Platinum blond Frankie VDB goes deep in the Spanish desert.
The Vuelta is my least favorite Grand Tour. I say this every year, I know. And every year, circumstances make it look an awful lot like I could be wrong about that. Circumstances like, for instance, the fact that the GC almost always comes down to a nail-biting final few days, or someone comes from far down the classification to upset the standings on a transition stage, like Contador did a few years back.
Still, there is no denying that it has the least prestige of the three Grand Tours; any rider who has won the Tour de France would have no trouble finding a contract for years to come, and the same goes for the Giro to a lesser extent. Yet, I can think of two Vuelta winners – if not three – in the last decade who were without a contract the following year or were forced to resign themselves to racing on a lower-ranked team.
I blame my dislike for the Vuelta on Spain’s geography; those rains in Spain that fall mainly in the plains are also the plains in Spain that host stages on roads so flat and straight that you get the idea half the peloton would be happy to wrap a bungee cord around their handlebars and take a nap. Yet, some of the most brutal climbs are found along its parcours and those brutal climbs make for some wildly fantastic racing.
So I’m not saying I’m changing my mind about the Vuelta, but it can’t be worse than the Tour was this year.
Anyway, don’t mind this grumpy old man; prognosticate on the start list, get your picks in, sit back, and enjoy the racing. Good luck!
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Really just making up the numbers here. Hopefully a Columbian 1 - 2.
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Quintana fully recovered from whatever upset his TdF destiny. Kruijswijk fully rested after the crash which upset his Giro destiny. Father Time has caught up with Contador, as it will with Froome, who will struggle to win another TdF and is due a rest. Another strong performance from Valverde, who remains spared the pressure of team leadership. And Leopold Konig to outlast a strong group fighting for fifth to tenth placings... But I really should spare a look at the course.
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I went for the non-TdF guys except for Malmerde who I've learned never to bet against.
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How many of the last grant tours were set up to be epic battles between highly fancied contenders? And how many actually turned out that way again? And yet here are my tips with a bunch of highly fancied contenders. I'll be amazed if they all make it to the finish - but the beauty of the grand tours is such that I'll probably be amazed even when they don't.
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There's a lot of other names which are very close to being included in this list. Looking forward to a close race.
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