Favorites Stage 10 Vuelta a España 2024 | Great chance of full throttle on the Mougas, but who will it be?

The first 24 hours of rest are over, but the next day all participants in the Vuelta a España have to be on their toes again. The tenth stage is another tricky one, leading from Ponteareas to Baiona. Four climbs have to be mastered, but will the riders in the general classification dare to do something here? We are excited. IDLProCycling.com will explain more about it!

Route Stage 10 Vuelta a Espana 2024

As mentioned in the introduction, the peloton will set off from Ponteareas to Baiona on Monday afternoon, covering a distance of 159.6 kilometers, with four categorized climbs in between. It is the third time that the Vuelta caravan has started from Ponteareas, although the race has never finished there. The town is located just above the Spanish-Portuguese border, in the so-called white wine paradise. Rias Baixas.

The Alto de Fonfría (15.4 kilometres with an average gradient of 4.2 per cent), a second category climb, appears quite early in the stage. This would logically be a good climb for the formation of the day’s breakaway (if it is allowed). The climb does not have many really spectacular sections, so it is a fairly straightforward climb.

After descending the Fonfría climb, riders continue on flat roads – Spanish flat means slightly undulating terrain – until more climbs appear after about 100 kilometers. The peaks of the Alto de Vilachán (6.3 kilometers with an average gradient of 5.5 percent) and the Alto de Mabia (6 kilometers with an average gradient of 5.7 percent) are only 15 kilometers apart. The first climb is a third-category climb, while the second is a second-category climb.

Then there is only one first category climb left, which traditionally should be the hardest of the day. Due to its characteristics, this description fits the Alto de Mougás: 9.9 kilometers of ascent with an average gradient of 6 percent. A climb for consistent climbers, as they say. It never gets really steep, although the first half of the climb is a bit harder than the second half.

There are still 20 kilometers to go to the finish in Baiona, most of which will be on downhill roads. However, there is a small hill that will slow the pace considerably, although it is not too demanding. The last 4.5 kilometers are again mostly flat. A sprint between the general classification riders, a soloist or a sprint between the breakaway riders? We’ll see what happens…

Climbs
27.4 km: Alto de Fonfria (15.4 km, 4.2%)
104.6 km: Alto de Vilachan (6.3 km, 5.5%)
119.8 km: Alto de Mabia (6.0 km with 5.7%)
139.3 km: Alto de Mougas (9.9 km with 6.0%)

Just
Start: 1.30 p.m.
End: 5:19 p.m.

Weather stage 10 of the Vuelta a España 2024

The drivers will be happy because it won’t be quite so hot in Spain on Monday. 26 degrees Celsius is certainly a pleasant temperature, but if you come from regions where the thermometer has reached 40 degrees Celsius or more, it’s a relief. You deserve it, gentlemen!

Favorites Stage 10 Vuelta a Espana 2024

Well, that’s a difficult question. We don’t expect a rider from the general classification to win on Tuesday. The climbs might not be challenging enough for that, and we don’t immediately see which team would chase a breakaway. So we’re mainly looking for potential breakaway specialists in this classification. And they’re difficult to predict…

Who can climb reasonably well, is in good shape and has a sharp sprint that could be useful in the flat finale? Then we think of riders like John Narvaez (INEOS Grenadiers), Michael Forest (Israel Prime Minister Tech), Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) and Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Wanty)…

In such phases we should not underestimate Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) either. The Belgian is, as we now know, capable of many things. The same applies to Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), although we think this course might be a bit too difficult for him.

Possible (Belgian) secession candidates could also be Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Dstny), Mauri Vansevenant (T-REX Quick-Step) and Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck). We also have Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Wanty) in our sights, Attila Valter (Visma | Lease a Bike), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), Paul Castillo (Kern Pharma Team), Mauro Smithand Felix Engelhardt (both Jayco-AlUla). And what about the pure attacker Oier Lazkano (Movistar)?

As you can imagine, there are many possibilities. And we haven’t even mentioned the general classification riders who have dropped out of the race, such as Max Poole (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) and Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech).

When there is a battle between the riders in the overall standings, we should always remember Primož Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe). He didn’t have a particularly good day on Sunday, but with his strong finishing kick he could go far. Normally that would also be something for his teammate Roger Adrià, but he seems to be limited to a supporting role.

The chances of riders like Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Enric Mas (Movistar), Mikel Landa (T-REX Quick-Step), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) or the red jersey wearer Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) making a push seem slim. But they could surprise us!

Favorites Stage 10 Vuelta a Espana 2024, after IDLProCycling.com

Top favorites:Jhonatan Narvaez (INEOS Grenadiers) and Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates)
Outsider:Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike), Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) and Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Wanty)
Long shots: Mauri Vansevenant (T-REX Quick-Step), Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), Max Poole (dsm-unternehmenich PostNL), Pablo Castrillo (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Attila Valter ( Visma | Lease a bike)