La Vuelta Ciclista a España

Alto El Morredero (8.8km, 9.7%) isn’t one of Spain’s iconic climbs, like Lagos de Covadonga or L’Angliru, but it’s definitely one of the hardest, which could be seen again Wednesday afternoon, when the race visited it just for the second time in history.

A beast of a climb, boasting some savage gradients especially in the first part, El Morredero sparked a selection as soon as the small peloton hit its ramps, minutes after the breakaway had been caught. As if the steep gradients weren’t enough, the riders had to face also the vicious headwind that drenched the red jersey group with each kilometer done on the first-category ascent.

T-Rex Quick-Step’s best placed rider in the standings, Junior Lecerf left everything out there, once again producing a strong effort on the way to this never-ending climb, where Giulio Pellizzarri (Red Bull-bora-hansgrohe) took the win after an attack with two kilometers to go. It was one of the toughest days of the season’s Grand Tour, but the 22-year-old Belgian fought admirably to limit the damage and keep his dreams of finishing in the GC top ten alive. Going into Thursday’s individual time trial held on the streets of Valladolid, Lecerf is 11th overall and third in the youth classification.

Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images