The Vuelta boasts five new summits, shorter stages, and plenty of uncertainty – VeloNews.com
It's that time of the year again. The final grand tour is upon us. As we prepare for the start of stage 1, check out this race preview from VeloNews:
Short, fast, hot and hard — that pretty much sums up any Vuelta a España.
A quick glance confirms that the 2019 edition will live up to the billing: There’s no stage longer than 200km in the route peppered with climbs over the northern half of Spain. There are five new summits, and even one day — stage 9 in Andorra at 96.6km — under 100km. With a short detour into and Andorra and France — including a key 36.2km individual time trial in stage 10 — the 2019 Vuelta should deliver as the race that no one can predict.
This year’s edition won’t disappoint anyone who loves the style of aggressive and unpredictable racing that the Spanish grand tour delivers.
“Every Vuelta is hard,” said Trek-Segafredo’s Peter Stetina. “There might have been a time when it was easier, but the Vuelta is as hard as any race now.”
There could be more than a few surprises lying in wait, however, especially in an unconventional final week across Spain’s rugged Sierra de los Gredos, a region that typically has not seen much racing action in the Vuelta’s third week.
Rather than end on such emblematic climbs as L’Angliru or Bola del Mundo, the Vuelta’s final week will be fought out across the stark landscapes of Spain’s northern meseta.
So, where will the race be won?
A few stages stand out among the 21-stage, 3290km route starting August 24 with a team time trial in Torrevieja and ending in Madrid with a traditional mass gallop on September 15.
Stage-hunters and sprinters will get their chances sprinkled across the route, but the real battle — like any Vuelta — will play out on eight uphill finales underscoring another climb-heavy edition. Perhaps the route is not stacked with as many “walls” as in previous editions, but this Vuelta measures up. There’s hardly a chance for GC riders to let down their collective guard.
“Compared to other grand tours, the Vuelta offers more chances for the escapees,” said Lotto-Soudal sport director Mario Aerts. “The course difficulty of this year’s Vuelta is comparable to the one of previous editions. There will already be a lot of clarity, GC-wise, on the second rest day, both stage fifteen and sixteen are relatively short but really hard.”
The opening team time trial sets an important pecking order within the peloton, and the first week is book-ended by a decisive stage in Andorra. There are a few opening-week steep climbs to eliminate the wheat from the chafe that cannot be overlooked. The first serious winnowing out will come in Andorra in stage 9 with the action-packed, five-climb stage ending at Cortals d’Encamp.
Following the first rest day, the Vuelta’s main time trial on a power course in Pau on stage 10 should see a major opportunity for Primoz Roglic(Jumbo-Visma) to position himself for a podium run against a peloton filled with Latin American climbers.
“Overall, with the amount of meters of climbing, this year is one of the hardest we have seen in recent years for the Vuelta,” said Julian Dean, sport director at Mitchelton-Scott. “Andorra is definitely a key stage but also once we get up to Asturias there are some climbs that we have never done before.”
Indeed, the second week is loaded with the trademark steep climbs that has made the Vuelta so entertaining. Los Machucos, the beyond-steep climb that was so decisive in Chris Froome’s 2017 victory, is back in stage 13, followed by two major tests backed up in stages 15 and 16 in Asturias. The finish up Sanctuario de Acebo (8.1km at 9.8 percent) in stage 15, followed by the longer, grinding Alto de la Cubilla (18km at 6 percent) the next day should see the podium contenders surge to the front.
On paper, it appears as the final week lacks a bit of a punch. There isn’t a punctuation mark to end the Vuelta, but instead a series of challenging, undulating terrain offers up some intriguing possibilities to set up the race for attack-driven tactics. Even transition stages have some unexpected features that could catch any leader on siesta off their guard.
Spain’s Sierra de los Gredos — hard, knobby climbs along Spain’s inhospitable middle spine — is the main protagonist in the final week. It’s new terrain for the Vuelta to face on the third week, and it could upend the GC. The undulating nature of the terrain could see a strong team snuff out the action, or open the door for adventurists to try to blow apart the race.
Can anyone say “Froomigal“? Organizers are certainly hoping to see a repeat of dramatic, race-changing dynamics.
While a few marquee names are missing, including defending champion Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), this year’s Vuelta start listreads like a who’s who of cycling’s next big stars. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), Richard Carapaz (Movistar), Miguel Ángel López (Astana) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos) all line up as pre-race favorites.
With an intriguing course profile and a start list filled with ambition, the 2019 Vuelta should not disappoint.
Source: https://www.velonews.com/2019/08/analysis/the-vuelta-boasts-five-new-summits-shorter-stages-and-plenty-of-uncertainty_499732 ... See more
An unconventional closing week across Spain's rugged Sierra de los Gredos could up-end the Spanish grand tour
?I was actually hoping to go up the road tomorrow because my mum and dad and sister and mother-in-law will be there watching,? the former Orica-GreenEDGE cyclist commented post-race. ?So a day early, but I?m really happy with the win!? Sulzberger joined the breakaway of O?Connor, Jordan Davies (St George Merida) and Darcy Ellerm-Norton (Subaru Albion) just after the 23 kilometre mark, as the group worked together to form an imposing three minute time gap. ?There were a lot of attacks early on, and then a group of three riders established and I decided to go across and see if it stuck,? Sulzberger added. ?There were just four of us, and we were in for the long haul!? While Davies and Ellerm-Norton dropped back to the peloton on the descent into New Norfolk, Sulzberger and O?Connor held off the chasing pack to finish almost a minute ahead of the third-placed Raphael Freinstein (Charter-Mason). ?I thought once we hit over 2.00 minutes, and if we could keep increasing the gap, then hopefully I could come away at the end with at least 1.50, and with the time bonuses I could be in the leader?s jersey,? Sulzberger mused. The final 48 second time gap wasn?t enough though to force a change in the yellow jersey, with Ben Dyball (Avanti Racing) retaining the lead going into stage three. 
A second storyline for stage two was the emergence of young O?Connor, who matched it with the eventual winner throughout the race and only to be pipped to the finish line. ?I started racing in January at the start of this year, so it?s been a pretty big progression since then,? the West Australian rider said. ?I used to be a cross-country runner, but I always watched Tour de France on television and found it fascinating ? so I just gave it a go!? After two trying stages in arduous Tasmanian conditions, the riders will turn their attention to a 93 kilometre road race from Launceston to Grindewald on Wednesday. Text via Cycling Australia Media Release
