Stage four of the 2012 version of the Vuelta à España is a stage that is typical for the Vuelta in recent years: One that is entirely geared towards the climb that is positioned at the end of the stage. After the shorter, punchier finish of stage 3, this stage will be another test for the GC riders.

The parcours
The riders leave from Barakaldo, a town near the coast of the Bay of Biscay. From there they move south over a 160,6 km long parcours which features two first category climbs: the Puerto de Orduña and Estación de Valdezcaray, on which the finish is located. However, the top of the first of these is located just 51,7 km into the stage, and will not be used for attacks, except perhaps in the break. It will be on the final climb where this stages winner will make his move.





The stage features two intermediate sprints: at Haro, 48,7 km before the finish, and another at 29,6 km before the finish. Sprinters that survive the first climb could go for some points here, but it is more likely that these sprints will go to early escapees. As such, these intermediate sprints can't be expected to provide a whole lot of entertainment, unless one of the GC riders looks to gain some bonus seconds if the break is caught early.

The first climb, Puerto de Orduña, is not long but relatively steep, with 7,7 km at 7,8%. However, as mentioned above, it is located too far from the finish to be used for attacks. It is a category 1 climb though, so anyone with intentions for the mountain classification will want to make sure he is present in the break to grab those points.

The climb to Estaciín de Valdazcaray is where this stage will be decided. It is 13,4 km long and averages 5,2%. As can be seen on the profile below, it becomes less steep towards the finish. The first kilometer of the climb has an average of 9%, but from there on it only becomes less. The first seven km are between 9 and 5%, but the final 6 are much less steep, with the final bit even counting as low as 1,3%. This is thus unlikely to be a climb that will account for huge differences in the GC. The harder early half of the climb will cause a selection to be made though, and will even allow early attackers a chance. The second half of the climb however, allows the diesels to get back to a front group unless there the tempo is kept very high.



This stage seems likely to end either in a small group sprint or in a victory for one or more attackers who went early in the climb. The punchers will be dropped early in the climb, and the climbers will fight this out amongst themselves.

The start: Barakaldo
Barakaldo is a town close to Bilbao with a population of over 100.000. The town was once an industrial centre mainly focused on the production of steel. However, in recent years the industry has declined in importance and tourism has largely taken over. The Bilbao Exhibition Centre is located in the town, where a great number of fairs and other events are held, including "Las Fiestas del Carmen", a yearly event with numerous concerts. Furthermore, Barakaldo has a number of shopping centres. Finally, the Barakaldo Theatre is a well-known centre of the local cultural life. As buildings are concerned, probably the most famous sight of Barakaldo is the bridge the Puente Diablo.



For cycling fans, Barakaldo is mainly known as the birthplace of Movistar rider David Lopez Garcia, who won a stage in the Vuelta of 2010. Unfortunately for him, he won't be able to enjoy the Vuelta's visit to the town where he was born, since he isn't part of the Movistar squad. Isidro Nozal, runner-up of the 2003 Vuelta, was born in this town as well. Finally, the twin brothers Javier and Ricardo Otxoa were born in Barakaldo. Javier won a stage in the 2000 edition of the Tour de France and was second in the polka dot classification. However, in 2001, both brothers were hit by a car while training. Ricardo did not survive this accident and Javier was too severely injured to cycle professionally ever again. He continued cycling, and won a gold and a silver medal in the 2004 Paralympic Games, dedicating his victory to his late brother.

The arrival: Estación de Valdezcaray
The Estación de Valdezcaray is a ski station near the town of Ezcaray. The resort offers 22 ski pistes, and is a becoming more popular each year. The town of Ezcaray itself is an old Basque town that now mainly thrives on tourism. The historic centre of the town is carefully preserved, and its old buildings and the general atmosphere are an important tourist attraction. Ezcaray offers a number of shops, local artisans, sports facilities, hotels and restaurants for the tourists. This makes the town a popular place to visit in both summer and winter, thanks to the ski resort that the Vuelta will be visiting today.



This is only the second time the Vuelta uses this climb. In the year of 1991, it was used for an uphill time trial. The Colombian rider Fabio Parra won the stage, and would eventually end up in 5th place in the GC. Will this fact motivate current Colombian riders Henao and Urán to attempt to follow in the footsteps of their countryman? They will face serious competition, but they will certainly give it a try.

Henao hit by a motorcycle, never knew...

They should throw the motordriver out of the Vuelta for that.. holy sh*t thats ridiculous.

Or at least give him the time of the group he was in.

Great job sr

10 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:47

There seems to be a sense of ineivitability seeing that...
I just seem to get the feeling Cobo is going to be really strong towards the end of this Vuelta, and if so this Vuelta may be a true cracker if Froome manages to hold his form..

Sierra Nevada anyone?

I guess it fits 2011 too, but my reference was to a certain day of infamy in 2009.

Yes, did Unzue have a problem when a favourite was struck by misfortune on that occasion?

Note: I am happy to let them race, but teams and riders are rarely consistent on these issues.

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Contador

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Nice stage but the coverage is bad, almost no data.

Landa

 I missed the tv so hope Dim has all the action seems piti not happy with something.

I think in this day and age people should just keep racing who cares if someone punctures.

Here is the reason this sometimes rules are justing making issues. Ie today we wait but tomorrow nope it was racing so no waiting.

Do not wait and ev eryone knows the deal

I missed the tv so hope Dim has all the action seems piti not happy with something.

I think in this day and age people should just keep racing who cares if someone punctures.

Here is the reason this sometimes rules are justing making issues. Ie today we wait but tomorrow nope it was racing so no waiting.

Do not wait and ev eryone knows the deal

Agreed! If you wait for someone, you always have to wait for everyone. Now it's the leader who crashes, tomorrow it's the number 3, or a rider hoping to get into the top-10, or a sprinter, or just any domestique.. No waiting, just ride to win.

(All credits go to Forunculo on the CN forum.)

Spoiler (hover to show)

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=990842&postcount=618

It's hilarious every time someone does that. Obviously he'll be upset with himself, but he'll be able to laugh about it later.
Hopefully he gets another chance at a stage and gets to celebrate for realz.

Is it clear why Igor Anton was in trouble? Mollema wasnt feeling well at the end of the stage, couldnt drink well enough cause of being in the second echelon. But what happened to Anton? He shouldve been easily able to handle this stage. ???

Sky, and later BMC, should not have raced. Valverde was the leader, and that commands some measure of respect. Valverde has little credibility to moan though, because as has been pointed out he raced when Evans flatted to Sierra Nevada in an exceptionally close Vuelta. Of course the Sierra Nevada situation is difficult, because even if Valverde had decided to wait, perhaps his non-flatted competitors (Mosquera, S. Sanchez, Gesink, Basso) might've used the opportunity to attack him, it was so late in the stage.

However, this situation was clear, there were no dangerous men up the road, and keeping the pace recoverable for the fallen would not have led to Sky/Froome's GC position coming under threat from someone else from the peloton.

My position in this comes somewhat from the ultimate disappointment of losing any chance you have to win a race you've built your season around through no fault of your own, and also because riding in situations like this is just going to make the pro-peloton a more bitter place (see Flecha's tweet quoted above) and that's good for no one.