all words by Mike Franchetti
Vuelta O’Clock. It’s always difficult to know exactly what to expect in Spain, but this year we don’t even have Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali or Simon Yates to throw our money at. The Giro Champion – Richard Carapaz – is also absent after an eleventh hour crash and subsequent withdrawal. Moreover, we’ve all been wrestling
“Fabio Aru can win this race” murmur the Italian’s hardcore following. “He’s climbed another place” note the believers as the former Vuelta winner creeps towards the top ten just 1:08 behind new leader Simon Yates. Unfortunately, the number of fans who still believe in the Italian is dwindling. You could even argue that nobody truly
There are three races each year which are a little grander than all the rest. The Giro, Tour and Vuelta are responsible for many of our favourite moments and the great stages have been documented countless times. Nevertheless, it’s unrealistic to expect every stage to capture the imagination and even the most ardent fans won’t
There’ll have been various points throughout Carlos Sastre’s career where he’d have been told not to look back; his solo stage victory ahead of a raging Jan Ullrich on Ax 3 Domaines comes to mind, as does his career defining attack on Alpe d’Huez en route to landing the Tour de France. However, now retired
Nairo Quintana held his nerve, and more importantly his legs, to swat away our ever-threatening Tour de France champion Chris Froome. Out-ridden by Quintana on Stage 8, Froome was faced with a 27 second deficit which would continue to grow. The Colombian went on to claim his first Grand Tour stage win since the Giro’s Cima
After a weekend of ludicrously brilliant racing, yesterday’s Vuelta stage brought the GC showdown to a lull and today’s rest day allows for a longer pause for thought. Tomorrow racing resumes with – surprise, surprise – a summit finish on the Alto Mas de la Costa. You could argue the stage won’t play a role
The post-Tour lull has hit harder than in previous years. Both the Grand Boucle and May’s Giro d’Italia were given appropriate fanfare but the Vuelta has almost crept into prominence. The Olympics hasn’t helped matters, with road (and track) cycling continuing to gain in popularity and a dramatic men’s road race stacked full of big
It’s time for Spain’s premium stage race and this year’s line-up rivals even that of the Tour de France. For starters, the overflow from the Tour is of the highest class and we and gearing up for an exciting rematch between Nairo Quintana and Chris Froome. In addition to the pair, many have been referring
Just Pro Cycling 