Vuelta a España - Stage 20: September 19 - Toledo, 26km
Holy Toledo Batman! Last gasp dash for overall contenders
Proycling's Analysis: A last blast before Madrid but will it see more than a shake-up of the minor placings? This is a course for the specialists, covering some of the same ground as a road stage into Toledo in last year’s race. Over this short distance, the gaps between the contenders for the title will need to be measured in seconds rather than minutes for the final decision to be in doubt.
Culture Vulture: A former capital of the Empire, Toledo thrived under the Moors and was home to famed artist El Greco for the latter part of his life.
Local hero: ‘The Eagle of Toledo’, Federico Bahamontes won the 1959 Tour de France and the mountains title six times but never his national tour.
Vuelta Retro: The first winner in Toledo was Frenchman Jean Stablinski in 1958. Britain’s Malcolm Elliott outsprinted Sean Kelly for a stage win in 1988 and last year Paolo Bettini led the race into the city.
Neil Stephens says: Again, it's just a matter of limiting our losses on the time trials, just like in Valencia. The distance is almost the same so that's a good thing. Hopefully the situation will be Alejandro Valverde defending a good position on general classification rather than trying to make up time over a relatively short distance. By now you'd reckon that the overall is pretty well decided.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Most Popular
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Ruben Guerreiro given yellow card for sparking Tour of Oman stage 2 crash
Teammate Ivan Roméo also given card at Volta a Valenciana for pushing Gianni Vermeersch off road -
Cowboy bar part of unique path at Rock Cobbler 12.0 for wins by Lance Haidet, Ruth Holcomb - Gallery
Peter Stetina goes back-to-back in extended Boulder Cobbler -
Three Days of Grenoble track meet cancelled due to financial and infrastructure problems
Event founded in 1971 and revived in 2023 and 2024 lost €25,000 per edition -
Best energy gels for cycling: Quick hits of carbohydrates for all your athletic endeavours
The best energy gels for cycling can boost your rides, races and workouts