La Vuelta 2021: Stage 2 - Caleruega > Burgos. Gamonal - 166,7kms **Spoilers**

Stage 2 - Caleruega > Burgos. Gamonal - 166,7kms

15-08-2021
Start time 12-32pm

The stage starts in Caleruega, where Santo Dominico de Guzmán, the founder of the Dominican order, was born in 1170, who gave his name to two countries, the Dominican Republic and Dominica.
Heading initially South West, the route then turns North to head back to Burgos, finishing in the most populated neighbourhood: Gamonal..



The stage starts in the shadow of the monastery erected in his memory in the heart of the small Castilian town of Caleruega.
It doesn't get much flatter than this in Spain and there are no categorised climbs along the route.
The wind can always be a factor on Castile’s high plateau, but the odds must favour a mass bunched sprint with the true specialists to the fore.



Final kms.
The finish line is located on broad expanse of Calle Vitoria, the road flat for the final 2.5km.



Last year, Pascal Ackermann powered to two stage wins, which made him the most successful sprinter of that edition. Two years ago, both Sam Bennett and Fabio Jakobsen took two wins.
The Quick Step rider looks to be once again finding his form, after suffering that horrific crash in Poland.

Favourites 2nd stage 2021 Vuelta a España

*** Fabio Jakobsen, Jasper Philipsen, Arnaud Démare
** Matteo Trentin, Michael Matthews, Alberto Dainese
* Alex Aranburu, Sebastián Molano, Jordi Meeus, Clément Venturini, Riccardo Minali, Jon Aberasturi, Juan José Lobato

Caleruega. VIII Centenario de Santo Domingo de Guzmán

Unprecedented departure
423 inhabitants
The Monastery of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, dates back to the 13th century.



Gamonal

17 stages of La Vuelta have finished in Burgos.
175.821 inhabitants
La Gamonal is one of Burgos’ most unique neighbourhoods. Currently, the municipality’s most highly-populated neighbourhood. However, this expansion has not resulted in the loss of its essence or its roots.
The Battle of Burgos, also known as Battle of Gamonal, was fought on November 10, 1808, during the Peninsular War in the village of Gamonal, near Burgos, Spain. A powerful French army under Marshal Bessières overwhelmed and destroyed the outnumbered Spanish troops under General Belveder, opening central Spain to invasion.
In 1812, the British under the then General Arthur Wellesley, laid siege to Burgos and it's castle. The French repulsed every attempt to seize the fortress, resulting in Wellington's withdrawal.



Tinto Pesquera’s top cuvée is only made in exceptional years and comes from Viña Alta, the first vineyards planted by Familia Fernández Rivera in the early 1970s – a single 900m high plot, the fruit of which then spends 30 months in French oak.