Vuelta a España: Stage 5
Parcours preview
Distance: 168.4km
Category: Rolling
Highest point: 1,340m
A glance at the profile of this stage wouldn't su🅷ggest this is a day for the sprinters but that's how the organisers describe it. More than anything, that description underlines how incredibly mountainous this year's Vuelta route is as the stage into the Lake Sanabria national park features more than 2,000 metres of vertical ascent. The sprinters' teams will have some task keeping breakaway riders in check in this rugged terrain, crossing two pretty sizeable third category climbs. It would be no surprise to see the day's escapees stay clear to the finish, where one might be rewarded with the race leader's red jersey if the GC contenders decide to sit back a bit after the testing opening stages.
José Azevedo: "It's not a mountain stage but this parcours is very hard with hills of 3🧸-5km, one after another. It will be very tough for the leader's team to control things. A lot of teams will want to get into the break and, if a lot of strong riders manage to do so, it could be a dangerous day for the leader."
The latest race content, interviews, feaꦉtu📖res, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Peter Cossins has written about professional cycling since 1993 and is a contributing editor to Procycling. He is the author of The Monuments: The Grit and the Glory of Cycling's Greatest One-Day Races (Bloomsbury, March 2014) and has translated Christophe Bassons' autobiography, A Clean Break (Bloomsbury, July 2014).
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
SD Worx-Protime stumbles, new talents rise and Tour de France Femmes indicators flow – Six conclusions from the 2025 Giro d'Italia Women
Taking a closer look at some of the key talking points from eight revealing days of racing around Italy where some faltered and others took flight -
'It was tense' - Jonathan Vaughters on EF Education-EasyPost's emotions and strategy as Ben Healy takes Tour de France yellow jersey
American squad celebrates team performance that ended with cycling's biggest prize -
'We couldn't crack them just yet' – Jorgenson and Kuss try to isolate Tadej Pogačar as Visma flex team's strength over UAE at Tour de France
Jonas Vingegaard aided by American duo in fight to try take back time on world champion on road to Le Mont Dore -
Tour de France 2025: All the yellow cards, fines, and penalties
A slew of infractions on stage 10 with three yellow cards