Volta ao Algarve 2014 Preview

It’s mid-February and the cycling season is slowly starting to warm up. Recent races have placed the spotlight upon the sprinters and classics riders, but we should now start to see some of the climbers and GC riders come to the fore. This week has the 2.HC Tour of Oman, the 2.1 Vuelta a Andalucia, the 2.1 Volta ao Algarve, the 1.1 Trofeo Laigueglia and the 2.1 Tour du Haut Var, all races with plenty of climbing. It’s true that the major targets for the climbers are still far off, races such as the Ardennes Classics and the Giro d’Italia, never mind the Tour de France, so the riders are still early in their fitness programs, however with Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico rapidly approaching, anyone hoping for success there must be in decent condition at this stage, which sets us up for a good week of racing.

This will be the 40th edition of the Volta ao Algarve but it has only been in the last 10-15 years that it has proven to be a popular hunting ground for some of the more famous names in cycling, many of whom come here building form ahead of the classics. Floyd Landis, Alessandro Petacchi, Stijn Devolder, Alberto Contador, Richie Porte and most recently Tony Martin have all won the race in the past decade, and Martin has returned to defend his title, but it will be a tough task for the World Time Trial Champion.

Last year’s race was curtailed by financial restrictions and only featured four stages, two relatively flat finishes, the usual summit finish on the Alto do Malhão and a decisive 34.8km time trial. Martin lost a little time on the Alto do Malhão but gained it back in spades during the time trial to seal a convincing overall victory. When he first won the race back in 2011, the time trial was a more modest 17.2km but Martin had finished with the lead group on the Alto do Malhão that year, entering the final stage just a few seconds down on the race leader. Retaining his title in 2014 is going to be tough, there are two hilly finishes which will give the best climbers an opportunity to gain time on Martin and the time trial has been truncated once again, this time to a mere 13.6km, which makes it hard for Martin to gain enough time to win unless he is climbing superbly as well.

The stages

Stage one: Faro-Albufeira
Image from http://www.voltaaoalgarve.pt/?lang=en

Stage one should end in a sprint finish, but it won’t be entirely straightforward as the peloton will have to cross a short climb and then negotiate some awkward roundabouts before they reach the finishing stretch, which could break things up. The run-in also has several short ramps which create the opportunity for riders to go on the attack, as Paul Martens of Belkin did last year; they aren’t tough enough to open things up on their own, but if the hill and roundabouts wreak havoc beforehand then they are very dangerous.

Stage two: Lagoa-Monchique
Image from http://www.voltaaoalgarve.pt/?lang=en

Stage two is the longest of the race at 196km and packs a lot of climbing into the final third. Any fireworks should come on the final categorised climb, at 4.6km with a 7.6% average gradient and starting just 10.4km from the finish, it should provide a great launch pad for attacks but it remains to be seen whether it turns into a GC skirmish or ends with a sprint from a select group. With the time trial to follow, the onus will be on the climbers to gain time where they can so I do expect this stage to have a lively finish.

Stage three: Vila de Bispo-Sagres
Image from http://www.voltaaoalgarve.pt/?lang=en

Stage three is a short individual time trial and will be targeted by Tony Martin as an opportunity to gain time on the better climbers and more importantly the chance to win his first stage of the season. The stage takes place close to the coast and could well be affected by winds which makes it a little unpredictable.

Stage four: Almodovar-Alto do Malhão
Image from http://www.voltaaoalgarve.pt/?lang=en

Stage four is the queen stage of the race and presents the riders with progressively tougher climbing as the stage progresses. The stage finishes atop the Alto do Malhão which is 2.6km long with an average gradient of 9.6%, it’s not the biggest challenge that the riders will face this season but it is tough enough to give an advantage to the best climbers. The peloton first climbs the Alto do Malhão with around 46km to go and then with 12.5km to go there is a nasty 1km long climb with a 13% gradient that is swiftly followed by the second and final ascent of the Alto do Malhão. With two short sharp climbs in the final 13km we should see an explosive finish.

Stage five: Albufeira-Vilamoura
Image from http://www.voltaaoalgarve.pt/?lang=en

Stage five finishes with an 11.9km circuit in Vilamoura and presents a second opportunity for the sprinters.

Contenders

With a second hilly stage and a truncated time trial, the balance of the race has clearly shifted for 2014 which makes it difficult for Tony Martin of Omega Pharma-Quick Step to retain his title. Difficult but not impossible, the two hilly stages should provide an opportunity for the best climbers to attack Martin, but the climbs are short and Martin can climb well, particularly when he has slimmed down in the past, so the time gaps aren’t going to be huge. In the most recent editions of the race the top 20-30 finishers on the Alto do Malhão have been separated by about a minute. In the last three years Martin has finished the stage 0:18 down, 0:40 down and alongside the stage winner, though those time losses are exacerbated by time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds for the first three across the line. However the balance of the race pushes the advantage towards a climber who can time trial well this year, rather than a time trialist who can climb well, which means it may be better suited to Martin’s team mate Michal Kwiatkowski. The Polish all-rounder really can do a little of everything, he is good against the clock, an excellent climber, and has the finishing speed to win stages and pick up bonus seconds. Kwiatkowski showed good form last week on Mallorca, winning the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana and must be considered a serious contender for the overall victory.

Lampre-Merida’s Portuguese World Champion Rui Costa will be particularly motivated for this race, the opportunity to claim his first win in the Rainbow Jersey while on home soil is the stuff of dreams. He also has the right skill set to compete being a capable time trialist, an excellent climber and a potential stage winner. Costa demonstrated his desire to do the Rainbow Jersey justice by attacking during the Dubai Tour, despite the lack of terrain conducive to attacks; he will find the terrain in the Algarve much more hospitable.

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) kicks off his season and has stated he is hoping to win early in 2014, his first main target will be Tirreno-Adriatico and he should be a little rusty here, but to be good in three weeks time he must be in decent shape here. It’s a big year for Contador as he tries to show that he is still a legitimate contender for the Tour de France, that he isn’t yesterdays man, so I think we can expect to see him race aggressively right from the start. If Contador is off the pace a little then the team could look to Rafal Majka or perhaps Sergio Paulinho to carry their GC hopes, but it should be Contador.

Katusha have brought a pair of legitimate GC options with Simon Spilak and Sergei Chernetckii, two strong climbers and solid time trialists and either is capable of contending here, depending on form and the exact nature of the leadership dynamic. Spilak was terrific from this point through to the end of April last season, climbing superbly and showing the finishing speed to win on the hillier stages. The younger Chernetckii is a coming man for the Russian team, a developing GC rider who is well suited to this hilly parcours.

Jonathan Castroviejo should head the Movistar challenge, though with Adriano Malori, Alex Dowsett and Jesus Herrada in attendance the team will have plenty of options. However this race should give Castroviejo the opportunity to show how he is developing as a GC rider, he is a fine time trialist and should be comfortable on these climbs. The most obvious alternative leader for Movistar in this race is Jesus Herrada, solid against the clock and comfortable on the short climbs, he finished 11th overall last year and could do better this time. Although it will be hist first outing of the season Belkin’s Wilco Kelderman is another to watch. The 22 year old Dutchman is another who possesses the requisite combination of climbing and time trialing to succeed in the Algarve and with a leadership role at the Giro to come he will be looking to take a significant step forward in 2014.

Tiago Machado will be hoping to launch his NetApp-Endura career in style, the Portuguese rider has a strong tradition in this race, finishing in the top 10 overall on six previous occasions. He has the all round skill set to contend and will be supported by Jose Mendes, a strong climber himself. Another option for the team in Jan Barta who is a very strong time trialist, and while he isn’t as gifted a climber as the others he should cope alright and limit any loses on these short hills. For Cofidis the challenge should be spearheaded by Jerome Coppel, who showed good form to finish 2nd in the Etoile de Besseges, and Rein Taaramae, both handy time trialists and good climbers.

Potential Stage Winners

One of the form sprinters of the early season, Sacha Modolo of Lampre-Merida deserves the top billing in this segment, though he will be hard pressed to add another win to his tally against this strong group of sprinters. Modolo has picked up three wins already in 2014, winning once in the Tour de San Luis and twice in the Mallorca Challenge, and should be the team’s first choice sprinter again for this race. He will be supported by Roberto Ferrari and Maximiliano Richeze, with Ferrari giving the team a solid alternate option should Modolo run into difficulties. Of course the biggest name sprinter in attendance is Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) who will be hoping to land his first win of the season. He is accompanied by two of his chief lead out men in Alessandro Petacchi and Mark Renshaw and providing he avoids the mishaps from Dubai should be the favourite for both sprint stages.

As well as Modolo, the strongest competition for Cavendish should come from two young French stars, Arnaud Demare (FDJ) and Bryan Coquard (Europcar). The strong Demare has already won in 2014, claiming victory in the final stage of the Tour of Qatar and will have strong support from Geoffrey Soupe and Mickael Delage. Coquard has also won in 2014, taking two stage wins in the Etoile de Besseges, and will be working on forming some sprint train chemistry with Jimmy Engoulvent and Maxime Mederel. Both the French sprinters can climb, and Coquard in particular could find himself in contention on the second stage if the GC riders don’t really open things up.

Juan Jose Lobato has had a solid start to his Movistar career, with 4th and 2nd place finishes to his credit from the sprints in the Dubai Tour, he will be the teams main option on stages one and five and has a realistic shot at a podium finish. The team have also brought the more opportunistic Jose Joaquin Rojas who could get himself in the mix for those sprints stages, but may find his best opportunity for success comes on the second stage if he can remain with the front group as they crest the final climb. Two other Movistar riders, Adriano Malori and Alex Dowsett should be in contention for the time trial on stage three, and if either has found their climbing legs they could force their way into the GC reckoning. Alexey Tsatevich of Katusha is another to watch for in the sprints, he should have support from Rudiger Selig and has the chance to be competitive here.

The sprints will likely be too competitive but both Danilo Napolitano (Wanty-Goubert) and Adrien Petit (Cofidis) should be decent outsiders for the sprint stages. The veteran Napolitano is in great shape ahead of the Belgian races at the start of March, he recently finished 2nd behind John Degenkolb in the opening stage of the Tour Mediterraneen. Twenty three year old Petit is at the other end of his career, but the French sprinter is talented and will be keen to test his legs against some of the biggest sprinters around.

Aside from the riders already mentioned, there are many who should illuminate the racing. Keep an eye on some of the talented young riders for Caja Rural, we can expect to see Heiner Rodrigo Parra, Omar Fraile or Ruben Fernandez on the offensive. There are a lot of Continental teams in this race, six of whom are Portuguese, and all of whom will be targeting stages two and four in the hope they can take the KoM Jersey and perhaps sneak a stage win.

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Anyone seeking further information about the race should check out the race website

Volta ao Algarve

Or the race page on Pro Cycling Stats

http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Volta_ao_Algarve_2014

Olivier Kaisen is forced to retire

There was sad news this week with the announcement that Lotto Belisol rider Olivier Kaisen has been forced to retire from the sport following the discovery of a heart condition. Kaisen first discovered that he had a cardiac condition during an annual medical in November, though at that point it didn’t seem to be anything that should obstruct his career. As Kaisen said in the press release “After the UCI-tests half of November I was actually surprised when I heard an aberration was found, because I had never felt anything before, but luckily I got the permission to continue with cycling. At training camp in December I was able to train in perfect circumstances without any problem”.

However Kaisen was forced to retire from the Santos Tour Down Under, seemingly suffering from the heat but they quickly realised that it was another cardiac condition, of a different nature than the first; unfortunately further tests established that it was a career ending condition. It isn’t easy to adjust when your life changes so dramatically, on the one hand the life you have led for years has been taken from you, on the other hand you are still alive and have the opportunity to forge your life anew, but it takes a little time to get into that mindset. “At the moment I’m a lot at home with my wife and son Jussi. I get lots of support from the team, friends and family, but still feel a bit lost.” said Kaisen “There are worse things in life, but cycling has been part of my life for more than 20 years. I have no idea yet how my future looks like, I only got the news a few days ago and want to let it all sink in.”

That's the end of a really nice story. A few days ago, the doctors said I have to stop cycling because of heart problems. A new life begins.

— Olivier Kaisen (@olivierkaisen) February 11, 2014

Big thanks to my family, friends, sponsors and colleagues (staff and riders) who made this really nice adventure possible #liveyourdream

— Olivier Kaisen (@olivierkaisen) February 11, 2014

Kaisen is the second rider this season who has been forced into retirement with a heart condition. Early in January Australian Will Walker of the Synergy Baku Cycling Project, had a recurrence of tachycardia, having previously spent some time out of cycling with the condition. As with Kaisen, Walker faces a future away from the sport and one, where being fully aware of his condition he should be able to live a normal life, just not the life of a professional cyclist.

I’m sure everyone has heard of seemingly very fit and healthy people who collapse and die with what will later be diagnosed as a cardiac condition. Whether it is sport stars such as Marc-Vivien Foe or Dani Jarque, or a random person playing sports at the weekend, when Sudden Death Syndrome strikes there is little that can be done. Yet in most of those cases the death would have been prevented, and the victim left to live a normal life if the cardiac condition had been detected in advance. Olivier Kaisen and Will Walker are lucky to have this opportunity to rebuild their lives, although it may not seem like luck right now. I wish them both all the best and hope to see them back involved in cycling in some capacity in the not too distant future, they have been cyclists for some time and have a lot of knowledge to share.

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http://www.lottobelisol.be/en/kaisen-has-to-quit-cycling-1652.htm

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/01/i-though-i-was-going-to-die-will-walker-retires-from-pro-cycling/

2014 Rider Watch Update #4: Lasse Norman Hansen starts in stride

Professional debuts don’t get much better; finishing 3rd in the opening stage time trial, ahead of luminaries such as Tony Martin, Fabian Cancellara and Adriano Malori, Lasse Norman Hansen hit the ground running in the Dubai Tour. That he was good against the clock shocked no-one, the reigning Olympic Champion in the omnium has the skills to excel as a time trialist, though I am not sure that many people would have predicted a podium finish in his first time trial, not against that calibre of opposition. While it is the speed of the professional peloton that generally catches out the neo-pro riders, Hansen showed no such problems in Dubai. He was able to finish comfortably in the lead group on all three road stages, and was grateful for the support of his Garmin-Sharp team mates.

It's been a fantastic week here in @dubaitour and I can't say enough how much I appreciate all the help from the @Ride_Argyle boys!! Thanks!

— Lasse Norman Leth (@Lasse_Norman) February 8, 2014

However Lasse Norman Hansen’s strong form probably shouldn’t have come as a shock. After all his first major goal of 2014 is success at the Track World Championships in Cali, Colombia which start in two weeks time. That forces him to be ahead of the curve fitness wise at this point of the season and meant he was always going to be in good shape in Dubai. After the World Championships comes a baptism of fire in the classics which will presumably be followed by a well deserved rest. There are much tougher tests ahead but Lasse Norman Hansen can take a lot of confidence from such a strong debut.

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2014 Rider Watch: Lasse Norman Hansen – Garmin-Sharp

King of the Sprints 2014 Update #2: It’s all about Kittel

The Dubai Tour had promised much, but the anticipated showdown between Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish never materialised, as the Manx sprinter failed to contest the finishes leaving Kittel to claim them with apparent ease. It’s a terrific early season bonus for the German Kittel, three wins to boost the confidence and take the sting out of the mistakes which cost him in the Santos Tour Down Under.

Stage two saw the first bunch sprint of the race; Omega Pharma-Quick Step hit the front very early and drove the peloton throughout the final 10km. The move may have come too early as they had little support left for Cavendish as the race approached the final kilometre, where he would find himself boxed in and out of contention. The race descended into chaos with each sprinter left to fend for themselves and little in the way of an organised lead out. In that scenario there was no answer to the speed of Marcel Kittel, who raced away for the win leaving Peter Sagan, Taylor Phinney, Juan Jose Lobato and Giacomo Nizzolo to trail in behind him.

The third stage was contested by a more select group after a lumpier run had dislodged much of the peloton. For a while it seemed that Peter Sagan would open his account for 2014, however Marcel Kittel surprised almost everyone by making into the front group and was simply too fast for the others, with Lobato taking second place ahead of Sagan. The run is wasn’t that tough but it still pushed Kittel to the limit as can be seen from the tweet below.

So proud on that second win here in @dubaitour! @tgiantshimano kept me in a great position before the climb & from there on I went DEEP!

— Marcel Kittel (@marcelkittel) February 7, 2014

Stage four finished in another bunch sprint and once again Kittel was victorious. This time there was little chaos in the final kilometre as Giant-Shimano hit the front and led Kittel to victory, and while they may have mistimed it slightly the German was peerless, leaving Mark Renshaw, Andrea Guardini, Roberto Ferrari and Aleksandr Porsev fighting for second place. Everything went smoothly for Kittel but Sagan and Cavendish were having days from the other end of the spectrum with collisions and mechanical issues taking them out of contention in the final 5km. For Cavendish it was a moment to be thankful that no long lasting damage was done, for Peter Sagan it was a little more frustrating.

 

The ease with which Kittel won in Dubai demonstrates that he really is growing into his status as one of the elite sprinters and potentially the very best around, though that last part requires much more rigorous testing. It is important to note that winning in February in Dubai is not the same as doing so in France in July, so these wins must be kept in perspective as demonstrated by the way that Mark Cavendish was quite relaxed about his mishaps, he won’t be if they happen in the bigger races.

The Etoile des Besseges featured three bunch sprints with some legitimately talented sprinters seeking to get their seasons off on the right foot. The first went to Nacer Bouhanni who finished ahead of John Degenkolb and Yauheni Hutarovich. The following two were won by Bryan Coquard, one of my rider watch list, repeating his double win in last years race. One was claimed ahead of Bouhanni and Degenkolb while the other came on an uphill sprint where he finished ahead of Degenkolb and Tony Gallopin.

Meanwhile on Mallorca, Sacha Modolo has continued his fine start to his Lampre-Merida career with wins in the Trofeo Palma and Trofeo Ses Salines. The team will be over the moon if he can repeat the trick in a month’s time in Tirreno-Adriatico.

2014 Rider Watch Update #3: Taylor Phinney and the Dubai Tour

Taylor Phinney has made a strong start to 2014, showing well at the Tour of San Luis before converting that form into actual success by claiming his maiden stage race victory at the inaugural Dubai Tour. That victory was forged on the back of an impressive opening stage time trial, where Phinney finished ahead of a strong field of time trial specialists. It’s true that it is early in the season and not everyone is on form, and it’s also true that they were racing on their normal road bikes rather than specialist equipment, but nonetheless it was a strong performance from the American.

As much as Phinney will have enjoyed his achievement, he does have much bigger targets this spring in the shape of the Classics. With that in mind Phinney was once again putting his sprinting to the test, finishing 3rd in the bunch sprint on stage two, behind Marcel Kittel and Peter Sagan, but ahead of Juan Jose Lobato, Giacomo Nizzolo and Roberto Ferrari, no mean feat. If he remains in contention at the end of a race like Paris-Roubaix then he has the finishing speed to be a threat. A former Junior World Time Trial Champion, double former World Individual Pursuit Champion, former under-23 World Time Trial Champion and double former under-23 Paris-Roubaix winner, Phinney possesses huge potential; he is starting to look like he is ready to fulfil some of it.

Dubai Tour 2014 Preview

This will be the inaugural edition of the Dubai Tour, a 2.1 race which opens the UCI Asia Tour and precedes the more established 2.HC races in Qatar and Oman. Against a background of financial insecurity and disappearing races, it is good for cycling that new races like this one appearing. Although many fans would rather see races held in more traditional cycling countries, the teams enjoy the financial opportunities that come with racing on the Arabian Peninsula, while the riders are able to get fit for the bigger races ahead while racing in more clement weather than they would experience back in Europe at this time of year. The race itself is comprised of four stages, the opening time trial, two sprint stages and an optimistically named medium mountain stage.

The time trial

The opening time trial is 9.9km in length, with a technical section roughly 3/4 of the way through. There is a world class group of time trial specialists in attendance making this stage the crown jewel of the race, and an early season bonus for those chrono-connoisseurs who love a competitive time trial. The specialists present should include Tony Martin of Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Fabian Cancellara of Trek Factory Racing, BMC’s Taylor Phinney, the Movistar trio of Jonathan Castroviejo, Alex Dowsett and Adriano Malori, the latter of whom has already won against the clock this season. The relatively short distance brings a greater number of riders into contention, whether it’s good time trialists like Peter Velits (BMC), Bob Jungels (Trek), Ion Izagirre (Movistar) of Nelson Oliveira (Lampre-Merida), or fast finishers such as Peter Sagan (Cannondale) or Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Giant-Shimano). With so many contenders it will be fascinating to see who can come out on top. I will also be keeping an eye on the two neo-pro riders from my 2014 rider watch list, Lawson Craddock (Giant-Shimano) and Lasse Norman Hansen (Garmin-Sharp). Both have shown they have the talent to race against the clock so it will be interesting to see how they measure up at this stage.

The sprints

Stages two and four look set to end in bunch sprints which will hopefully bring us a head to head clash, figuratively speaking, between Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano). Cavendish has yet to sprint in earnest in 2014, in the Tour de San Luis he acted as a lead out man for Tom Boonen as both worked on their form, however he with lead out men Alessandro Petacchi and Mark Renshaw in attendance that looks set to change.  Although Marcel Kittel showed his finishing speed in the criterium race prior to the Tour Down Under, things didn’t go well for him in the race proper, missing out when the peloton split in the wind on stage four, then losing touch with his sprint train on the final stage. Kittel and his Giant-Shimano team will be keen to make amends in Dubai. Of course they won’t be the only interested parties when it comes to the sprints, Peter Sagan, Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing), Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida), Thor Hushovd (BMC), Andrea Guardini (Astana), Juan Jose Lobato (Movistar) and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp), among others, will all be hoping to take a stage victory.

The hills

The profile below shows a lumpy stage where most of the climbing comes in the final quarter of the race. With nothing more than this profile to go on it is hard to be accurate, but the climbs themselves don’t look tough enough to force a major selection, though it should be enough to take some of the sprinters out of the equation. Though those who can climb decently, such as Sagan, Nizzolo and Janse Van Rensburg may find this stage gives them their best opportunity for a stage victory. If the final climb has some steeper sections towards the top then the dynamic changes as that could provide a springboard for an attack, and with the peak coming just 6.8km from the finish anyone cresting the climb with even a 15-20 second advantage could manage to hold on for the victory. However the margin of victory is unlikely to be large and the terrain won’t be enough to shed all of those who went well in the opening time trial, making that the key stage. With this stage looking to be the only one that ventures into the desert, there is a possibility that crosswinds could also be a factor and the peloton would be wise to be wary of that possibility.

Stage 3: Dubai-Hatta
Image from http://www.dubaitour.com/

 

There are bonus seconds available at the finish but they are quite small with the stage winner getting just 3 seconds taken off their time (except after the ITT). That favours the time trialists but it could also work for the climbing sprinters who could feasibly gain time on all three road stages, if they finish on the podium that is, provided they have a great time trial. Peter Sagan is certainly capable of of finishing on the podium three times and is likely to produce a good time trial as well; if he can nail it on the first stage he has a chance, but it will be tough for him. The desert winds could certainly be a factor on stage three which would add a large dose of chaos to proceedings, the other stages all seem to be mainly urban which should lessen the effect of any wind. At the time of writing the start list isn’t final so the riders I picked out may not all be there. For the latest best guess check out the PCS start list

There are two other 2.1 races this week, the Etoile de Besseges in Southern France and the Herald Sun Tour in Australia, while the Ladies Tour of Qatar kicks off on Tuesday, the cycling season is warming up.

Edited once it was confirmed that there would be time bonifications in the race and that they were quite small.

2014 the season so far: Talking points #2

Warm up races?

For many riders the opening race of the season is now in the books, whether it was the Santos Tour Down Under or the Tour de San Luis, they can go back to training with a more competitive edge and continue building their form later in the season. Season opening races have a difficult task, they have to accommodate a peloton composed of professional riders who generally aren’t half fit while still coaxing competitive racing out of them, failing to do so will see them labelled as warm up races, in the most pejorative sense.

Thankfully for the Santos Tour Down Under it very much gets things right. Starting with the centralised location, all the racing takes place in or around Adelaide, meaning the riders have limited travel and a better balance between racing and recovering than they often experience. That centralised location is also beneficial for the fans as they can comfortably watch the racing on several stages, and they certainly turned up in large numbers, giving the riders great support. The stages were relatively short and the difficulty of the parcours was well managed, tough enough to be challenging at this stage of the season, but not so tough that one or two fit riders will blow everyone else out and win stages by 3-4 minutes. Instead the racing was tense, exciting and highly enjoyable, Mike Turtur and his team should take a bow. There have been suggestions that the race could move into February, that it could visit other parts of Australia or that it could lose it’s World Tour status as part of the UCI’s future plans for calendar rearrangement. However in my opinion the World Tour status is fully merited and the race should pretty much be left as it is, and as you can read here and here I am far from the only person who enjoys the race.

The Tour de San Luis does have more of a warm up feel to it, with a higher proportion of the World Tour riders seemingly there for the exercise as much as the racing. That wasn’t true of all however, with riders from the newly named Trek Factory Racing keen to land early success, Sacha Modolo getting his first win for Lampre-Merida and Nairo Quintana enjoying the rare opportunity to win on South American soil. The long term aim for the race is to grow into a more prestigious event and the first step towards doing that should be to make the race easier to follow, rather than relying on footage from a static camera at the finish line.

There are many more “warm up” races ahead as the cycling season cranks into action. The traditional season openers in France and Italy are held tomorrow, the 1.1 Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise and 1.1 Gran Premio Costa degli Etrusci respectively. They are followed with three short stage races, the 2.1 Herald Sun Tour in Australia, the 2.1 Etoile de Besseges in the South of France and the inaugural 2.1 Dubai Tour; the latter is the first of three races on the Arabian Peninsula in February. The season will really heat up at the start of March with Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico before the first seriously big race of the season, Milan-San Remo on the 23rd of March.

 

A lack of professional teams

With the Chris Horner signing for Lampre-Merida saga finally completed, attention once again turns to the unusually strong pool of unsigned free agents, riders left out in the lurch due to the folding of several teams after last season. Grega Bole, Tomasz Marczynski and Julien El Fares are all surprisingly out of work, but it is the case of Samuel Sanchez which remains the most perplexing. A strong climber and terrific descender, the Basque would be an asset to any team in the peloton. Perhaps it is a question of money, either Sanchez asking for too much or teams simply having too little, though I haven’t seen any rumours that suggest he has priced himself out of the market. Tinkoff-Saxo have been linked, they lost Michael Rogers (provisionally at least) and could do with another strong climber to help Contador; BMC have a space after the suspension of Alessandro Ballan; Europcar could use another experienced leader, though they appear to have limited funds; Cofidis have been increasing their visibility in Spain and like to field a team of climbers; Colombia have previously been linked with Sanchez and if they are serious about trying to gain a wild card for the Vuelta a Espana then having Sanchez would hugely boost their credentials; MTN-Qhubeka and Unitedhealthcare could similarly boost their chances of riding the Vuelta if they were to hire Sanchez.

The larger concern for cycling isn’t over whether gifted individuals find themselves without a team, but the long term sustainability of its financial model. The annual scramble for funding means that every season several teams appear to be in danger of extinction. Hope is on the horizon with the Fernando Alonso project due to enter the peloton next season, along with a slight firming up of the details for the mooted French super team to be based out of the new Velodrome National in Paris. Crucially the UCI have also initiated the commission which will be looking into cycling’s tainted past, quite what it can achieve is unclear but anything that can add a little closure to that past can only help reassure sponsors, giving them one less reason to be wary of investing in the sport. However no UCI commission can fix the ailing economies of the historic cycling nations, and it is those financial struggles which have been behind the precarious nature of team sponsorship and cancelled races; the latter is a particular problem for the women’s tour.