Another
sprint stage turned into a crazy cat and mouse game. Zdenek Stybar showed his
class once again when he out-sprinted Philippe Gilbert. The World Champion is
therefore still winless in the rainbow jersey.
The
sprinters have had their chances the last three days in a row and now it’s time
for the GC riders to take charge. Stage 8 is only 166.6 km long and that makes
for a fast day under the hot Andalusian sun. The first 125 km of the stage will
take place in head- and crosswind. The break has a good chance of making it all
the way and we can expect a furious fight to get into that final break.
With about
40 km to go the riders turn left and continue alongside the coast. There is an
intermediate sprint in Estepona and four kilometers later, the final climb
begins. Peñas Blancas is a category 1 climb and the 14.5 km towards the top
have an average gradient of 6.6 %. The first couple of kilometers are very
steep with parts over 12 %. The next part is not very steep but it’s constantly
up and down and it will be very difficult to keep a steady rhythm. The last 8 km,
however, have a steady gradient of 7-8 % and contrary to the beginning of the
stage, the riders now have a tailwind all the way to the line. The change of
wind favors the opportunistic riders but in the end, it’s all about having the
best legs.
Many riders
are not familiar with this climb but one rider knows it like the back of his
hand. I talked about Luis Angel Maté
in the preview for stage 7. He didn’t make the break but it would surprise me
not to see him try this Saturday. Maté rides Peñas Blancas a couple of times a
week and he knows every meter towards the finishing line. You may not think of
Maté as a climber but he’s been getting better and better uphill the recent
years. In the Tour de France this summer he was the last rider to help teammate
Dani Navarro finish in Top10 overall. On the final mountain stage to Annecy,
Maté finished 27th in front of strong climbers like Antón, Ten Dam
and Rolland.
In case the
GC riders end up gunning for the stage win, Alejandro Valverde must be the favorite. Valverde has been eager to
point out that for him the World Champions is more important than the Vuelta.
However, the Movistar leader is in great shape and the steady finish suits him
very well. Furthermore, Valverde is very fast on the line and should the top
favorites arrive together, I can’t see anybody outsprinting him. The only thing talking against Valverde is that he doesn't know the climb. Valverde’s
teammates Javi Moreno, Eros Capecchi and José Herrada could also be jokers for the stage win. Especially
Herrada has been extremely strong, leading the peloton whenever the road kicks
up.
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| Peñas Blancas. 14.5 km / avg. 6.6 % - Click for lager view. |
Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez is already 53 seconds after
Vincenzo Nibali in the overall classification. The Spanish climber knows he has
to gain time whenever he can but this isn’t really a great climb for Purito. He
will ‘enjoy’ the first couple of kilometers with steep gradients and constantly
change of rhythm. However, the final 8 km with steady gradients won’t make it
easy for Purito to drop his rivals. Instead, teammate Dani Moreno may put in another attack and take advantage of his
great shape. Riders like Ivan Basso
and Samuel Sanchez are normally very
good on these kind of climbs and I expect to see both of them in the front as
well.
The leading
rider, Vincenzo Nibali, won’t have any
problems on Peñas Blancas. Paolo Tiralongo, Janez Brajkovic and Jakob Fuglsang
will be supporting their team leader on the climb and especially Fuglsang looks
very strong right now. Nibali knows he can take time on his rivals in the
individual time trial in a couple of days and he doesn’t need to attack
already. Before the Vuelta started, Nibali said he was starting out on 75 % of
his maximum level. So far, the Italian shark has been showing great shape but
on a tough climb like this one, it may be best to ride a little cautious. Of
course, if Nibali sees a chance to attack in the final and get the 10 bonus
seconds, he won’t think twice.
One of my
personal outsiders for the stage win is Leopold
König. His countryman Stybar won stage 7 and it won’t be a big surprise if
we get another Czech win on Saturday. König arrived to the Vuelta in great
shape and he put in a strong attack on stage 2. Nicolas Roche ended up winning
the stage but the NetApp Endura captain showed his great climbing legs. Peñas
Blancas suits Leo König very well and if the favorites start looking at each
other, I’m sure König will take his chance.
Other good
candidates for the stage win are Domenico Pozzovivo, who’s in outstanding shape
right now, Chris Horner, who is aiming to take back the Red Jersey, Bauke
Mollema, who looks very strong and Sergio Henao, who is eager to take back the
time he lost on stage 2.
Eurosport is covering this year’s Vuelta a España intensively. Before and after each stage you will get inside information from the many interviews with the riders. The interviewer is Spanish journalist Laura Meseguer. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.
Eurosport is covering this year’s Vuelta a España intensively. Before and after each stage you will get inside information from the many interviews with the riders. The interviewer is Spanish journalist Laura Meseguer. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.
For Stage 8, Laura picks Alejandro Valverde to win.
Good call on König! Spot on!
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