Starting from the sea in the sixth stage of the Vuelta, and finishing at the sea, but the route climbs inland and promises to be anything but straightforward. Today's stage - the Alcossebre - Castellón of 177.5 km with 3,080 metres of elevation gain - appears to be designed specifically to favour breakaways.

to follow the live coverage of the entire stage starting at 13:05 CLICK HERE

The first part of the stage is decidedly undulating and the two climbs that riders will face - La Serratella, category 2, 14 km at 3.8% and then the Coll de la Bandereta, category 3, 5 km at 6.7% - really seem to represent the ideal springboard for those dreaming big.

The decisive moments will come, as is natural, in the second part which features a first ascent of the Desierto de las Palmas (category 2, 8 km at 4.9%), then a descent and back up the climb leading to the Desierto before turning at the fork and reaching the climb of El Bartolo, category 1, 9 km at 7.1%. A climb that has the peculiarity of featuring three kilometres of gravel before reaching the summit, located 20 km from the Castellón finish line which will be reached by tackling a fast descent.