From LaVuelta.com...
The Vuelta leaves Andalusia behind after three stages and enters Castilla-La Mancha. With the start in Córdoba and finish line in Puertollano, this 170 kilometre stage is very similar to the one in the 2005 Vuelta, but the race today will start off with two 3rd category climbs: Villares and Chimorra.
The final kilometres will hardly present any problems, so the sprinters know that the finish at Puertollano is the first one where they won’t run into a “trap”. That makes it a day for the faster racers in the main pack. And few races can boast of having so many top-calibre fast racers as habitually come together for the Vuelta a España.
History: Puertollano made its debut in the 2005 Vuelta with a stage won by Alessandro Petacchi and repeated in 2007, with victory going to Colombian racer Leonardo Duque. This will be the third finish in the city in the past four years, an unmistakable sign of the passion Puertollano holds for cycling and the Vuelta.
The Vuelta leaves Andalusia behind after three stages and enters Castilla-La Mancha. With the start in Córdoba and finish line in Puertollano, this 170 kilometre stage is very similar to the one in the 2005 Vuelta, but the race today will start off with two 3rd category climbs: Villares and Chimorra.
The final kilometres will hardly present any problems, so the sprinters know that the finish at Puertollano is the first one where they won’t run into a “trap”. That makes it a day for the faster racers in the main pack. And few races can boast of having so many top-calibre fast racers as habitually come together for the Vuelta a España.
History: Puertollano made its debut in the 2005 Vuelta with a stage won by Alessandro Petacchi and repeated in 2007, with victory going to Colombian racer Leonardo Duque. This will be the third finish in the city in the past four years, an unmistakable sign of the passion Puertollano holds for cycling and the Vuelta.