A day for the sprinters but for the breakaway riders too who can take the mountains jersey for a few days with the points on offer atop the first category Puerto del Léon. All without Vincenzo Nibali, excluded after being caught hanging on to his team car yesterday.
The race begins for real and there’s no soft introduction, this is a mini-mountain stage with a summit finish.
¡Vamos a la playa! The Vuelta starts with a beach team time trial that was supposed to a sensual experience with seven types of road surface including one section along the beach itself. However the course’s narrow route, the loose sandy sections and the flexy section of plastic tiles laid on the beach mean it’s only being ridden for the stage win and the times will not count for the overall.
As well as the general classification with its maillot rojo there are other competitions in the Vuelta a España. Compared to the Tour de France’s complex reverse engineering system for the points competition and its bizarre “beyond categorisation” climbs, the Vuelta is a lot more straightforward.
Here’s a look at the systems and also the sprinters who be in the mix for the green jersey and stage wins.
The hardest race to predict given the deep field with varied motivations, ambitions and pressures and the Vuelta is all the better for it as it promises surprises along the way.
D-3 to the start of the Vuelta a España. Here’s the calendar of the Vuelta stages for your electronic diary. What started out as a useful tool proves to be a very popular download. It’s also a chance to review the crucial stages.
The Vuelta a España has long been third of the three grand tours. Now it’s changing, helped by a startlist with more stardust than the Perseid shower, combining the best of the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. The exception is 2014 winner Alberto Contador yet his absence could be the best thing to happen for the Vuelta in the long term.
A two week Tour de France? Non. Or to use the phrase beloved of many a French hotelier, c’est pas possible. Still it’s good to question established ideas and tenets. There’s no rule that says the Tour de France must be three weeks long and if there were, we should question that too.
It’s a current topic since UCI President Brian Cookson was in Madrid to award Spain and Movistar their UCI World Tour prizes. He spoke to the media when asked about a shorter Vuelta and Tour de France implied nothing was off the table. Let’s explore why an abbreviated Tour won’t suit anyone.
Alberto Contador attacks on the road to the ski station of Aramón Valdelinares. With early-day escapees up the road this move was more than a test, he took time on all his GC rivals and turned the story of a broken leg into a breakaway, going from crash victim to wounding the hopes of all his rivals.
The End. A final time trial but that’s so short it should be labelled an epilogue. The overall classification is unlikely to change and instead the suspense is reserved for the stage winner. For once this is a time trial held in the absence of Tony Martin and Fabian Cancellara.