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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David Millar is quite dismissive of Wiggins in his book.
Pretty much suggests that the fourth in the tour was the best he'll ever get and he only got to there because of the rest of the team, and then didn't show much appreciation for it.
He implies that Wiggins just doesn't have the presence or the people-skills to lead a team - no sense of noblesse oblige so he will never have people laying it all down to help him.
I can recall a couple of the Eurosport commentators saying something similar earlier this year. I forget what race it was, something that Wiggins was doing just to get in race fitness but other riders in his team were challenging for jerseys. They made the point that those are the times a top rider has to pay back the lesser lights of the team, but Wiggins was just sitting at the back letting the rest of the team do their thing.
It may or may not be relevant but I think it's interesting to get a little insight into those things beyond form and fitness that make a top rider. Lance may have been a COTHO but he seemed to have a presence that made people throw themselves down the road for him.
Similarly I think Cadel didn't have that until he won the rainbow jersey and afterwards he had the confidence and the aura to change the way his team viewed him.
Do the Schlecks have it ? Answers on a postcard.
@Steampunk
no worries, I'll shred the tarmac over here very slowly on your behalf meantime
@xyxax
cheers, nicest thing anyone has ever said to me - sadly that is where the comparison ends - bet I can descend faster than him though, but also sadly, not if on a bike
I can't live with myself tipping Weller for the win, but The Jam are fucking awesome, so I'll keep him in the V...
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibbles
2. Get your Ant on
3. Anybody's Rodri-guess
4. Scarper!
5. Jolly Naughty Weller
VSP PICKS:
1. Anybody's Rodri-guess
2. Get your Ant on
3. Nibbles
4. Scarper!
5. Jolly Naughty Weller
@ChrisO
That's a shame about Wiggo. Hate to hear he's got a bit of the spoiled child syndrome. But Merckx, what a wardrobe.
@ChrisO
I read that too in Millary's book... apparently, they had a clearing of the air / heart-to-heart before the start of the TdF, and have kissed and made up... DM was still really pissed at Wiggo a) not being present in the Champs Elysees sprint for Tyler, and b) the comment about 'it's like moving from Wigan to ManU' (Wiggo's home team and favourite team is Wigan, he argues... was taken out of context). Having said that... have also just read Roger Moore's "Sky's the Limit", and guess what - in the 2010 TdF, Sky were trying to salvage something from the wreckage of their race, but in the Champs Elysees sprint... Wiggins was missing...and sprint challenge fizzled out... as for Garmin in 2009... Hmmmm. Prick.
Having said that, I think his admission with the press midway through 2009 race that 'I just don't have it this year, and don't know why... I can't lie to you... but I'm going to carry on to Paris, because that's what you have to do' was taking responsibility in a straight up way... he's grown up a lot since then, and (I hope) has become that leader - Dauphine, GB Nat Champs, not bad run up... and he's talking about repaying the support from his team and fans after TdF DNF. We'll see... I have faith.
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibali
2. Igor Anton
3. J. Rod
4. J. Brajkovic
5. Wiggins
@ChrisO @roadslave
I was really down on Sky last year, but I'm coming around on the whole outfit. And the younger guys seem to live and die for the Modfather. Thomas, Swift, etc. do nothing but sing his praises. Maybe it's for show, but there seems to be better unity here.
I'm no fan of Millar BTW, I think he's a COTSO, which in many ways is worse... at least LA was/is a first-rate c*nt.
But it does seem to be a recurring theme with Wiggins. There was a similar issue with Cavendish at the Olympics, after Wiggins had his gold medals and Cav thought he didn't try hard enough in the Madison. They've also kissed and made up, apparently.
I don't think it's a matter of being spoiled or thinking he's too good. It seems to me to be somewhat autistic-type behaviour (and I have two boys on the autistic spectrum) in that he seems to find it a challenge to recognise how he should behave or to empathise with other people.
We'll see, maybe he's got better at it... especially if/when Cav joins Sky.
Man... 24 window for a grand tour VSP is tough... Oh well...