After a team time trial and a sprint finish now it’s time for a summit finish. Yes, it’s only Stage 3 but the finish of today’s stage will be explosive and exciting and forces riders to show their cards very early in the race.
The Spin: Vuelta Stage 2
A sprint finish looks likely as the race heads across the Navarra region on a largely flat route. But if a sprint seems the most probable scenario, the identity of the winner is far from certain and given this, it’s possible that a determined breakaway exploits this uncertainty to stay away.
The Spin: Vuelta Stage 1
The 2012 Vuelta a España opens with a 16.5km team time trial in the evening. The profile is flat but it doesn’t tell the full story.
Vuelta Contenders
Alberto Contador is the predicted winner, for some the question is merely the margin of his victory. Certainly he has had time away with his suspension but this is was not the normal two year ban, instead he has only missed six months of racing, enough time to get in plenty of training without losing too much racing speed.
But luckily this is sport and as the race winds around northern Spain this year we can expect plenty of surprises and besides, if Contador rides away, who can follow him?
The race offers a diverse field with several top Spaniards but a strong international presence and the chance to salvage the season for several riders and teams alike.
Thursday Shorts
The story of Fatima Yvelain has gone viral. She’s a French athlete who tested positive for EPO but came up with a great excuse. As it was athletics I didn’t put the story on here but thought it was still worth sharing via tumblr.
When asked to explain the positive test, she claimed heavy rainfall on the day of race had caused water to stream over hidden medical waste somewhere near the course. As she ran, the EPO-laced rainwater splashed onto her shorts, thus contaminating her urine when she later provided a sample at the doping control.
Vuelta Guide
Just like the Tour de France there’s now link at the top of the page for a Vuelta a Espana guide. You will find stage summaries, information on time bonuses and mountain classifications plus plenty more, including a start list that will appear once the definitive version is available.
Can Miguel Indurain Make a Comeback?
A new research paper suggests the five-time Tour de France winner is still a force on the bike and could even hold his place in the pro peloton today.
The International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance claims he has lost little of his fitness and his power values “still compare favorably with those exhibited by active professional cyclists”.
Vuelta a España ical
You can download the stages of the 2012 in Vuelta a España for your electronic diary organiser, phone, computer
inrngVueltaCalendar.ics [right-click to save, see below for more tech support]
After Confessing, Will Vaughters Leave the Sport?
Jonathan Vaughters, manager of the Garmin-Sharp team has confessed to doping in the New York Times. In fact it was the second time he’s confessed, only this time it was unambiguous. Now he’s made it clear, a ban from team management is possible yet unlikely.
Olympics: Medal Table and Changes for Rio?
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
| Great Britain | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| Germany | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| France | 1 | 3 | |
| USA | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Australia | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Colombia | 1 | 1 | |
| Netherlands | 1 | 2 | |
| Kazakhstan | 1 | ||
| Denmark | 1 | ||
| Lithuania | 1 | ||
| Czech Republic | 1 | ||
| China | 2 | 1 | |
| New Zealand | 1 | 2 | |
| Switzerland | 1 | ||
| Russia | 2 | ||
| Norway | 1 | ||
| Hong Kong | 1 | ||
| Canada | 1 | ||
| Italy | 1 | ||
The 2012 Olympics have come to an end. The medal table is a reductive way to look at things as the count doesn’t include the emotions of the past two weeks nor does it reflect the subtle differences in prestige between different competitions.