This stage
has "breakaway" written all over it. It's true that the last two
stages before the rest day also ended up with a break making it to the line but
since the last climb here isn't hard enough for the favorites to try something,
I think Saxo Bank would be happy to see a break take the bonus seconds.
The peloton
enters the Cantabria region and despite the GEOX team not existing anymore we
should see local guys like David de la Fuente and Juanjo Cobo try their luck. Felix
came close the other day, but yet so far, when he picked de la Fuente as his
joker, but maybe this could be his day? Anyway, I will stick with my previous
joker Paolo Tiralongo - last chance for the Italian climber as my joker,
maybe...
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| The stage's final climb up to Fuente Dé. Click for larger view! Source: climbbybike |
Another
rider I have backed (too) many times in this Vuelta is Damiano Cunego. The
"Little Prince" started the Vuelta as warm-up for the World Champions,
but after the new Italian "clean" strategy, Cunego is no longer in
the run for a spot on Azzurri's team. Looking at it, this stage seems
tailor-made for Damiano Cunego, but without much to warm-up for now I'm not
sure he will have the needed motivation anymore. Still - as I've said many
times already - look out for Cunego!
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| The last turn before the finish line. |
Winner
pick: Alejandro Valverde
Joker:
Paolo Tiralongo
To make this Vuelta a little bit more interesting I’ve challenged Eurosport blogger Blazin' Saddles to a winner pick duel during the race. You have my winner and joker picks above, here you have Felix':
Joker: Rob Ruijgh
Explanation: This is a very hard stage to predict - but one thing is almost certain: a break will stay out and it won't contain any of the GC men. French veteran David Moncoutie has pretty much waved goodbye to securing a fifth consecutive king of the mountains title but he will still hope to take a stage win for a fifth successive year in what could, after all, be his last Vuelta. This is the last chance he realistically has - I can't see his battle-bruised old legs getting up the Bola del Mundo in pole position. It's a gamble putting Moncoutie as my winner though: should he win, I'd be far better off taking five points from him as joker. I could then cover my back with a security blanket Mikkel has no doubt opted for: that's to say, one of the Big Three taking the win. That said, I could even throw in Purito as a joker, considering the likelihood of a break staying out... But heck, I'm going to be honest and stick with my gut-feeling, so for my joker I'll choose Rob Ruijgh. Vacansoleil still need a win and de Gendt will probably hold back until the penultimate stage (he needs the mountain points for the polka dot jersey). I feel Damiano Cunego will want to try something after his snub for the worlds, while the likes of Gianni Meersman, Paolo Tiralongo and even Philippe Gilbert will be hungry. Javier Aramendia will no doubt be back in the mix after a quiet week. Simon Clarke, too, may have a pop. Decisions, decisions... with so many permutations, it's going to be fascinating. And I'll no doubt enter stage 18 three points down on Mikkel... or worse, five!
To make this Vuelta a little bit more interesting I’ve challenged Eurosport blogger Blazin' Saddles to a winner pick duel during the race. You have my winner and joker picks above, here you have Felix':
Winner pick: David Moncoutie
Explanation: This is a very hard stage to predict - but one thing is almost certain: a break will stay out and it won't contain any of the GC men. French veteran David Moncoutie has pretty much waved goodbye to securing a fifth consecutive king of the mountains title but he will still hope to take a stage win for a fifth successive year in what could, after all, be his last Vuelta. This is the last chance he realistically has - I can't see his battle-bruised old legs getting up the Bola del Mundo in pole position. It's a gamble putting Moncoutie as my winner though: should he win, I'd be far better off taking five points from him as joker. I could then cover my back with a security blanket Mikkel has no doubt opted for: that's to say, one of the Big Three taking the win. That said, I could even throw in Purito as a joker, considering the likelihood of a break staying out... But heck, I'm going to be honest and stick with my gut-feeling, so for my joker I'll choose Rob Ruijgh. Vacansoleil still need a win and de Gendt will probably hold back until the penultimate stage (he needs the mountain points for the polka dot jersey). I feel Damiano Cunego will want to try something after his snub for the worlds, while the likes of Gianni Meersman, Paolo Tiralongo and even Philippe Gilbert will be hungry. Javier Aramendia will no doubt be back in the mix after a quiet week. Simon Clarke, too, may have a pop. Decisions, decisions... with so many permutations, it's going to be fascinating. And I'll no doubt enter stage 18 three points down on Mikkel... or worse, five!
Overall score:
Felix 9 points
Mikkel 9 points
Very impressive Mikkel! But no points haha
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