Vuelta a España stage 12 preview - Breakaway day with major mountains to come?

Key Information: 

• Date: Thursday, 4 September
• Start: 14:00 (CET)
• Expected finish: 17:22 (CET)
• Stage type: Medium Mountains
• Stage length: 144.9km
• Elevation gain: 2,393m

Stage 12 begins in the Cantabrian coastal town of Laredo, which has previously hosted two stage starts of the Vuelta a España.

The peloton will come inland from Laredo, heading towards Ramales de la Victoria, before the route travels west and in the direction of the first categorised climb of the stage.

Barros hosts the intermediate sprint with 41.7km remaining, and based on his combative performances so far, it would be no surprise to see Mads Pedersen, te leader of the points classification, take the points from the breakaway.

From here, the race heads towards Los Corrales de Buelna, where the stage finishes, but before doing so, passes through and heads on a loop that features the category 1 climb, Collada de Brenes, before heading back for the finish.

At 7km in length with an average gradient of 7.9%, the Collada de Brenes is difficult enough to split the race apart. However, from the summit, there will still be 22.9km to the finish in the form of a descent and a flat run-in. This could influence the amount of action seen on the slopes of Collada de Brenes from the GC contenders.

In terms of the climb's nature, there are some significantly steep sections at the start and in the middle, which reach gradients of 15% and will put riders into major difficulty.

Following the summit, the riders will descend before a flat run-in to the finish in Los Corrales de Buelna.

Laurent Brochard was the only previous winner of a Vuelta stage at Los Corrales de Buelna in 1999. The 1997 World Champion finished three seconds ahead of the current World Champion at the time, Oscar Camenzind, on stage 9 of the 1999 edition.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) illustrated his hunger for as much success as possible throughout this Vuelta with his Visma | Lease a Bike teammates controlling the majority of stage 11, before the eventual neutralisation. The red jersey was also the only rider able to match a flying Tom Pidcock in the finale on Wednesday, even if he was initially distanced twice on the Alto de Pike. 

It’s possible that Vingegaard and the other GC contenders will have their eyes firmly on the daunting prospect of L’Angliru on stage 13, but if things kick off on the Collada de Brenes, Vingegaard should be firmly towards the pointy end of things and packs a quick finish from a reduced group sprint if required. He has also been extremely well supported by his teammates throughout the race, and the Dutch team have placed a rider in the breakaway on occasion, keeping their options open. This could also be a good tactic for a stage like this.

It’s becoming a more common trope as the race grows older, but Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) is improving in form and confidence with each passing stage. Wednesday saw the 26-year-old’s best performance yet, distancing the field, including Vingegaard, on the Alto de Pike, before cooperating with the Dane to gain time over the rest of his GC rivals in the neutralised finish.

Stage 12 is another that suits Pidcock down to the ground, but it will be a case of whether he is willing to commit for the stage win with the major mountains to come, or take the race as it comes, as he is capable of doing.

João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has shown multiple times that he is willing to attack on stages like this, including on Wednesday. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Portuguese rider try something on the final climb, but equally, it may be advantageous for Almeida to conserve energy for L'Angliru, where he can make big differences. 

Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) is another rider who it wouldn't be a surprise to see try something on the final ascent, whether that be for the stage win or for the GC.

Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA hansgrohe) looked particularly spritely on stage 11, and Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) bounced back well from early struggles on a stage that doesn't suit that Austrian climber all that well.

Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) are also still on the coattails and could be looking towards making a move up the general classification in week two, if the opportunity arises and the legs comply.

With what’s to come on stages 13 and 14, it’s very possible that the GC contenders will be content to keep their powder dry, and this could open up an opportunity for the breakaway to shine.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG have been well fed when it comes to stage wins in this edition of the Vuelta, with four so far. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who has taken two of them, looks almost unstoppable every time he features in a breakaway so far, and the Australian is capable of going clear on the final climb based on his current shape. 

As is stage 7 winner Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who has spent the last few days in the peloton rather than up the road. That’s not the case for Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who was on the move on Wednesday in Bilbao and can’t be ruled out of a long-range move. 

Mads Pedersen’s (Lidl-Trek) grit and determination is almost impossible to match, and the green jersey was once again on the attack on terrain that clearly isn’t favourable to the Dane. With the energy expenditure on stage 11 combined with the difficult category 1 climb in the finale, Pedersen’s chances of the stage win are slim, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him on the attack once more to extend his lead in the points classification.

Other riders to watch out for include; Javier Romo and Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Santiago Buitrago and Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious), Mikel Landa and Junior Lecerf (Soudal-QuickStep), Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek), Ben O’Connor and Eddie Dunbar (Jayco AlUla), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech), Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), Harold Tejada (XDS Astana), Kevin Vermaerke (Picnic PostNL), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Archie Ryan and Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost).

Vuelta a España stage 12 favourites

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Santiago Buitrago
⭐️⭐️Juan Ayuso, Marc Soler, Jay Vine, Ben O'Connor
⭐️ Jonas Vingegaard, Tom Pidcock, João Almeida, Giulio Ciccone, Jai Hindley

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