Spain is an awesome country. It has amazing scenery, culture, cities and chicas… oh, the chicas. Its football competition features the world’s best players, their national team are the reigning World Cup holders, and they boast world champions in tennis, Moto GP, Superbikes and Formula 1. They regularly kick the collective asses of France and Italy, and a lot of other European countries when it comes to bicycle racing, although most of their recent heroes have somewhat of a cloud hanging over them. So why does their Grand Tour hardly raise an eyebrow when compared to the other two big tours, and why the fuck do they still allow cowards on horses armed with poison darts to taunt and kill a beast as noble as el toro for ‘entertainment’?
I can’t really answer the last one, but the fact that La Vuelta is treated like the road racing equivalent of a red-headed stepchild is about as fair as the Corrida itself. To me, and to many pros, it is seen as a tour of redemption. Those who, for one reason or another, either due to bad luck, bad management or bad form suffered a less-than-stellar Tour de France, now get a chance to make something of their season and add a ‘major’ to their palmares. Riders like Jan Ullrich, who in 1999 took the amarillo jersey after sitting out Le Tour with a dicky knee. 2008 saw Contador make amends after his Astana team was prevented from starting le Grande Boucle under a doping cloud. In fact, La Vuelta and doping have more than a passing aquaintance, with Valverde winning while under a pending hearing in 2009, and of course little Robbie Heras getting stripped of his 05 title after an EPO positive. Last year wasn’t without its own scandal, with a positive for 2nd place ‘sensation’ Ezequiel Mosquera dragging La Vuelta’s name through the red dust again. It could well be the dirtiest tour of them all, a race that itself seeks atonement as much as those who race it.
This year’s edition has the same sense of redemption written all over it, with some of Le Tour’s unfortunates having a crack at it. There’s Wiggo, who was in the self-proclaimed form of his life before snapping his twig-like collarbone early on. Can he show us what he had promised on the roads of France in the Dauphine, or will the Spanish heat and steep, long climbs be too much for him? How about Jurgen Van den Broeck, also looking great before his own clavicle calamity ended his July. Invisible Denis will also be there, his Geox team considered not good enough for the Tour, out to show that he’s still a force and add to his two Spanish victories. Other battered old warhorses who will never give up easily are Andreas Klöden and Carlos Sastre, but father time may have finally taken its toll on this duo.
In reality, it’ll probably come down to the younger brigade made up of last year’s winner Vinnie Nibali, J-Rod, Scarponi, and Anton. It could be a blow-out, or one of the best races of the year. We may even get another drug controversy to keep up the status quo of years gone by. Whatever happens is anybody’s guess, which is why this race is one of the hardest to pick for VSP contenders, and one that might even be as exciting, vibrant and colourful as the country it traverses for three hot weeks.
So pour yourself a glass of Sangria, give the start list a long or glancing look, and post your picks before 5am Pacific time (yeah, I don’t know when the hell that is either…) and if you have any doubts, confusion or questions, head to the VSP page for clarification, rules and/or rebuttals. No horsing around, no bullshit.
Buena suerte!
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View Comments
@frank
ditto on all - I did look forward to the Giro, though the COTHO drama, especially as he kicked everyone's ass so hard, spoiled it a bit this year, would have been better without him, worthy or otherwise
that said, at least with the TdF one is allowed to tell everyone else to fuck off and hand over the remote, coz they know the greatest show on earth is on, and respect must be granted to it's obsessive followers (still only have one TV in my house)
congratulations to all of us in the Vuelta Groupetto, sterling work considering how easy it is to miss the time limit
@brucej
Yeah, it's kinda neat in a low-profile-not-like-a-toadstool look, but the way he wears it pushed back looks bad. But then again, aesthetics are clearly not his strong suit as his sock length amply demonstrates.
@frank
Frank, I'll see your Cobo as least deserving winner and raise you an Oscar Pereiro. At least Cobo won a stage in this Vuelta and Sastre won a stage in the Tour he won. Pereiro didn't win a stage in 06 and "won" because of his massive lead gained on stage 13 (won, incidentally and rightly by Mr. Jens Voigt) and Landis's disqualification. Cobo has (by my reckoning), 9 career stage wins, Pereiro, 8.
Enjoying some damn fine weather here in Wisconsin too - 264 marvelous kms over the weekend in picture perfect Wisconsin landscape; red barns, silos, cows, corn and near-empty roads.
@frank
Touche'! :)
@frank
I think Cobo showed his worth on the Angliru, and he lost little time on most other climbs. He also gained some time on other climbs and lost not too much in the TT. I think Cobo is a more deserving GC winner than Basso in the 2010 Giro.
At least Basso's squad rode for him from the beginning.
And if it wouldn't have been Cobo, who would it have been? Wiggins didn't have a stage, Froome had the team tactics against him until too late, Mollema was never in the picture for actually winning the Vuelta, Menchov almost didn't show. And so the list continues.
@wiscot
I don't remember that one, I wasn't into cycling yet.
Nate, what the heck was your Top 5? Are you actually the director of La Vuelta?
Hmm, one stage makes Cobo the winner...and one Tour might decide our VSP. Is "Nate" really Cobo? Do we have samples from Sunday for Nate?
(Nice work, still don't know how you picked that so well.)
Close match for the VSP Podium spots. Still have a chance to beat Nate in the last few races (Or hope he gets tagged for doping)
@Ron
Cobo, Froome, Mollema, VdB, Wiggo. I'll admit to doing a little math on the second rest day to determine it was worth ditching Anton and Nibali. No doping on the math front, I promise!
@frank , @seemunkee
The Spanish Federation wouldn't do something like that now would they?
@Netraam
That's a good point, and emphasizes why this Vuelta was a let-down! The best Vuelta was a few years back when Gesink was close to taking the lead. I think Valvestem won that year.
@wiscot
I was just out at my parents place out near Durand. Had a great ride out there in perfect weather on perfect roads, although we were disappointed that we saw a car at one point.
It's funny how the smell of cow shit makes me feel like I'm out on a really nice ride.