Vuelta a Espana 2023: 14th stage | Saturday, 9 September | Sauveterre-de-Bearn - Larra-Belagua | 156.2 kilometres
The 14th stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2023 takes the riders from Sauveterre-de-Bearn, which is located halfway between Bayonne and Pau in France, to the Pyrenean pass of Puerto de Belagua. The race covers 156.2 kilometres and includes an intermediate sprint as well as four categorised climbs - two of which are category of honour climbs and the finish is on a category 1 mountain.
The starting point of Sauveterre-de-Bearn lies at just 97 metres above sea level on French soil. From there, the first 45 kilometres are only slightly uphill before it suddenly becomes steeper: The Col Hourcere awaits, a climb in the Especial category (category of honour), which takes the riders up 1440 metres in altitude. This is followed by a steep descent, but the next climb in the category of honour follows immediately: the Puerto de Larrau leads the riders back onto Spanish territory. There is then an intermediate sprint classification 25 kilometres before the finish, before the race ends on the Puerto de Belagua - a 1st category climb - at an altitude of almost 1600 metres.
The decision is likely to be made on the final climb, where a rider from a breakaway group could break away. Attacks could also be mounted here by the peloton of classification riders. The final climb is 9.5 kilometres long and has an average gradient of 6.3 per cent. It is particularly steep at the start of the climb and up to the halfway point, with ramps of 10 per cent in some places - a speed increase is to be expected here. The last two kilometres are then much flatter.
Sporting assessment of the 14th stage
The 14th stage is the most mountainous of the Tour of Spain with 4655 metres of climbing. Only proven climbing specialists are likely to have a chance of winning this extremely demanding stage. In addition, the riders will need the necessary agility to pull away from their rivals on the decisive final climb. A breakaway victory is not unlikely.
Schedule, TV coverage & live stream of the 14th stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2023
The peloton will set off at 12:55 pm, with the sharp start at around 1:17 pm. The calculated finish in Larra-Belagua, which is the finish of a Vuelta stage for the first time, is expected to be between 17:17 and 17:44 at an average speed of around 37 km/h.
Eurosport will broadcast all stages of the Vuelta a Espana 2023. The 14th stage will be shown free-to-air on Eurosport 1 from 12:30 pm. 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 14: The most important information at a glance
- Mountain stage over 156.2 kilometres
- Start of the stage: 12:55
- Estimated end of the race: approx. 17:30
- TV broadcast: 12:30 - 18:00 Eurosport 1
