La Vuelta 2023: Stage 20:- Manzanares El Real to Guadarrama 208Kms ***Spoilers***
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Stage 20:- Manzanares El Real to Guadarrama 208Kms
September 16
Start Time 10-55BST.
The penultimate stage is the longest stage of the Vuelta a España. While stage 20 does not have any climbs to compare with the mountainous stages of earlier in the week, the route from an inland start at Manzanares El Real to the coast is far from flat. The elevation gain is over 4,300 metres while the route adds up to 207.8 kilometres. All this over 10 climbs that are rated third category. There are also half a dozen climbs without category.
The stage starts from Manzanares El Real, heads South West towards the capital. They continue further south after moving through Guadarrama early in the race. Several hilly loops lay waiting to be exploited. The Puerto de la Cruz Verde is the opener and will also be the closer of the loops. The route eventually returns on familiar roads towards Guadarrama.
The Many Climbs.
Final Kms.
The hardest climb of the day is saved for last. It’s the Alto San Lorenzo de El Escorial, which is not only a 4.6 kilometres climb at 6.6%, it’s also a wildly irregular test with several sections at over 10%.
The summit is situated 12.2 kilometres before the finish line. The first 5 are on descent, the rest is as good as flat.
What to Expect.
Those who do well at Liège-Bastogne-Liège should go well here and there are two recent winners in La Vuelta. However, it’s a stage in a Grand Tour, so comes with a different dynamic. Chances are that a winner from the breakaway is equally likely.
Manzanares El Real
Unprecedented La Vuelta departure
9,202 inhabitants
Manzanares el Real is a town in the northern area of the autonomous Community of Madrid. It is located at the foot of The Pedriza, a part of the Sierra de Guadarrama. Manzanares el Real is a traditional transit point for Madrid’s cyclotourists. As you enter the locality, the municipality’s most characteristic jewel stands out above La Pedriza’s rocky skyline: The Castillo Nuevo de los Mendoza. This monument was created as a fortress, which later served as a residential palace for the Mendoza family. Today, it can be visited in its entirety and is considered to be one of the best-preserved Medieval fortresses in Spain.
Guadarrama
Unprecedented La Vuelta finish
16,747 inhabitants
Guadarrama is a town and municipality in the Cuenca del Guadarrama comarca, in the Community of Madrid, Spain. This town was absolutely destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, as it was for almost three years a battlefront. All one can see in this town today is new, built in the mid-20th century. Guadarrama gives its name to the mountains that separate Madrid from Segovia and Ávila and is the ideal place in which to discover the mountain range’s natural wealth. The area of Guadarrama and the National Park, with its groves, riverbanks and meadows, has a very rich biodiversity whose flora and fauna make it the ideal place for nature lovers.
Carne de la Sierra de Guadarrama
Carne de la Sierra de Guadarrama is beef or veal from the Avileña-Negra Ibérica, Limousin, and Charolais breeds produced in the Autonomous Community of Madrid. The animals are left to graze freely on the mountains and in the meadows, consequently making the meat more flavorful and tender.
Carne de la Sierra de Guadarrama is highly valued because of its bright red color and intense flavor, and the balance between lean meat and fat provides this meat with a certain juiciness and firmness.
Costrada
Costrada is a traditional Spanish dessert originating from Alcalá de Henares. This classic dessert consists of sheets of puff pastry that are filled with pastry cream and meringue. The whole thing is topped with chopped almonds and icing sugar, then baked for a short while in order to roast the almonds and dry the outer meringue.
September 16
Start Time 10-55BST.
The penultimate stage is the longest stage of the Vuelta a España. While stage 20 does not have any climbs to compare with the mountainous stages of earlier in the week, the route from an inland start at Manzanares El Real to the coast is far from flat. The elevation gain is over 4,300 metres while the route adds up to 207.8 kilometres. All this over 10 climbs that are rated third category. There are also half a dozen climbs without category.
The stage starts from Manzanares El Real, heads South West towards the capital. They continue further south after moving through Guadarrama early in the race. Several hilly loops lay waiting to be exploited. The Puerto de la Cruz Verde is the opener and will also be the closer of the loops. The route eventually returns on familiar roads towards Guadarrama.
The Many Climbs.
Final Kms.
The hardest climb of the day is saved for last. It’s the Alto San Lorenzo de El Escorial, which is not only a 4.6 kilometres climb at 6.6%, it’s also a wildly irregular test with several sections at over 10%.
The summit is situated 12.2 kilometres before the finish line. The first 5 are on descent, the rest is as good as flat.
What to Expect.
Those who do well at Liège-Bastogne-Liège should go well here and there are two recent winners in La Vuelta. However, it’s a stage in a Grand Tour, so comes with a different dynamic. Chances are that a winner from the breakaway is equally likely.
Manzanares El Real
Unprecedented La Vuelta departure
9,202 inhabitants
Manzanares el Real is a town in the northern area of the autonomous Community of Madrid. It is located at the foot of The Pedriza, a part of the Sierra de Guadarrama. Manzanares el Real is a traditional transit point for Madrid’s cyclotourists. As you enter the locality, the municipality’s most characteristic jewel stands out above La Pedriza’s rocky skyline: The Castillo Nuevo de los Mendoza. This monument was created as a fortress, which later served as a residential palace for the Mendoza family. Today, it can be visited in its entirety and is considered to be one of the best-preserved Medieval fortresses in Spain.
Guadarrama
Unprecedented La Vuelta finish
16,747 inhabitants
Guadarrama is a town and municipality in the Cuenca del Guadarrama comarca, in the Community of Madrid, Spain. This town was absolutely destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, as it was for almost three years a battlefront. All one can see in this town today is new, built in the mid-20th century. Guadarrama gives its name to the mountains that separate Madrid from Segovia and Ávila and is the ideal place in which to discover the mountain range’s natural wealth. The area of Guadarrama and the National Park, with its groves, riverbanks and meadows, has a very rich biodiversity whose flora and fauna make it the ideal place for nature lovers.
Carne de la Sierra de Guadarrama
Carne de la Sierra de Guadarrama is beef or veal from the Avileña-Negra Ibérica, Limousin, and Charolais breeds produced in the Autonomous Community of Madrid. The animals are left to graze freely on the mountains and in the meadows, consequently making the meat more flavorful and tender.
Carne de la Sierra de Guadarrama is highly valued because of its bright red color and intense flavor, and the balance between lean meat and fat provides this meat with a certain juiciness and firmness.
Costrada
Costrada is a traditional Spanish dessert originating from Alcalá de Henares. This classic dessert consists of sheets of puff pastry that are filled with pastry cream and meringue. The whole thing is topped with chopped almonds and icing sugar, then baked for a short while in order to roast the almonds and dry the outer meringue.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
1
Comments
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This is what you should have had yesterday.
Final stage thread coming up…."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.4 -
I reckon this is a day for Wout Poels…2
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Yeah he could out fox remco in a sprintpoweredbyidris said:I reckon this is a day for Wout Poels…
"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 pm0
