A beautiful and colourful 163.5km stage with a departure in Betanzos and a new high-altitude arrival, this time in the impressive and unprecedented Mirador Vixia de Herbeira, in San Andres de Teixido. The cliffs are the highest in in Europe. This 11.2km mountain pass, with an average inclination of 4.8 per cent, is not excessively tough, but it could potentially be dangerous to those who get distracted. Presented by Gary Imlach with commentary by Ned Boulting and David Millar, and Daniel Friebe the roving reporter.

A mid-mountain stage, between Monforte de Lemos and Luintra, in the Ribeira Sacra, crossing the spectacular canyons of the Sil River. The last 70 kilometres will be very windy, in a succession of climbs and descents all the way to the finish-line. In the final part of the stage, the peloton will come face to face with the Alto de Alenza, a second category climb, that will not necessarily make much of a difference to the general classification, but it may well break the group up, and prevent a mass arrival at the end. Presented by Gary Imlach with commentary by Ned Boulting and David Millar, and Daniel Friebe the roving reporter.