Vuelta Asturias Julio Alvarez Mendo

The Spanish Grand Tour is the hardest three weeks for climbers. The Vuelta serves up the most brutal climbs of any GT — the Angliru at 24% gradient is the most feared. Late summer racing often reveals new talent.

• —21 stages
• —Red jersey (Maillot Rojo)
• —Angliru, Lagos de Covadonga, La Covatilla
• —Most vertical gain of any Grand Tour
• —Often won by a GC dark horse