Date: Tuesday 2 September
Distance: 175km
Start location: Arguedas
Finish location: El Ferial Larra Belagua
Start time: 12:55 CEST
Finish time: 17:18 CEST
The region of Navarre is one of the most geographically diverse in Spain, and its many varieties are sampled at the Vuelta a España this year. The riders spend their rest day the day before in Pamplona, Navarre’s capital and most populous city, known around the world for the running of the bulls that takes place during its annual San Fermin festival. Today’s stage begins almost 100km to the south in the Sendaviva amusement park, where the landscape is notably more arid. As the riders travel north, you’ll see the surroundings change throughout the day, becoming greener, more Basque-influenced, and more mountainous as they reach the Pyrenees.
Specifically, Puerto de Belagua will be the mountain climbed upon entering the range, one that was used for the first time at the Vuelta just two years ago and saw one of the most memorable stages of recent years. Remco Evenepoel went into that stage in a dejected mood, having capitulated the day before in the mountains to tumble from third overall to lose almost half an hour and fall totally out of GC contention, his title defence in tatters. He might have called it quits there and then, but instead chose to persevere, and fought hard from the off to get into the day’s break. He looked like a whole different man to that who suffered so much the day before, breaking clear from the rest of the break with Romain Bardet, then, having worked so well with the Frenchman, eventually dropping him 4km from the top of Puerto de Belagua to take an emotional, redemptive stage victory.
Today’s stage might finish with that same climb, but the roads that precede it are very different. That day, Evenepoel and Bardet made their move going over the top of the first of two massive hors category mountains that preceded Puerto de Belagua; on this occasion, the roads leading up to it will be much less severe, the modest category three Alto de las Coronas the only climb that precedes it.
All the GC action will therefore take place on the Belagua, but is it hard enough to have much of an impact? It averages only 6.3% for 9.3km, which might not quite be long nor steep enough to really split the overall contenders. All the drama two years ago was happening in the break with Evenepoel’s mission, while the GC race was subdued, eleven riders reaching the top of the climb together in the group of favourites, with all of the top ten present; and that was with a much tougher run in. We shouldn’t expect too much of a GC shake-up.
Contenders
Stage ten is an unpredictable one, and the way the race plays out could largely be dependent on whether the GC contenders want to use this day to gain time or whether they will allow a breakaway to make it to the line. If it is a day for those fighting for the overall, pre-race favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) has repeatedly proven he is the best climber of this Vuelta and could unleash another attack on his rivals. The likes of UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader João Almeida and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), are well-suited to this terrain and will need to do their best to follow Vingegaard if he makes a move.
Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) is another punchy climber who will relish this finale and take lots of confidence after his performance on stage nine. Other strong climbers like Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari, the duo from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Felix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale) will also be looking forward to this stage in the hope that they can use the climb to put pressure on their rivals.
If the climb doesn't prove to be hard enough for a GC showdown and the likes of Visma and UAE are happy to let a breakaway survive, stage-hunting specialists like Carlos Verona and Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Pablo Castrillo (Movistar Team), and Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana Team) could all be riders who might hold off the peloton on a day like today.
Prediction
We think that Tom Pidcock is going to impress in this stage with a victory from a GC group sprint.
