The Sagan stage? If Peter Sagan could design a stage he might pick today’s course with its uphill finish in Vejer de la Frontera. The profile looks flat but there’s a lively finish in store which suits Sagan but if he won yesterday here’s a different test that should allow a wide cast of characters from John Degenkolb to Alejandro Valverde to try for the win.
Vincenzo Nibali has been disqualified from the Vuelta after he was caught holding onto the Astana team car and the driver, Aleksandr Schefer, has been thrown of the race too.
President of the race jury Bruno Valčić said it was a hard decision to take but to have taken any other would have been harder. In a late night Facebook update (translation here) the Italian champion tried to rationalise it saying he wasn’t the first and won’t be the last to do this and he was only trying to make up for lost time. But he was caught twice over, first with irrefutable TV images and second because the attempt was so outrageously advantageous to him. There are times when you can bend the rules but this went too far.
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 subject of collective punishment is in the news with Jonathan Vaughters’ old quote about stopping his team being reheated and, less prominent but all the more real, the current suspension of the Androni team and now the possibility of Katusha being banned given Giampaulo Caruso’s EPO sample following Luca Paolini Tour exit.
At first glance it makes sense because if a team has a couple of doping problems in a year then maybe a pause for reflection could do it some good. But the more you think about it, the more it risks hitting innocent riders.
Tim Wellens won the Eneco Tour, repeating his victory from 2014. A talented rider he’s yet to have success elsewhere. Some riders seem particularly suited or lucky in some races. Think Rui Costa in the Tour de Suisse and Michael Albasini in the Tour de Romandie, or for that speciality niche, Jimmy Engoulvent and his four wins in the Tour of Luxembourg prologue.