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“Saturday, 2 September The 8th stage of the Tour of Spain leads over 165 kilometres from Dénia to Xorret de Catí. The final climb is an irregular behemoth, with 22% gradients, a descent and a slightly ascending final kilometre dancing a bizarre tango. Dénia is a seaside resort on the Costa Blanca. It is a popular place for winter visitors. The Vuelta last visited Dénia in 1990. Back then, the stage led to Murcia, where Italian Silvio Martinello sprinted to victory. The sprinters pedalling in Dénia this time will be under no illusions. For there are over 3,600 metres of altitude on the route. The stage leads to the Xorret de Catí in the Sierra del Maigmó. The finale is more than promising. It begins with a ““false““ flat that culminates in a gruelling climb with an average gradient of 11.4%. After a treacherously ““easy““ first kilometre with 8.5 %, the climb only has double-digit values to offer for the rest. Only shortly below the summit does it flatten out somewhat, but even then it remains very steep. After crossing the summit, a 2 km long descent follows and the last kilometre climbs slightly. But not only the finale is promising, but the entire stage. The first 20 kilometres are flat, then it's up, down, up, down, up, down, and so on. One after the other, the riders go around four categorised climbs and a series of descents that do not count towards the mountain classification before the Xorret de Catí begins. The categorised mountains are the Alto de Vall d'Ebo, the Puerto de Tollos, the Puerto de Benifallim and the Puerto de Carrasqueta, which have in succession 7.9 kilometres of 5.7% gradient, 4.2 kilometres of 5.6% gradient, 9.5 kilometres of 4.9% gradient and 10.9 kilometres of 4.6% gradient. In 2017, the Vuelta was last on the Xorret de Catí. On the final climb, it was clear that the winner would come from the day's breakaway group. In the end, Rafal Majka, Julian Alaphilippe and Jan Polanc finished in a threesome. You might think that the Frenchman could have just relied on his sprint, but he didn't. He left his companions behind in the last kilometre and won by 2 seconds. However, all three of these protagonists did not start this time. In 2017, Alaphilippe succeeded David Moncoutie (2010), Gustavo César (2009), Eladio Jiménez (2000, 2004) and José María Jiménez (1998) as Vuelta stage winner in Xorret de Catí.“ ( & 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:
