This weekend "La Vuelta a España", which was pushed back by 2 months thanks to Covid19, will be passing right through the area we live in :-)
We currently live in Boltaña and the race will pass through Ainsa, 6km east of here at the 100km mark and again through Fiscal, 20km west of us at the 160km mark. With luck we should be able to see the race both times. Race officials are predicting about an hour and a half of riding between the two points while they take in the "Añisclo Canyon" with its "Alto de Vio" and "Alto de Fanlo" climbs. Plenty of time for us to get from one to the other.....
The weather and temperature differences between mid August and mid October are worlds apart. The weather is currently too changeable to try and predict. Yesterday I was working in shorts and a T shirt - today I'm at home and it's raining and cold. Overall I'd guess that this is going to be a much colder & wetter Vuelta than usual.
Stage 5 is following a different route than that which was originally released last year. It finishes in a different place - I assume because of the snow on the peaks at this time of year.
The Route:
The race will leave the town of Huesca and head east towards Barbastro. They'll be on the "old road" not the new dual-carriageway that we would use. It's an undulating road which, overall, descends very slightly between the two towns.
In Barbastro they will turn left (North) and head towards Ainsa. 20km outside of Barbastro they will start riding alongside the El Grado Dam (Embalse del Grado) followed by the Mediano Dam (Embalse de Mediano) which takes them all the way up to Ainsa. The Mediano Dam has an abondoned village in the middle of it - you can see the top of the church tower, even when the dam is full. Currently the dam is 3/4 empty!
Through Ainsa and 11km up to Escalona where they turn left again (West) and hit the two climbs of the day. This road is not an easy road to get any speed up on - up and down and very wiggly! The riders will have to pay attention here. It does take in some really stunning scenary though. We've driven it several times.
They exit the valley at the small town of Sarvise, about 145km into the stage and turn left (South) to head down to Fiscal. This road is downhill all the way to Fiscal and it's not a bad road. From Fiscal to the finsh in Sabiñanigo they will be on, for the most part, a relatively new nice wide road that includes a 3km long tunnel and a 2nd Cat climb. I would expect an all out sprint for the last 20km of the race!
Incidentally, the road from Sarvise all the way to the finish line in Sabiñanigo is the same road that they rode back on 4th September 2016 at the beginning of Stage 15 of La Vuelta - but in reverse. That was the day Nairo and Alberto dropped everyone in the first 10km of the Stage!
