This run through the province of Jaén has the look of a day for the breakaway, even if the stiff finale might yet see some skirmishes among the general classification contenders.
The rolling early terrain should encourage enterprising attackers, with the category 2 Puerto Mirador de las Palomas the day’s most difficult test. The stage finishes on the category 3 Sierra de Cazorla (4.8km at 7.1%). As is so often the case on the Vuelta, the statistics don’t tell the full story. There is a 20% ramp at the foot of the climb, while the final 1.5km is also consistently above 10%.
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