Pamplona > Lekunberri 158km

It’s the day before the second rest day and the race heads to the Basque Country, but this stage isn’t what most would have had in mind considering what we usually get in this part of the world. No wall climbs, but it does look too hard for the sprinters, which should mean another good day for the breakaway riders. If Wout Van Aert or Mads Pedersen were here, their teams would want to control for a sprint, but most of the quick men here will struggle to get over the final climb in the peloton, especially as it crests with just 9km to go.

Weather

Sunny and warm, but the temperatures will stay under 30 degrees.

Key Points

Here’s the climb that they tackle twice. The numbers tell you it’s not too hard, but the road is quite narrow, which usually makes it a bit harder. The average might only be 4.8%, but there’s lots of 7% sections.

This is the descent down to the finish. It is very fast and has lots of little twists and turns, a good descender can drop the others.