I almost wasn’t going to write this, I am feeling a little Vuelta fatigue, having posted 27 articles about the race already. However having said I would write one it made sense to do so.
The General Classification
The winner of the 2013 Vuelta a Espana was Chris Horner (RadioShack-Leopard) and there is no denying that he was the strongest climber in the race. Horner was always prominent when the racing went uphill, he won stage 3, fulfilling his pre-race ambition of taking the a stage win and the Red Jersey early in the race. He won again on the extremely difficult Alto de Hazallanas, and was the highest finishing GC contender on both the Pena Cabarga and on L’Angliru. Horners’ excellent performances on those four stages proved crucial in the 2013 Vuelta a Espana, as did finished ahead of Vincenzo Nibali on stage 19.
I have watched cycling for many years, so like many other observers the level of Chris Horners’ performances raised a lot of doubts and skepticism in my mind. Scott O’Raw of the Eurosport Cycling Podcast articulated those concerns in this post http://velocast.cc/the-problem-with-chris-horner. There must be a certain amount of incredulity when a rider who is just shy of his 42nd birthday can become a Grand Tour winner for the first time, doing so after a lengthy injury layoff and after only one week of racing prior to the Vuelta adds fuel to the fire. That build up race, the Tour of Utah, saw Horner produce an excellent ride to win the penultimate stage and take the race lead, it also saw him lose it the next day when he was unable to reproduce the effort from the day before. A perfectly normal physiological response to a long injury layoff. I expected him to be stronger by the start of the Vuelta, he was certainly coming into the race with less fatigue than any of his rivals. However I really didn’t think he could sustain his performance for three weeks, not without more build up racing. I am not going to get into power data, climb times or anything else that has been speculated upon online, I’m not qualified to get into that properly and many others have already done so. Instead I go by what my eyes see and that has lead to the above concerns. Yet that is all they are, concerns, doubts, skepticism, they prove nothing and a rider should not be condemned based on those things alone. I do find it hard to be convinced by what I have seen over the last three weeks, but I have been wrong about many things in my life, so simply trusting my own judgement in matters such as this, isn’t enough. Chris Horners’ performances on the road certainly merited victory and justifiable skepticism aside, he should be able to enjoy that victory unless someone can prove it is unjust. It’s not as though Horners’ rivals produced their best in this race either, all came into the Vuelta having already completed another Grand Tour, none was in their ideal condition. Had they then the result might have been different, Horner could have finished 4th or 5th and would have been lauded for a great effort.
Giro d’Italia winner, and former Vuelta winner, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) admitted his recovery from the Giro was less than ideal. Travel and sponsorship commitments meant he was out of shape when he began his program for the second half of the season. It’s also true that the Vuelta itself was not his target, though he did want to win it, rather he was aiming at the World Championship road race and the Giro di Lombaria which take place in the next 19 days. Even so, finishing 2nd, having already won the Giro makes 2013 a year to remember for Nibali. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) finished 3rd and 4th respectively, each came into the race after a hard fought Tour de France and it showed, as they simply were not at their best. Valverde won the Green Jersey despite not winning a stage, the number of mountain finishes combined with the lack of a dominant sprint team made sure that one of the GC riders would win it. Given Valverdes’ surprising speed at the finish for a climber, he was always a likely contender. Rodriguez won the 19th stage, his 8th stage win in total in the Vuelta a Espana, but he couldn’t find his best form.
Nicholas Roche (Saxo-Tinkoff) also completed the Tour de France, but unlike Valverde and Rodriguez he definitely rode within himself in France, performing as a domestique, often working in the earlier parts of the stage before knocking off the effort. He came into the Vuelta in great shape, slimmer and full of confidence and it showed when he won the 2nd stage and later claimed the race lead for a day. It was a bravura performance from the Irishman, a race full of attacking intent and his reward was his highest ever finish in a Grand Tour. Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R) finished 6th after being caught out by the wind on stage 17, he climbed superbly throughout and produced a surprisingly good ITT performance to keep himself firmly in contention. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) finished 7th overall, a strong ride from the young Frenchman and a good response to his problems at the Tour de France, like Roche he rode aggressively, even daring to attack on a descent, if he can really sort that out then his future remains very bright. Finally I want to mention the unfortunate Ivan Basso (Cannondale), 2013 has not been kind to the veteran Italian, he was going superbly in this race before the changing weather conditions caught him out, had they not then he would have been a factor in the GC competition.
The stage winners
If there was a key to picking the stage winners in this Vuelta, it was to expect the unexpected. In a race with so many uphill finishes, it was always likely that the GC riders would feature prominantly amongst the stage winners. I have already mentioned that Horner won two stages, and Rodriguez and Roche won one apiece. Of the other GC contenders Dani Moreno (Katusha) twice, and Leopold Konig (NetApp-Endura) also won uphill finishes. Moreno has had a strong season, winning La Fleche Wallonne, riding strongly in suport of Purito in the Tour and again here at the Vuelta. He started this race in terrific form before, putting aside personal ambitions to once again work superbly for Rodriguez. Konig had a superb race for NetApp-Endura, riding aggressively in the opening week before winning on the Alto de Penas Blancas, finally finishing 9th overall. It could have been even better had he not suffered briefly from illness and losing some time as a result, but it was a great Grand Tour debut from the Czech rider, we can expect to see much more of him in the future.
Mountain finishes are hard to call in general, you have to factor in how big the break was, who was in the break, what gap did the break have, when did the GC race behind light up etc. In this race the breaks were eventually given a lot of leeway, seven of the final nine stages were won by a member of the break. Two of those were Alexandre Geniez (FDJ) and Vasil Kiryienka (Sky Procycling), both riders were part of large breakaway groups which splintered as the stages progressed. Each also rode away from their companions with considerable distance still to race, holding off the chasing riders and sealing terrific victories. Geniez earned his win with a brilliant and insane descent, distancing the more sensible Andre Cardoso (Caja Rural), Kiryienka took his by riding away from the break and settling himself into a metronomic rhythm all the way the the finish. Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Leopard) took the ITT on stage 11, finishing ahead of Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and potentially gaining a small psychological advantage ahead of a potential clash in the World ITT Championship next week.
There were few sprint stages in this race, and most of those came with some sort of trap which made it harder to bring about the bunch sprint. Given the parcours, few teams brought orthodox sprinters, opting instead for more opportunistic fast men. Those teams were also less committed to the sprints, bringing more versatile squads instead, sacrificing the power and strength necessary to chase down the breaks and drive the peloton to the line. The end result was an almost complete absence of full-on bunch sprints, and a lack of control as the peloton approached the line. A perfect example came on stage 6, when Michael Morkov (Saxo-Tinkoff) took the win from a reduced and tired field of sprinters. Things were under control with 16km to go, Tony Martin was dangling 20 seconds ahead of the peloton and the sprint teams were happy, then Martin raised the pace and the chase was on. Over the next 15km it was all the sprint teams could do to keep Martin within 50m, using up all their support riders in the process. When the sprint came, it came from far out and with the strong men to the fore, rather than the fast ones, Morkov showed great instincts to follow Cancellara then spring out for the win. He doesn’t rank highly among the fastest finishers in the world, but when there is a lack of control sometimes being smart is the path to victory. Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and Philippe Gilbert (BMC) also trumped the sprinters, taking superb wins on days when the sprinters were expected to shine. Stybar earned his win after he and Gilbert had jumped clear of the peloton, the final 5km of the race were very technical and the sprint teams foolishly let the two escapees reach that point with a small advantage. From there the Stybar and Gilbert rode too well to be caught, with Sybar being the fastest at the finish, taking his first Grand Tour win and adding to his burgeoning reputation. Gilbert won later in the race, the sprint was on an uphill drag and he showed he was hitting his best form by storming past Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling) for the win, his first while wearing the Rainbow Jersey. Bauke Mollema (Belkin) rescued his teams Vuelta with a highly unlikely win on the stage into Burgos. The peloton had been much reduced by the winds on the road to Burgos, however they reached the finish with a number of fast finishers, Farrar, Richeze, Bole and Boasson Hagen were there. Yet none of those fast riders took up the race in the final 1km, allowing Mollema to steal away for the win. He is fast on the line for a climber, but definitely outmatched in that company, another victory for tactical nous and the spirit of attack.
There were of course other stage winners but they fit better in the next category.
Young riders come to the fore
One of my race previews featured the young riders to watch out for in this race. It came with the proviso that many were here more for experience, riders for the future rather than the here and now, some of course did diddly squat, but others shone. Warren Barguil (Argos-Shimano) and Kenny Elissonde (FDJ) are gifted young French climbers who showed their potential when winning stages in this Vuelta. Barguil won two stages, finished in the top 10 on two other uphill finishesand generally won over the cycling public with his attacking style, a magnificent performance from a 21 year old riding his first ever Grand Tour. Elissonde, 22, only had the one stand out day in the Vuelta, it just happened to come on the most difficult and iconic of all, winning on L’Angliru is a landmark victory for any climber, never mind one riding his first Grand Tour. Daniele Ratto (Cannondale) has been making a name for himself as an opportunistic sprinter, one for the uphill sprints, and the tough run ins. A good climber for a fast man but not a likely candidate to win a mountain top finish like he did here, taking victory from a break, atop the Coll de la Gallina and in awful weather. It was a terrific victory.
I felt silly talking about the sprints earlier and leaving out the most impressive sprinter in the field, Michael Matthews (Orica GreenEDGE). The 22 year old won the two bunch sprints that featured in the race, and did so with some ease, clearly the fastest sprinter in this race. A year ago I would have labelled Matthews more of an opportunistic sprinter than a true fast man, but he has impressed me as a sprinter in the last six weeks, showing an impressive burst of speed as well as the strength to hold it. 2014 will be a big year for him as he should get the chance to compete against the elite sprinters at some point and we can see just how competitive he can be. He certainly had the backing of his team here, Orica-GreenEDGE worked hard whenever there was the possibility of a sprint finish, Christian Meier in particular was busy on the front of the peloton.
Wild card teams impress
Al three wild card teams did themselves proud in this Vuelta. NetApp-Endura must take the largest plaudits, Leopold Konig starred, and when he struggled Jose Medes was there to nurse him through to the end of the stage. Bartosz Huzarski and Jose Mendes were aggressive in the mountains and several times in the race the team as a whole came to the fore on the front of the peloton. Nicolas Edet was the star for Cofidis, winning the KoM jersey through aggressively getting into breaks. Caja Rural lacked the tangible success of the other two, and will have been disappointed that David Arroyo couldn’t finish in the top 10, but they certainly got themselves noticed. No team was more active in the breaks than Caja Rural, Javier Aramendia, Andre Cardoso, Amets Txurruka and Antonio Piedra were particularly aggressive.
The disappointments
Perhaps the biggest disappointment for many cycling fans is that this was the last Vuelta for the Euskaltel-Euskadi team. Thankfully the team is in the process of being bought replaced by another Spanish team, formed by Fernando Alonso, but they won’t be Basque and there will be no more carrots in the peloton. It’s a pity that they didn’t manage a more memorable final Vuelta, no stage wins and their best finisher was Samuel Sanchez who was 8th overall. They were active though, particularly in the mountains where Igor Anton and Egoi Martinez were particularly strong.
Lampre-Merida failed to win a stage or achieve anything of note in the GC, however between Maximiliano Richeze, Diego Ulissi and Michele Scarponi they had six podium finishes. It comes after a similarly winless Tour de France, though they certainly went closer to landing a big result in this race. Similarly Garmin-Sharp failed to achieve any memorable results, they were seriously hampered when GC contender and potential stage winner, Dan Martin, crashed out of the race. However Tyler Farrar did finish the race and must be disappointed with his performances, coming 2nd on the final stage was respectable, but he had more speed than almost all the other sprinters in this race. With the way the team is morphing into a more GC oriented team, failing to win here won’t help him make future Grand Tour squads.
Neither Lotto Belisol nor Vacansoleil-DCM managed to achieve anything of note, though both teams saw their chances of doing so devastated by withdrawals. Lotto Belisol had only four finishers, their chances of success virtually disappearing when Bart de Clercq crashed out, prior to that De Clercq had been climbing with the favorites and looked good. Their best result came through Adam Hansen when he was one of the final survivors from the break, finishing 3rd on the climb of Pena Cabarga. Vacansoleil had even worse luck, with just three riders finishing the race. Juan Antonio Flecha was easily their most impressive performer, seemingly trying to roll back the years with attacks on almost every stage.
Vasil Kiryienka saved the race for Sky Procycling, their two Colombian climbers Sergio Henao and Rigoberto Uran, had been expected to feature as GC riders but just didn’t deliver. I am a big fan of both but they weren’t at their best.
Overall I think this was an enjoyable Vuelta, the GC race went right down to the last big stage, and it was a dramatic stage at that. This current formula they seem to use definitely creates some interesting finishes, with most of the action designed to happen towards the end of the race, when television pictures are live. If I have a gripe it’s the lack of variety, there were too many uphill finishes, particularly too many mountain finishes. I’m not arguing for more sprint stages, though another obvious sprint finish would likely have brought a different field of riders to the race. Instead I’d like more imagine finishes ,a descent to the line after a tough climb, a small uphill finish coming after a much bigger climb, with a nice descent in between. A substantial hill 25km from the finish, not enough to make it a GC only selection but favoring the opportunistic stage winners, use the winds more, basically just add more variety to the race. However that’s meant as constructive criticism rather than having a moan, I really enjoyed watching this Vuelta.
The Week in Cycling 