Image 1 of 6

The heads into the Andes on Friday for the only mountain finish of the race, with the 2,565-metre high climb expected to s🐈hake up the overall classification with only two flat stages left to💜 race.

168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Julian Alaphilippe (168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Deceuninck-QuickStep) will wear the leader's white jersey during the 169.5km stage after 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:winning stage 2 on the edge of the Punta Negra dam and the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:12km stage 3 time trial. The Frenchman leads Fernando Gaviria (UA༺E Team Em✤irates) by eight seconds overall, with his teammate Valerio Conti third at 22 seconds.

Gaviria has admitted that he is focused on stage victories, and so Conti will lead UAE Team Emirates' hopes. However, the overall classification remains open with 10 riders with✨in a minute of race leadership. These include Nairo Quintana, who is eighth at 48 seconds, while his Movistar teammate Richard Carapaz is 11th at 1:04.

Felix Großschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) is better known for his time trialling, but the 64🍨kg⭕ Austrian could remain an overall contender. He's sixth overall after a strong time trial, just 26 seconds down on Alaphilippe.

Deceuninck-QuickStep also have Remco Evenepoel in fourth place at 22 seconds. Until the IIjo Keisse case exploded, the 19-year-old neo-pro was the emerging story of the 2019 Vuelta a San Juan. If Evenepoel can finish on the podium, or even win, it will be🉐 a historic debut at WorldTour level, only sparking more comparisons with Eddy Merckx.

Last year, the Alto Colorado finish saw then Argentinean national champion Gonzalo Najar of the local SEP de San Juan team win alone after an audacious solo attack with 20km to race. He celebrated by waving his arms in a celebration not too dissimilar to those of former pro Alberto Condor, but Najar's Icarus-like wings were clipped a few months later when the UCI 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:revealed that he had tested positive f💖or CERA, and he was disqualified. Oscar Sevilla finished second to Najar on Alto Colorado and gained enough time on his rivals to win overall.

Breathtakingly high but not steep

Alto Colorado is breathtakingly high at 2,5෴65 metre✃s, limiting oxygen take-up at the summit, but the gradient of the final 15km is listed as only 4.4 per cent in the race manual.

Last year, Italian track pursuit and cobbled Classics specialist Filippo Ganna led the Vuelta a San Juan after the time trial and only lost 25 seconds to Sevilla in the final kilometres. Weather forecasts indicate that there'll be a tailwind on the climb on ꦿFriday, and so that will limit the time attacks – and especially solo attacks &nda🔯sh; can gain.

That could help Alaphilippe and blunt possible attacks from climbers such as Quintana and local riders such as Ricardo Escuela and his ACA Virgen de Fatima teammate German Tivani. Of course, other riders will be looking for a simple stage💃 victory, 🔯and so could try to blow the race apart early on the climb, as Najar did last year.

The 🥂169km stage includes two time-ಞbonus sprints at 30.6km and 87.8km. Earlier climbs to help any breaks come after 63.4km into the day, 107.1km and 121.8km.

Quintana and Alaphilippe motivated

"Tomorrow is a long climb, but it's n🦩ot too hard," Quintana confirmed, hinting he would ride aggressively, as he had when Alaphilippe went on t🐎o win stage 2.

"A lot of people can finish toge﷽ther. We'rܫe well placed and, as ever, we'll be vigilant and try to do something.

"I feel good and I'm on goo🉐d form," Quintana continued. "I'm not 100 p๊er cent, because it's my first race, but I've trained hard recently."

Alaphi𒀰lippe said he and Deceuninck-QuickStep would take things day by day. He has kept a low profile since the Keisse scandal exploded, but went training for two hours 🐻on the rest day.

Deceuninck-QuickStep have brought a ligh🀅tweight Specialized Tarmac bike for the mountain stage in a clear sign of their intentions.

"I'm mot🌜ivated to race full gas," Alaphilippe said.

"Alto Colorado will be really important for the GC. It'll be a really hard stage, but if I feel good and continue to keep th🐬e jersey afterwards, I'll be really, really happy. If I lose it, I'll still ꦬbe really happy with my race."

Cyclingnews will have full live💛 coverage of the stage followed by a full stage report, results and a photo galler✱y, and news and interviews from the race.