Mini-Vuelta 2023

Stage Descriptions

This race features routes taken in part from four stages of the 2023 Vuelta:

1. stage 2, Montjuïc: We join the stage with 21 km to go, on the outskirts of Barcelona. The route is mostly flat until we climb the iconic climb of Montjuïc, finishing at the 1992 Olympic stadium, where we award category 4 GPM points.
2. stage 15, Lekunberri: This is the longest stage of the mini-Giro. We join the real life stage with one lap to go of the finishing circuit. The 29 km lap opens with an unrated climb, then after a gradual descent, a brief run in the valley before the main climb of the day, Puerto de Zuarrarrate, which offers category 3 GPM points. From there it's a descent back to a brief flat sprint to the start/finish.
3. stage 18, La Cruz de Linares: This is the queen stage of the mini-Vuelta, featuring a flat run to the day's climb, to La Cruz de Linares. The climb gains only around 700 meters but repeatedly touches 17%, reaching 18.6% at its steepest. Fortunately there's a few plateaus which provide relief along the way. Category 1 GPM points are available at the finish.
4. stage 21, Madrid Circuit: This is the traditional, technical finishing circuit in Madrid, like a 3-pointed star with 180 degree turns at each point. It's rarely flat, but the gradients are gradual, so this is still a stage for the sprinters.

Route Profiles

The real-life Vuelta is known for its climbing, so naturally our route is provides plenty.

Classifications

We'll have a general classification along with a points classification and a GPM competition. Consistent with a weekday series, the stages are all relatively short, with stages 2 and 3 taking the most time, 2 with more distance, 3 with more climbing. Pacer bots will be there to keep you company if you're not ready to stay with the lead riders. Riders who have done all stages so far are eligible for stage and/or GPM points. Riders doing all stages are eligible for the final classificiations (although points for stages are not re-calculated if a rider later misses a stage). However, riders can enter any stages they wish. So for example, if a rider does stages 1 and 3, the rider is eligible for points on the Budapest climb on stage 1, but not for the Menador climb on stage 3, having failed to finish stage 2.

Sprint points are taken from real life: points to the top 15 of each stage, with rankings to those who have completed all stages: 25, 20, 16, 14, 12 , 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Placings are taken counting all eligible riders as of that stage, so riders doing a stage without having completed all preceding stages do not take any of these stage points.