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2013 Vuelta a Espana Route Revealed
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 02-11-2012 21:54
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Last year the Vuelta organisers drew up a brutal route and Angel Madrazo tore it apart, winning the race by more than 10 minutes. Will Madrazo return to go for the double, or will Santander opt to give Justo Tenorio a chance? Whoever Santander bring, today we find out what route they will be riding on.
Theres plenty of other Spaniards keen on winning the Vuelta. In the past 3 seasons Benat Intxuasti has finished 2nd, 3rd, and crashed out of the race lead; while Alberto Contador took 2nd place last year; and Alejandro Valverde was champion in 2011.
Could we see the return of our 2010 champion though? While riding for Domina Vacanze, Andy Schleck was forbidden from riding the Tour de France. So instead he won the 2010 Vuelta, and was runnerup in the 2011 edition. A year on the sidelines in 2012 will make him as hungry as ever to return in style.
Onto that route then, and in a Grand Tour first, we start the race on the African continent! We're still in Spain though, as Ceuta plays host to the prologue. Its a welcome return to Grand Tours for a Prologue aswell, as there wasnt one last year - Vuelta's start at 16km being more of a short time trial. Short stages is possibly a theme of the race - plenty of stages arent as long as you might expect in a usual Grand Tour. Explosivity rather than Stamina will be key.
Mainland Europe plays host to the rest of the race, starting in Sevilla for a stage with an uphill finish. The first opportunity for sprinters follows before a 43km individual test against the clock. Pure time triallists had better make the most of it, for that is the only long flat time trial of the race.
Sierra Nevada is next, as the Mountains begin. But it is only brief, and the hills are more dominant over the next few stages. But once Stage 12 arrives we are into the Pyrenees with two summit finishes: Balneario de Panticosa and Paso Tapia. And just as Spain features for a small part of the Tour de France, we have some French roads in the Vuelta - stage 13 starting over the border in Laruns.
Another flat stage, then another hills stage - has a ManGame Grand Tour ever featured so many hills? Probably not. But to make up for it, a nasty up and down Mountain time trial follows deep in Basque Country.
Puerto de las Estacas de Trueba hosts the end of the queen stage of the race on Stage 18. The stage is only 166km long, yet has found 58km of climbing along the way. The last mountain stage ends in Piedrafita, leaving the final 2 stages up to the sprinters in the charge towards Madrid.
It may not be the most traditional Grand Tour route, but should hopefully lead to some great racing!
In summary:
- 8 flat stages
- 5 mountain stages plus 1 mountain time trial
- 5 hills stages
- An individual time trial, and a prologue
- 19 stages made by nathounet87, one by Guig76, and one by Cyanide
Edited by SportingNonsense on 02-11-2012 21:56
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| SotD |
Posted on 02-11-2012 21:58
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Good one for Contador... Another 2nd place could be achievable 
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 02-11-2012 22:34
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There couldn't be a better route for LLS, I'm definitely having a go at that wildcard.
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 02-11-2012 22:39
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Gustavovskiy wrote:
There couldn't be a better route for LLS, I'm definitely having a go at that wildcard.
Looks like another battle between the two of us... Also applying for a Wildcard. 
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| mattiasgt |
Posted on 02-11-2012 23:53
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Trofimov definately in for this route. Will be interesting to see how far he can go with so many hilly stages.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 07-12-2025 17:05
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| Heine |
Posted on 03-11-2012 00:01
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I like how the GT's (til now) are extremely different  Really looking forward to how the Giro will look, even thought I most likely wont try for any wildcard GTs this year (if I try it would be TDF), could this be the perfect route for Valverde to end his "top-days" winning the Vuelta again?
Edit: Or even more fun, the perfect route for Cunego to win a Vuelta, really making him the greatest Mangame-rider ever!
Edited by Heine on 03-11-2012 00:03
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| ember |
Posted on 03-11-2012 00:03
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It must be tempting for whoever signs Cunego to bring him to this Vuelta, it looks like the route is designed for him to beat Madrazo in Spain 
A nice looking route, hopefully a couple of those hilly stages can prove tough enough to be a fight between the overall contenders. |
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 03-11-2012 00:33
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The aim is to stop Madrazo.
I promise it will not succeed.
 [url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182] Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
Please assume I am joking unless otherwise stated |
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| Rin |
Posted on 03-11-2012 09:34
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Heine wrote:
I like how the GT's (til now) are extremely different Really looking forward to how the Giro will look, even thought I most likely wont try for any wildcard GTs this year (if I try it would be TDF), could this be the perfect route for Valverde to end his "top-days" winning the Vuelta again?
Edit: Or even more fun, the perfect route for Cunego to win a Vuelta, really making him the greatest Mangame-rider ever!
I would wait for the Giro profile to say anything about which GT would be the best one (to win) for him. I wouldn't count out the one who signs Valverde, I think he could manage a top 5 place here.
 Team Bianchi - 2012 Man-Game ProContinental Tour Champions
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| Smowz |
Posted on 03-11-2012 12:19
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Simply Red Bull's fast finishing climber Danny Moreno gave the Vuelta the thumbs up following the race presentation.
It could be a really nice Grand Tour for us (at Simply Red Bull), obviously the Tour will be a priority, but this one may suit us a bit better. Certainly I like the look of it and I am really hoping to have a crack at it.
Moreno highlighted the mountain time trial in the Basque country as the key tilting point in the race.
Last year the race was done in the Pyrenees and then Madrazo really put the explanation point on in the final mountain stages in the Asturias. We all know Sierra Nevada is a war of attrition, but really a lot of guys should be still together at the top. The Balneario de Panticosa is going to be the first really big test, but I think the time trial will be pivotal. I expect the crowds in the Basque region to be insane
Moreno also pointed out that he agreed with the speculation that this was not the easiest course for Madrazo to defend his title.
Let's face it Madrazo is now the hero of Spain, but the Tour could be his biggest priority next year. He is such a good solid rider on hills and against the clock that the shortage of big mountain top finishes compared to last year probably does not count against him. But good classics men like Trofimov and Frank Schleck could prove hard to manage if they arrive here. Both have shown that they can go well in the big tours and this course may work for them. Cunego? Andy Schleck? Who knows? I have my doubts about Cunego coming, Sella came here last year and didn't really manage to stamp his authority. Valverde, Contador and Intxausti are going to be in the reckoning of course. Let's not forget Jose Rujano's performance a couple of years ago as well.
Overall I'm excited about this route for myself. I did a good Tour of Langkawi last year and was not so bad in the Tour de France, I could do a top 15 ride here possibly, certainly grab a stage win or two.
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 03-11-2012 15:53
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Sending Cunego to the Vuelta would make no sense - he doesn't have the race days to waste on such a route. Not a route for Valverde either in my opinion. It's for a climber who can TT and will get in yellow on stage 6.
Very favourable in fact to Marzano I think - if racing, he'll be in yellow after stage 6 and after that will hold on in the hills and probably extend his lead in the mountains. A leaders jersy and nat bonus will make him untouchable.....
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 03-11-2012 15:59
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fenian_1234 wrote:
Very favourable in fact to Marzano I think - if racing, he'll be in yellow after stage 6 and after that will hold on in the hills and probably extend his lead in the mountains. A leaders jersy and nat bonus will make him untouchable.....
Marzano? Aren't you talking about Madrazo?
Would be a big surprise to me if Marzano won!
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| Heine |
Posted on 03-11-2012 16:28
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I would love if Marzano won!
I beleive all the hilly stages should make Cunego a real danger in this race. If the nationality bonus is +1 to all stats then Cunego is still 6 better in hills... That's alot!
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 03-11-2012 17:59
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The route looks quite nice.
In fact, it looks so interesting that I'm tempted to ignore my no GT for Gesink policy.
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| niconico |
Posted on 03-11-2012 19:07
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Guldhammer definitely going here as my captain. The relatively few TT kilometers suits him well and there's quite a lot of climbing stages with flat or downhill finishes, which should also be to his liking. Hoping for something like a Top 15 for his first GT Captaincy
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 04-11-2012 11:55
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Yes, Madrazo has a better chance than Marzano. 
Madrazo needs to win a big race like the Tour - that'll definitely help me remember his name. |
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 04-11-2012 11:58
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fenian_1234 wrote:
Yes, Madrazo has a better chance than Marzano.
Madrazo needs to win a big race like the Tour - that'll definitely help me remember his name.
If only I could remember who won the pro tour last year.
[url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182] Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
Please assume I am joking unless otherwise stated |
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