Alberto Contador warns about stage 14: "It's going to hurt your legs"

Stage 14 of the 2025 Vuelta a España will run 135.9 kilometers from Avilés to La Farrapona, with a short but punishing profile. Alberto Contador, speaking on the program La Montonera, examined the route in detail and highlighted the crucial challenges. He underlined the importance of the San Lorenzo pass, calling it a “very demanding” climb, and warned that La Farrapona is “treacherous” in its final kilometers, where gaps among the favorites are likely to emerge. The combination of steep gradients and the fatigue from the Angliru stage sets the stage for another decisive showdown.

“A new stage finish has arrived, a new high mountain stage. The riders, however, will have to face a much shorter distance than the previous day, a total of 135 kilometers with 3 mountainous difficulties. Be very careful with the last 2. On the one hand, San Lorenzo, a very hard mountain pass, a wide road, but still very hard on the riders' legs. The Angliru stage was very hard and that will be very noticeable. Then, La Farrapona,” Contador said.

Turning his focus to the last climb, he explained the specific dangers awaiting João Almeida, Jonas Vingegaard, and the other general classification contenders. “It's a pass that in terms of total percentage is not very hard, but the last kilometers are very tough. We'll see a new battle. Maybe we'll have a breakaway or maybe we won't, but for sure we'll see it again among the men in the general classification.”

Contador offered a detailed breakdown of La Farrapona, stressing how deceptive its statistics can appear on paper. “A misleading pass if we focus on the overall percentage. At the beginning there are areas of 5, 6 percent, even some downhill areas. What is really hard is the final part. We have to take into account that we're coming from San Lorenzo, a very hard pass that will hurt the riders' legs.

"So, you have to focus on the last 6 kilometers with percentages with slopes maintained between 8 and 9% and with some 13% ramps. I remember perfectly when it was done in 2014. The whole first part is ideal for a team to toughen up, make the race hard so that when the leader wants to launch the attack his rivals are already mature. I again expect movements from the men in the general classification and we'll see the differences between them,” said the rider from Pinto.