Stage 11: Tarazona to Tarazona, 38.8km individual time trial

If anyone had any doubts that this was a climber’s Vuelta, please note that this individual time trial – the only one of the race – has the cat 3 Alto del Moncayo smack dab in the middle of it.

This time trial comes straight after the first rest day and after a long transfer from Andalusia in the south to Aragon in the north-east so this stage could be one for a hardcore TTer. The climb in the middle says – like the final-week time trial at this year’s Tour de France – that the climbers won’t do too badly on it either. At 9km long and averaging around 4%, it will be both challenging and difficult for the riders to pace their efforts.

Bit of trivia: Tony Rominger – a pretty adept time-trialist – was the first rider to win three Vueltas (the only other is Roberto Heras), winning them consecutively from 1992-1994.

Link: Official site

Header image: The old bullring in Tarazona.