Injuries abound
We have only had two World Tour races and already a number of riders have went down with significant injuries. Even before the racing began Thomas Voeckler, Europcar, broke his collarbone again while out training, the same injury he picked up in the Amstel Gold Race last season, it robs the team of their top rider in Australia and also puts likely Voecklers form for the Classics in question. Italian climber Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) broke his leg during a pile up in the People’s Choice Classic, it will almost certainly force him out of Movistars Giro squad but he could be fit later in the season. Australian sprinter Chris Sutton (Team Sky) broke his wrist in the same incident, and while he impressively finished the race, in 4th place, he was forced out of the Tour Down Under. In the race itself Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) broke a bone in his wrist, David Tanner (Belkin) broke his collar bone and several riders hit the dirt today, including Caleb Ewan (UniSA-Australia) who should be able to continue and Rafael Valls Ferri (Lampre-Merida) broke his arm and definitely won’t. You expect this sort of attrition in cycling but it seems unusually harsh to lose so many riders right from the start of the season.
Movistar unsure what to do with Nairo Quintana
It seemed clear a month ago, Quintana would ride the Giro, Alejandro Valverde would ride the Tour de France and both would probably ride the Vuelta. However as you can see here that narrative doesn’t appear to hold true anymore, if it ever did, instead it seems that Quintana is being pushed towards a return to the Tour de France to ensure the sponsor has their most exciting young rider contending for the biggest race of the year. That makes a great deal of sense, while the penultimate stage with it’s long ITT will be a serious handicap for Quintana, there are enough summit finishes for him to throw down the gauntlet to the other contenders. Even so the route for the Giro seems ideal for the Colombian, the flattish ITT is shorter, and there are steeper climbs where he can put serious time into the better time triallists. In short if Quintana rides the Giro he will have a great chance of winning it. If Movistar do switch Quintana to the Tour then they need to select a new leader for the Giro squad, do they choose Benat Intxausti and rearrange his race program accordingly, or do they take the chance on Eros Capecchi as an outright leader? As a fan I want to see Quintana back at the Tour de France, his presence would certainly make for a more exciting race, however I believed the original plan made even more sense and gave Movistar their best chance of winning a Grand Tour in 2014.
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