A day for the sprinters but the first second category climb and it’s 14% gradients await. The finish is similar to 2011 when Peter Sagan won but the Slow-vak finished 129th yesterday. Time to make amends or will someone else win in Córdoba?
Vuelta
Vuelta Stage 3 Preview
Two flat stages means the Vuelta has to visit a mountain range and today’s stage includes four categorised climbs on the way to a tricky uphill finish.
Vuelta Stage 2 Preview
A sprinter’s stage as the flat profile above suggests but what the profile doesn’t show is just how this route is exposed as it crosses the bay of Cádiz. No strong winds are forecast but the route does pass several famous windsurfing spots and it could catch a few riders out.
Who Will Win The Vuelta España?
A star-packed field contenders and pretenders for the Vuelta with seven grand tour winners and a long list of rivals. But as any astronomer knows, look up at the stars and you’ll see powerful blue giants also a few white dwarfs.
We watched the Tour de France to see a duel between Chris Froome and Alberto Contador but were denied, now they’re back and there’s Nairo Quintana to contend with. Time to point the telescope to Jerez for a look at who can win the Vuelta.
Vuelta a España Guide
There will be daily stage previews with added extras from Manuel Pérez Díaz and a review of the overall contenders tomorrow. Before the race and during, see the overall Vuelta guide with all the stage profiles, rules, jerseys and more at inrng.com/vuelta. See the permanent “Vuelta” link at the top of the page / mobile … Read more
What’s The Point of the Vuelta?
The Vuelta a España enjoys a reputation and a privileged status all while being an elusive event. It lacks obvious preparation races to get the audience warmed-up and if it has a rich history a lot of its best stories are not well known just as it lacks obvious focal points, in the collective conciousness of cycling fans there’s no Spanish equivalent of the Stelvio or Tourmalet.
French website Velochrono pointed out that a decade 23 of the first 25 finishers in the Vuelta were Spaniards. Now it’s all so different with an international cast. In recent years the race has become a “revenge race”, the chance to make amends for a Giro or Tour that didn’t work out and also used as a training race by some for the World Championships. Spain’s grand tour might rank third out of three but it’s one of the three greatest stage races of the year.
Vuelta iCal
D-10 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.
Tuesday Shorts
The Vuelta is French now, at least in the sense that the race is now 100% owned by ASO, the owners of the Tour de France and other races. ASO bought 49% of Unipublic, the company that runs the Vuelta back in 2008 and now bought the remaining 51% from Atresmedia Televisión.
Now there’s talk of a two week race. Loyal readers will have seen this back in August but for now it seems an exploratory idea. If anything the race could explore a four week format just to get one over the Tour de France and Giro…
Team Victory Rankings
With the Vuelta done here is the listing of team wins so far this season. This will be the penultimate version this year as we’re now into the final section of the season with just 47 of the 553 days of racing remaining.