La Vuelta 2021 - Stage 3, Santo Domingo de Silos - Picón Blanco, 203km **Spoilers**

Stage 3, Santo Domingo de Silos - Picón Blanco, 203km

16-08-2021
Start time: 11:18am BST.


La Vuelta's first mountain top finish on the third day of action. This stage starts to the south of Burgos in the shadow of a magnificent monastery, this one Benedictine and dedicated to the 11th century saint, Domingo de Silos. Just outside this Castilian village, stands the Sad Hill Cemetery.
So what you might say?
Well, it featured in the final scenes of Sergio Leone's iconic spaghetti western, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, which starred Clint Eastwood.



The stage almost entirely heads in a Northwards direction.



The first phase goes either up or down. There are two climbing tests before the final ascent, both rated as third category. The first, Puerto de Manquillo, tops out at kilometre 39. The riders will gradually descend, towards the intermediate sprint at Medina de Pomar. Soon after they’ll start up the second small climb, the Alto de Bocos, which marks the beginning of the tricky finale.



The final climb leads to an Abandoned military base at 1,468 metres and it is tough. Rising for 7.6km at 9.3 per cent, the gradient is in double figures for the most part, reaching a maximum of 17 per cent. Only in the final 2kms does the gradient relent a little.

The climbs:







Until this latest edition, the finishing climb has been the stage finale at the Vuelta a Burgos in the past four editions. Mikel Landa (2017), Miguel Ángel López (2018), Iván Sosa (2019) and Remco Evenepoel (2020) took the spoils.

Favourites 3rd stage 2021 Vuelta a España

*** Egan Bernal, Primoz Roglic, Mikel Landa
** Adam Yates, Hugh Carthy, Miguel Ángel López, Richard Carapaz, Giulio Ciccone
* Sepp Kuss, Mark Padun, Romain Bardet, Jack Haig, Rafal Majka

Santo Domingo de Silos

Unprecedented departure
279 inhabitants.
First documented back in the 10th century, the Silos Monastery has undergone several modifications in its over one-thousand-year-old history. It is currently a Benedictine religious centre, a museum and an inn for visitors from all over the world who come in search of peace and silence.
The library still contains the Missal of Silos, the oldest Western manuscript on paper.





Espinosa de los Monteros. Picón Blanco

Unprecedented Vuelta finale
1.681 inhabitants.
With its inclusion in La Vuelta 21, the Picón Blanco joins the Neila Lagoons as Burgos’ only two high-altitude finales to have been a part of the Spanish grand tour’s history.





Morcilla de Burgos is a very popular Spanish black pudding that is used either as a tapas dish in its own right or as an ingredient in other meals.
















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

  • larkim
    larkim Posts: 2,485
    Mmmmm, Spanish black pudding. Yates will be ordering a double helping, no doubt.
    2015 Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 (son #1's)
    2011 Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc (son #4s)
    2013 Decathlon Triban 3 (red) (mine)
    2019 Hoy Bonaly 26" Disc (son #2s)
    2018 Voodoo Bizango (mine)
    2018 Voodoo Maji (wife's)
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227
    Break established - Calmejane, Bayer, Bol, Amezqueta, Taaramae, Elissonde, Soto and Dombrowski

    Cataford DNS for ISN
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227
    95km to go, 7:40 gap, TJV just starting to hold it at that, no more.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,912
    Going the distance... but you can melt down on them big gradients. Break is full of semi hitters thou
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227
    Elissonde hasn't won since he finished ahead of Horner on Angliru in 2013.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,912
    Top sitting on the fence posting there
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227
    Not trying for any prediction, just thought it was interesting - I would have thought he'd have won something since then. He seems one of three possibilities from the break (who should make it unless some team decides to burn themselves out).

    Would love Elissonde to do it though, I like the absolutely tiny riders going uphill fast.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227
    63km to go, gap is 9 minutes. Two races for the price of one.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,730
    edited August 2021

    63km to go, gap is 9 minutes. Two races for the price of one.

    The coverage has the look and feel of being cut price.
    Eurosport haven't made much of an effort.

    25kms to go and the situation hasn't changed a lot as they start the 3rd cat climb.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • MattFalle
    MattFalle Posts: 11,644
    commentary is bloody awful.
    .
    The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
  • MattFalle said:

    commentary is bloody awful.

    You ain't wrong.


    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • Calmejane goes for a long one...
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    OK I'm up on Sporza at 9.1km to go :)
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227

    OK I'm up on Sporza at 9.1km to go :)

    Not missed anything.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Crowds!
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Break at the bottom of the climb - one of this *instantly slows down* beginnings to the climb. Looks steep.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Bernal well placed heading into the bottom of the climb. Led out by van Baarle - lots of quick-step near the front too.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Peloton a bit more chill now they're on the climb.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Pidcock and Yates well positioned for the Brit-watches.

    At the front the break is back together minus I think one or two - no idea who as I missed it.

    5.8km to go.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    edited August 2021
    at 5.2km to go, peloton is gutter to gutter up the climb.

    Wuyts "there isn't much initiative being taken"

    De Cauwer "no there is absolutely no initiative being taken"

    30s later, Bahrain take over control and up the pace en masse.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227
    I love these "bring your child to work" days.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Carapaz and Kruiswijk quite far back.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227
    Front group is gradually whittling down - soon be Calmejane, Little Kenny and Dombrowski.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Dombrowski turns the screw on the break at 4.4km to go.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,692
    edited August 2021
    GVA looks different somehow... 😉
    When did he move to Ineos?
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227
    Calmejane gone pop. Taaramae staying on
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Tarame looks pretty chill in wheel 2
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Curious why there are 2 cameras on the front group, front and back and what looks like none on the peloton currently.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227
    Dombrowski looked strong in that stage he won at the Giro - showing it again here.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,692
    Come on Wee Kenny!
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format