CyclistThe climbs that will decide the Vuelta a Espaa 2024Mountain stages in the Grand Tours are underlined long in advance in the diaries of GC contenders and fans alike. At the Vuelta a Espaa, the mountain stages are often brutal, steep and relentless. This is the races trademark. The 2024 Vuelta will be the most mountainous Grand Tour of the year. Yes, the Vueltas route has almost 10,000m more elevation gain than this years Tour de France. On top of that, seven stages end with uphill finishes, the most of any Grand Tour this year. The mountains come as soon as Stage 4 and last until the final weekend of racing.The favourites for the 2024 race include UAE Team Emirates Joo Almeida and Adam Yates, three-time winner Primo Rogli, former Olympic champion Richard Carapaz and the defending Vuelta victor Sepp Kuss. In order to get into the maillot rojo, they will have to get over the races mountains and gain crucial seconds or minutes on their rivals.Pico Villuercas (Stage 4)Luis Angel Gomez / Photo Gomez SportAfter a sweet Portuguese opening to the Vuelta, the race crosses the border into Spain on Stage 4 for an all-out mountain stage. The stage is a brutal test with a total of 3,500m of elevation gain. A large share of this comes at the final climb of Pico Villuercas. The climb lasts 14.6km at an average of 6.1%. These stats dont reflect the true sting in the tail of this climb. There is 3km at an average of 13% within the final few kilometres.Pico Villuercas has been used once before at the Vuelta. On that occasion back in 2021, Romain Bardet took the stage win.Alto de Hazallanas (Stage 9)Tim de Waele/Corbis via Getty ImagesTo close off the first week of racing, the Vuelta heads south to the Sierra Nevada. The focal point will be the Alto de Hazallanas just outside of Granada on Stage 9.The climb lasts 7km at an average gradient of 9.6%. The ramps have no let-up, its steep all the way to the summit. The first half of the climb is the most tricky. During this phase, the incline is firmly within double-digit gradients. The road wiggles around the Sierra Nevada slopes with a large reservoir on the roadside around halfway through the climb.The climb will be tackled on two occasions on Stage 9. On the second time of asking, bonus seconds will be awarded at the summit. The Hazallanas climb has featured in the Vuelta twice before. In 2013, the mountain pass hosted a summit finish which was won by the eventual race winner Chris Horner.Puerto de Ancares (Stage 13)Tim de Waele/Corbis via Getty ImagesStage 13 of the Vuelta finishes with a summit finish in Galicia up to Puerto de Ancares.The Ancares pass is 7.7km in length and at an average gradient of 8.9%. The slopes are tough until the end, with a steady gradient close to the 10% marker. The climb is a Category 1 affair and will be the first of three nasty mountain stages at the end of the Vueltas second week.The climb has featured in the Vuelta a couple of times in the 2010s. The most notable finish was on Stage 20 on the 2014 edition when Chris Froome and Alberto Contador duelled up the Galician climb.Cuiti Negru (Stage 15)Tim de Waele/Corbis via Getty ImagesThe Cuiti Negru is the hardest climb of the Vuelta. This isnt an opinion only I hold, the Vuelta organisers have given it special status. The climb comes at the end of week two on Stage 15. The climb is 19km at 7%. This special category climb goes through a number of phases and gradient changes. The first 5km is the easiest part at just 6.9% in gradient. This soon kicks up to an average gradient of 8% for the following 5km. After a small flattening of the road with 5km to go, the road steps up in its difficulty to 13% for the final 3km. The final approach to the line comes at the Cuiti Negru ski station. Here, cable cars and ski lifts crisscross the route in the baron landscape.The Asturian challenge returns to the Vuelta after a 10-year hiatus. At 1,840m above sea level, this will be one of the highest points of the 2024 Vuelta a Espaa.Lagos de Covadonga (Stage 16)After a rest day, the mountains return promptly with a summit finish on Stage 16 to Asturias Lagos de Covadonga.The climb is 12km at 6.9%. Its slopes arent the steepest overall, but the Huesera section at 7km to go sees the road reach 13%. At the summit, there are two glacial lakes. The Vuelta will follow the banks of these lakes during its slightly downhill final kilometre.The historic climb is breathtakingly beautiful and significant in the history of the Vuelta. The Lagos de Covadonga has hosted the Vuelta since the 1980s. The last lakeside summit finish was in 2021 on a rainy stage won by Primo Rogli. Since then, the climb has also hosted a finale of the womens Vuelta known as the Vuelta Femenina.Picn Blanco (Stage 20)A.S.O./Charly LopezStage 20 will be the final road stage of the Vuelta. Not only this, Stage 20 is the stage with the most amount of elevation gain. That clocks in at 5,077m during the stage. The last climb of this stage, and indeed the Vuelta, will be Picn Blanco in Burgos.On the route of Stage 20, the mountain will arrive after a 13km long Puerto de Los Tornos which brings the profile onto the opening slopes of the final Picn Blanco climb. The Category 1 finale is 7.6km long at an average gradient of 9.1%. The toughest inclines sometimes tap into 10%, but the ramp is consistent throughout.Picn Blanco was last used at the Vuelta in 2021. The climb often features in the Vuelta a Burgos, a key warm-up race for the three-week race around Spain. At this years Vuelta, the Picn comes at a crucial point in the races GC battle. After this stage, only a time-trial stands between the red jersey and Grand Tour glory.Read our full Vuelta 2024 preview including all stage profiles and startlist here.The post The climbs that will decide the Vuelta a Espaa 2024 appeared first on Cyclist.