• Presentation.The most devoted Vuelta to overcome the Covid

The Vuelta a España 2021 (

August 14-September 5

) will travel through 23 of the 50 provinces of the country.

28 remain off the map along with the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.

Among those discarded is Madrid, which gives the honor of the final podium to the celebration of the Compostela Year, the

Xacobeo

.

For that anniversary, the race will end in the Plaza del Obradoiro in Santiago with a time trial, as happened in 2014 in the rain and at night, although the route of this last stage will be more similar to the one that ended in

Monte do Gozo in 1993

, that 'Swiss' time trial in which the Helvetians Alex Zülle and Tony Rominger played the final triumph: the former won the clock and the latter revalidated their title in the Tour of Spain.

The route of this

76th edition of the third grand tour of the season

presents several technical innovations in the sporting aspect, among them

greater attention to sprinters

, especially in the first week or the reduction of final slopes here represented by Valdepeñas de Jaén .

But let's put the focus on a penultimate stage.

Apparently, it breaks with the line of recent years of placing a great ascent before the inconsequential ride of the 21st at the San Isidro Circuit in Madrid.

As this time,

in Santiago, there will be no inconsequential catwalk, but a decisive individual time trial

, long for these times (33 km, the one in 1993 had 44), the 20th will not culminate in the altitude of La Covatilla, Aitana or Angliru, but at 505 meters of altitude in Castro de Herville, in the

Concello

de Mos.

The deferred winner of the 2006 Tour de France,

Óscar Pereiro, is from Mos.

And the Vuelta commissioned him to design the stage

.

Of inconsequential appearance due to his profile, both Pereiro and the final signatories of the Vuelta route, Fernando Escartín and Kiko García, with the approval of the great boss, Javier Guillén, are sure that the stage will give

a show that will not envy the fans. from the high mountains

.

The 173 kilometers of its route begin in the classic Galician leg-breaking terrain, without further ado.

But the last 90 are a peculiar torture 'made in Pereiro'

.

In that distance there are 3,300 meters of unevenness with five staggered passes and more non-scoring slopes.

Short ascents, vertiginous descents and slopes "between 15 and 20 percent", indicates the Galician ex-cyclist.

A stage to 'warm up' the legs of those who intend to

assault the throne

in the Obradoiro time trial

22 days and 3,100 kilometers after the start of the Vuelta in the Burgos cathedral

.

"It is the route of

a classic of the Ardennes, but compressed to the maximum

. It is going to be really very hard for the runners," says the designer of this 'trap' on the penultimate day.

Óscar Pereiro put even more trouble in his initial sketch

of the stage, but between Guillén, Escartín and García they cut 700 meters of unevenness to the initial idea of ​​the Galician.

"But this is going to be a spectacular stage, I'm sure."

Guillén also believes it, convinced that

"it will surprise

.

"

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