Stage 17: Calahorra to Burgos, 189km, rolling

After the rest day, the end is in sight for all those left in this Vuelta. This stage is rolling, although the sprint teams (what’s left of them) could take control in the last third of the race on the downhill run to Burgos.

If the sprinters don’t get their way – and there’s a fair chance of that – this stage is likely to be about the teams who still haven’t gotten anything out of this Vuelta so far. The GC guys will just want to stay safe and out of trouble, especially with wind changes in this open stage. They’ll need to stay alert considering what happened last year, when in what was supposedly an innocuous stage for the GC, Alberto Contador caught race leader Joaquim Rodriguez and his team napping and took the Vuelta victory from Purito’s grasp.

Bit of trivia: The Vuelta a Burgos is a key tune-up race for GC contenders in the Vuelta and this year its final stage had seven – count ’em seven – climbs. The winner of both the stage and the overall was Nairo Quintana.

Link: Official site

Header image: Cathedral of Burgos