Vuelta a España 2009: Stage 4 Preview

Proycling's Analysis: It’s odd to see the Vuelta paying tribute to the northern Classics with this stage that takes in parts of the Amstel Gold and Liège-Bastogne-Liège routes. It’ll feel odd to a lot of the Spanish riders too, since many of them won’t have raced in these parts that often. The key points for the race’s longest stage are the two climbs of the Cauberg (its zenith is where Amstel concludes) and Mont Theux, which was once a regular Liège rendezvous. These should break up the race but still expect a big group to dispute the finish.

Culture Vulture: Liège will become the first city to host all three major tours when the Vuelta comes to town. The city thrived as one of the world’s major steel-making centres but the industry collapsed in the post-war period. Many Spaniards immigrated during this period in search of work.

Neil Stephens says: I initially thought it was like Liege-Bastogne-Liege until I went round some of the roads a couple of days ago; it's more like an Amstel Gold race. Very pretty, but it's up and down, left and right... what will happen will also depend on what the wind's doing. For a team like ours, riding for general classification, we'd like to win the Vuelta. Those four days in Holland and Belgium are where you could possibly lose it.