Figures tell us that arriving in Asturias means high speed. This time the route is bit different and there is a long flat area. Those riders who are not forced to fight in the following stage will not be quiet at all, so this stage will be long and tense.

The irregular ground will favor the breakaways and the last stretch is much more complicated as the climbs to Alto de Buenos Aires and El Gobernador are not easy at all. Last edition of Vuelta a España arrived in Gijón as well but coming from León and that time the triumph was for Erik Zabel.

It has been said that the ones who control the race in the streets of Gijón are the brothers González de Galdeano, so the riders have a reference now. Gijón was a cycling reference with the mythical rider López Carril and now with Chechu Rubiera.