LIVE stage 16 Vuelta a España 2025 | Bernal returns to his Waterloo, where new opportunities await

If you think this stage looks familiar, you're right! In 2021, part of this route—including the final climb—was used in the last road stage of that edition. It turned into all-out war, with Egan Bernal crashing out of the top five after a coup by Bahrain Victorious. Miguel Ángel López also saw his podium hopes go up in smoke, he famously abandoned the race altogether after being told by his Movistar team not to chase teammate Enric Mas.

After the rest day in Pontevedra, the peloton stays in Galicia. Starting in Poio, just north of Portugal, the riders head south through a rolling opening phase, not too difficult, but perfect for a breakaway to form. Attackers will be hoping that Wednesday’s brutal mountain stage and the time trial that follows will make the GC favorites hesitate.

After 83 kilometers, the riders will face the first categorized climb of the day, but the Alto de San Antoñino isn’t particularly difficult. However, from that point on, there won’t be a single flat meter: starting with the Alto da Groba, it’s all uphill from there. This climb (11.4 km at 5.4%) isn’t especially tough either, but it’s far from steady.

After a long and irregular descent, plus a tricky uncategorized kicker, the riders reach Couso, where an intermediate sprint awaits. Then comes the hardest climb of the day: the Alto de Prado. It’s short, but brutally steep, featuring a 700-meter section averaging over 14%! From the summit, it’s about 24 kilometers to the finish line, and 16 kilometers to the base of the final climb. At this point, the route runs very close to the Portuguese border, expect big crowds cheering for João Almeida!

The final climb to Mos.Castro de Herville is another leg-breaker. On paper, it’s just 8.3 km at 5.2%, but the first 3 kilometers average over 8%, with ramps up to 16%! After more than 3,000 meters of elevation gain, that’s going to hurt. A short descent follows, and then the final kilometers are mostly manageable, until the last stretch, which kicks up sharply once again.

Climbs
82.9 km - Alto san Antoñino (9 km at 4%)
109.8 km - Alto da Groba (11.3 km at 5.4%)
144.5 km - Alto de Prado (4.3 km at 8.9%)
167.9 km - Alto Castro de Herville (8.2 km at 5.2%)

Times
Start: 1:12 PM
Finish: around 5:20 PM

Fine racing weather in Spain, as temperatures will reach around 20 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. A light breeze will not bother the riders too much, but there could be a little rain along the way.

It’s another big day of climbing on Tuesday, so we can expect the GC contenders to come out and play. So far, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) has proven to be the strongest uphill, although João Almeida (UAE Emirates-XRG) has regularly matched or closely followed him.

Currently holding third place overall is Tom Pidcock, who’s riding for Q36.5 and could be a major threat on this kind of terrain, which suits him well. Further in the top-10 we see Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) in fourth place, Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) in fifth place, Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) in sixth place, Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) in seventh place and Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike) in eighth place.

Should the breakaway make it, there are many possible options. How much room will UAE give to guys like Marc Soler, Jay Vine and Juan Ayuso? The team is in top form and may want to add another day's victory. Furthermore, the last stages saw Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) and Eddie Dunbar (Jayco AlUla) show good legs.

In terms of attackers, there are Abel Balderstone (Caja Rural), Javier Romo (Movistar), Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step), Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana), Johannes Staune-Mittet (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Finlay Pickering (Bahrain Victorious).

Top favorites: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5)
Outsiders: João Almeida, Jay Vine (both UAE Emirates-XRG), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) and Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana)
Long shots:Jai Hindley, Giulio Pellizzari (both Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Marc Soler, Juan Ayuso (both UAE Emirates-XRG), Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers), Eddie Dunbar(Jayco AlUla), Abel Balderstone (Caja Rural), Javier Romo (Movistar), Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step) and Johannes Staune-Mittet (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)