August 29 post: Stage 4 continues east along the Costa del Sol before heading inland at km 30 and back over the coastal Sistema Penibético mountain range featured in the previous two stages. As we climb inland and across the Sierra Sur highlands, there will be two cat 2 climbs and a cat 3 on the way to the finish in Valdepeñas de Jaén.

At the end of 184 km of difficult racing, the last km features an uphill finish with a 12% average gain in the last 800m. The last cat 2 climb peaks just 8 km from the finish so the ranks will be thinned and a break or a late solo attack over the final climb will have a good chance at succeeding. An even better chance with the continuation of the 100F/40C heatwave. — Steve

Stage 4 climbs
Km 45 - Alto de Zafarraya - 11.2 km of 5,89% - Category 2
Km 105 - Alto de Montefrío - 8 km of 5.44% - Category 3
Km 167 - Alto de Valdepeñas de Jaén - 9 km of 4.83% - Category 2