And here we are at the second Grand Tour of the year. Spain welcomes the intrepid riders for a race which promises to be explosive and which has a truly interesting course this year. So let’s start with that before moving onto the riders. We can summarise by stating the following statistics about this race:
8 ‘flat stages’
5 hilly or medium mountain stages
5 mountain stages
3 time trials, with 78.2km of individual TTing.
7 mountain or hill-top finishes
Of course some of the medium mountain stages are very tough and some of the flat ones should sort some of the sprinters out. Not only that but most of the mountain stages take in several mountain climbs one after another. But we will get to that in a second. Let’s take the race stage by stage.
Stage 1 is a 7.3km long time trial around Granada. There is a short and tough climb quite early on in the test, which means that it may not be entirely for the specialists, but rather for those who can climb up the hills fairly well too. The winner will get the valuable first leader’s jersey. Stage 2 could change that however, as we finish on top of the Veyer de la Frontera. This 2.4km climb should be tough enough to cause gaps to open up and we could well see a puncheur take the stage. They will hope to hold it through stage 3, which looks like it could suit a breakaway normally but this early in the race it is hard to see what could happen here.
Stage 4, however is emphatically the first chance for the sprinters. We mostly descend right down to Antequera and those who have brought sprinters here will be looking to set it up for possibly the first bunch gallop. Stage 5 should bring us yet another GC shake-up as we hit the 43.2km test around Ciudad Real. This one is almost pan-flat and thus will suit the specialists. If any pure time trial riders have held on thus far they might be able to take the leader’s jersey.
Of course only the GC riders will be able to hold the pace on the tough stage 6 to the top of Sierra Nevada. This 28km climb never gets particularly steep but is a constant 6.4% right to the top. Whoever wins at the top today will have to like their odds at the overall. Things won’t be all smooth sailing, however, as the much shorter and sharper Velez Rubio caps off stage 7 and it could well suit one of the punchier favourites.
The second week starts off with a rolling stage 8, which looks like yet another stage made for the breakaway but with the long descent it could well be a launching pad to make back some lost time. If that doesn’t work then stage 9 presents another opportunity with a finish on Les Tapiades, a climb of about 5km that could hurt some legs. Stage 10, on paper at least, looks like something for the sprinters though it is hard to say whether they will be able to get over the numerous uncategorised climbs through the day. Certainly they can’t afford to waste their chances in this race, so surely a sprinter’s team will want to set this one up. If that doesn’t work though then stage 11 is as close to a true flat stage as we are going to get for a little while.
Stage 12 brings us back to another absolutely key stage. The Balnerio de Panticosa concludes this stage, which is an 8% average climb that runs for 5.1km, but is preceded by a long and uncategorised uphill as well. And if that can’t provide ample opportunity for the climbers then the absolutely torturous day in the Pyrenees that is stage 13 will surely be enough. That stage takes in 5 mountains and finishes on the 9.2km Paso Tapia. This Queen stage has 46.6km of climbing for an accumulated height gain of over 4km. Stage 14 should provide the rest that everyone will crave after that effort.
Stage 15 kicks off the final week with a stage which concludes with a descent from the Puerto de Santa Ines which should cause a selection but by this point probably won’t have a drastic effect on GC. Once again the descent provides some opportunity for a risky attack. The next truly key stage is stage 16 which contains our final individual time trial. This is a mountain time trial with a twist – coming in at 28.2km long it in fact takes in two mountains! The Alto de Unamuntzaga is the first of these and then the stage concludes on the brutally tough San Pedro climb, which averages 8.4%. If the GC winner isn’t already known then this stage should pretty much sort it out.
Stage 17 provides another one of those tough days that are officially for the sprinters but really look like chances for a break. But then this leads into the tough stage 18, which takes in 6 categorised climbs and finishes on the 13.5km long, 6% average Puerto de las Estacas de Trueba. If it weren’t for stage 13 this would be the queen stage. The final important day for GC comes on stage 19 with 4 climbs totalling 42.2km in length but with the downhill finish it remains to be seen just how much of a gap can be made here. Also at only 122.3km sprinters will have to work hard to make the time cut.
Finally we conclude the race with two completely flat stages – stages 20 and 21. Any sprinters who have managed to haul themselves over these mountains will be glad for the chance to reward themselves with a stage victory.
So with the course covered in detail, let’s have a look at the teams who are here and their chances in the race (note that the team numbers I have given here are my own and not those from the game).
Santander
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
1
Justo
Tenorio
2
2
Rafael
Valls
2
3
David
López Garcia
3
4
Jesus
Del Nero
1
5
Rafael
Serrano
0
6
Didac
Ortega
1
7
Gustavo
Veloso
0
8
Aitor
Hernández Gutierrez
1
9
Juan Carlos
Rienda Segura
1
Many expected that the home team would come here with Angel Madrazo as their leader but instead they bring another young stage racer in Justo Tenorio. He was 9th place here last year but that hides the fact that he still managed that place while working for Madrazo. He enters this year as the favourite amongst many bookmakers and you can see why – he has a great ability against the clock and is one of the top mountain climbers in the race. Not only that but his supporting team is outstanding, as you would expect. Rafael Valls and David Lopez Garcia in particular should be able to stick around for most mountain stages until the favourites start attacking. Both have managed top 20 rides at GTs in the past. The team goal here is to win the race but this is going to be a much more open year than in the past.
Festina – CANAL+
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
11
Alberto
Contador
3
12
Óscar
Guerao
1
13
Pierre
Rolland
1
14
Chris Anker
Sørensen
0
15
Mathieu
Bernaudeau
1
16
Ioannis
Tamouridis
0
17
Bauke
Mollema
1
18
Benoît
Sinner
0
19
Marco
Brus
0
Alberto Contador came in 2nd here last year and has returned to take another shot at the race. He is easily one of the top 3 climbers in this race, perhaps even better than Tenorio and he can more than hold his own against the clock. This could well be the year that he takes a GT win and at age 31 time is running out. His main weakness might be his team, with Chris Anker Sørensen providing the only notable support. Contador is not the only rider who the team has pinned their hopes on, however, with Óscar Guerao also here. He took 2 stage wins at last year’s Vuelta and will be looking to add to that tally. Contador seems capable of fulfilling the team’s top 3 goal in this race but will have to avoid trouble to do it.
Vesuvio – Accumalux
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
21
Frank
Schleck
0
22
Mwangi
Samwel
1
23
Ben
Gastauer
0
24
Dmitri
Medvedev
1
25
Toms
Skujins
0
26
Pedro
Merino Criado
1
27
Richie
Porte
0
28
Matea
Kvasina
3
29
Alex
Kirsch
0
Former Tour de France winner Frank Schleck is here for his first ever Vuelta participation. In addition to his win at the 2008 Tour and his podium in 2009, he was 4th at the Giro last year. This year, however, he has found the going much harder. He is just starting to decline from his former heights. That said, he is the best puncheur in this race, so will hope to gain time in the hills. He will need that because his TTing ability leaves something to be desired and he may even lose some time in the highest out mountains. People shouldn’t also underestimate his team, with both Mwangi Samwel and Dmitri Medvedev providing great support. Pedro Merino Criado heads up the sprints, but will have to find his own way as no one here looks capable of providing a lead-out. Schleck looks completely capable of achieving the team’s top 10 overall goal here.
Milka – AVG
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
31
Rigoberto
Úran
1
32
Yevgeni
Nepomnyachsniy
0
33
Jaroslav
Kulhavy
0
34
Leigh
Howard
0
35
Matej
Vysna
0
36
Jakub
Novak
0
37
Westley
Gough
0
38
Jakub
Kratochvila
0
39
Marek
Canecky
0
Newly signed to Milka this year, Rigoberto Uran will be keen to prove his worth. He may suffer a little bit in the hills and medium mountain stages but he should be great on the mountains and against the clock. Interestingly he is the only rider in the team who has been to this race before. That was in 2010 and saw him come in 5th overall and take 2 stages. Since then he has had 2 top 10s at the Tour to brag about. Could this see him make it onto a GT podium? He has some decent climbing support in Yevgeni Nepomnyachsniy and Jaroslav Kulhavy but may find himself thin on teammates on the toughest stages. Leigh Howard may be shooting for some top 10 places in sprints. Mostly, however, this team is here for experience.
Pearl Adidas
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
41
Tiago
Machado
3
42
Petar
Panayotov
2
43
Jocelin
Maillet
2
44
Branislav
Samoilev
2
45
Jackson
RodrÃguez
3
46
Florian
Morizot
1
47
Tom
Leezer
2
48
Jose
Goncalves
0
49
Armindo
Fonseca
0
Last year saw Tiago Machado turn into a genuine GT contender and this year could see him turn into at least a podium finisher, and possibly even a winner. He was 6th here last year and 7th at the Giro. He is arguably the best climber in the race once we hit the really tough stuff and, while his TTing may be slightly lacking, he should still be able to limit his losses. Not only that but he has a fantastic support team around him. Petar Panayotov, Jocelin Maillet and Jackson Rodriguez are all great climbing domestiques who should be able to keep their leader out of trouble. The team goal is a top 10 and given that Machado could possibly fight it out for at least a podium that seems fairly safe barring a crash.
UBS - BMC
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
51
Vincenzo
Nibali
0
52
Maximiliano
Richeze
1
53
Matthias
Frank
0
54
Michael
Albasini
0
55
Oliver
Zaugg
0
56
Johann
Tschopp
3
57
Ivan
Santaromita
0
58
Simon
Zahner
1
59
Edoardo
Girardi
0
Vincenzo Nibali looks like another rider who is a solid chance for an overall podium here. He is brilliantly balanced – combining mountain climbing, hilly ability and TTing prowess but excelling in none of them. Consistent riding could see him make the top 3-5 overall, however, and if he gets a chance he could even strike out for the win. He was on the podium in the 2011 Giro, so he has shown his ability over three weeks. He would probably prefer a stronger team, however, with Matthias Frank his only super domestique amongst a team of aging Swiss riders. Maximiliano Richeze is here for the sprints and while he may struggle on some of the tougher sprint stages, he will still probably go down as a favourite for those stages. He has yet to secure a GT stage win, however.
Jose Rujano has been a regular fixture in the Vuelta in the whole history of the ManGame. He has top 10 finishes in all 4 of his times here and even took a podium finish and a stage in the 2011 edition. He is arguably the best pure climber out there at the moment, but that is also his weakness. His relative inability to time trial will cost him time and he also struggles on shorter, sharper climbs. But once unleashed onto the mountains he should be a threat for a stage and probably a top 10 overall. Expect aggressive riding from him, which should earn him some more fans. Christopher Kern will be his only support in the mountains (and it should be noted that he took a stage here in 2010) because the team is also splitting the leadership by supporting Dan Holloway in the sprints. In addition to being of the fastest riders here, John Degenkolb will be leading him out or riding for himself and veteran Samuel Dumoulin should be able to help set up the sprint train too.
Better known as a Giro specialist, Riccardo Ricco is here for his first GT outside of Italy. He has had 6 stage wins in that race in addition to his 2012 overall win. He will be one of the most powerful riders in the hills, which always helps in the Vuelta, in addition to being great in the mountains. The TTs will probably hurt him a bit but he could well use his hilly ability to fight for time. He is also one of the better sprinters amongst the GC contenders, which will help in getting time bonuses. He also has great support from a fairly experienced team of domestiques. Francisco Terciado, Sergio Pardilla and Daniel Navarro should all perform well in the mountains and there is a lot of hilly support here, such as Anthony Roux.
Jaguar – Eritel
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
81
Ian
Bibby
1
82
Andrew
Tennant
0
83
Chris
Froome
0
84
Alex
Dowsett
0
85
Sam
Bennett
1
86
Bassirou
Konte
0
87
Daniel
Teklehaimanot
1
88
Tesfar
Teklit
0
89
Meron
Amanuel
0
Surprisingly, the race directors have placed the British-African combined team this high up the startlist. Ian Bibby was 14th at last year’s Tour and rode here last year, but he is still a long way off the best. He could perhaps hope for a top 20 or a stage win. In fact the team seems to be chasing stage wins as their dual puncheurs Chris Froome and Alex Dowsett will likely both be looking good in the hills. Expect the team to chase breaks for most of the race, and perhaps even take a shot at the mountain jersey.
Wikipedia
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
91
Stefan
Denifl
2
92
Matthew
Goss
1
93
Christoph
Mai
2
94
Jay
McCarthy
0
95
Brent
Bookwalter
1
96
Andrew
Talansky
0
97
Travis
Meyer
0
98
Darwin
Atapuma
0
99
Mikel
Landa
0
This is another team who have decided to split leadership. Stefan Denifl heads up the GC charge, having come in 11th last year with a stage win. He may lack the staying power in the mountains of some and some TT ability but a top 10 could well be possible. Matthew Goss looks like a solid bet for the flat stages – he won a stage here in 2009 in his only performance and he also won 2 stages at the Giro last year. Both riders really do lack a decent set of teammates to get the most out of them, except for Christoph Mai, who will help Denifl in the mountains and could also strike out for a top 30 finish for himself.
Project 1t4i
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
101
Luis Leon
Sanchez Gil
4
102
Joost
Posthuma
1
103
Jelle
Vanendert
1
104
Julien
Simon
0
105
Jon
Aberasturi
0
106
Jonathan
Castroviejo
0
107
Wesley
Kreder
0
108
Wout
Poels
1
109
Rafel
Majka
0
There was a time (2010 to be more specific) when Luis Leon Sanchez looked like a contender for a top 10 in the Vuelta. Today, however, he just seems to lack an edge in the mountains that other riders seem to have over him. He is certainly one of the best-rounded riders in the peloton but there is nowhere that he can make up as much time as he will lose in the mountains. The hills probably represent his best chance and with Jelle Vanendert and Julien Simon there for support a stage win seems possible. Joost Posthuma is also a decent bet for the opening prologue and might given Project 1t4i something to celebrate in the first week of the race.
Alejandro Valverde is not quite the force he was back in 2011 when he won this race, but he is still damn good. Back in the ProTour this year he returns to try to fulfil the team goal of a stage win. Still one of the best mountain sprinters out there, in addition to being one of the better puncheurs, that could well be a realistic goal. A top 10 overall also seems achievable, particularly with Robin van der Hugenhaben to help him along. If Valverde can’t get that stage win then the team must look to Raul Granjel Cabrera, who shot to prominence with 3 stage wins at the Tour de France last year. He will have Paride Grillo as his key lead-out man.
ProTeam Venchi - Sugoi
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
121
Fabio
Duarte
1
122
Dan
Craven
0
123
Peter
Sagan
0
124
Greg
Van Avermaet
1
125
Maciej
Bodnar
0
126
Valerio
Agnoli
1
127
Marco
Corti
0
128
Gert
Dockx
0
129
Ole
Haavardsholm
0
Fabio Duarte is rather unique as a GC contender. Great in the mountains, great in TTs but abjectly awful over hills. This is a crucial Achilles heel, particularly in the Vuelta where there are a number of tough hilly stages. Nevertheless, you get the sense that a top 15 is still a possibility if he can make up for it with his climbing ability. Possibly taking aim at a stage win would be better, however. Greg Van Avermaet has only ever been here in 2007, but on that occasion he managed to snag a stage win. He will be trying again, but he just seems to lack the final punch of the best sprinters. That seems to be the story of Venchi this year – close, but not quite there.
Wiggle Professional Cycling Team
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
131
Paolo
Scarponi
1
132
Damiano
Caruso
0
133
Andrew
Fenn
1
134
Marcello
Pavarin
1
135
Mattia
Cattaneo
0
136
Tom
Diggle
1
137
Chiaffredo
Grippo
0
138
Daniele
Ratto
0
139
Rob
Partridge
0
Pure climber Paolo Scarponi comes here as a team leader and looks like the sort of rider who might aim for the KOM jersey or a stage win. Even a top 20 on GC might be a struggle, so these seem like more profitable goals. The team has brought along a number of stage hunters such as Damiano Caruso and Tom Diggle who could try late attacks or to join breakaways. Other than that without a sprinter this could be a long race for Wiggle.
Returning to the Vuelta as a leader for perhaps the final time is Ruben Plaza. Stepping down from the ProTour he now heads-up the Prio-Porto operation and is here on a wildcard. He has 3 top 4 finishes to his name (in 2009/10/11) and numerous stages. Most of his team, however, are here for the first time. Jose Mendes rode here last year with Pearl Adidas and will be hoping to support Plaza in the mountains, but after that the domestique support looks a bit weaker. Plaza may be aiming for a top 20 finish and with the length of TTing involved, he might even make the top 15 but anything higher would be a stretch.
Heineken p/b California Giant Berry Farms
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
151
Ryan
Eastman
0
152
Tyler
Brandt
1
153
Thomas
Peterson
0
154
Arnold
Jeannesson
1
155
Pim
Ligthart
0
156
Michael
Matthews
0
157
Alex
Howes
0
158
Abolfazl
Gilanipoor
0
159
Kiel
Reijnen
0
Ryan Eastman comes here as the captain for the American outfit and will be hoping to take a good shot at the young rider’s jersey, even if Tenorio is likely to beat him there. A stage win certainly seems plausible for the young American and even a top 10 could be within reach. Tyler Brandt, Thomas Peterson and Arnold Jeannesson can all provide solid support in the mountains and the team will be looking for some of the young riders in their first Vuelta to really step up on the flatter stages if they are required to.
Simply Red Bull
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
161
Michael
Van Stayen
1
162
Jack
Bobridge
0
163
Amaël
Moinard
2
164
George
Bennett
1
165
Ran
Margaliot
0
166
Wes
Sulzberger
0
167
Mauro
Facci
2
168
Thurakit
Boonratanathanakorn
0
169
Erick
Rowsell
0
Michael Van Stayen came to the Vuelta last year and walked away with 2 stage wins and so he returns to lead his team. He will mostly have to make do without much of a lead-out train, though he seems adept at finding the right wheel in sprints. Other than him Simply Red Bull look a little thin. They certainly have a lot of riders for breakaways in the mountains and Jack Bobridge could pull something out in the opening hilly time trial and the team has a few halfway decent puncheurs, but it seems that most riders are just in this to either make up numbers or for the experience.
Pendleton’s Twicer
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
171
Daniel
Martin
0
172
Konstantin
Siutsou
3
173
Jonathan
McEvoy
0
174
Tim
Kennaugh
0
175
Philip
Deignan
4
176
Carlos
Oyarzun
0
177
Ruben
Ibanez
0
178
David
Rosch
0
179
Tom
Copeland
0
Here for his first Vuelta participation, Daniel Martin looks like a great sort of rider for the Vuelta. Strong on the mountains and one of the top puncheurs here, he only loses out a bit in the TTs. The team has a top 10 goal here, which certainly could be attainable for the Irishman. Konstantin Siutsou should provide decent mountain support and may even go for another top 30 overall, just like he did with last year’s 25th place. Most of the rest of the team can climb somewhat, but don’t expect them to be there once the real selection starts.
Coming here off the back of a fairly success Tour of California, Daryl Impey now takes on the mantle of GT leadership as he fights for the sprints. There aren’t a lot of teams here capable of forming lead-out trains and as such Lucas Sebastian Haedo may get a look-in as one of the better lead-out riders in the race. The team is mostly here for experience but there are several riders who could still do well in a break and someone like Artem Topchanyuk might be able to even take a decent shot at the mountain jersey if he is given some leeway.
Though officially a Belgian team, Lotto – Cervelo do have a large Spanish contingent and they are out in force here. Juan Jose Cobo is the leader on paper, and he came in tenth and won a stage in 2010 so he could perform well (he also won a stage in 2007). David De la Fuente could well be a strong backup option if something goes wrong for their leaders and could also fight for his own GC place. Dueñas Moises and Jude Libert also could get fairly free roles in the mountains. In fact all-round this team could well be one to watch to fight for stage wins and certainly stand a decent chance in the teams classification, even if they do lack a big leader. Not only that but Michael Vanderaerden should put in decent performances on the handful of truly flat stages, but he probably won’t be a factor on any stage with anything larger than a pimple.
Team B&O
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
201
Rasmus
Guldhammer
0
202
Martin
Hacecký
2
203
Steven
Kruijswijk
1
204
Domenik
Klemme
1
205
Sten
Stenersen
1
206
Michael Faerk
Christensen
2
207
Michał
Kwiatkowski
0
208
Nikias
Arndt
0
209
Nikola
Aistrup
0
Rasmus Guldhammer gets his first shot at Grand Tour leadership here. Though he does lack some ability to cope in the highest mountains and the time trials, a top 20 finish still seems likely for the Danish rider. Martin Hacecky provides some support in the mountains and Domenik Kelmme should be good support in the hills or could even take his chances in a break, but other than that there isn’t a lot of depth in this squad.
Team Puma – SAP
[
No.
Nat.
Vueltas
211
Hubert
Schwab
1
212
Dominique
Nerz
0
213
Wilco
Kelderman
0
214
Mattia
Pozzo
1
215
Johannes
Heider
0
216
Fabio
Felline
0
217
Jocelyn
Bar
0
218
Mario
Vogt
0
219
Jetse
Bol
0
With the Giro taking so much of their attention it isn’t a huge surprise to see Puma – SAP on the bottom of the startlist. That isn’t to say they don’t have any riders here, but they aren’t of the same quality of other teams, all of whom have a clear leader. Hubert Schwab has a couple of top 30 finishes at the Giro (09 and 10) and Dominique Nerz is a solid all-rounder but for the most part the team really just doesn’t have anyone who can bring in points outside of a breakaway. It is a very young team, though, and they are clearly here for experience.
Stats and Other Things
Several riders are riding the Vuelta for the 5th time in the Man Game. They are: Jose Rujano – He finished in the top 10 of all 4 of his previous times here and took a stage in his last attempt at this race (2011). Not only that but 2011 saw him take third place overall. After a gap last year he is back this year to aim to complete his record of never being outside the top 10.
Ruben Plaza – Not only is this his 5th time here, but it is 5th straight appearance, even though he is with a Pro Continental team this year. He has 5 stage wins here to his name and he was on the podium in 2009. In fact 4 of those stage wins were also in the 2009 version of the race, including the opening time trial.
Sergio Pardilla – He took a stage in 2009 and managed a 28th place overall in 2011. In those 4 previous races Pardilla has never had a teammate finish on the podium overall – Contador in 2009 was the closest in 4th place riding for Credit Lyonnais. Can he help Ricco to change that?
Luis Leon Sanchez - Finished 12th in 2010 and hasn’t been back here since then. He was 26th in 2008 but would have been higher placed if he hadn’t crashed on the final stage, costing him over 2 minutes on GC.
Jose Antonio Redondo – Has never really made a big impact here, but has been a loyal domestique all those years. He was a part of the Virgin Media team who won the opening team time trial in 2010. Who was leading his team in that race? Fellow veteran Ruben Plaza.
Philip Deignan – Another ride who hasn’t made a huge impact directly but he has been a part of two different winning teams here. In 2009 he supported Francisco Mancebo as he rode to victory and in 2011 he was with Alessandro Valverde as one of his few mountain domestiques.
In comparison we have 110 riders who have never ridden the Vuelta before. That’s well over half of the full startlist, which is an incredible number. A lot of this has to do with the large number of teams who promoted last season, many of whom kept their young riders and domestiques.
UBS have the highest average age of any team here, with an average age of 29.89 years, yet putting all 9 riders together they have only ridden 5 Vueltas in the past. Still, this is more than Milka, who are the least experienced team with only 1 previous Vuelta (2010 by Uran).
Heineken and Puma are tied for the lowest average age team here with both of them having an average age of 24.67 years.
There are a huge 44 different countries represented here, with the most from a single country being 29 from Spain. Italy are next with 15 and France after that with 14.
Well, with Bennati going to the Tour and VDB on a strict GT-free calendar, it's very obviously a breakaway race for us, so this can turn out to be a long three weeks of racing.
Schwab and Nerz can certainly hit the Top 30 or have a good shot at the KoM if they try.
Everyone else is here to be in every single break if possible.
Overall, Tenorio has to be the favourite combining MO and TT plus the national bonus, the pressure is on him with a Madrazo TdF domination not certain.
Ricco needs to keep the gap small in the TTs to help Bacardi out of their misery, but he could even take second overall if the hills finally give us selections.
Apart from them, this is a success if Venchi, B&O and Heineken score not much better than we do, and Pendleton's not a lot more either.
Stage 2 has got to be the big target for Schleck. Very hard to tell how he can do overall, I'm hoping for him to cause some carnage on the hills Trofimov-style. Top 10 from this race and a stage win would be great.
And hopefully Jaguar can get in amongst the action wherever possible.
Contador to win it, for me. Machado will be interesting though, particularly after California. Tenorio will be dangerous - can definately see him in the race lead early on, which always helps. And Ill always hope for Uran to have a good race.
After the Giro, the flat stages look very open. Not many pure sprinters stages, and the best on paper, Guerao, is not good on the hills. Hopefully he won't interfere in Contador's race, but there must be a danger of Contador ending up relaying on flat stages.
This should be a great race between Tenorio and Contador, I'm really looking forward to that aspect of it. Nibali should make top 5 for sure, but I think Machado will edge him out for a podium spot. Above everything, I want a stage win out of this.
This should be another great Grand Tour to read! We come with a another approach than in the Giro though. Vanoverschelde wasn't even close in the flat sprints there, here we hope Impey can step up and make a podium in a stage or two. Stages like stage 3, 10 and 17 should suit him well, though, I doubt we have the firepower to bring back breakaways, meaning we'll need to rely on others for that job. The time limit is another worrying factor, and we shall see how many riders finish the race for us.
For the GC, we've absolutely none ambitions whatsoever. However, Pendleton's showed in last year's Tour de France that a polkadot is really worthy. It could be tough for anyone else than a favourite to get that king of the mountain jersey, but it would be brilliant if Topchanyuk has a real go at it. I definitely expect him to lead our breakaway attempts on the tougher stages. Together with Shushemoin he leads that "campaign" for us.
Must admit I also dream that Bugge could be our first Norwegian Grand Tour stage winner, and eventhough that's likely to stay just a dream, I hope he can feature in a couple of breakaways. This race will really be all about Impey and breakaways for us. Hopefull we at least show up in the early attacks, unlike we did in in the Giro.
For the big GC battle, I'm having Contador as the favourite. It should be close though, and I believe Machado and Tenorio will complete the podium, with Nibali getting another fourth place in a Grand Tour. But I will just sit back and enjoy the reports for the overall battle.
Would be great to see the same pace on the reports as SN had on the Giro, especially as we've no big GC rider, and that there's arguably 12 (!) stages for the overall contenders
It should be an epic race! Edited by ember on 27-05-2013 07:13
Great preview, looking forward to some intense racing especially between my two biggest favourites Tenorio and Contador. After them, Machado and Nibali looks like the strongest, but there is so many climbers,also great hilly riders like Schleck or Ricco, that it will be fight for every place and second.
In sprints, i think Van Styen could do some damage and also Impey could be ideal for tougher falt stages.
Good luck to all! Edited by Avin Wargunnson on 27-05-2013 07:08
Hope he has a real chance at winning that KoM jersey. Have to cheer for Aker again ofcourse, Topchanyuk stays my rider and proves to be a valuable domestic at this level, hope he makes a great leader at my level of racing aswell
Manager of Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska in the PCM.Daily Man-Game
Looking forward to this, hopefully the racing will be as good as in the Giro. I'll miss the epic sprint stages, but more chances for the breakaway will be a good thing for a change of pace.
I hope that Cobo might be able to get into the Top 15, that should be "doable".
Maybe (with a lot, and with a lot I mean a lot, of luck) even Top 10 like being in a breakaway or crazy early attack he tends to do.
Also I hope that my team might be with that more active than at the Giro as I have here a better overall team hoping they manage to get a overall better result (points wise).
Team Bianchi - 2012 Man-Game ProContinental Tour Champions
We don't really have super strength for the Grand Tours, but I am reasonably happy with my Vuelta squad.
The team's biggest goal is to nab stage wins through Van Stayen and whilst it may not look like it I think a Bobridge, Sulzberger style train may be good enough. The competition is very similar to that of California and whilst we don't have a motorbike to pace things I think we have enough to not be too shabby if we set up a train.
Guerao is suspect on any sort of hill and that is a weakness we have to exploit here in his home race. I think there are 8 sprint chances, though a couple could be lost to breakaways. On that subject I did see this as a tour where breaks could have more of a chance the team are set up for a mix of that and experience.
Contador is the favourite in my eyes, though Tenorio, Machado and Uran are definite danger men. Looks like it will be a great tussle. Tenorio should be leading at halfway, so could be a similar style of battle to the Giro.
Looking forward to your reports CountArach, I recall fondly your Giro from last year I am sure this will be another cracker.
Lovely preview, cheers Arach. Should be a good race this year, quite difficult to call without Madrazo here. For Pendleton's a top 10 would be good and a stage win to break our GT duck would be grand. Here's hoping this is where the season picks up.
Seeing that the national bonus isn't as important as earlier I suspect that Machado could win this. He was significantly stronger in California, in which Contador definately didn't excel at all.
I would be hugely dissapointed to miss my top 3 goal here, and I would be hugely dissapointed to miss a stage win and a lot of stage top 3-5s from Guerao. But I won't get my hopes too high, as Contador normally reacts very late, and sometimes too late, which Machado certainly doesn't. Also Tenorio probably in the leaders jersey early on, can be a bit of a "Phinney"-problem for Contador.
I'm very eager to get the race started though, as this is, without any doubts, my favorite of the entire year (Again).
Terrific work with the preview. Took me a long while to get through it.
It's going to be Tenorio vs. Contador vs. Machado, I reckon. The mountains should be more selective than in the Giro, but I'm still going with Tenorio. His advantage over the other two in the time trials will make the difference.
Nice work with the preview. Unfortunately for me, I had already checked my line up about half way through the Giro and inwardly groaned when I realised I had, once more, brought along a slightly underwhelming squad.
Breakaways are my only real hope, and even those aren't likely to go well!
Pavarin could always surprise - he does about once a year it seems!
Also thanks to Simply Red Bull for bringing both Bennett and Bobridge here. Will be a great experience for them and also makes it quite an easy choice who to cheer for!
Milka also has made it onto my PT-favorites, plus they brought kiwi-champ Gough. Would love to see him in some breaks.
As for the overall, i'm cheering for Festina. Good luck!
