Stage 21 :: Sunday September 20, 2009
110.2km :: Rivas-Vaciamadrid - Madrid

The closing stage of the 2009 Vuelta. A rolling parade to Madrid with the typical closing circuit on the streets of the city.

I haven't had a chance to really watch the race other than tuning in to Universal about 15 seconds before a couple of sprint finishes, consequently, I haven't had time to play around much in the live threads.  But from all of us here at the Stage Preview, thanks for taking the time to read and comment and participate in this lovely thing called PodiumCafe.

It is a non-Gavia... an un-Gavia... as Gavialess as a thing can be...

The Vuelta a España comes to an end with the typical flat stage around the capital of Spain. Madrid will pay a tribute to the survivors of this adventure that started in the Netherlands three weeks ago. There will be no terrible fights, it’s party day for the GC contenders. The rider in golden jersey will be celebrating his victory and sharing it with the other jerseys: red for the best climber, green for the rider with most points and white for this strange thing called combinada. Everyone will be happy today, the hard work is over and tomorrow they will be flying home.

Madrid is the largest city in Spain and one of the major financial centres in Europe. It doesn’t have an ancient history like most cities in Spain, but it received a lot of immigrants from everywhere and now is very cosmopolitan and a meeting point of all the different cultures in Spain and Latin America. The theatres and museums in the day, and the concerts and night clubs at night make it one of the cities with most cultural attractions. The Prado Museum, where the riders will pass by, is possibly the best art gallery in the World. Speaking of cycling, Madrid is a relatively flat city (remember 2005 World Championships), but only 40 kilometers north bike fans can enjoy relatively difficult mountains to climb (Abantos, Navacerrada,…) In 1979, the Vuelta a España chose Madrid to be the finish point of the race, either with a time trial or the traditional circuit on La Castellana Avenue.

Courtesy of Juan's Stage 21 Preview at Steephill.tv

Frinking's corner is closing for now. Discounts abound on Vino and Whine :)

Last stage so they are going to sprint. Most of the sprinters will be gone by than so it's going to be a slow sprint after a crazy Vuelta! 

Conclusion. Screw the TT'ers! Let's go climbing. It's all for them with 5 very heavy mountain stages. The RD from the Vuelta had already complains about the toughness of the Vuelta.