PREVIEW | Vuelta a Asturias 2023

Preview. From the 28th to the 30th of April the peloton in Spain tackle a race in one of it's most mountainous regions. Throughout three days the Vuelta a Asturias provides opportunities for the climbers and puncheurs to seek results, whilst others also use it for preparation for the Giro d'Italia.

The three days of racing all present tough stages with their own challenges. The race doesn't actually feature a summit finish but stages 1 and 3 have very steep ascents towards the end, whilst stage 2 features longer ascents where bigger gaps can be created.

Stage 1 of the race could prove to be decisive as the riders come in without perfect notion of who the main riders to follow are. The roads will dictate the favourites, and in this brutal finale no-one will be able to hide it. Four ascents will feature in the final 35 kilometers. 3.4Km at 9%; 1Km at 9.4%; 1,6Km at 8.7% and finally 2.1Km at 9.6%. All are steep and with steep descents inbetween all could see the winning attacks before the finale in Pola de Lena.

Stage 2 could perhaps be termed the queen stage. Overall the less hilly day, but the finale has tough climbs to compensate. These will be long, 5.3 kilometers at 7.8% and 7.6Km at 8.5%. The latter of which is the famous Alto del Acebo which could decide the race, before a very fast and dare I say quite dangerous kamikaze downhill finale into Cangas del Narcea.

In the final day of the race the peloton returns to where it came from, as it goes on to end in Oviedo. This will be a shorter stage in comparison to the two previous days, however the climbs won't be as difficult. There is a clear moment in the day where the attacks will come and that's the ascent of the Alto Tenebreo which features 3.5Km at 9.1% but much tougher gradients, before the hilly finale.

Estimated start and finish times for Vuelta a Asturias:

Stage 1: 12:30-17:00CET

Stage 2: 13:00-17:35CET

Stage 3: 10:45-14:25CET

Prediction Vuelta a Asturias 2023 overall classification:

*** Einer Rubio, Lorenzo Fortunato
** Iván Sosa, Roger Adrià
* Antonio Pedrero, Mikel Bizkarra, Hector Carretero, Vincenzo Albanese, Steff Cras, Damien Howson

Pick: Einer Rubio