Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco 2014 Preview

The Tour of the Basque Country is always an exciting race to watch, the parcours is full of short sharp climbs which lend themselves to attacking riding, while the absence of the truly high mountain finishes forces the GC riders to ride aggressively throughout. Given the spiky terrain and the overlap with the cobbled classic season there is usually a dearth of pure sprinters, with the flatter stages belonging to the more versatile fast men and teams filling their squads with climbers instead. The nature of the parcours and timing of the race also make it ideal preparation for the Ardennes week and provides an excellent barometer of form for the likely contenders there. The start list is still unofficial and changes are a certainty, so some rough calculations and guess work are required when preparing a preview and that should be borne in mind.

The Stages (Images from http://www.itzulia.net/en/2014)

 

Stage one

Stage one: Ordizia – Ordizia 153.4km

Stage one demonstrates why this race provides excellent preparation for the Ardennes classics, as the peloton has to tackle short and relatively sharp climbs throughout the day. The stage finishes 6.7km after the final ascent of the Alto de Gaintza, it’s short but steep. It’s a new climb to the race but the peloton climbs it for the first time about 50km earlier in the stage so we will get a good idea of what to expect on the final climb of the day. It certainly looks like an excellent attacking opportunity and any rider with their eye on the GC is going to have to be very alert on this stage

 

Stage two

Stage two: Ordizia – Dantxarinea (Urdazubi) 155.8km

Stage two features some significant climbing in the opening 110km but while the run in to the finish remains bumpy the stage should end with some sort of bunch sprint, though it looks like it may be an uphill sprint.

 

Stage three

Stage three: Urdazubi-Urdax – Vitoria-Gasteiz 194.5km

With climbing right from the start, stage three offers a great opportunity for a breakaway to establish a significant advantage, though if the wrong riders get up the road it could also see a frantic start as the peloton chases them down. It’s the longest stage in the race at 194.7km, there are two climbs in the final 35km and a 9km descent to the finish line and it could provide an opportunity for an attacker to spring away for the win. However the climbs don’t look that difficult so unless the GC teams really drive the pace or the descent is technical I would expect a reasonable sized group to reach the finish.

 

Stage four

Stage four: Vitoria-Gasteiz – Eibar-Arrate 151km

The most significant uphill finish in the race as the stage finishes atop the Alto de Usartza, a regular feature of the Tour of the Basque Country. It comes after another day full of climbing and it’s not a particularly long climb, coming in around 7km at 6.7%, but there is a 3km section in the middle which averages close to 10% and has a number of ramps in excess of that. The climb flattens off at the top with a short downhill section to the finish, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) won the stage last year and Samuel Sanchez (BMC) has a strong track record on this climb.

 

Stage five

Stage five: Eibar- Markina-Xemein 160.2km

The final road stage of the race has an imposing looking final 6okm full of the races characteristic short and sharp climbs, the final two of which are significant enough to provide a launch pad for a last roll of the dice ahead of the ITT. If a group reaches the finish together it will be a small one but it wouldn’t surprise me if a rider or a handful of riders can elude the chasers and stay clear to the finish.

 

Stage six

Stage six: Markina-Xemein – Markina-Xemein 25.9km

The race finishes with its customary time trial, this time on a hilly 25.9km course that should help to alleviate the weakness of some of the GC contenders against the clock.

 

The Riders

 

The Contenders

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) has enjoyed a storming start to the season; he was easily the best rider in the Vuelta a Andalucia, looked strong in Strade Bianche then even better when winning Roma Maxima the following day. He has been familiarising himself on the cobbles in the past week and looked strong enough to contend for victory here. Valverde is fast enough to win the sprint if small groups come to the finishes together, though he should be wary of Kwiatkowski. Valverde looked good against the clock in the prologue of the Vuelta a Andalucia and the hills in the ITT will certainly suit him.

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo) is another rider who has enjoyed an impressive start to the season and showed his attacking intentions right from the start with victory on the Alto do Malhao in the Volta ao Algarve. Contador followed that with a terrific long range victory on stage five on his way to winning Tirreno-Adriatico. His form looks great but the lack of a fast finish could cost him here

The talented Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) has taken another step forward in 2014 and is rapidly approaching phenomenon status, if he isn’t already there. A strong punchy climber and excellent time trialist, Kwiatkowski is an obvious contender in this race, and he should be hitting form ahead of the Ardennes classics. His one weakness has been keeping up with the best on the longer climbs, but that isn’t a big deal on this parcours, and while he could lose some time on stage four, it won’t be much and he is capable of taking it back again in the ITT. Kwiatkowski is also a very fast finisher and will be dangerous if he is in the front group on any of the stages.

The World Champion Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) is still searching for that first win while wearing the rainbow stripes, but it hasn’t been for want of trying as he has consistently went on the offensive this season, with five 2nd place finishes to his credit. He is also well suited to the parcours, a good climber and time trialist, he descends well and has decent speed on the line, it may not be enough to bring the victory he craves, but he should be close.

Carlos Betancur (AG2R) is built for this sort of terrain, he excels on the punchy climbs and has good speed at the finish as he showed while winning Paris-Nice less than a month ago. However he abandoned the Volta a Catalunya with illness and if that has affected his condition the team could opt to go with Jean-Christophe Peraud, who won the Criterium International last weekend. Peraud is the stronger time trialist but Betancur coped well enough in the ITT in last year’s race and it had a similarly hilly parcours.

BMC would appear to have a host of options to lead them in the race. The form rider is Tejay van Garderen, he was looked strong in the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, and will be keen to get some more race days in the legs to make up for being forced out of Paris-Nice with illness. Cadel Evans was off the pace in Tirreno-Adriatico and will need to find some form ahead of the Giro d’Italia, while the team could use the race to give either Samuel Sanchez or Darwin Atapuma a chance to show what they can do. Of course the Basque Sanchez is the obvious option; he knows this race superbly and has enjoyed success in the past, while Atapuma has the natural skill set to do well on this terrain.

Bauke Mollema (Belkin Pro Cycling Team) has yet to hit the heights of last July this season, but he remains a strong competitor. A very good climber and solid time trialist, he is also capable of riding very aggressively and has decent speed on the line.

Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) has had a quiet start to the season, but the big Canadian has shown himself to be an aggressive rider when he has the right form and he could certainly shake things up. The team should have an excellent alternative in Tom-Jelte Slagter, a double stage winner in Paris-Nice, the talented puncheur will be at home on this parcours. Several finishes come after descents and if any of those are particularly technical then watch out for Janier Acevedo, the Colombian is terrific going downhill.

Simon Spilak (Katusha Team) showed he was starting to hit form towards the end of Paris-Nice as he launched several late attacks from the peloton. The aggressive climber should arrive here in stronger form and is more than capable of upsetting some of the bigger names.

When Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) crashed out of Tirreno-Adriatico with a knee injury there was an initial worry that the serious problems that derailed his 2013 campaign were back. Thankfully that wasn’t the case and he is back racing, but he still remains a little short of the form he needs if he is to be competitive here.

If given the opportunity to ride for himself, Tanel Kangert (Astana) is more than capable of being a major factor in this race. A super-domestique for Vincenzo Nibali, Kangert has a strong all-round skill set and the attacking attitude to excel on this punchy terrain; he is also a capable, if inconsistent time trialist.

It seems likely that Team Sky would opt for Mikel Nieve to lead them in his home race. The gifted climber is set to be a key domestique for the team in the Tour de France, and having an opportunity for some personal glory ahead of that is good for the spirit of a domestique.

Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) has struggled to get going so far in 2014 but having finally finished a stage race in Catalunya he will hope to be more competitive here.

Warren Barguil (Giant-Shimano) is clearly an extremely gifted rider, and isn’t neither afraid of going on the offensive nor intimidated in the presence of the biggest names in cycling. He will have to be aggressive though as he seems certain to lose time on the final day ITT.

This parcours should be ideal for an aggressive rider such as Luis Leon Sanchez (Caja Rural). A highly opportunistic rider who likes to attack on climbs close to the finish, he is capable of descending away from the pack. Sanchez is also a strong time trialist and seems a natural candidate to contend here, but he was off the pace in Catalunya and that must be a concern, perhaps he struggled with the poor conditions and can recover for this next race.

Moreno Moser (Cannondale) is getting the chance to ride for himself after having worked for Peter Sagan for much of the season and he needs to make the most of it. A talented punchy climber, Moser has the skill set to impress on this parcours but he will have to be aggressive to do so.

It’s the latest race on the comeback trail for Frank Schleck (Trek Factory Racing) and he is coming into form ahead of the Ardennes classics. He finished 6th overall in the Criterium International and looked very strong on the Col de l’Ospidale. Time trialing is his likely downfall but the team can also call upon Bob Jungels who excels against the clock and is improving as a climber.

Cyril Gautier (Europcar) had a strong Paris-Nice, where he finished 6th overall. A punchy rider who is suited to the hilly parcours, he can struggle with the longer climbs but that isn’t a concern in this race, though he will likely lose some ground on the final stage time trial.

 

Other Riders to Watch

Michael Matthews (Orica GreenEDGE) is the fastest finisher in the race and a terrific climber for a fast man; he is the obvious favourite for stages two and three. The Australian team will also be hoping to see signs of form for Simon Gerrans, he opened the season on fire but a short break has been followed by illness and it may have left him short of form ahead of his next major targets in the Ardennes.

Philippe Gilbert (BMC) should be getting close to the form necessary to excel in the Ardennes and will use this race as his final tune up ahead of those races. If the form is there he could get involved in any reduced sprints and could well launch an attack on one of the stages with a hill near the end and a descent to the finish.

Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) is the clear favorite for the ITT, though the hilly nature of the course does play into the hands of the GC riders. Yet to win in 2014, the World Time Trial Champion will be keen to break his duck here and the fact that it is the longest time trial he has raced this season definitely suits him.

Ben Swift (Team Sky) is finally enjoying some success after suffering from rotten luck in 2013. Swift is a fast finisher and climbs well, he should be in contention on stages two and three, his podium placing in Milan-San Remo and stage victories in the Coppi e Bartali show the form is there to be a danger man in this race.

Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) has long been one of the best climbing sprinters around, lacking the speed to take on the top sprinters but capable of getting over hills that they can’t and finding success that way. He is only 28 but he seems to have lost some of his sprinting speed, which makes victories even harder to come by, but his climbing is better than ever and he showed great form to finish 4th overall in Paris-Nice.

The punchy Arthur Vichot (FDJ) took a fine win from a small group on the lumpy final stage of Paris-Nice, and there are similar stages in this race. I think we can expect to see that impressive French National Champion Jersey to the fore

Daniele Ratto (Cannondale) is at his best on the tougher sprint finishes and should be able to be competitive in this field.

 

 

2014 Tirreno-Adriatico: Notes from stage three

Positioning is king

For most of the day the action on stage three resembled that from stage two. A break went away, the peloton kept them under control and reeled them in when the time came, with 35km to go one of the breakaway companions decided to go it alone, yesterday it was Alex Dowsett (Movistar), today it was Bjorn Thurau (Europcar). With the peloton motoring behind Thurau never had much chance of succeeding, but he gave it a real go, putting up a substantial fight and only admitting defeat on the final lap of the finishing circuit. Once he was caught there was a tussle for control of the peloton, everyone wanted to get to the front so that their option for today’s stage was well positioned when they hit the finishing ramp. Tinkoff-Saxo, BMC and Omega Pharma-Quick Step were particularly to the fore, and it was the latter, in the form of Tony Martin who drove the race onto the climb, stringing everyone out in the process; if a rider wasn’t near the front when Martin took up the pace, then they were out of the reckoning.

Once past the opening section of the ramp the gradient wasn’t that tough, but the street was rough and narrow, there was no way back for those stuck behind. Philippe Gilbert (BMC) was the first to open a sprint, going very early to try and open enough of a gap to remain ahead of the fast finishers, however the finish wasn’t tough enough to suit Gilbert and he crossed the line in 4th. However it definitely suited Peter Sagan (Cannondale) as he took Gilbert’s wheel then exploded past him in the final 100m, a fine win for the Slovak and confirmation that he is approaching the form he needs ahead of the classics. Michal Kwiatkowski (OPQS) and Simon Clarke (Orica GreenEDGE) were 2nd and 3rd respectively, each gaining small time bonifications, a result that bolsters Kwiatkowski’s GC aspirations. As expected there were small time gaps amongst the finishers, with Kwiatkowski the sole GC contender to make the first recognised group, his team mate Rigoberto Uran was in the second group 0:04 down, Alberto Contado (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Richie Porte (Sky) made the third group 0:06 behind, while Nairo Quintana (Movistar) was in the fourth, 0:16 down.

Looking ahead to stage four

Stage four: Indicatore (Arezzo) – Cittareale (Selva Rotonda) 244km
Image from http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/TirrenoAdriatico/en/

The toughest climbing stage of the year so far, the first 115km are relatively flat but the remaining 130km are anything but. Even before they reach the final climb the peloton will have scaled two significant categorised climbs, the Forca de Cerro, 9.6km at 4.6% with steeper ramps about 1/3rd of the way up, and the Forca Capistrello, 16.4km at 6.7% with ramps throughout and some exceeding 10%. The riders will crest the Capistrello with 62km remaining so it is highly unlikely to be the source of the winning move, but it will certainly do a lot of damage. At 1535m the finish at Selva Rotonda is the highest point of the race, the climb itself is 14km long at 5.4% and like all the best climbs it is steepest at the top, reaching 10% in the closing kilometres. A brute of a stage that will really test the form of the contenders and shake up the GC.

2014 Tirreno-Adriatico: Notes from stage two

A terrific win for Matteo Pelucchi

Not many people had Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling) down as a possible winner for this stage, but he took his chance with aplomb landing the biggest result of his career in the process. Everything had seemed to be going to plan until a crash with 2.5km to go effectively took Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) and Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) out of the sprint. Though Cavendish himself didn’t go down, his sprint train was disrupted and he couldn’t get back in place to contest the sprint, he does however retain the Blue Jersey. With the peloton a little disorganised it was FDJ who took up the pace setting, driving the bunch towards the line and setting up Arnaud Demare for the sprint. Demare launched his sprint early, as did Peter Sagan (Cannondale), but Pelucchi waited, he had found Andre Greipel’s (Lotto Belisol) wheel and waited until the boxed in German finally got going before launching his own sprint, bursting past the rest for the win. Demare was 2nd and Greipel 3rd, while Sagan faded a little to finish 5th after Sam Bennett (NetApp-Endura) sped past him to take 4th.

 

Crashes take their toll

A collision with 2.5km to go left Marcel Kittel on the deck and disrupted the Omega Pharma-Quick Step sprint train, in one fell swoop hobbling two of the three favourites for the stage victory. Kittel took it a little hard as you can see below

Kittel later apologised on twitter, it doesn’t look good for your sponsor when you decide to bounce one of their leading products off the ground, though his frustration was understandable.

That wasn’t the only significant crash as several riders ended up on the side of the road 11km earlier, with Jacopo Guarnieri (Astana), Bart de Clercq and Jurgen Van den Broeck (both Lotto Belisol) seeming to come off worst. Sadly for Van den Broeck it was another knee injury, it’s just been diagnosed as a deep laceration for now which is forcing him out of the race. Hopefully further tests confirm that to be the extent of the damage, after suffering a serious knee injury last season he could do with catching a break.

Looking ahead to stage three

Stage three: Cascina – Arezzo 210km
Image from http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/TirrenoAdriatico/en/

Another sprint stage of a sort, just not one that is likely to suit the specialist sprinter en mass. The run in is bumpy and the final kilometre is a 5% ramp, with a short section at 11% at the bottom of the ramp. It could suit a lot of riders, whether they are tougher sprinters, like Arnaud Demare, sprinters who can climb a bit like Gerald Ciolek (MTN Qhubeka), uphill finish specialists like Philippe Gilbert (BMC) or phenomenon’s like Peter Sagan and Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step).

Tirreno-Adriatico 2014 Preview #2: The Riders

With an impressive parcours, see here, and a strong start list featuring an impressive field of stage racers, the 2014 Tirreno-Adriatico looks set to be a very exciting race. The withdrawal of Chris Froome does rob us of one of this seasons only head to head battles between Froome and Quintana, however instead we gain some insight into how the contenders for the Giro compare two months out. With all three elite sprinters in attendance as well as a number of other fast finishers, the sprints on stages two, six and potentially three, should be terrific; a rare opportunity to see the best sprinters go head to head at this stage of the season.

The contenders

Alberto Contador – Tinkoff-Saxo: This is a crucial season for Alberto Contador as he seeks to prove that he can return to his best. He was terrific when winning the Vuelta in 2012, going very deep to do so and I still suspect that had a knock on effect on his off-season training prior to 2013. The hangover from that lasted throughout 2013, by the end of March he was already complaining of fatigue and never seemed to recover. So Contador approached the 2014 season with a new training and race program in an effort to win the biggest races once again. If the new regimen is working then we should expect to see Contador to the fore in this race and in the two that follow, the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco. His season started well when he won a stage and finished 2nd overall in the Volta ao Algarve, the terrain and competition will be much tougher for Tirreno-Adriatico, so it’s reassuring that he has the support of Roman Kreuziger and Nicolas Roche. Kreuziger in particular showed good form to finish 5th in Strade Bianche at the weekend and would be a viable alternative leadership option for the team.

Nairo Quintana – Movistar: Movistar will be led by star climber Nairo Quintana, who looks certain to be a major contender for the overall victory. While he can time trial well for his build he will always be vulnerable on the flat courses the Colombian knows he will lose time to some on the final stage so he will have to be aggressive on stages four and five to ensure he enters the final day with a lead. Quintana may find his best opportunity comes on the very steep Muro di Guardiagrele where being shorter and lighter gives him an advantage, but he is always dangerous on a stage with a summit finish. Quintana will have strong support in the mountains, and the wealth of time trialing talent on the Movistar squad should ensure that Quintana avoids losing any significanttime to his rivals on the opening stage.

Rigoberto Uran – Omega Pharma-Quick Step: Early into his first season as a team leader, the Colombian climber has already been making a good impression. He looked good in the Tour of Oman, finishing 3rd overall while recording 2nd and 3rd place finishes on the two most difficult stages. Uran will be keen to follow that up with an even stronger showing in Italy. He won’t be alone either as Michal Kwiatkowski gives the team a very strong second GC contender, one who comes into the race on the back of an exciting victory in Strade Bianche. Last season Kwiatkowski used Tirreno-Adriatico to really announce himself as a contender on the world stage, wearing the leader’s jersey and finishing 4th overall, there is no reason to doubt he can repeat that, or even improve upon it this year.

Richie Porte – Team Sky: Although he is a late addition to the race after the withdrawal of Chris Froome, Porte had been preparing to defend his Paris-Nice title so he should be just fine. In truth the switch benefits him as he is a better fit for Tirreno-Adriatico’s more traditional stage race parcours. Porte hasn’t approached his best form so far this season, so while this race will give him a great insight into where he stands compared to his Giro rivals, it may not tell us that much about how well he will be going in May. There will certainly be no shortage of support, with climbers and engines aplenty, and as with Movistar, the Sky unit looks well equipped to excel on the opening stage TTT

Cadel Evans – BMC Racing Team: With his sights firmly set on the Giro, and his roots now planted in Italy, Evans will be eager to succeed here. He started the season showing good but not yet great form in Australia, Evans took a little time off after that but a 7th place finish in Strade Bianche shows that he is getting back into form in time for Tirreno-Adriatico. Evans won the race in 2011 and to repeat that feat he needs to stay in touch with Quintana, Contador and whoever else seizes the initiative on the mountain stages; it won’t be easy, but if he has the form to do so then a podium finish is certainly possible.

Daniel Moreno – Katusha Team: An explosive climber, Moreno will lead the Russian team in Tirreno-Adriatico, while the time trials won’t be too his liking, the climbing certainly will and he could be a dangerous rider for the overall classification. Moreno comes to the fore when the gradients are steepest, as he did when attacking on the Mur de Huy to win La Fleche Wallonne last year, and as he will likely try to do on the Muro di Guardiagrele at the conclusion of stage five.

Chris Horner – Lampre-Merida: Horner has had a quiet start to his career with the Italian team but they will be hoping that the winner of the 2013 Vuelta a Espana can start to deliver here, particularly as it is on Italian soil. The 42 year old was 6th overall in last year’s race and the mountainous stages should certainly suit him. If Horner struggles to repeat that, then the team can call on either Damiano Cunego or Diego Ulissi, both of whom have shown some good form recently; Ulissi may be particularly interested in the finish of stage five.

Robert Gesink – Belkin Pro Cycling Team: Gesink comes to Italy in good form after 6th and 5th overall finishes in the Tour Down Under and the Tour of Oman respectively. He looked good on Green Mountain, finishing 5th on the stage and while he wasn’t able to follow Chris Froome, nor was anyone else. Gesink was 2nd overall in the 2011 edition of Tirreno-Adriatico, and while it will be difficult for him to repeat that he will hope to come close. With Bauke Mollema in attendance the team has a second GC option and the leadership will likely be determined by their form on the road. Mollema has less racing in his legs than Gesink, but he looked decent on both uphill finishes in the Vuelta a Andalucia and with two more weeks of training since he could be dangerous.

Andrew Talansky – Garmin-Sharp: This time last season, the young American was winning over fans with a strong and very aggressive display on his way to a 2nd overall finish in Paris-Nice. A little too aggressive perhaps as his attacks on the fifth stage left him vulnerable when Porte launched his own attack, ultimately costing Talansky the Yellow Jersey. The talented American is assuming more of a leadership role this season and this is his first chance to show how much he has progressed. An excellent time trialist, Talansky will be hoping to upset some of the bigger names and fight his way into the top five, provided he is the teams designated leader in the race. Daniel Martin is finally beginning his 2014 campaign and is certainly capable of contending in this race. However he may ride in support of Talansky, while building his own form to defend the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and hit the Ardennes in top form.

Jean-Christophe Peraud – AG2R La Mondiale: The lack of a time trial or a high mountain finish in Paris-Nice has led the veteran Peraud to opt to ride Tirreno-Adriatico instead. Peraud is strong against the clock and a solid climber and is a legitimate GC contender as a result. He finished 3rd overall in Paris-Nice at this time last season and is once again enjoying a good early season form, having finished 2nd overall in the Tour Mediterraneen. Domenico Pozzovivo gives the team an alternative option, the finish to the fifth stage is particularly suited to the diminutive climber, though he is likely to lose some time during the flat ITT on the final day. His attack during Roma Maxima last Sunday shows that he is in good shape right now and he could be very dangerous in this race.

Jurgen Van den Broeck – Lotto Belisol: After an injury truncated 2013 season, it was always going to be a slow start to the season for the Belgian stage race specialist. He has traditionally preferred to start finding his form at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya which starts a week after Tirreno-Adriatico, however after few races to get his condition back and having had a disappointing 2013, he should be looking to be competitive here.

Pierre Rolland – Europcar: It’s been a slow start to the season for the Frenchman but he will be hoping to make much more of an impression here. After the team earned promotion to the World Tour, a decision was made to broaden Rolland’s racing horizons, giving him a race schedule with a more international flavour to it. It was partly motivated by a desire to move him away from the endless pressure of being one of the next big French riders, but it is also an important step in his development and will see him ride a number of stage races that suit his skill set. This edition of Tirreno-Adriatico is one such race, the difficult mountain days should bring the best out of Rolland and give him great preparation for his bigger targets later in the season.

Tanel Kangert – Astana Pro Team: Much depends on the role that the team give to Kangert, is he riding in support of Michele Scarponi, or riding as the leader? I hope he is given his shot as a leader; his work over the past two seasons merits the opportunity to test himself as a leader in a prestigious stage race. Kangert is a very good climber and useful time trialist who has really developed a strong all-round skill set; he has enough speed to make him a potential stage winner if a group of climber comes to the line. Of course Astana could choose to back Michele Scarponi instead, the hugely experienced Italian climber will lead the team at the Giro later this year and is capable of producing a strong ride on this parcours.

Stefano Pirazzi – Bardiani-CSF: Pirazzi is an explosive climber and winner of the Mountains Classification in the Giro d’Italia last year, and also in the 2012 edition of this race. He could target the KoM jersey once again in this race and if he sneaks into the break on stage two that’s what he is doing. However the team talked last year of pushing Pirazzi as a GC rider in the future; with a strong field and a testing parcours, this race is a perfect opportunity to test his progress and potential in that regard.

Ivan Basso – Cannondale: After a fairly turgid 2013 season in which he started very slowly, Basso will be hoping for something altogether more impressive this year, and a strong showing in Tirreno-Adriatico would really help with that. In fairness to Basso, after a sluggish start and a number of injury/illness absences, he did start to show good form in the Vuelta, only to suffer and withdraw from the race after some wretched weather conditions. Stage four will be key for Basso, the long climbs have always suited him, and while he is unlikely to recapture the form that won him the 2010 Giro d’Italia, he is still capable of pulling out a good performance in a race such as this.

Thibaut Pinot- FDJ.fr: Pinot had an up and down season in 2013 and will be hoping to finally get this one off to a decent start, after illness forced his withdrawal from the Tour of Oman. It’s hard to know what to expect from him given his lack of racing, but Pinot remains a gifted climber who is willing to go on the offensive. Alexandre Geniez could well be the leader if Pinot is struggling for race fitness, and would be a solid option, the team hope he can mature into more of a leadership role but he isn’t there yet.

Robert Kiserlovski – Trek Factory Racing: The Croatian climber is the teams GC rider in this race and will hope to go very well on the two mountainous stages to compensate for the time he will likely lose on the final day. Stage four and the final climb to Selva Rotonda should suit him well. He should have capable support from one of the best climbers of the early season in Julian Arredondo, the Colombian won two summit finishes during the Tour de San Luis and looks well suited to the very steep finish on stage five.

Ivan Santaromita – Orica GreenEDGE: the Italian Champion is a good climber and will be keen to impress in his Italian Jersey on home soil, though it will be tough for him to break into the top 10 against this level of competition.

The stage winners

Andre Greipel – Lotto Belisol: The form sprinter of the year so far, the powerful German will be hoping to stand atop the podium once again. Victories in the Tour Down Under, Tour of Qatar and Tour of Oman have showcased Greipel’s power and speed as well as the Lotto Belisol lead out train. Greipel has also been climbing consistently well which is a testament to his form and fitness, though the mountainous stages here are far beyond him. With Kittel and Cavendish in attendance, the support of a strong lead out to support him, and the desire to bring his form to a peak ahead of Milan-San Remo, he will be a force in all of the sprint stages.

Mark Cavendish – Omega Pharma-Quick Step: Cavendish has eased his way into the 2014 season, slowly building fitness and using the early races to work through some of the kinks in the OPQS sprint train. He picked up his first win in the Volta ao Algarve, but the absence of top ten finishes prior to that would certainly suggest he was riding for training rather than riding to win. Over the last few seasons Cavendish has often been some way from his best in Tirreno-Adriatico, saving his energies for the bigger targets to come. Yet the presence of both Greipel and Kittel in this race turns this into a more serious affair for all three sprinters, and he will certainly be keen to hit top form ahead of what may be his final ride of La Primavera.

Marcel Kittel – Giant-Shimano: The third elite sprinter comes into the race after a less than ideal build up. After finding his form with a trio of straight forward victories in the Dubai Tour, Kittel was forced to withdraw from his next race, the Vuelta a Andalucia, on the second day citing a lack of power. Additionally, unlike Greipel and Cavendish, Kittel won’t be riding Milan-San Remo and as a result he may not be in quite the same shape as the other two, which would put him at a disadvantage. Even so with two great opportunities for bunch sprints against the best sprinters in the world, Kittel will be keen to demonstrate that his dominance of the sprints in last season’s Tour de France represents the new order..

Peter Sagan – Cannondale: A double stage winner in last year’s race, with less intermediate type stages the Slovak superstar may find that difficult to match this time round. He will of course be competitive in the sprints, but winning a large bunch sprint against all three elite sprinters will be tough, though if winds break things up it will greatly improve his chances. With the classics just around the corner Sagan should also be reaching a slightly higher level of fitness that the elite sprinters and that could level the playing field, he certainly looked very strong when he broke free from the leading group in Strade Bianche. The third stage should give him his best opportunity for victory; the ramping finish is ideal for him and makes life harder for the purer sprinters. While Sagan can normally compete for wins on some of the more hilly stages, I don’t see it happening this time, stage four is just too mountainous and the gradients at the conclusion of the fifth stage are too steep and suit other riders better.

Sacha Modolo – Lampre-Merida: With four victories already, Modolo’s Lampre-Merida career has gotten off to a flying star; he will carry a lot of confidence into this race. It won’t be easy for him to win given the collection of sprinters in attendance, but the top sprinters are often still slightly vulnerable at this stage of the season and Modolo is coming here with great form so he certainly has a chance. Lampre-Merida can also call on the services of Filippo Pozzato, and while I am not convinced any of the stages will be ideal for him, he could try his luck on stage three with the drag up to the finish.

Arnaud Demare – FDJ.fr: With a stage win in the Tour of Qatar and showing good form in Belgium last weekend, Demare comes to Italy in good shape and should be competitive on all the sprint stages. Watch out for him on stage three in particular, the ramp up to the finish line changes the dynamic of the sprint and Demare showed just how explosive he could be in an uphill sprint during the Eneco Tour last summer.

Gerald Ciolek – MTN Qhubeka: The German sprinter shocked everyone when he won Milan-San Remo last season. Ciolek had long been considered a talent, but a career that was once full of youthful promise seemed to have stagnated. He stepped down from the World Tour, signed for what was then a somewhat obscure South African team that was making its first foray into the Pro Continental ranks, then out of nowhere he lands a career defining result, a magnificent day for rider and team. While they have yet to receive the Grand Tour invite that most cycling fans want them to get, fingers crossed for the Vuelta, that result has ensured they have a healthy portfolio of wild card invites to World Tour events; they will be keen to impress. Once again Ciolek is their best bet for success, he is a good sprinter but may find the competition on stages two and six a little too tough to challenge for a win, however the uphill drag finish on stage three should be much more to his liking.

Tony Martin – Omega Pharma-Quick Step: The World Time Trial Champion will be part of a very strong team time trial unit for the opening stage and an obvious favourite for the ITT on the final day. Although he is generally at his best on the longer time trials where his terrific power can do more damage, Martin is also excellent on shorter technical courses; he won the stage last year and clearly knows what it will take to do it again.

Philippe Gilbert – BMC Racing Team: The Belgian showed he was reaching decent form with a solid run in Roma Maxima and should be dangerous if he finds himself in position to go for a stage win. He could contend on stage three but I’m not sure the finish is steep enough to swing the advantage his way over some of the faster finishers.

Adriano Malori – Movistar: Along with Alex Dowsett, Andrey Amador and Jonathan Castroviejo, Malori is part of a Movistar team that will be very hard to beat in the team time trial on the opening day. Any of them could contend in the ITT on the final day but Malori has been the strongest this season and will fancy his chances of taking his second victory against the clock.

Fabian Cancellara – Trek Factory Racing: After Strade Bianche, it is clear that Cancellara’s form isn’t quite there yet, but it’s getting close and this race should be enough to bring it to where it needs to be ahead of the Classics. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Cancellara try an attack somewhere to stretch his legs, whether going in a break or trying to get involved on the finish of stage three. Clearly his best stage winning opportunity will come on the final stage and the ITT, while he is no longer a pure time trial specialist, he remains terrific in that discipline. This is a solid Trek lineup that includes another strong time trialist in Jesse Sergent, so the team should be amongst the best on the opening stage as well.

Luke Durbridge – Orica GreenEDGE: Part of a strong team time trial unit with Svein Tuft, Michael Hepburn, Cameron Meyer and Jens Mouris, any of whom could be targeting success on the final stage.

Sam Bennett – NetApp-Endura: The 23 year old Irish sprinter comes into the race on the crest of a wave, a first victory in NetApp-Endura colours at the Clasica Almeria, following on from impressive performances in Qatar and Oman. Realistically this race is a huge step up in class and not one where he is likely to compete at this stage of his career, though he will benefit hugely from the experience of sprinting against the best in the world. However confidence is huge in sprinting and he has it right now, so you never know.

Sonny Colbrelli – Bardiani-CSF: The Italian team have a number of punchy riders or fast finishers, taking form and strength of field into consideration, Colbrelli looks to be their strongest potential stage winner on this parcours. The 23 year old already has nine top 5 road finishes to his credit this season, most coming on hillier stages with sprints from a reduced peloton. While he probably isn’t the teams fastest option for the flat finishes, neither Nicola Ruffoni nor Filippo Fortin are likely to find much joy against the elite sprinters that are present. Colbrelli’s best chance may come on stage three with the uphill sprint finish, but it will be tough for him to make an impact against the calibre of riders in this race. Enrico Battaglin shares some similarities to Colbrelli, but doesn’t have the same form coming into the race.

Heinrich Haussler – IAM Cycling: Haussler gives the Swiss team an option the sprints and along with Matteo Pelucchi will be their most likely stage winner, though that will be difficult against this competition. His best chance will come if winds have broken things up..

2014 Team Preview – BMC Racing Team

The American based, and Swiss financed squad, are often considered to be cycling’s biggest budget super team, although precise figures are hard to find. The reality is that they are likely to have a comparable budget to that of Team Sky, and possibly one or two other teams. Both BMC and Sky have been able to field star studded teams in recent seasons; Sky have frequently deployed their talent as a focused unit in the service of the designated leader, which has reaped dividends for them. However BMC’s approach has tended to be more dysfunctional, with the whole being less than the sum of its parts. Maybe they’ve had too many similar riders, powerful all-rounders and engines, without enough specialists to bring in the results. Perhaps they were guilty of having too many options and not enough focus. There have been a number of good results and some great moments in the last three seasons. Cadel Evans won the Tour (2011), Philippe Gilbert won the road World Championship (2012), Tejay van Garderen won the White Jersey at the Tour de France (2012) and Taylor Phinney wore the Maglia Rosa (2012). However the team hasn’t lived up to its potential and the result of that has been a change in managerial direction for the new season. Allan Peiper takes over with the promise of clearly defined targets for each rider, more manageable race loads for the star riders, and choosing a single team leader for the Tour de France.

That team leader will be van Garderen, as the 25 year old American seeks to properly elevate his racing to a World Tour level. Last season was something of a disappointment for van Garderen, however he did manage to fulfil some of his ambitions when winning the Amgen Tour of California and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado. It was a different story on European soil, where he started well by finishing 4th overall in Paris-Nice but it went downhill from there. The worst came at the Tour de France where van Garderen suffered from the heat early on; losing his strength and a tonne of time, there was no way back. He did recover some form in the final week, and came agonizingly close to a win on the double Alpe d’Huez stage, but finishing 45th overall will have hurt. van Garderen is a powerful climber rather than an explosive one, and he puts that power to good use as a time trialist. Cadel Evans won’t be returning to the Tour in 2014, instead he will be mounting an assault on the Giro, trying to outperform his surprising 3rd place finish from last season. Evans originally went to the Giro as a desperate gamble to build fitness for the Tour, but managed to find himself in the thick of things before fading in the second half of the race. So this year the Giro is actually the target, with his fitness and racing programs arranged accordingly. The team brings back some veteran support riders for those GC ambitions, with Steve Morabito, Amael Moinard, Stephen Cummings all capable climbers. While Dominik Nerz, Larry Warbasse and Yannick Eijssen are younger riders who have flashed their climbing talent, Nerz in particular looks ready to take the next step in 2014. However it was clear that BMC needed an influx of climbing talent, and the signing of Peter Velits, John Darwin Atapuma, Peter Stetina and Ben Hermans does just that. Velits is a solid stage race rider, and strong all-rounder, who has a 3rd place finish in the 2010 Vuelta to his credit. Atapuma has really impressed over the last two seasons with the Colombia team, his performance on the steep sections during the Tour de Pologne really stood out. He is the most gifted pure climber on the roster, and is already slated to ride the Tour in support of van Garderen. Stetina has shown up well on some mountain stages for the Garmin-Sharp team, and looked like he could do more if given the chance, and Hermans is more of a punchy rider.

Can they make the most of their stage winners?

Despite enduring a difficult year in the Rainbow Jersey, Philippe Gilbert is one of the most successful riders of the current decade. After sweeping the Ardennes Classics in 2011 and racking up the wins, he had a quieter 2012 before springing to life in the Vuelta and finishing the season as the World Champion. Gilbert will be shaking up his race schedule for 2014, trying to stay fresher and regain the explosive burst that made him so strong on the short, steep slopes of the Ardennes in 2011. BMC do have strong support riders who can help Gilbert, none more so than Marcus Burghardt who has a great engine. Greg Van Avermaet is a fine opportunistic stage winner, he has decent sprint speed, climbs well and is well suited to many of same the races Gilbert does well in. He had an excellent campaign on the cobbles in 2013, with 3rd in Gent-Wevelgem, 7th in Ronde van Vlaanderen and 4th in Paris-Roubaix. With Gilbert skipping the cobbles altogether this season, Van Avermaet can expect a large role in those races. Taylor Phinney is a powerhouse time trial specialist, and a developing classics rider. He has a decent turn of speed at the finish, but his fine stage win in Poland was all about the power to hold off the chasing pack. Thor Hushovd may have slowed a little but he remains the team’s best sprinter for now, though he is more of a strongman sprinter and all-round rider. Hushovd, another former World Champion, and definitely still a fan favourite, will have an eye on the Cobbled Classics alongside sprint success. Daniel Oss is a similar type of rider to Hushovd, though without ever reaching the same heights. More intriguing though is the signing of 20 year old Rick Zabel, son of Erik, and a promising young sprinter in his own right, one for the future. Alessandro Ballan has fought his way back from a horrible injury, but he now has to fight his way through the Mantova affair, if he is to contribute to the BMC season.

2014 outlook

BMC have invested heavily in the last few seasons and created a strong squad, now they want to see more prestigious results. Gilbert, Hushovd, Van Avermaet and Phinney look to be the most likely to deliver in 2014. Getting van Garderen back into the top 10 in the Tour de France, combined with success in the one-week stage races of the World Tour, are certainly attainable goals.

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2013 Vuelta a Espana: The Final Report

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.

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2013 Vuelta a Espana: Notes From Stage Fourteen

Daniele Ratto steals the limelight

From the start of the race a group of five riders went clear, Luis Leon Sanchez (Belkin), Philippe Gilbert (BMC), Graeme Brown (Belkin), Steve Chainel (AG2R) and Daniele Ratto (Cannondale). On the Port de Envalira they split up with Sanchez, Gilbert and Ratto climbing too well for the others, at that point their had lead reached it’s maximum value of 12:35. Gilbert led the trio over the top of the climb but they split up on the descent, Sanchez crashed then later withdrew from the race with Hypothermia. Ratto and Gilbert raced on ahead but Ratto soon distanced Gilbert, leading the race over the next two climbs and all the way to the top of the final climb. It was a magnificent performance from the 23 year old, a real landmark victory. It was also superbly timed for the Cannondale team who lost their leader today.

 

The weather wreaks havoc on the race

Having enjoyed a permanently dry and hot race to date, the transformation to dreadful conditions today took an awful toll on the peloton. It rained throughout the day, making the descents very dangerous, it was also cold, particularly at altitude. Fourteen riders were forced to withdraw including Ivan Basso, Luis Leon Sanchez, Wout Poels, Lieuwe Westra, Jelle Vanendert, Haimar Zubeldia, and Roman Kreuziger, several cited hypothermia as the reason. The reaction to the sudden bad weather was totally understandable, many of us feel bad anytime there is a dramatic swing in the conditions, imagine how bad that feels if you have to go out and cycle 169km in the mountains. As a result of the atrocious conditions a large number riders simply struggled with the conditions, losing their recent good form and producing sub par performances. While others, such as Alejandro Valverde, lost ground on descents. Valverde found himself adrift of the peloton as they approached the final climb, however after good work from Sylwester Szmyd and Jose Herrada, Valverde rode very well by himself on the final climb to finish only 50 seconds behind Vincenzo Nibali. Nibali looked comfortable once again, climbing with Chris Horner and kicking ahead of him to take 2nd and a few seconds advantage. Nibali still leads the race, with Horner now 50 seconds behind in 2nd and Valverde 3rd at 1:42.

 

Looking ahead to stage fifteen

Stage 15: Andorra – Peyragudes
Profile from http://www.lavuelta.com

The longest stage of this Vuelta a Espana is expected to take place in the same awful weather that we saw today, if so it will be 232.5km of hell for the riders. Even in ideal weather stage fifteen is a monster, but with cold and rain added in this is just cruel. The two early climbs are brutes of 24.4km and 20 km, leg sapping challenges, particularly so given the weather. The final 50km of the stage was used in stage 17 of the 2012 Tour de France, a stage won by Alejandro Valverde, he will be very motivated to make up for today but it’s not going to be easy. It’s a great stage for a breakaway, if Nicolas Edet or Amets Txurruka do want to contend for the KoM Jersey then they absolutely have to get into the break.

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2013 Vuelta a Espana: Notes From Stage Twelve

The sprint teams weren’t interested in letting the break win today

The first half of the parcours was favorable to a breakaway today, so long as a decent sized group went away they had a decent chance of making it. However only three riders made the move, Romain Zingle (Cofidis), Fabricio Ferrari (Caja Rural) and Cedric Pineau (FDJ). Astana were delighted with that as Romain Zingle was the most “dangerous” man at more than one hour down, it gave them a free ride today, they would have allowed the break to take a 50 minute advantage. Instead it was the teams with stage wins on their mind who took up the chase, once the break’s lead had stretched out beyond 6 minutes. Orica GreenEDGE came first, then Garmin-Sharp, Argos-Shimano, Lampre-Merida and even Belkin. Their cooperation made it easy to keep the break under control and to slowly reel them in. As the peloton approached the final 35kms, the GC teams started to come to the front, raising the pace and causing the gap to tumble. The race was moving close to the coast and they were worried about crosswinds, getting to the front to avoid getting caught out by a split. They caught the break with a little under 19km to go and with an intermediate sprint pint just ahead, Ivan Basso (Cannondale) and Nicholas Roche (Saxo-Tinkoff) too the opportunity to earn some time bonuses. Basso got a 3 second bonus and Roche a 2 second bonus, they didn’t change anything in the GC for now but every second could count in the final reckoning.

 

BMC and Philippe Gilbert earn an excellent victory

After the sprint point teams started to get themselves organized and Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) took the opportunity to launch a solo attack, quickly gaining a 10 second advantage. Rather than a sprinters team it was BMC who came to the fore, with Philippe Gilbert behind two team mates. The BMC riders were able to check Martin’s progress then close him down, though by that time Gilbert only had one support rider remaining. Orica GreenEDGE and Astana came to the front at this point and brought the race through some nasty technical stuff. As the race approached the finish, Orica, Garmin and Lotto Belisol all had their turn controlling the race but when the race reached the drag to the finish line, it was Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling) who launched the attack. Boasson Hagen immediately opened a decent gap but he was followed by Philippe Gilbert who showed great form to sweep past the Norwegian and win the stage. It was a terrific victory and a great moment for Gilbert, winning in the Rainbow Jersey for the first time. It was a job well done by his team as well, closing down Tony Martin is never easy, and even after that Gilbert had help getting in position as they reached the finale.

 

Looking ahead to stage thirteen

Stage 13: Valls – Castelldefels
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Like stage twelve this is a stage where the right break could go the distance, there is a lot of bumpy terrain which is to their advantage. Additionally there is no chance of this one finishing in a bunch sprint, so different teams would have to take up the chase. Once again wind could be a factor as much of the stage takes place near the coast, the final 25km pretty much runs alongside the water and if the wind is strong that will be a very dangerous section. With 55km to go, before the race reaches that vulnerable coastal section, they face the punishing Alto del Rat Penat, 4.3km at 10.6%, see below. The middle section is very steep, reaching up to 16% and if anyone is minded to do so, the peloton could be blown apart on this climb. If that happens then we can expect a madcap race to the finish as the various groups try to catch those ahead, and those ahead try to maintain their advantage. If the break has been kept in control then it’s a certainty that this climb will be a launch pad for a rider, or riders trying to jump clear. Edvald Boasson Hagen has shown the inclination to do so, as has Luis Leon Sanchez and both will be men to watch tomorrow. The finish itself is is another tricky one, but there shouldn’t be a large peloton racing towards it which should reduce the risk of crashes. The finish itself has an uphill ramp in the final 350-400m, if the race book can be trusted it looks to be an 8-10% ramp which makes this a stage for the classics finishers, if a reasonable sized group reached the end together. I though Gilbert would target this one, Stybar as well, but it’s going to be a tough stage for any team to control. The composition of the break will be interesting as well, they should be first over the Alto del Rat Penat and that’s a Cat 1 climb. If Nicolas Edet or Amets Txurruka have designs on the KoM Jersey then they might want to take those points, though with three very tough days to follow they may save their energy. It should be a fun one to watch.

 

Alto del Rat Penat
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2013 Vuelta a Espana Preview Four: The Stage Winners

Given the number of mountain top finishes in this edition of the Vuelta a Espana, many of the stages in this race are likely to be contested by the GC riders. However, as always there are also a number of very talented riders who have come to the race with the aim of winning stages. Sprinters, time trialists, climbers and all-rounders, all can identify stages to their liking.

Simon Gerrans – Orica-GreenEDGE

A stage winner in all three Grand Tours as well as in several notable one-day races, Simon Gerrans is a terrific finisher on the slightly tougher stages. He can climb well enough, and should be a favorite to win on any stages with an uphill finish, or that will end with a sprint from a select group. I fully expect him to continue his fine 2013 form and win yet again at the Vuelta. He has four stage wins to his credit already in 2013, winning in the Santos Tour Down Under, the Volta Ciclista alCatalunya, the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and of course in the Tour de France.

 

Mikel Nieve – Euskaltel-Euskadi

Nieve has arguably been the Basque team’s best performer in 2013. He was climbing very well in the Tour de France, but having lost time in the wind on stage 13 was out of the GC running. He still finished 12^th overall and looked particularly strong on Mont Ventoux where he came 3^rd. Though he gave great effort, he couldn’t land either a stage win (that 3^rd was his best finish), nor win the KoM Jersey (he finished 3^rd). If he could carry that form over into the Vuelta a Espana he could well contend for a high finish, but his efforts at the Tour will have taken a lot out of him. He may be better deployed as a support climber for Sanchez and given the freedom to pick a couple of mountain stages and go hunting for wins, and a new team for 2014.

 

Fabian Cancellara – RadioShack-Leopard

With a burning ambition to win the World Championships Road Race, Spartacus is coming to the Vuelta to hone his form and his climbing legs. With that in mind I expect to see him being quite aggressive on the climbs, looking to get into breaks and hunting stage wins. Although the ITT on stage 11 isn’t one that suits a time trial specialist he should still be a favorite to win it, particularly if he is climbing well. Cancellara will also be the most important rider for RadioShack during the opening team time trial, and with some good supporting riders there they could take victory.

 

Luis Leon Sanchez – Belkin Pro Cycling

Having been held out of races early in the season, Luis Leon Sanchez is coming to the Vuelta, with fresh legs and impressive form. One of the finest opportunistic stage winners in cycling, Sanchez excels at attacking on a climb, from a break, or on a descent, then staying away for the victory, he is also very dangerous on an uphill sprint and a fine time trialist to boot. For such an all-round talent, it is surprising that he has never won a stage at the Vuelta, the closest he has been was 3^rd place on a stage in 2011. He will have multiple opportunities to contest for a stage win on this parcours and his stage win in the Tour de l’Ain suggests he is ready to do just that.

Philippe Gilbert – BMC

2013 has not been kind to the World Champion, crashes, poor form, and injuries have foiled all of his attempts to win while wearing the Rainbow Jersey. He arrives at the race after having pulled out of the Eneco Tour with a bad cut on his leg, it has been restricting his movement and could hinder his chances of doing well in the Vuelta. Gilbert will be hoping to find the sort of form he showed in the 2012 Vuelta, where he was a double stage winner. The good news is that there are several stages in the 2013 Vuelta that look very good for him, stages three, four, nine and nineteen all have finishes that will appeal to Gilbert. The bad news is that he isn’t the only rider who will fancy those stages, there are other punchy sprinters in the race, such as Gerrans, and an inform Stybar, and a lot of punchy climbers who will relish the opportunity to go for stage wins.

 

Gianni Meersman – Omega Pharma-Quick Step

Gianni Meersman has been having an impressive season, doubling up on stage wins in both the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and the Tour de Romandie. One of the top climbing sprinters, he is at his best on hilly stages, where the fastest finishers are often dropped, and he should combine with Stybar to form a very dangerous pair for the tougher sprint stages. He showed he was finding his form again when he won the prologue in the Tour de l’Ain and will be keen to claim his first Gran Tour stage win(s) in this race.

 

Theo Bos – Belkin Pro Cycling

Theo Bos is a frustrating sprinter to watch, he seems to have more than his fair share of misfortune in the bunch sprints, where things can go quite wrong for him. When he does get it right he is very fast and capable of matching up with most of the sprinters in the peloton, as he did in the Ster ZLM Toer or the Glava Tour of Norway. At 29, this will only be his 3^rd Grand Tour, he has been known to struggle with the climbs in the past and it may have made the team hesitant to include him for those races. However there are no sprinters in this field that he cannot beat, and with a strong team to support him (Wagner, Brown and Tanner are all involved) there is no reason he can’t be successful.

 

Edvald Boasson Hagen – Sky Procycling

The somewhat enigmatic Boasson Hagen, is a terrifically talented cyclist who is capable of excelling on all terrain types. He is a capable sprinter who does best on the tougher stages, when the very best sprinters have been dropped, he will also be a contender for the uphill sprints in this race. He is a good climber for such a powerful rider and will be a major asset to Henao as well as a potential stage winner. He hasn’t raced since crashing out of the Tour de France and is hoping to use the Vuelta as preparation for the World Championsips. He has frustrated many observers because there is a feeling he isn’t getting the most from his immense talent, more was expected from the rider who burst onto the scene as a 21 year old with Team Columbia. However he is sill only 26 and has had considerable success; he has won stages in both the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia and will be hoping to complete the Grand Tour set in this race.

 

Tyler Farrar – Garmin-Sharp

In 2010 Farrar was one of the very best sprinters in the world, and threatening to become elite. Since then he has suffered enough injuries, crashes, and general bad luck to knock his career off course. He remains a good sprinter, it’s just that wins have become a lot harder to come by. However any rider that can win stages in all three Grand Tours must be considered a potential stage winner, particularly in a race like this which lacks the top end sprinters. Although the Garmin-Sharp squad is here ostensibly to support Dan Martin, they have selected a lot of powerful riders who can support a sprinter like Farrar, if he wants to get back to winning ways then he has a great chance to do so in this race.

 

Jelle Vanendert – Lotto Belisol

Jelle Vanendert has primarily been Lotto Belisol’s Ardennes Classics specialist since the departure of Philippe Gilbert. As with any Ardennes specialist he is a punchy climber who copes well with the short steep slopes, a skill that translates well to this Vuelta course. He has also been the primary support rider for Jurgen Van den Broeck in the Tour de France in recent seasons; In 2011 he was already 11 minutes down on eventual winner Cadel Evans, when his leader Jurgen Van den Broeck withdrew from the race. He still managed to finish 19^th overall and won the stage finish on the Plateau de Beille. He has had health issues in 2013, suffering from an intestinal parasite, he now has a clean bill of health and has been racing again though he has yet to show any great form. If he does ride into form at the Vuelta he could contend for a top 10 finish, however he says he will support De Clercq and target stage wins later in the race, when he hopes to start feeling good again.

 

Roman Kreuziger – Saxo-Tinkoff

Although his excellent 2013 performances have been rewarded with the leaders role at the Vuelta, Kreuziger has said he doesn’t feel he can compete here and wants to try for stage wins instead. It has been a long season for him and his eyes are firmly set on the World Championships so that makes sense. Winning the Amstel Gold Race was a big step for him and seems to have boosted his confidence. If the team do insist on pushing him for the GC he could struggle with fatigue. He rode very hard for Contador in the Tour de France and that came after a busy early season campaign.

Dario Cataldo – Sky Procycling

Cataldo is in his first season with Sky, he is a strong climber and a very good time trialist, with a lot of Grand Tour experience. He has had a muted season, suffering from illness during the Giro, though he soldiered on through it and got stronger towards the end. He will be here primarily in support of Henao, even so Cataldo is certainly capable of riding himself into the top 20 of the GC, he will also be a serious contender to win the ITT on stage 11. He took a memorable stage win in the 2012 Vuelta, after going in a break with Thomas De Gendt, if he is given the freedom to attack in the mountains he could repeat that feat.

 

Simon Clarke – Orica-GreenEDGE

Having won the Mountains Classification as well as a stage in the 2012 Vuelta, Clarke returns hoping for more stage success. He is an attacking climber and will look to attack on the climbs and try to get into breaks for the true mountain stages. If he does then he should contend for the KoM Jersey once again.

 

Tony Martin – Omega Pharma-Quick Step

Der Panzerwagen is an elite time trialist and his eyes will be firmly set on trying to win the opening stage team time trial, and presumably take the Red Jersey. Although this wouldn’t be the strongest team of time trialists that OPQS have to offer, the presence of another specialist in Kristof Vandewalle does make them serious contenders to win the stage. The ITT later in the race is less suited to Martin’s skill set but he must still be considered a possible winner. He will work for the team as long as he remains in the race, working on the front of the peloton to help bring things together for the team’s fast men, all the while, building his form to defend his World Championship TT title. Personally I would have taken a different path to the Worlds, one with more flat and less mountains, then again I’m not a hugely successful cyclist.

 

Thomas De Gendt – Vacansoleil-DCM

De Gendt may be infuriatingly inconsistent, but he can be brilliant and that is exactly the side of De Gendt that the Vacansoleil team hope comes to the fore in the Vuelta. His terrific victory on the Stelvio in the 2012 Giro catapulted him to a 3^rd overall finish, showing exactly what he is capable of. He is a strong climber who is at his best from a breakaway or attacking group, look for him to go stage hunting.

 

Ramon Sinkledam – Argos-Shimano

Argos-Shimano have sent a young team to the Vuelta, hoping to give a chance to some promising talents and also pick up a stage win. As always they will have a strong sprint team and the main beneficiary of that is expected to be 24 year old Ramon Sinkledam. A former winner of the junior Paris-Roubaix, Sinkledam is a strong rider who has generally worked for other sprinters, when he has had the chance to sprint himself he has been competitive. He showed solid form in the recent Arctic Race of Norway, where he led out Nikias Arndt for a stage victory, they are likely to be flexible about which sprinter they use (the others acting as lead out), choosing on terrain and form, but I expect Sinkledam will get his chance to shine.

 

Gregory Henderson – Lotto Belisol

The veteran New Zealander has long been known as a strong lead out man but he is still a good sprinter in his own right. He is the most likely option for Lotto Belisol in the bunch sprints, though they may also give young Tosh Van der Sande a chance.

 

Luca Paolini – Katusha

The savvy veteran has been enjoying a renaissance in 2013. He won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, one of the prestigious early season races, before going on to greater success at the Giro, winning a stage and wearing the Maglia Rosa for four days. He is still quite a fast finisher and a strong rider on the short punchy climbs, he could contend for stage wins on the tougher sprint finishes.

 

Anthony Roux – FDJ

Roux comes into the Vuelta in good form, having just won a stage and the Points Jersey at the Vuelta a Burgos. In addition to the stage win,he had a 2^nd place and two 4^th place finishes. Those stages largely finished with uphill sprints, or after some hilly sections, and that is the sort of terrain where Roux copes best. Given his form he must be a contender for any uphill sprints in the Vuelta.

 

Zdenek Stybar – Omega Pharma-Quick Step

Stybar has developed into a strong classics rider, he finished 6^th in this year’s Paris-Roubaix, and it would have been higher if not for a collision with a spectator. He has also shown a knack for winning stages, claiming 5 wins in the past two seasons and showing a good sprint. Most of those wins have come on tougher run ins, where cobbles or an uphill finish come in to play. The two most recent came at last week’s Eneco Tour, which he won overall as well. The victory on the famous Muur van Geraardsbergen on stage seven was very impressive. He was able to race clear of the peloton in the closing peloton, joining the sole remaining breakaway rider, Ian Stannard, and staying clear to contest the win. On the Murr, a steep cobbled hill, Stannard attacked but was held in check by Stybar who surged past his exhausted rival to claim the win. He hopes to go for stage wins in the Vuelta and should be a contender for the uphill sprints, he would be very dangerous from a break.

 

Marco Pinotti – BMC

The veteran time trial specialist will be aiming for success on stage 11, he is a good enough climber to be a strong contender to win it. As befits a time trial specialist he is a very strong rider who does well in the breakaway groups, he copes well on hilly terrain.

 

Lieuwe Westra – Vacansoleil-DCM

Although Westra has been unable to replicate his 2012 form, he remains a dangerous rider and a potential stage winner. He is an excellent time trialist and a punchy climber on the smaller hills, though he is less at home in the mountains. He is an effective breakaway rider.

 

Leigh Howard – Orica-GreenEDGE

The 23 year old sprinter could be the Australian team’s option for the obvious bunch sprints. His season was disrupted when he crashed out of the Giro in the first week, he’s had plenty of recovery time before returning to racing at the Tour de Pologne and Vuelta a Burgos. He hasn’t shown much form yet but should be stronger in the Vuelta.

 

Angel Vicioso – Katusha

Vicioso is a punchy climber with a fast finish. He will be a potential stage winner in the uphill sprints, and can survive relatively tough days, to contest the stage win from a much reduced peloton.

 

Michel Kreder – Garmin-Sharp

The 26 year old is a decent sprinter who is at his best on tough finishes. He is good on the short, punchy climbs and should be a contender in the uphill sprints that are in this race.

 

Jan Barta – NetApp-Endura

Barta, 28, is a punchy climber who has stage winning potential; he showed that when winning the 2012 Rund um Koln. Barta is also a strong breakaway rider, he finished 2^nd on a mountain top finish in the 2012 Giro, as the remaining breakaway riders managed to hold off the chasing peloton, and contested the stage win between themselves. As a strong time trialist his best chance of a stage win comes in the ITT on stage11.

 

Pablo Urtasun – Euskaltel-Euskadi

The veteran all-rounder should be a strong support rider for Sanchez on the flatter terrain and will double as the teams sole sprint option. He isn’t fast enough to win from the bunch sprints but he is a punchy climber who can make it to the tougher finishes, where there is less competition for the win. He is also a dangerous rider from a breakaway group. Another rider who needs to impress prospective employers for 2014.

 

Francesco Lasca – Caja Rural

The 25 year old Italian sprinter will be Caja Rural’s option on the flat sprint stages. In his second season with the Spanish outfit, he has shown he can mix it with some decent sprinters. When he won the 2013 Vuelta Ciclista a La Rioja, a one day race, he beat Michael Matthews and Juan Jose Lobato. He should be competitive in the few bunch sprints that are in this Vuelta.

 

Reinardt Janse van Rensburg – Argos-Shimano

Reinardt Janse van Rensburg has had a problematic first season with the Dutch team, picking up knocks, and struggling with the unusually cold temperatures. He is the sort of sprinter who comes to the fore on the tougher stages, he can climb well and will likely be a contender for the stages with uphill sprints. He is likely to perform more of a lead out role for the flatter ones.

 

Geoffrey Soupe – FDJ

The teams designated sprinter for this race, he is more usually seen leading out either of FDJ’s top sprinters, Bouhanni or Demare. Like all good lead out men he has a good sprint himself, he finished 3^rd, behind Cavendish and Goss, in a sprint during the 2012 Giro d’Italia. In the absence of the elite sprinters, he will be one of a number of sprinters hoping to take advantage.

 

Daniel Schorn – NetApp-Endura

The 24 year old sprinter is competing in his second Grand Tour, having debuted in last season’s Giro. He managed two top 10 finishes in that race and will be better for the experience. He hasn’t won in 2013 but his best finish came on the final stage of the Tour of California, when he was second in the sprint, behind Peter Sagan but ahead of some notable names. He may share sprint duties with Zakkari Dempster, with the other acting as a lead out man, but Schorn seems to be the better bet.

 

Lloyd Mondory – AG2R

The 31 year old is more of a strong man than a fast sprinter, but he managed 3^rd and 4^th place finishes in last year’s Vuelta a Espana and will hope to do even better this time.

 

Maximiliano Richeze – Lampre-Merida

The experienced Argentinean sprinter will have the chance to compete for his first Grand Tour stage win, though it will be a tall order for him. He has yet to win for Lampre-Merida, having joined them this season. His best result of the season was a second place finish in stage three of the Eneco Tour. However it wasn’t in a sprint as such, as he found himself ahead of the peloton with Lars Boom and Zdenek Stybar, with 500m to go. You would expect an in form sprinter to beat both men, but he came second. Losing to Stybar on a flat sprint doesn’t bode well for his chances against faster finishers in the Vuelta, though the move did show he was carrying good fitness into the race.

 

Michael Morkov – Saxo-Tinkoff

The Danish Champion is probably the best option for Saxo-Tinkoff on the flat stages. He could be competitive in a sprint finish after a tough run in, but lacks the speed to compete against the full bunch.

 

Nick Nuyens – Garmin-Sharp

The classics specialist has had a tough time recovering from a fractured hip sustained early in 2012. It limited his performances throughout the 2012 season and continued to do so well into 2013. However he has been getting stronger and arrives at the Vuelta with some racing in his legs and improving form. He is a good rider to send in a break, particularly in the hilly stages, where he is capable of doing very well on the short punchier climbs and could take a stage win. He hopes to use the three weeks in Spain as a springboard for his winter training, and next year’s Classics campaign.

 

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Related articles

• Vuelta a Espana Preview One – Stage By Stage (procyclingkev.wordpress.com)
• 2013 Vuelta a Espana Preview Two: The Main Contenders (procyclingkev.wordpress.com)
• 2013 Vuelta a Espana Preview Three: The Chasing Pack (procyclingkev.wordpress.com)