A long day inland from the Costa Tropical. Almuñécar was a Phoenician settlement named Sexi long before the Romans arrived, and the race leaves it by climbing 24 km straight off the sea. From there the road rises and falls all afternoon through the Granada hinterland, close to 2,700 metres of climbing in total, without ever offering one decisive ascent. The finish at Loja is on rolling ground. Stages built like this are difficult to control and often go to the break, though the accumulated fatigue of the second week means the favourites cannot afford inattention.