La Vuelta 2023, Stage 18 (Pola de Allande - La Cruz de Linares), course, route, profile, animation

“Thursday, 14 September The ride from Pola de Allande to La Cruz de Linares is the last stage in the high mountains. In the meantime, we are already on the 18th stage of a Vuelta that has shimmied from mountain to mountain. After these 179.1 kilometres, the Vuelta winner could even already be decided. Of course, the 20th stage is not to be sneezed at either. But although there will be 4,000 metres of altitude to climb on this day, you can’t really talk about high mountains. But that is the case with stage 18. Three 1st category mountains, one 2nd category mountain and one 3rd category mountain give the stage the necessary spice. The number of metres in altitude on the way to Puerto de La Cruz de Linares is more than 4,600. In the course of the stage, the riders will cross the Alto de las Estacas (5.1 kilometres with 7.5%), the Puerto de San Lorenzo (9.9 kilometres with 8.6%) and the Alto de Tenebredo (3.4 kilometres with 9.5%). The last summit is 58 kilometres before the finish. The route then continues with a loop southwest of Oviedo before the race ends with a double climb to Puerto de la Cruz de Linares. With 33 kilometres to go, the riders turn onto the final circuit and immediately get a taste of the Cruz de Linares. It is an 8.3 kilometre climb with an average gradient of 8.6%. The first half is almost exclusively double-digit. On the concrete slabs near Castañeo del Monte, it even goes up to 16 %. So very steep and then also a lousy road surface. After the descent and 8 kilometres in the valley, the second ascent to Cruz de Linares completes the ride. “ ( & Routes ’n’ Maps ’n’ Flags) Creating cycling stage animations requires a lot of work and computing power. You are welcome to support me with a donation: