Having looked at the racing and Alberto Contador’s victory yesterday, time to look at the race itself. It’s been a successful tour with big TV audiences, as you’ll see below. Were 10 summit finishes necessary? Was there a big contest for the points and mountains jersey? What can the Tour de France organisers ASO learn from this race?
I had an angel on one shoulder, saying “don’t do this, they’re going to roll you over” and a devil in the other saying “go for it”. On this occasion, I didn’t listen to the angel. It was attack or die.
Alberto Contador attacked 55km from the finish on Stage 17 and rode on to win the stage and claimed the overall lead. If three weeks of racing are reduced to one moment, it was this audacious attack that won the 2012 Vuelta.
The final stage of the 2012 Vuelta and like the Tour de France, this is a victory lap style procession into the national capital that’s only 115km and so only the shortest preview is needed. It’s still fast and furious on the finishing circuit but the overall result is not expected to change.
Ahead of tomorrow’s procession into Madrid this is the last real day of racing and it’s a giant day with several big mountain passes coming before the steep climb to the highest point of the 2012 Vuelta. If there’s still any uncertainty about the winner of the race, it will all be settled later today.
On paper a transition stage but it should offer a lively finish with an uphill climb to the line, one for the versatile sprinters but also for the puncheurs who can cope with the slope.
The longest stage of the 2012 Vuelta but it is only 204.5km, a sign that this has been a race of short and sharp stages. With no categorised climbs this looks like a sprint finish or a long range breakaway… but after yesterday’s tactical coup, who knows?
The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle
This is a guest review by a reader known as The Race Radio on Twitter, the go-to source for information on the USADA action and much more.
“The truth really will set you free“: the last sentence of Tyler Hamilton’s new book is a fit ending. For 300 pages Tyler and Dan Coyle trace Tyler’s journey through the madness of professional cycling during one of the sports most complex times. Coyle’s elegant style allows the story to flow effortlessly through Tyler’s career, capturing the ebb and flow of enablers, teammates, doctors, and DS’s.
A summit finish? Yes but the final climb shouldn’t be a showdown for the overall contenders. Instead the gradual slope to the finish line is ideal for a breakaway to contest the finish.
I reviewed Jonathan Budd’s book “Consumed” last month. It’s an enjoyable read and if the fictional account is a dark and wild tale of cycling and more it amused me because the reality of cycling isn’t all that removed from some of the wacky characters and shady practices that Budd serves up.
But now there’s chance to swap fiction for reality and win a copy of the book, complete with a matching musette and T-shirt.
Question: name the rider who will finish last on Stage 17 of the Vuelta on Wednesday from Santander to Fuente Dé.
Joaquim Rodriguez leads the Vuelta. Before the race he was a good pick for the podium but few thought he would outclimb Alberto Contador. But thanks to tactical riding and a fast finish he’s grabbed sufficient time bonuses to keep Contador away.
Like many cyclists he has a nickame and it’s “Purito”. It sort of means “clean” in Spanish, a diminutive term… but that’s not the origin of his name. Instead it’s because he smoked his team mates on a training camp.