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
Posts
- @ddraver
Boycott the Giro!
Ackermann remains a bit underwhelming these days, beaten for third by Mareczko.
Some amazing landscapes along today's route.
- @ddraver
An apt time to remind people that Gary Numan is actually two weeks older than Gary Oldman