The time trial is dead, long live the mountains. Just 24 hours after its second and last individual race against the clock, the Vuelta a España returns to its favoured terrain with a summit finish on the Monte Oiz, deep in the Basque Country, expected to test the climbing ability of the overall contenders as the stages in the Pyrenees loom large on the horizon. This sixth summit finish will show whether race leader Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) can continue to dominate in the mountains or if riders like Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) and Movistar duo Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde can begin to claw back significant time. Re-baptised for the Vuelta as the Balcon de Bizkaia - the Balcón of Vizcaya - and with its summit 925 metres above sea level, Oiz is the sixth of the Vuelta´s eight summit finishes (nine if you count stage two´s Caminito del Rey).ADVERTISEMENT Its summit is now lined with wind generators, although in times past when the local Basque community held an assembly, beacons would be lit and giant versions of Alpine horns or vuvuzelas would be sounded from the top of the mountain to summon the leaders from more distant parts of the region. Oiz was also the scene of a terrible plane crash in 1985, when an incoming flight to Bilbao struck a TV aerial. All 148 passengers were killed. The climb itself has two approach roads, one from the south and one from the north, and the Vuelta, unsurprisingly, takes the harder of the two, coming in from the north. Seven kilometres of relatively gentle roads are followed by five ultra-steep kilometres, first in woodland then on an exposed summit on a narrow, cement-covered track. Although it was expected to stay dry until later this evening, the weather is notoriously unpredictable in northern Spain. Should it rain, this could render the last part of the climb very tough indeed. The stage itself is run entirely in the Basque region of Vizcaya, and totals some 3000 metres of vertical climbing, roughly the equi ...
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