2013 Vuelta a Espana Preview Six: The Young Riders

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With injuries and tiredness taking their toll on team resources, a number of young riders are being given a chance in the Vuelta a Espana. The chance to experience riding in a Grand Tour or in some cases the opportunity to see what they can do as a more featured rider. Some of the riders highlighted in this preview are ones to watch for signs of their future potential, while others are candidates for a break out performance, something that shows they are ready for a much bigger role in 2014.

Before concluding my rider previews for the Vuelta I want to add a small disclaimer. The list isn’t intended to be totally comprehensive, I chose not to include every rider and that sometimes meant choosing one of a pair of similar riders from a team, based on form or history. I’m sure I’ve made a fair number of wrong choices when doing that but I set an arbitrary target of roughly five riders per team., and tried to stick to that.

 

Diego Ulissi – Lampre-Merida

Ulissi has shown he is a terrifically talented climber and a future GC contender. He could potentially ride for the GC here, testing whether he can hold up over three weeks, however he is riding with the Worlds in mind and will target stage wins instead. He impressed in Paris-Nice early in the season, finishing 7th overall, with two 5th place finishes and also showing he could time trial quite well. At the Tour de Pologne he was impressive winning the opening stage, a mountain top finish in the Dolomites. He will hope to repeat that feat in the Vuelta and is capable of doing so, particularly in the second half of the race.

 

Kenny Elissonde – FDJ

Elissonde has shown signs that he is settling at the professional level, now that he is near the end of his second season with FDJ. He was the best young rider, and 8th overall, at the Tour of Oman, was consistently there or thereabouts in the Tour de Pologne, and 7th overall and the best young rider in the recent Tour de l’Ain. This will be his Grand Tour debut and it’s too much to expect him to excel, still it will be worth watching how he copes with the grind of 21 stages and how competitive he is on these climbs. One for the future for sure.

 

Warren Barguil – Argos-Shimano

Warren Barguil is a gifted 21 year old French climber, it’s his first year as a professional cyclist and he is already the best GC threat for Argos-Shimano, though he is here for experience. After struggling initially he has started to settle in at this level, he finished 18th overall in the Criterium Dauphine and 17th in the Tour de Pologne. He was consistent in Poland, always finishing a little behind the top riders, always alongside other solid climbers. He showed stage winning talent in the mountains as a junior and the potential is certainly there for him to do that at this level in the future. Look for him to get a chance to attack in the mountains.

 

Michael Matthews – Orica-GreenEDGE

The 22 year old Australian sprinter comes into the Vuelta in terrific form, winning twice at the Tour of Utah and launching a terrific solo attack in the mountains to show how well he can climb. He is likely to support Howard in the bunch sprints but will be a good option himself, and should be a contender on the tougher sprint stages when Howard is more likely to be dropped.

 

Mikel Landa – Euskaltel-Euskadi

Landa is a highly regarded young Spanish climber. Having made his Grand Tour debut in last year’s Vuelta he returns with an expanded role in 2013, and should have the freedom to attack in the mountains. The 23 year old has hit some good form in the last month, finishing 6th in the Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian and 6th overall in the Vuelta a Burgos.

 

Dominik Nerz – BMC

The 23 year old German climber has taken a small step forward in 2013, his first year with the BMC team. He has been more noticeable than before in the World Tour stage races, with his best performance coming in the recent Tour de Pologne, finishing 13th overall and climbing quite well. I’d expect to see him attack on some of the mountain stages, he finished 3rd on a stage of the 2011 Vuelta and has the potential to do better than that.

 

Nikias Arndt – Argos-Shimano

Nikias Arndt recorded his first stage win with Argos Shimano in the recent Arctic Tour of Norway, and was 3rd the following day. Those results will give the 21 year old German a lot of confidence and mark the high point of his first year as a professional cyclist. He is a rider of considerable promise and should get the chance to show that promise in the bunch sprints, though it’s likely he will be the lead out man, rather than the sprinter for most of them.

 

Daniele Ratto – Cannondale

Ratto, 23, is a gifted opportunistic sprinter, who is at his best on the uphill sprints and tough finishes. Although he is yet to win in 2013, he has recorded five top 5 finishes in World Tour races, all in uphill sprints or from a select group after a hilly parcours. Most recently he impressed with another two top 5 finishes in the Vuelta a Burgos, a 2.HC event with a strong lineup, once again both were on uphill sprints.

 

Barry Markus – Vacansoleil-DCM

Another very promising young sprinter, the 22 year old Markus has yet to win as a professional. However he has had a string of podium and top five finishes, often amongst and ahead of world class sprinters, the wins will surely come. This is his first Grand Tour and he is here for the experience of competing in the bunch sprints, Grega Bole will be the teams sprinter on the tougher sprint stages.

 

Guillaume Boivin – Cannondale

Boivin should combine with Ratto, Haedo and Dall’Antonio to give the Cannondale team a strong presence in all the sprints. The young Canadian is in his first season at the World Tour level and will be making his Grand Tour debut. He has mostly served as a lead out man with Cannondale but should have his chance as a sprinter in this race, though it’s a role he will share with the others.

 

Adrien Petit – Cofidis

A 22 year old sprinter, Petit is a highly regarded talent but this race is likely a year too soon for him. He may not complete the race but he will benefit hugely from the experience of riding in a Grand Tour. He should share sprint duties with the much more experienced Stephane Poulhies.

 

David de la Cruz – NetApp-Endura

The young Spanish climber should be very active in the mountains. The German team has come to attack and get plenty of attention, so l expect to see a lot of De la Cruz and fellow climber Jose Mendes, as they try and go with breaks in the mountains.

 

Andy Fenn – Omega Pharma-Quick Step

The 23 year old Scottish sprinter is making his Grand Tour debut, and hunting for his first win of the season. It’s a big step up for him, but also a great learning experience and he will likely have the support of the team for the flat bunch sprints.

 

Tosh Van der Sande

Another young sprinter, he will likely be used in the sprint train supporting Gregory Henderson, but he might also be given a chance to sprint himself.

 

Sebastian Lander – BMC

Lander is a versatile young rider who is making his Grand Tour debut in his first year with BMC. He has some speed as a finisher and can handle the punchy climbs, he will be working for others here but one to watch for if he is given the chance to go in a break. It’s too early in his career to expect him to shine but we could see glimpses of his talent.

 

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