Stage 81 takes you directly towards the outer suburbs of Moscow, ahead of stage 82 which rides into the heart of the city. The start is sharply downhill which provides ample opportunity to get into the thick of the action. But it’s short lived: by the time you reach Frolovskoe after a mile, you hit the first climb of the day, and it’s a sharp one.The climb tops out at Gorshkovo at four miles before a nice four mile descent takes you over the railway just before Petrovskoe: there are actually two crossings, the second of which goes into an industrial complex. By then you’ve started on the second climb of the stage: it’s longer than the first, but less arduous: this one crests at eleven miles at the M9 interchange to the northern and southern suburbs of Moscow.
You then get treated to seven miles of gentle descent, and a real chance to put the hammer down before the final climb. The descent passes by Pokrovskoe and Zakharovo before bottoming out at Baltiya at nineteen miles. That signals the start of the final climb of the stage, one that drags on for over three miles, save for a wee bit of respite at Stepanovskoe at twenty one miles.
Although it feels like you’re climbing to the finish, the ascent finishes as you pass under the red kite and from there, you can boot it because the finishing straight is downhill as the road dives down to cross the river Lipka as you enter Buzlanovo.
Distance: 24 miles / 38 kilometres
Ascent: 489 feet / 149 metres
RGT Magic Road: 68OhqhvIpMzk
Max elevation: 1116 ft
Min elevation: 865 ft
Total climbing: 488 ft
Total descent: -561 ft
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