Now the GC has been shaped, there is only one stage left. In contrast to many other tours, this is not a stage in which riders will finally find some rest. No, far from that, the final battles will be fought out on the hills of Valparaíso. On the route from La Calera to Valparaíso, there are some short climbs on which the Break Away will be formed. However, in Viña del Mar it gets really difficult. Two hills short after eac...
Read moreNow the GC has been shaped, there is only one stage left. In contrast to many other tours, this is not a stage in which riders will finally find some rest. No, far from that, the final battles will be fought out on the hills of Valparaíso. On the route from La Calera to Valparaíso, there are some short climbs on which the Break Away will be formed. However, in Viña del Mar it gets really difficult. Two hills short after each other, the first pretty long but not very steep, the second short and steep, will be a good warm up to the showdown in Valparaíso centre.
It will all take place in the western part of the city, where a local tour will be done twice. Shortly after passing the finish for the first time, a short climb of 1 km á 7% is the first difficulty here, especially as it is paved with annoying little cobblestones. After a very fast descent back to the boulevards, the major difficulty awaits, and this hill is a real monster. With 3.5 km in length, it isn’t that long, but it is brutally steep. The average percentage is slightly over 10%! Besides, the middle part, 1.5 km long, even averages 13%, with peaks over 20%. It is in this part of the race that many time can be won or lost, so the GC riders will have to be strong till the very last second. And as if it wasn’t enough yet, this tour has to be taken twice, including this monstrous climb. After the top of this last monster, it is only 7.5 km to the finish. This tour will finish where it all started six stages ago: on the great boulevards of Valparaíso. Here, we will finally know who is the best rider in time trials, downhills, climbs and hills.