Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 is a very tough mountain stage with summit finish, from Bagà to Collada de la Gallina (Andorra). The length of the course is 155.7 km. It is also the first stage in the Pyrenees.

With 2,410 m elevation, the Port de Envalira will be the Cima Alberto Fernandez[1] (the highest point of the Vuelta a España, the Spanish equivalent of Cima Coppi) of this year’s race.
Last year, stage 8 of Vuelta a España finished atop Collada de la Gallina too, and Alejandro Valverde of Movistar won the stage.

Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 quick info

  • DATE September 07, Saturday
  • STAGE TYPE Mountains with summit finish
  • START-FINISH Bagà (1220 m) > Collada de la Gallina (Andorra) (1550 m)
  • STAGE DISTANCE 155.7 km

Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 profile

Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 profile
Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 profile

Climbs

Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 mountain pass: Port de Envalira
Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 mountain pass: Port de Envalira profile
Port de Envalira
Port de Envalira (photo: Allan Eagle)
Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 mountain pass: Collada de la Gallina
Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 mountain pass: Collada de la Gallina profile

Last kilometers

Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 last kms
Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 last kms

Stage map

Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 map
Vuelta a España 2013 stage 14 map

Start: Bagà

Baga
Bagà panorama, View from the Tirabal Rock. By Josep Casals – Own work, Public Domain, Link

Bagà is a municipality located in the comarca of Berguedà, in Catalonia. Traditionally, Bagà is considered the capital of Alt Berguedà, the mountainous northern half of the comarca.

Main sights of Bagà

  • St. Esteve de Bagà is the parish church of the town, built between the 14th and 15th centuries.
  • Santuari de la Mare de Déu del Paller is a neoclassical sanctuary two km outside town, dedicated to the town’s patroness, the “Virgin of the Haystack”
  • Plaça Porxada, the town’s central square, built in the 13th century

Finish: Collada de la Gallina

Collada de la Gallina
Vuelta a España 2013 Stage 14 will be concluded atop Collada de la Gallina (Andorra)

The Collado Gallina is a mountain pass the Pyrenees in Andorra. It reaches an altitudeof 1907 meters above sea level It gives access to the Sanctuary of Canólich, and has been the end of the stage in several editions of the Vuelta a España.

Starting from Aixovall, the Collada de la Gallina ascent is 7.2 km long. Over this distance, you climb 580 meters. The average percentage thus is 8%.

It is a border crossing between Andorra and Spain, reaching the province of Lleida through Fontaneda .

Notes

1. Alberto Fernández Blanco

Alberto Fernández Blanco (15 January 1955 – 14 December 1984) was a Spanish road racing cyclist. His son Alberto Fernández Sainz is also a road racing cyclist.

Fernández was born in Cuena, Cantabria. As an amateur, he won the Spanish mountain bike championships, and turned professional in 1978. During his career, he was nicknamed el Galleta (“the Biscuit”), because the town where he lived, Aguilar de Campoo, had several biscuit factories.

Alberto Fernández Blanco
Alberto Fernández Blanco (15 January 1955 – 14 December 1984)

His best results came during the last two years of his career. He finished 10th overall in the 1982 Tour de France, and 3rd in his first appearance in the 1983 Giro d’Italia. He also finished 3rd in the 1983 Vuelta a España, improving to 2nd in 1984, only 6 seconds behind winner Éric Caritoux (the shortest winning margin in any of the Grand Tours).

He was killed, alongside his wife, in a car accident in December 1984, just short of his 30th birthday.

Sources

M. Özgür Nevres

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