Stage 12 | Thursday, 7 September | Olvega - Zaragoza | 150.6 kilometres
The 12th stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2023 takes the riders from Olvega, which is hosting a Vuelta stage for the first time, eastwards to the city of Zaragoza, which is only around 300 kilometres from the start of the Vuelta, Barcelona. The flat stage covers 150.6 kilometres and does not include a categorised climb, but does include an intermediate sprint.
From the starting point of Olvega, which lies at an altitude of almost 1000 metres, the route leads the riders almost exclusively downhill for 70 kilometres before a small ramp follows, which is, however, uncategorised. After 132 kilometres, there is an intermediate sprint in Villanueva de Gallego. The stage ends at just 210 metres in the centre of Zaragoza - in total, the race is almost 800 metres downhill.
Before the finish, the route leads downhill for a long time before the race ends on flat terrain in Zaragoza. There are likely to be one or two tricky bends in the city of over 600,000 inhabitants - the pace will be high due to a likely bunch sprint. The riders will therefore have to be on their guard and try to avoid crashes.
Sporting assessment of the 12th stage
After a category 1 mountain finish the day before, the peloton will be able to recover somewhat over long stretches of the 12th stage. Without a categorised climb, potential breakaways are unlikely to have much hope of crossing the finish line with a lead. Instead, the race will probably end in a bunch sprint.
Schedule, TV coverage & live stream of the 12th stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2023
The peloton will set off at 13:58, with the sharp start at around 14:10. The calculated finish in Zaragoza, which is the destination of a Vuelta stage for the 48th time, should be between 17:22 and 17:40 at an average speed of around 45 kilometres per hour.
Eurosport will broadcast all stages of the Vuelta a Espana 2023. The 11th stage will be shown free-to-air on Eurosport 1 from 14:30. Including post-stage coverage, the broadcast will run until 18:00. The paid providers GCN+ and Discovery+ will also be showing a live stream on the internet.
Vuelta a Espana 2023 - Stage 12: The most important information at a glance
- Flat stage over 150.6 kilometres
- Start of the stage: 14:10
- Calculated end of the race: approx. 17:30
- TV broadcast: 14:30 - 18:00 Eurosport 1
