La Vuelta 2020 - Stage 4: Garray. Numancia > Ejea de los Caballeros 191,7 km *Spoilers*
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Stage 4: Garray. Numancia > Ejea de los Caballeros 191,7 km
Friday 23 October, 13.10 BST
Stage 4 on La Vuelta travels from Garray to Ejea de los Caballeros. A bunch sprint is the most likely scenario.
Ejea de los Caballeros served as a start in the 2018 Vuelta a España. The race went to Lleida fot a nail-biter of a finale. Breakaway boys Jelle Wallays and Sven Erik Bystrøm pipped the chasing peloton, although all finishes in the same time. This time Ejea de los Caballeros serves as a finish in a race that sets off from Garray.
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Parallel to the the Pyrenees the riders head in easterly direction. The first half of the route goes mostly false flat downhill, although there are also some moderate uphill sections. The second half takes place on the open plains northwest of Zaragoza.
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There are three main sprinter teams here: Quickstep with Bennett, Bora with Ackerman and UAE with Philipsen. There is a chance of crosswinds on the day which could make things interesting with the GC boys. This is also at 191km the longest stage of the first week; only one other stage exceeds 200km. The intermediate sprint – at kilometre 169 – comes with time bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds, while the first three riders on the line gain 10, 6 and 4 seconds.
Favourites 4th stage 2020 Vuelta a España
*** Sam Bennett, Pascal Ackermann
** Jasper Philipsen, Matteo Moschetti
* Magnus Cort, Jakub Mareczko, Max Kanter, Jon Aberasturi
Garray. Numancia
Unprecedented departure
736 inhabitants
The inhabitants of the Celtiberian city of Numantia (where Garray is found) went down in history due to their resistance to the Roman Empire in the 2nd century BC. Following a year-long siege by Roman legions, the inhabitants of Numantia opened the doors to their city and set fire to their homes and themselves to avoid being conquered. This story of sacrifice left a lasting impression on the chroniclers of the time and still impresses today as an example of the resistance of the people of Garray.
Ejea de los Caballeros
Unprecedented Vuelta finale
16.605 inhabitants
Ejea de los Caballeros will host a La Vuelta finish-line for the first time, though it has previously hosted the Spanish tour. In 2018, the riders took off from this Aragon locality in the direction of Lleida, where victory went to Belgian rider Jelle Wallays. The city is already deeply committed to cycling. Proof of this are the annual ‘Educando con el Ciclismo’ (‘Educating through Cycling’) days, where cycling personalities from all over the world come together to discuss the current state of the sport and to reflect on its future.
Pollo al chilindron
It is a very typical dish of Aragon cuisine. It consists of chicken or lamb cooked in a sauce made of red peppers, tomatoes, garlic and jamon serrano.
Trucha
Trucha is another delicious dish which consists of a trout caught from the rivers of Aragon and is fried with various flavors including lemon juice and stuffed with bacon and peppers. Enjoy its scrumptious taste along with a side dish or glass of wine.
Friday 23 October, 13.10 BST
Stage 4 on La Vuelta travels from Garray to Ejea de los Caballeros. A bunch sprint is the most likely scenario.
Ejea de los Caballeros served as a start in the 2018 Vuelta a España. The race went to Lleida fot a nail-biter of a finale. Breakaway boys Jelle Wallays and Sven Erik Bystrøm pipped the chasing peloton, although all finishes in the same time. This time Ejea de los Caballeros serves as a finish in a race that sets off from Garray.
Parallel to the the Pyrenees the riders head in easterly direction. The first half of the route goes mostly false flat downhill, although there are also some moderate uphill sections. The second half takes place on the open plains northwest of Zaragoza.
There are three main sprinter teams here: Quickstep with Bennett, Bora with Ackerman and UAE with Philipsen. There is a chance of crosswinds on the day which could make things interesting with the GC boys. This is also at 191km the longest stage of the first week; only one other stage exceeds 200km. The intermediate sprint – at kilometre 169 – comes with time bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds, while the first three riders on the line gain 10, 6 and 4 seconds.
Favourites 4th stage 2020 Vuelta a España
*** Sam Bennett, Pascal Ackermann
** Jasper Philipsen, Matteo Moschetti
* Magnus Cort, Jakub Mareczko, Max Kanter, Jon Aberasturi
Garray. Numancia
Unprecedented departure
736 inhabitants
The inhabitants of the Celtiberian city of Numantia (where Garray is found) went down in history due to their resistance to the Roman Empire in the 2nd century BC. Following a year-long siege by Roman legions, the inhabitants of Numantia opened the doors to their city and set fire to their homes and themselves to avoid being conquered. This story of sacrifice left a lasting impression on the chroniclers of the time and still impresses today as an example of the resistance of the people of Garray.
Ejea de los Caballeros
Unprecedented Vuelta finale
16.605 inhabitants
Ejea de los Caballeros will host a La Vuelta finish-line for the first time, though it has previously hosted the Spanish tour. In 2018, the riders took off from this Aragon locality in the direction of Lleida, where victory went to Belgian rider Jelle Wallays. The city is already deeply committed to cycling. Proof of this are the annual ‘Educando con el Ciclismo’ (‘Educating through Cycling’) days, where cycling personalities from all over the world come together to discuss the current state of the sport and to reflect on its future.
Pollo al chilindron
It is a very typical dish of Aragon cuisine. It consists of chicken or lamb cooked in a sauce made of red peppers, tomatoes, garlic and jamon serrano.
Trucha
Trucha is another delicious dish which consists of a trout caught from the rivers of Aragon and is fried with various flavors including lemon juice and stuffed with bacon and peppers. Enjoy its scrumptious taste along with a side dish or glass of wine.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
2
Comments
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Nice to see a return of the favourites ratings. Ironically the sprint stage is less predictable than the uphill finishes at the moment.0
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Fine sunny and a spot of crosswind action in the Vuelta.
Boycott the Giro!
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
No surprise to see Tanfield in today's break, though you'd probably get relatively long odds on him repeating his exploits from the 2018 Tour of Yorkshire.0
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The wind didn't last long, except that being exhaled by Kirby."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.1
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Lots of riders struggling to hold on at the back of the bunch. I know riders might be sitting up with their job done for the day but that looks like a lot considering they're 10k out.0
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Meanwhile, I've only got TV Eurosport and stuck with pictures of a load of people in Italy not racing. Interesting call.0
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75km/h lead out with 3k to go!0
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UAE rider went way too early, opened a gap but Bennett took it quite comfortably. Average speed of the stage 49.9 km/h0
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Philipsen did go a bit early but I think he knew it was his best chance of beating Bennett.
Ackermann remains a bit underwhelming these days, beaten for third by Mareczko.
Some amazing landscapes along today's route."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Only just realised why I keep thinking there's a thread started about Gary Numan.1
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kingstongraham said:
Only just realised why I keep thinking there's a thread started about Gary Numan.
An apt time to remind people that Gary Numan is actually two weeks older than Gary OldmanTwitter: @RichN951
