The first leg in a mountain triptych begins in the Basque capital of Vitoria and finishes at the Fuente del Chivo, a handful of kilometres above the ski station of Alto Campoo, which has hosted three stage finishes, the last of them in 1993.
The peloton’s pace should increase on the first-cat Puerto del Escudo, which averages nine per cent over 7km. Riders will rejoin the main group as the road flattens out on a plateau for 40km but the GC contenders will soon emerge on the 17km ascent to the finish.
-
UCI, Alpecin-Deceuninck to pursue bidon thrower 'so that such behaviour is severely punished'
Mathieu van der Poel's team: 'misbehaviour of a few individuals can have far-reaching consequences' -
'Without you, I would probably have stopped my career' – Remco Evenepoel thanks wife Oumi in emotional post ahead of return from 'dark period'
Olympic champion primed for first race since October at Friday's Brabantse Pijl after 'the hardest battle of my life so far' -
What's next for Paris-Roubaix's protagonists? – Van der Poel ends Classics campaign as Pogačar heads to favoured terrain in the Ardennes
Dutchman and world champion not set to face off again until Tour de France in July after historic trio of one-day duels -
Sigrid Haugset finished Paris-Roubaix with fractured hip after crash with 60km to go
'When you’re in a race, you want to finish' says Norwegian after riding 59km, including 18km of cobbles, with injury
