This day asks mainly for attention and patience. You spend a large part of the stage walking beside the N-621. This is no quiet woodland path but an ordinary road with ordinary traffic. Stay alert, even when it seems quiet.
The route climbs steadily to around 1250 metres. It isn’t a climb that wears you out, but it keeps going. Then you descend, and that takes longer than you think. You’ll feel it in your knees.
Riaño lies on a reservoir, surrounded by mountains. You arrive with heavy legs and a calm feeling, because the tarmac is behind you by then. Take your time, the road isn’t going anywhere.