The day starts off innocuously enough but ends 152km later with a 17.5% ramp right at the finish line. It’ll be a fast stage, at least until the final climb, and it’ll be a cruel one as well.

Sunday 7 September: Stage 15, Oviedo to Lagos de Covadonga, 152.2km, med mountains

Starting in the hometown of both Samuel Sanchez and the man who keeps promising to sponsor a team, Fernando Alonso, this stage goes bumpity bumpity bump, until it hits the cat 2 climb of Puerto del Torino. Then it’s a snaggle-toothed descent to hit the base of the final ascent 12km from the finish.

That final climb, the Lagos de Covadonga, is tricky in that the gradients change almost constantly, so there’s little chance of getting into a rhythm on the way to the finish. Just look at the midway point in the climb – jumping from 12% to 9% to 12% to 3% to 10%. This isn’t a climb for those who want to grind it out at a steady pace. And if that isn’t enough, there’s a tiny downhill and then a super-steep ramp to the finish line at 17.5%. Ouch.

Link: Official website

Header image: Cathedral de San Salvador, Oviedo