Vuelta 2021-Stage 13 : Belmez > Villanueva de la Serena, 203.7km *SPOILERS*
mididoctors
Posts: 16,460
Same bat time same bat channel
"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
0
Posts
The 13th stage of the Vuelta, Belmez to Villanueva de la Serena, 203 kms, is almost completely flat apart from a couple of small undulations about a third of the way along the route. Like yesterday, near the end the riders do a loop (although not quite a closed one) from and then back to Villanueva de la Serra, in order to reach the finishing line . The loop is about 25 kms long and includes the intermediate sprint in Don Benito - an intermediate only 11 kms before the finish!
On the run-in to the finishing line, the last corner is 2 kms from the line although there are a couple of bends/roundabouts, of which the sprinter teams will need to be aware. Neither start- nor finish-town has hosted a Vuelta stage before.
The second part of the stage is in the southern half of the autonomous region of Estremadura, which has always been one of the poorest, emptiest, hottest and driest parts of Spain. In contrast to the mountainous northern half, it is mainly wide open (and somewhat arid) steppe-like plains; in geological terms it is a Peneplain, a gently undulating, almost featureless plain produced by fluvial erosion.
After about two-thirds of the stage, the riders twice cross over La Serena, a dammed lake built about 30 years ago to produce electricity, the largest artificial lake in Spain and the third largest in Europe, with an area of 140 sq kms. Its form is of several long and narrowish legs going out in different directions, creating a 'coastline' of over 550 kms. The lake and its banks now attract such a large number and wide variety of birds, that (a) it has been designated a protected area, and (b) it is a destination for many ornithologists.
Favourites
The stage should almost definitely be one for the sprinters.
3* Jakobsen, Dainese
2* Démare, Meeus, Allegaert
1* Molano, Aberasturi
(Heard this morning that Fraile, Yates and Schachmann will be DNS; don't know how true)
Belmez, 3000 inhabitants (and falling) is a small town surrounded by pasture land, holm oak copses (holm oak, like cork oak, is evergreen) and cereal fields, and dominated by its castle on the only high ground nearby. It more or less came into proper existence first in the 13th century when the Christians defeated the Moors and occupied Cordoba, and then set up regional ecclesiastical authorities, one of which was located at Belmez (where there already had been a small but unspecific community for over a millenium). The town later then achieved a degree of prosperity from coal-mining - one small mine still exists. Its main business nowadays is, however, pig-breeding (the famous Spanish black pig) and air-curing of the resultant hams.
Villanueva De La Serena, 26,000 inhabitants, is a town in the undulating countryside of the La Serena. In Roman times there was a small settlement nearby (remnants are still there) but the present town only came into existence in the early 1300s, after the-then king of Spain gave the area to the Knights of Alcantara for their military assistance against the Moors, and the knights themselves arranged for construction of a 'new' town (thus explaining its name!) Nowadays the town and surrounding area is mainly pasture land for livestock, however it is also famous for its melons, the growing of which the town specialises in.
I do not know why in the middle of Villanueva, a place over 200 kms from the sea, there seems to be a statue of a mermaid.
Local food
Queso de la Serena, a cheese made of unpasteurised milk from merino sheep (the only cheese made worldwide from merino sheep). It is also made by a very traditional method, used by the Moors – to help curdle the milk, namely the rennet is produced from wild thistle.
Jamón Ibérico de Bellota (Iberian acorn ham), also often called Pata Negra (Black paws) in reference to the black feet of the black pigs from which it is made. It is supposedly the dearest ham in the World, thus farmers of the Extremadura sometimes call it their 'black gold'. The pigs are fed about a kilo per day of acorns from holm or cork oaks throughout the year, and then during winter, in the last 3 months before slaughter, they are fed almost exclusively acorns, up to 10 kilos per day each. The ham is allowed to slightly mold during curing.
Pringada Extremenas, which one would colloquially translate as 'poor estremadurians'. It is simple snack or appetizer common in Estremadura. Bacon and chorizo salami are fried quickly in olive oil, removed and kept warm while bread rubbed with garlic is then also fried in the oil. Finally the bread is removed, drained to remove excess oil, and the bacon and chorizo then put on the bread for serving immediately. (That pictured has been served also with some chopped shallot)
Structure of the Day
The Structure of the Day doesn't have to be some huge and imposing building or bridge!
After 60 kms the stage passes through Monterrubio de la Serena, in the middle of which there is this delightful fountain – I don't know what the animals spurting water are supposed to be, but even though they haven't got manes, I'd guess they are lions – the lion statues in the Alhambra at Granada don't have manes.
*
(I will not be able to provide similar prefaces over the weekend, so maybe someone else could give it a go till Blazing returns - on Tuesday?)
Gaps all over in this run in.
Senechal from Trentin
DQS just rode so hard from about 4 kms out that they blew that peloton to pieces, and FJ couldn't hold a wheel.
The bunch came apart on that run in ... I just missed the bonus sprint at 11k picked it up at 6 k
Bernal pulled back a massive 5" on the other GC riders.
A crazy last 5km. They're all knackered.