • hypster
    hypster Posts: 1,229
    Showing Roglic how to be a proper GC rider
  • Weird one really, caught within a km of the start of the climb.

    Dumoulin's gone already.
  • jam1e
    jam1e Posts: 1,068
    Is that Froome in that group?
  • Matti66
    Matti66 Posts: 190
    No he went at 40 km to go. Looked sort of a planned droppage.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,246
    Horse Category climb
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,169
    Paging AtC
  • Matti66
    Matti66 Posts: 190
    Stampede of children's horses
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,246
    Three pronged attack tactic works for Movistar shock
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,645
    Movistar, with Soler, take a win on their home roads.

    Kirby is an idiot. Says Dan Martin isn't in the sprinting group behind when quite clearly Martin's just behind Roglic.
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725
    RichN95. said:

    Three pronged attack tactic works for Movistar shock

    A stopped clock is right twice a day
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • Froome at 18:44.
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725

    Froome at 18:44.

    :s
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • Froome at 18:44.

    Half an hour down after two stages and they lost Bradon Rivera today.
    Carapaz has done pretty good in the past without a team though.

    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • jam1e
    jam1e Posts: 1,068
    Fird week froome...
  • Matti66
    Matti66 Posts: 190
    I think he will improve too. I cannot comment on whether he kept any one else out that would be better. He did not get any warm up stages to get his feet under the table too. Any way on past two days who is going to stop Jumbo and Roglic .
  • jam1e
    jam1e Posts: 1,068
    Roglic
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,246
    edited October 2020

    Froome at 18:44.

    :s
    There were actually echelons today and the peloton split in two with just under 60km to go. Froome made the front half and was near the front with his team, but was later in a small group that lost wheels (don't know why), so he dropped back to the second half who trundled in
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Matti66
    Matti66 Posts: 190
    Ha!, maybe ....Only if fatigue bites or a racing incident.
  • hypster
    hypster Posts: 1,229
    I'm getting sick of Roglic sprinting in the last few hundred metres to get time bonuses. I think GTs should ditch the bonifications and just make them fight for actual time on the road.
  • zest28
    zest28 Posts: 403
    edited October 2020
    Matti66 said:

    I think he will improve too. I cannot comment on whether he kept any one else out that would be better. He did not get any warm up stages to get his feet under the table too. Any way on past two days who is going to stop Jumbo and Roglic .

    Covid-19.

  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,647
    hypster said:

    I'm getting sick of Roglic sprinting in the last few hundred metres to get time bonuses. I think GTs should ditch the bonifications and just make them fight for actual time on the road.

    Then the GC riders don't bother sprinting and everyone says it is boring
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,067
    hypster said:

    I'm getting sick of Roglic sprinting in the last few hundred metres to get time bonuses. I think GTs should ditch the bonifications and just make them fight for actual time on the road.

    It is up to the others to beat him.
    The best man will win anyway, the bonuses just make the finishes a bit faster.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • 50x11
    50x11 Posts: 408
    I suppose this puts to bed the people who said the crash was faked to cover a doping ban.
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,575
    50x11 said:

    I suppose this puts to bed the people who said the crash was faked to cover a doping ban.

    He's rubbish now because he isn't doped up.
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • hypster
    hypster Posts: 1,229

    hypster said:

    I'm getting sick of Roglic sprinting in the last few hundred metres to get time bonuses. I think GTs should ditch the bonifications and just make them fight for actual time on the road.

    Then the GC riders don't bother sprinting and everyone says it is boring
    Patently nonsense. How did the GTs ever get decided in the past before time bonuses? I'm glad Roglic lost the Tour and I hope happens like that again in the Vuelta. Maybe he'll get the message and get his arse in gear then.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,067
    Anyone get the impression that hypster doesn't like Roglic?
    How will you cope when he wins? He'd still be in Red without the bonuses.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,647
    hypster said:

    hypster said:

    I'm getting sick of Roglic sprinting in the last few hundred metres to get time bonuses. I think GTs should ditch the bonifications and just make them fight for actual time on the road.

    Then the GC riders don't bother sprinting and everyone says it is boring
    Patently nonsense. How did the GTs ever get decided in the past before time bonuses? I'm glad Roglic lost the Tour and I hope happens like that again in the Vuelta. Maybe he'll get the message and get his censored in gear then.
    By time splits from going up mountains or time trials. They didn't bother sprinting for stages though, and people didn't like it, so time bonuses came in. Then people like you moaned that time bonuses weren't proper racing, so they were removed. Then riders stopped bothering about stage wins and people said it was boring etc.