This stage will start off with the peloton climbing the Ojén Pass, after which the route will then be smoother on its first leg through Malaga, where the ascent to the Leon Pass begins, with the 2010 Vuelta’s first cat 1 climbs, the Leon Pass being climbed twice in this stage.

The approach to the finish line may take more than one off-guard. The sprinters dashing for the finish line at Malaga’s Gibralfaro Castle, with its 1.5 km ascent, will be a spectacular event marking the first differences in the general classification.