tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83253473382231171522024-02-17T09:49:07.298+01:00C-Cycling.com - I know cycling...Insight and previews of all the big races in cycling.Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.comBlogger419125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-10001216656939355852014-01-17T09:33:00.001+01:002014-06-28T14:09:11.086+02:00New site online!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The new C-Cycling site is now up and running on <a href="http://www.c-cycling.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">www.C-Cycling.com</a>.<br />
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I hope you will like the new site. Please don't hesitate to give any feedback. You can reach me on the email address you'll find at the bottom of this page or on Twitter at<b> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/mrconde">@mrconde</a></b>.Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-77531180250381987252013-10-06T17:28:00.002+02:002013-12-02T19:43:05.404+01:00No more previews in 2013 <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">My preview
of Sunday’s <u><a href="http://c-cycling.blogspot.cz/2013/10/il-lombardia-preview-favorites.html" target="_blank">Il Lombardia</a></u> was the last of its kind this year. My season is over
and there won’t be any more previews here in 2013. I want to thank you all for
reading during the season - I’m very happy for your kind words! Now I’ll take
some days off and then I’ll start planning 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For weekly
cycling updates, be sure to follow me on Twitter at <b><a href="https://twitter.com/mrconde" target="_blank">@mrconde</a></b>. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Thank you
for a great season!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<i>Mikkel</i>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-84695026489017284112013-10-05T12:13:00.001+02:002013-10-12T17:06:37.360+02:00Il Lombardia - Preview & Favorites<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0RFvkbKGkfQWFcIiz4bRogxajllaF5AX41hOpKPb-vDi_YsY6j6Wqx2SIC1z4voLaVmJ_uZlTXASxuk4NEdnopLxrYq_FBpsPrfnmBeTMRP0Ewgc3ahrQHFtBB4Kawv6guwFnUZGxZg/s1600/lombardia_profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0RFvkbKGkfQWFcIiz4bRogxajllaF5AX41hOpKPb-vDi_YsY6j6Wqx2SIC1z4voLaVmJ_uZlTXASxuk4NEdnopLxrYq_FBpsPrfnmBeTMRP0Ewgc3ahrQHFtBB4Kawv6guwFnUZGxZg/s640/lombardia_profile.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s time
for the final big one day race of the 2013 season. The Italian Il Lombardia,
also known as “the race of the falling leaves”, takes place on the routes from
Bergamo to Lecco. There are no less than five hard climbs to overcome on the
242 km and the last one, Villa Vergano, has its top just 10 km from the
finishing line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One of the
most spectacular parts of the routes comes after 160 km. On the way towards the
top of Colma di Sormano, the riders reach the feared Muro di Sormano. The 1.9
km have an average gradient of 15.8 % and parts of up to 27 %. There are still 82
km to go from the top of the climb and most likely, the peloton will regroup on
the following 30 km towards the next climb. Madonna del Ghisallo is 8.5 km long
and has an average gradient of 6.2 %. It has a steep part of 14 % in the
beginning and after a flat part, the final 1.5 km kick up with 9.5 %. Last
year, the race took place in rainy conditions and many have feared the same
would happen this time. However, as of Saturday morning, the weather forecast
shows it should have stopped raining in Lecco by the time the riders arrive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Last year,
on the descent from Madonna del Ghisallo we saw Vincenzo Nibali, among others,
crash on the wet roads and hopefully everybody will stay upright this time. The
crashes during World Championship last week took out many good riders and it
would be a shame to see the same thing happening in Il Lombardia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With 12.6
km to go, it’s time for the final struggle of the day. Villa Vergano is only
3.2 km long but has an average gradient of 7.4 %. There are steep parts of 15 %
near the top and this is exactly where Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez attacked last
year. Nobody could keep up with Purito and being strong on the wet descent, the
other riders didn’t see him until after the finishing line. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Should a small
group of riders arrive together, it’s important to know the finish very well.
With 750 meters to go, the riders turn right in a roundabout and continues
straight out for about 500 meters. Then it’s time for a very tricky S-curve. It’s
starts with a 90° left turn and ends
with a right curve. There are only 150 meters to go from here and this means
first rider out of the last bend most likely wins the rain. If you attack into
the sharp left-hand corner and take a take a few risks, chances are you will
open up a big enough gap to stay in front all the way to the line. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Like last
year, <b>Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez</b> is once again my <i>personal favorite</i>. He has had a
week to digest the big defeat in Florence and he’s now eager to take revenge
and finish this season with a good taste in his mouth. Purito knows that few - if
any - can match his kick on the steep part of Villa Vergano and I won’t be
surprised to see him solo away to win like he did in 2012. In Florence, he
showed to be the strongest climber in the race and Il Lombardia is really a
climber’s race. Last year, Purito won the World Tour ranking after winning this
race and he’s close enough to Chris Froome to repeat that performance this time. </span>However, it won’t be easy. Froome leads with 80 points and that means
Purito has to win or get second while Froome can’t get any points at all. Purito's loyal teammate <b>Dani Moreno</b> showed great shape in Milano-Torino with a strong attack in the final and we can expect Moreno to go hard for Purito in the beginning of Villa Vergano. Katusha has a very strong team for this race and should Purito get caught, Dani Moreno will be able to play his cards in the sprint.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><u><b>Update:</b></u> <i>Chris Froome won't start Il Lombardia due to back pains. This means we may end up seeing Purito working harder to secure a Top2 place than to win the race if gets away with only one other rider in the final. Topping the ranking for the third time in a row is a huge goal for Purito and even though he naturally wants to win Il Lombardia, a second place won't be too bad this time. </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The other
favorites for the win this Sunday are the same as those for the World
Championship.<b> Alejandro Valverde</b> will be eager to make up for his tactical
mistake (letting Rui Costa slip away) and it will be interesting to see how
Valverde and <b>Rui Costa,</b> now teammates again, will ride this race. Valverde
knows he’s most likely the fastest rider on the line should it end in a sprint.
Therefore, I would expect Rui Costa to attack on the final climb. However, Rui
Costa had problems keeping up with the best riders on the steep parts last
Sunday and I doubt he can follow Purito on the final part of Villa Vergano. The
best solution is probably to attack early on the last climb and make a
selection before the steep part. Rui Costa may even wants to pay back Valverde
by working in front of the peloton towards the line. Like some said, Purito
should have done in Florence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Vincenzo
Nibali </b>finished just outside of the podium last Sunday. I’m sure few would
disagree to the fact that Nibali was the strongest rider in the race and I
expect him to do very well in Il Lombardia too. Like Purito, Nibali is eager to
take revenge. He’s in great shape right now but like other riders without a
strong kick, the Astana captain has to time his final attack perfectly if he wants to win
this race. Many people say that it will be an advantage for Nibali if it rains
again this year. However don’t forget that Vincenzo Nibali has crashed numerous
times on wet descents. Last year, in Il Lombardia, he went down on the descent
from Madonna del Ghisallo and in the Giro d’Italia this year, Nibali crashed
again on a wet descent. Same thing happened last Sunday, which obviously made
Nibali scared of taking risks in the final when Rui Costa attacked. Nibali is
said to be one of the best riders on the descents, especially if it rains, but
maybe it’s time to reconsider that statement. That being said, I won’t be
surprised to see Vincenzo Nibali attack on the descent from Villa Vergano. He
knows he has to get away alone in order to win and I’m sure he will try.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Together
with Purito and Rui Costa, <b>Dan Martin </b>was one of my <i>personal picks</i> for the win
last Sunday. The Irish climber had all the qualities needed to win but like
many others, a crash ruined his chances. Afterwards, Dan Martin said he was
feeling very good on the bike during the race and luckily, the crash didn’t
cause him any injuries. This means the Garmin captain is now ready to fight
again and I have big hopes for him in this race. Dan Martin is good on the
climbs, he’s explosive and he’s fast on the line. In Liege-Bastogne-Liege, he
outsmarted Purito in the final and we may just get another fight between the
same two riders this time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Il
Lombardia is the last race I’ll preview this season and of course I have a
couple a couple of jokers for you. The first one is <b>Domenico Pozzovivo</b>. The
pint-sized Italian finished 6<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> overall in the Vuelta last month and
after a short break, he showed still to be in great shape in Milano-Torino. On
the final climb, Pozzovivo was - im my eyes - the strongest rider in the race,
having no problems following the attacks the final 3 km. However, Pozzovivo is
not very strong in a sprint and this also why his chances aren’t great this
Sunday. I think Pozzovivo is one of the few riders able to stay close to Purito
on the steep part of Villa Vergano but I can’t see him outsprint any of the
other favorites. A podium place is probably the best Pozzovivo can do with a
finish like this but that would also be a good result. Together with <i>Carlos
Betancur</i>, Ag2r has a very strong duo for the final climb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Some point
to <b>Philippe Gilbert</b> and <b>Peter Sagan </b>as the favorites but I doubt they will be
able to stay with the favorites on the final climb. It’s true that Gilbert has
won this race before but let’s be honest, Gilbert is not as strong right now as
we have seen him in the past. Also, unlike the last many years, the climbers
are now in tip-top conditions thanks to a tough World Championship course.
Usually, their season would already be over but now they are all peaking. I’m
sure this will make a huge impact on the race. Personally, I will be surprised
if a climber doesn’t win Il Lombardia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Other good
jokers for the win are <b>Diego Ulissi</b>, <b>Thibaut Pinot </b>and <b>Alberto Contador</b>. Ulissi
is in great shape right now but as I’ve mentioned many times; he’s not good on
the descents. Especially not if it rains. However, Ulissi is very fast on the
line and he’s probably one of the very few riders in the peloton able to
outsprint Alejandro Valverde. Thibaut Pinot hasn’t won a single race this
season and naturally, he’s eager to change that fact. He came out of the Vuelta
in good shape but like many others in this race, he probably needs to solo away
in order to win. The same goes for Alberto Contador. I was a bit disappointed
by Contador last Sunday but in Milano-Torino he showed to have found his
climbing legs again. He wasn’t on top of his game but if he keeps on
progressing like that, he should be among the first riders on Sunday. Team
Saxo-Tinkoff also has in-shape <i>Nicolas Roche</i> and <i>Rafal Majka</i> (2<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">nd</span></sup> in
Milano-Torino) on the start line and they should be able to snatch up a good
result. Also, look out for riders like <b>Simon Clark</b>e and <b>Franco Pellizotti</b>. Clarke did very well last Sunday while Pellizotti showed in Milano-Torino to be in great shape. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For a
super-super joker, look to<b> Louis Meintjes</b>. The young South African rider
finished second in the U23 road race last week and showed on the Fiesole climb
how strong he is right now. Alone he bridged the gap to Matej Mohoric and even
though he couldn’t stay with the strong Slovenian rider on the descents, he managed
to keep the peloton behind him all the way to the line. In Milano-Torino,
Meintjes joined a couple of attacks on the final climb and he is now very eager
to find out what he can do against the elite this Sunday. We can’t expect this
young man to win Il Lombardia, but if Louis Meintjes can make Top15 it would be
a huge result for him and his wildcard team MTN-Qhubeka.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For live
coverage of Il Lombardia go to <u><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/classics/giro-di-lombardia/">steephill.tv</a></u></div>
Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-72200028743953668082013-09-27T20:30:00.000+02:002013-09-27T20:31:32.175+02:00World Championship - Road Race Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It’s
finally time. This Sunday, the elite men’s road race is on and we are in for
quite a show. It’ the most open World Championship in a while and with a rainy
weather forecast;<i> anything can happen!</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In total,
the race is 272.2 km long. The day starts in Lucca and from here; the riders
have 100 km to overcome before they reach Florence. There are two climbs on
this first part; Montecarlo (3.75 km / 3.5 %) and San Baronto (3.9 / 7.1 %).
These two climbs won’t make for a selection but especially San Baronto will
serve as an appetizer of what waits the riders later on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When
reaching Florence the riders starts on 10 laps of 16.57 km. The first two
kilometers are flat but then the road kicks up. The Fiesole climb is 4.37 km
long and has an average gradient of 5.2 %. The gradients barely drop below 7 %
the last 1500 meters and this is where we find the steep parts of over 10 %.
There are 10 km to the line from the top of Fiesole. The descent starts out
very technical but then gets easier with nice and soft turns. However, there is
a very steep part and then a difficult 90° left turn with about 8.7 km to go.
If the rains, riders chasing to get back have to pay close attention to this
corner in order not to see their chances disappear in a crash. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
following 2 km are fast very fast and after a sharp right hand turn, it’s time
to climb again. The 600 meters on Via Salviati have an average gradient of 10 %
and include a part of 200 meters with over 16 % towards the top. There are only
5 km to go from the top of Via Salviati and as the final part is very fast, it
won’t be easy to catch a small group of riders if they get a gap over the top.
With a less than 3 km to the line, the riders turn left and the following
150-200 meters are uphill with parts of 10 %. This may be the last place to
attack if you want to solo away. The road kicks up a little again as the rider
cross the railroad and after a 180° corner, the final 1500 meters are flat and
straight out towards the line.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Everybody
seems to have a different opinion on the best way to prepare for this World
Championship and which riders it favors. It’s hard to keep track but here is
some of the statements:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">You
need to ride Vuelta España.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">This
is a route for the climbers.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">You
need to be fast.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">You
need to be explosive on the climbs.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Don’t
count on the Vuelta riders, the last week was too hard.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">You
need to be able to win on this kind of distance.</span></li>
</ul>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Confused? I
understand. It may not look like there is a rider who can tick off every single
criteria. However, there is one. More about him a little later. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">First,
let’s look at the teams with the most responsibility this Sunday. Spain has the
strongest team (9 riders) with Contador, Purito and Valverde but home favorites
Italy (9) isn’t far behind with the likes of Scarponi, Ulissi and Nibali. The
Netherlands (Gesink, Mollema, Slagter), Switzerland (Cancellara, Albasini) and
Colombia (Quintana, Uran, Henao, Betancur) also have nine riders at the start.
So does France but I would be surprised to see them start working in the
peloton. The French riders have to be aggressive in the attacks and with Pinot,
Barguil and Voeckler they have enough firepower to put in a couple of strong
attacks on the final laps. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Peter Sagan
(Slovakia) has five teammates to help him, among these are the Velits brothers,
Peter and Martin, plus Sagan’s own brother Juraj. Sagan would like this race to
be as easy as possible and hope for a big group together on the final lap.
Therefore I doubt Slovakia will put much effort into chasing the breaks early
on. Last year’s winner, Philippe Gilbert and Belgium have seven riders at the
start this time and compared to last year, they will be more aggressive.
Gilbert needs a hard race with a big selection and if so, he will probably have
to attack on Via Salviati on the last lap and get away with a couple of riders.
This is his best chance of winning in Florence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCL_308EAPRqmBwgePaJWLu0KM-WYtEU5td2jCUJh9ZBB3ZcdNT99LENyeXkLopCZAS5Nz5Jqpdw1dofUNE2mnvytYvzSS0Jo_TVcEsaECasJY4oKjDRNzyafKhyphenhyphendf1ML2ar2aXUjBQY/s1600/worlds_roadrace_lap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCL_308EAPRqmBwgePaJWLu0KM-WYtEU5td2jCUJh9ZBB3ZcdNT99LENyeXkLopCZAS5Nz5Jqpdw1dofUNE2mnvytYvzSS0Jo_TVcEsaECasJY4oKjDRNzyafKhyphenhyphendf1ML2ar2aXUjBQY/s640/worlds_roadrace_lap.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Profile of the circuit in Florence. 10 laps of 16.57 km.</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">According
to the bookmakers, <b>Fabian Cancellara</b> is the number one favorite. The Swiss Time
Machine pays 3 to 1. It’s nothing new that Cancellara has a red circle around
the World Championship but usually it’s focused around the time trial. This
year, Fabian Cancellara has put everything into becoming World Champion in the
road race instead. He has lost some kilos and in the Vuelta España, he showed
to be in great shape on the climbs. As a <i>warm-up</i>
for the road race, Cancellara has done both the team time trial (last Sunday)
and the individual time trial (last Wednesday). Radioshack finished 4<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup>
in the TTT while Cancellara took the bronze medal in the ITT, only two seconds
form second place. There is no doubt that Fabian Cancellara is in great shape
right now but is he strong enough to keep stay with the punchy climbers on Via
Salviati? Remember, in total this race has more than 60 km of climbing. It’s
not “just” a usually tough one day race, it’s a regular mountain stage. If
Cancellara has to fight his way back after both Fiesole and Via Salviati, how
much energy will he has left for the expected late attack in the final On the
other hand, the U23 winner Matej Mohoric said he didn’t think the course was <i>that</i> hard and makes Cancellara one of
the two big favorites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The other
top favorite is <b>Peter Sagan</b>. Sagan usually don’t have any problems on these
kind of climbs and to make sure he doesn’t get dropped, he went to train hard
in the mountains earlier this season. It quickly paid off and in Tour de
Suisse, he actually won the mountain stage with the steepest climb in the race.
Peter Sagan does well in the short time trials, he can sprint and he can solo
away to win as well. It’s difficult to find any flaws but if there is one, it
may be the distance. Sagan is yet to win a race over 250 km and even though he
has come close a couple of times, it’s still one thing missing on his
impressive palmares. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Spanish
duo <b>Alejandro Valverd</b>e and <b>Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez</b> makes it hard to imagine
a final podium without a Spanish rider. Valverde is a true specialist in these
kind of one-day races and Purito too knows how prepare for a single day and
then deliver. Both have been on the podium in the past but neither has ever
won. This year both Valverde and Purito aimed at the Tour de France this
summer. Afterwards they started out the Vuelta with the intention of getting
ready for this Sunday. They finished 3<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">rd</span></sup> and 4<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> overall
in the Vuelta and seem very strong at the moment. Especially, Purito finished
the Vuelta strong and I think he’s Spain’s best card to play. Few - if any -
can match Purito’s kick on the steep gradients and I would imagine he would try
to split the group on Via Salviati the last time. We saw in the U23 race that
Via Salviati creates a lot more damage than Fiesole and the steep gradients
really suits Purito who’s also good on the descent. Furthermore, Purito showed
in Giro di Lombardia last year, that he can win in the rain as well. Of course,
if it ends in a sprint of 10+ riders, Alejandro Valverde is the best option for
Spain and if Peter Sagan isn’t in the group, Valverde shouldn’t have problems
outsprinting the rest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The last
one of the top favorites is <b>Vincenzo Nibali</b>. He’s riding on home soil in Italy
and naturally the expectations are high. Italy hasn’t be able to deliver since
2008 when the finished 1<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">st</span></sup>, 2<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">nd</span></sup> and 4<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> in
Varese. Now the World Championship is back in Italy and after Nibali won the
Giro d’Italia and finished second overall in the Vuelta, everybody expect
another top performance from the <i>shark. </i>To
help Nibali take the rainbow jersey, Italy sends strong riders like Michele
Scarponi, Rinaldo Nocentini, Filippo Pozzato, Giovanni Visconti and Diego
Ulissi. Italy’s big problem in the past has been too many captains, this time
it’s different. Pozzato and Scarponi are both in great shape but they have to
leave their big egos at home. Ulissi is double junior world champion and I have
no doubts he’ll win the elite’s race one day as well. Diego Ulissi is strong on
the climbs and fast on the line. However, he’s not very good on the descents
especially not if the roads are wet. Vincenzo Nibali needs to attack on Fiesole
and make an early selection, then he probably has to dig deep again on Via
Salviati and then attack on the descent as he has done in the past. Nibali
knows his only chance is to solo away and I’m sure he won’t think twice if he
sees an opening in the final.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As I wrote
earlier, there actually <i>is</i> one rider
fitting all the listed statement. This rider is <b>Dan Martin</b>. He started the
Vuelta, he didn’t ride the last week of the race, he’s a climber, he’s explosive,
he’s fast on the line and he has proven to be able to win on the long distance
(LBL this year). After crashing out of the Vuelta, Dan Martin took part in Tour
of Britain as his last preparation for the World Championship. He raced very
aggressively and showed on the climbs that he is still going very strong. So
far, 2013 has already been a great season for Dan Martin after winning
Liege-Bastogne-Liege and stage 9 of the Tour de France. He has been targeting
the Rainbow Jersey for a while and he has shown he isn’t afraid of attacking
from afar if necessary. I think the most likely scenario for this race, is a
small group of about five riders arriving at the finishing together. If Dan
Martin is in this group, he will be very difficult to beat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Earlier
this year, Colombia seemed to have one of the most powerful teams for this
race. However, both Sergio Henao and Carlos Betancur didn’t really deliver in
the Vuelta and it’s doubtful they will be able to perform - as previously
expected - this Sunday. <b>Nairo Quintana</b> and <b>Rigoberto Uran</b> are still two very
strong outsiders but it won’t be easy for the Colombians to continue their
dominance this season. Nairo Quintana’s father is hoping to visit the Pope when
the race is over and naturally, it would be amazing for the humble climber to
join his parents with the Pope carrying the Rainbow Jersey. I don’t think it
will be happen though.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTmYU2FnPaG-E_sRay0PkZtEobQRY6IBFzwOSesOC24sKRzRaHW1OCrPPtByWyP3Uz3iKwgQirPI1u5VxyZ_LrA6Dw4J0mooRaBNIvuMUbvpaP9fCyf15BOnhmJ7Qc9dshXZq_Tw3pjs/s1600/worlds_roadrace_lap_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTmYU2FnPaG-E_sRay0PkZtEobQRY6IBFzwOSesOC24sKRzRaHW1OCrPPtByWyP3Uz3iKwgQirPI1u5VxyZ_LrA6Dw4J0mooRaBNIvuMUbvpaP9fCyf15BOnhmJ7Qc9dshXZq_Tw3pjs/s200/worlds_roadrace_lap_map.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the circuit in Florence.</td></tr>
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Before this
preview gets too long to read, let’s have a look at some of the jokers for the
win. My personal joker is <b>Rui Costa</b>. Like Dan Martin, Rui Costa has already had
a great season with the overall win in Tour de Suisse and two impressive stage
wins in Tour de France. The World Championship has been a big goal for Rui
Costa all season and the course really suits him. Portugal only has three
riders in the race but both Andre Cardoso and Tiago Machado are dedicated to
help Rui Costa win the Rainbow Jersey.<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Another
strong outsider is <b>Chris Froome</b>. Not since Greg Lemond in 1989 has a Tour de
France winner went on to become World Champion. This year Froome has a unique
chance of doing so but he knows he requires a hard race with a big selection. In
the beginning of August, Chris Froome went to check out the course and train on
the roads. He did the Via Salviati climb 10 times and he knows what to expect.
After finishing the Tour, Froome immediately started talking about the World
Championship and after training hard in North America the last weeks, he now
seems ready. Like Vincenzo Nibali, Chris Froome most likely has to solo away in
order to win this race but don’t forget he actually outsprinted both Contador
and Purito in Tour of Oman earlier this year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For other
jokers look to in-shape <i>Robert Gesink</i> and <i>Thomas Voeckler</i>, one-day specialist
<i>Alexandr Kolobnev</i> and strong all-rounder <i>Edvald Boasson Hagen</i>. For the
super-super jokers I’ll like to mention season revelation <i>Tanel Kangert,</i> World
Champion specialist <i>Matti Breschel</i> and youngster <i>Tom-Jelte Slagter</i> who has a
good kick on the hills and is fast on the line.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the race go to </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><u><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/road-cycling-world-championships/#live" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span></span></div>
Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-58833461793636441482013-09-23T21:03:00.000+02:002013-09-25T12:34:18.989+02:00World Championship - Time Trial Preview & Favorites<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tony Martin
got the best possible start to this year’s World Championship when he and Omega
Pharma Quickstep won the opening team time trial last Sunday. Now it’s time for
the individual time trial and just like the last two years, the strong German
is the top favorite.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Except for
a slightly different finish, the course is the same as for the team time trial.
It’s a power course for the big engines and basically it’s all about speed. The
small hill in the beginning won’t matter much as the following 50 km are flat.
Only the final few kilometers inside of Florence are technical but the riders
doing the team time trial already know how to take the corners without losing
time.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Half a year
ago, I had no doubts <b>Tony Martin</b> would win this race and take his third
consecutive World Champion title. However, I must admit Bradley Wiggins has
been extremely strong recently. Both Martin and Wiggins are best on a course
like this one and I think it will be a close fight. Still, I’ll stick with Tony
Martin as my number one favorite. He’s been training on the course, he did the
team time trial and he knows how to take the tricky corners in Florence.
According to the German, he’s in better shape than last year and he feels more
prepared. He got a massive motivation boost when OPQS won the team time trial
and he’s now very confident. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">While Tony
Martin has had the same approach towards the time trials within the last handful
of years, <b>Bradley Wiggins</b>' focus has changed completely. He went from being a
time trial specialist to winning the Tour de France. In this process, Wiggins
lost a lot of weight and he had to comprise his time trial training. After his
failed attempt to win the Giro d’Italia this year, Wiggins now seems to have
given up on winning another Grand Tour. He’s now 7-8 kg heavier than when he won
the Tour and since June, he’s only been focusing on his time trial. In his
comeback race after the Giro, Bradley Wiggins won the 37 km time trial in Tour
of Poland when he distanced Fabian Cancellara and Taylor Phinney with a minute.
Last week he won the short time trial in
Tour of Britain without any problems and according to Wiggins, he too feels a
lot better than last year. In 2012, Wiggins won the Olympic time trial just 10
days after winning the Tour de France. This time the World Champion time trial
comes just three days after Tour of Britain. It will be very interesting to see
if it’s enough time for Wiggins to switch focus and beat Tony Martin.
Personally, I doubt it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">According
to the bookmakers, <b>Fabian Cancellara </b>will take the bronze medal this Wednesday.
The way I see it, Cancellara is a strong candidate but riders like Taylor
Phinney and Adrian Malori have a solid chance of making podium as well. As
stated in my preview for the team time trial, Fabian Cancellara’s main focus in
on the road race on Sunday. No other top favorites are doing all three races
and if Cancellara wants to win on Sunday, it may not be the best idea to test
his limits on a course like this and take risks in the tricky corners. Cancellara
has worked hard to get better on the climbs, we saw that in Vuelta España, and
it means he has lost some speed on the long flat parts. He’s still among the
very best in the world but against Tony Martin and Bradley Wiggins, I honestly
can’t see him win.</span><br />
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Last year
<b>Taylor Phinney </b>did the time trial of his life when he finished second to Tony
Martin. Phinney was only six seconds from beating Tony Martin and becoming
World Champion and now he’s out for revenge. He lives near the course and knows
it like the back of his hand. Every time Phinney is out training on his time
trial bike, he’s riding on part of the course and I doubt any of the riders
starting tomorrow knows it better than he does. BMC had big ambitions for the
team time trial but failed to live up their own expectations. They finished fourth
and Taylor Phinney didn’t hide his disappointment. Wednesday the young American
has another chance to show his potential and personally, I have Phinney down
for a spot on the final podium.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The
Italians haven’t had much to cheer for in the time trials for a while. Marco
Pinotti was on his way to medal last year but then crashed in the final. Right
now <b>Adriano Malori </b>is the Italians best hope and on a good day, he could
surprise and make podium. Malori is getting better and better every year and
this season, he has been very close to Tony Martin a couple of times. In
Tirreno-Adriatico, Malori finished second in the final time trial, just six
seconds after Martin. In time trial in Tour de Romandie, Malori finished second
again this time 16 seconds after Tony Martin. It’s worth noticing that in this
time trial Malori put in 18 seconds on the overall winner Chris Froome. The
time trial in Florence is obviously a big goal for Adriano Malori and he’s been
working hard in order to deliver a top performance this Wednesday. He knows the
competition is fierce but if some of the other candidates strike out, Malori
will be ready to take advantage of the situation.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">The five mentioned riders are also the five riders starting last. For the complete starting order <u><a href="http://www.toscana2013.it/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/ROA_CM2013_Startinglist_TT_ME.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a></u>.</span><br />
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Among the super jokers for a medal we'll find riders like the Vacansoleil-DCM duo <b>Thomas De Gendt</b> and <b>Lieuwe Westra</b>. In the Tour de France this year, De Gendt started right before Tony Martin. The strong Belgian had never been overtaken in a time trial before and he was eager to not to change that fact. Fighting to keep Tony Martin behind him, Thomas De Gendt put in such a strong performance that he finished third on the stage. This time, his teammate Lieuwe Westra is starting right after De Gendt. Westra isn't on the same level as Tony Martin, but I still expect him to do Top10 this Wednesday. In fact, Lieuwe Westra says that being the first to catch Thomas De Gendt in a time trial is an extra motivation for him. It will be interesting to see how the two - soon to be - former teammates will perform against each other.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the team time trial go to </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><u><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/road-cycling-world-championships/#live" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span></span></div>
Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-86688929555694012062013-09-21T15:24:00.000+02:002013-09-22T10:58:52.242+02:00World Championship - Team Time Trial Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YPs6dBavtJ9R7qwEidzhOfj9WyN2RUUognvE5sjEHSMhQvil-Fhyphenhyphen1bQ8qwSkS9GEZaC13LVOFaGdiT5ID4d2XWheMEYTrBRrWKnSDZN4KevwXJJaUQQJZ0iNmdoNZGLOOYY2vFK3ivg/s1600/worlds_ttt_2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YPs6dBavtJ9R7qwEidzhOfj9WyN2RUUognvE5sjEHSMhQvil-Fhyphenhyphen1bQ8qwSkS9GEZaC13LVOFaGdiT5ID4d2XWheMEYTrBRrWKnSDZN4KevwXJJaUQQJZ0iNmdoNZGLOOYY2vFK3ivg/s1600/worlds_ttt_2013.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World Championship Team Time Trial in Florence.<br />
<a href="http://www.zeitgeistimages.co.uk/">www.zeitgeistimages.co.uk</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The World
Championship week in Florence starts out with a team time trial this Sunday.
Last year Omega Pharma Quickstep won in front of BMC and GreenEdge and this
time I expect the same three teams to make the podium. However, Team Sky has the manpower to change a repetition of the 2012-podium.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Unlike last
year’s edition, this course is - except for a short climb of 4:30 min in the beginning -
completely flat. This combined with a distance of 57.2 km means it’s all about
the speed.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Therefore, we can expect the teams with big powerhouses to fight for
the win. </span>There are long and flat sections without any turns and guys like Tony
Martin, Taylor Phinney, Fabian Cancellara and Luke Durbridge can really make a difference here. The last 10 km are a very technical. There are at least 10 sharp corners in
this part and you can lose and gain a lot of time in these corners. It's very important not to panic in the corners. The last time check is right before the technical part so it's not certain the ranking here will be the same as at finish.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Looking at
the teams this year, it’s clear that <b>Omega Pharma Quickstep</b> is the big
favorite. The Belgian team sends five (Martin, Velits, Chavanel, Terpstra &
Vandewalle) of the six winning riders from last year. Only change is Tom Boonen
who is being replaced by season sensation Michal Kwiatkowski. The Pole has been
in Top8 in all of the six individual time trials he’s been doing this year!
While other teams may not look as strong as last year, OPQS is actually even
better this time. I clearly expect the team to repeat their winning performance
from 2012.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jXLS0_Gw3MpwqZ6f2W1FDYNpTc6wfs7fY_GxfSGKC_YnRjV6yvn63eYWFYEkS-K2308I4SJvTBBP1boQeMte7P7jy_18wPqhzV1sVmW591IyiKx2c4ifHwRu-V4Q-72U_F4e4U0r1vM/s1600/worlds_ttt_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jXLS0_Gw3MpwqZ6f2W1FDYNpTc6wfs7fY_GxfSGKC_YnRjV6yvn63eYWFYEkS-K2308I4SJvTBBP1boQeMte7P7jy_18wPqhzV1sVmW591IyiKx2c4ifHwRu-V4Q-72U_F4e4U0r1vM/s640/worlds_ttt_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>BMC</b> came
very close to winning last year but this time, I think they will have to fight
hard just to get the silver medals. Time trial specialist Marco Pinotti is
missing and so are Alessandro Ballan and Philippe Gilbert. Instead, Steve
Cummings, Daniel Oss and Michael Schar are joining Taylor Phinney, Tejay Van
Garderen and Manuel Quinziato. Both Phinney, Cummings and Schar were part of
the BMC team winning the team time trial in Qatar earlier this year. However,
BMC hasn’t performed well in the important team time trials the rest of the
year and without a key rider like Pinotti, I think a silver medal - if even so - is the best
they can get in Florence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The biggest
threat to BMC’s second place is <b>GreenEdge</b>. The Australian team did very well
last year, even on a course not suited for their riders’ characteristics. With
big engines like Luke Durbridge, Svein Tuft, Jens Mouris and Daryl Impey,
GreenEdge will be able to extremely fast on the long flat parts. Add to that
Brett Lancaster and Michael Hepburn and you really have a strong team for a
fast course. All six riders live in Girona and they have been training together
for this discipline the last two weeks. A team time trial is all about working
together as one and looking at the riders and their training, I think GreenEdge
is the best pick to win this race if something happens to OPQS.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The way I
see it, it will be difficult for the rest of the teams to medal against OPQS,
GreenEdge and BMC. However, teams like Radioshack, Garmin, Saxo-Tinkoff, Astana and especially Team Sky will all be gunning for the podium as well. Garmin used to be among
the best in this discipline but it’s been a while since they have produced a
great team time trial. <b>Astana</b> did very well in the Giro (third) and in the
Vuelta (first) but without Vincenzo Nibali to lead them, I doubt they will be
able to make Top3 this time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On the last
day of the Vuelta, Nicolas Roche said that <b>Saxo-Tinkoff</b> was very eager to do
well in Florence. Bjarne Riis has always been very fond of the team time trial
and according to Roche, the Danish team aims for a spot on the podium. Christensen,
Boaro, Roche, Mørkøv, Sørensen and Tosatto are
the six riders for Sunday’s race and it will be interesting to see if they can live
up to their own expectations. Personally, I don’t think they will do better
than top5 but it wouldn’t be the first time the Danish team surprises in a TTT.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Radioshack</b>
is another solid Top5 candidate and on a good day may even Top3. Fabian
Cancellara is in excellent shape right now and together with Jesse Sergent,
Hayden Roulston, Yaroslav Popovych, Markel Iriza and youngster Bob Jungels, the
team should be able to keep a high pace. However, Cancellara’s big goal this
year is the road race. He’s the bookmakers’ top favorite for the title and the
question is; “how deep will Cancellara dig in the time trials?” None of the
other favorites are doing all three races (TTT, ITT & RR) and if Cancellara
isn’t pushing it to his limits, he won’t be able to carry the team like he did
in the team time trial in the Vuelta last month.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWOrd02z8gLH-zjb2hQF7YugfCB7vRGc6u7_8moerVJth9iWIOy9NOohc-qw8Lj8TwhXaKBIo7GalKKJB8h6rxJRlPxl2z42z59hDvJ7pTFj2EumMbXFkpyw79ywukkKsW6yOx8_gqSUo/s1600/worlds_ttt_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWOrd02z8gLH-zjb2hQF7YugfCB7vRGc6u7_8moerVJth9iWIOy9NOohc-qw8Lj8TwhXaKBIo7GalKKJB8h6rxJRlPxl2z42z59hDvJ7pTFj2EumMbXFkpyw79ywukkKsW6yOx8_gqSUo/s640/worlds_ttt_map.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the 57.2 km from Montecatini Terme to Florence. Pay attention to the technical last part of the route.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span lang="EN-US">In recent
years, it would be a mistake not to mention <b>Movistar</b> among the candidates. Once
again, they have a strong team for this time trial but I doubt they will be
able to better than 7<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup>-10<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> place. Rui Costa, Jonathan
Castroviejo, Andrey Amador, Jesus Herrada, Ruben Plaza and Eloy Teruel are all
good time trialists but as stated in the beginning, this race is all about
speed. Had this been a hilly team time trial like the ones we’ve seen in the
Giro and the Vuelta in the past, Movistar would have been one of the favorites.
However, on a 57.2 km flat course, there are simply other teams with bigger
engines. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As of
Saturday afternoon <b>Garmin</b> still hasn’t released their final teams yet. Both
have the firepower to do very well this Sunday but as mentioned earlier, Garmin
hasn’t really been able to deliver a good team time trial on the big scene for
a while. Still, judging from the eight pre-selected riders, this may be their
strongest team in a long time. No matter which six riders they end up picking,
they are all strong on a flat course like this one. The team time trial used to
be their specialty and I’m sure Garmin will be eager to show the world they still
have what it takes fight for the win against the best teams. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On paper,
<b>Team Sky</b> also has a very strong team. All of their six selected riders (Froome, Porte, Boasson Hagen, Kiryienka, Siutsou & Thomas) did the Tour de France this year and individually they are all great time trialists. Chris Froome is leading the team but just like Fabian Cancellara, Froome's main focus is on the road race next Sunday. Of course, both Froome and Cancellara will be a huge help for their
teams but thinking of the road race, they may hold back a little or decide not
to take any risks in many sharp corner in the last part of the course.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the team time trial go to </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/road-cycling-world-championships/" style="color: black;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a> - and <u><a href="http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias-ficha.asp?id=66000" target="_blank">click here</a></u> to see the starting order.</span></span></div>
Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-32241628725990029942013-09-16T15:20:00.000+02:002013-09-16T15:23:19.223+02:00Thank you<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaHYjpnmGG6Tbzt5_r9H3koQxn5f9xC2cvnM7s_hTwkyN_7WfARUPMXWu4bl3Y3mdHuKnf7wlCOGki3wGl9oOoAKoLKkquiQhXydTRbvKOc4_HrM6oHO_ZL0jW6XhtJz4K6ih0kM7ewE/s1600/viva_la_vuelta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaHYjpnmGG6Tbzt5_r9H3koQxn5f9xC2cvnM7s_hTwkyN_7WfARUPMXWu4bl3Y3mdHuKnf7wlCOGki3wGl9oOoAKoLKkquiQhXydTRbvKOc4_HrM6oHO_ZL0jW6XhtJz4K6ih0kM7ewE/s200/viva_la_vuelta.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
This year’s
Vuelta a España is now over and I want to say thanks to all of you visiting the
site during the race. I really appreciate your feedback and kind words!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Next
previews will be for the World Championships in Florence, starting already this
weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><i>Stay tuned
and thank you!</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-63636701691104952482013-09-14T22:22:00.001+02:002013-09-14T22:22:39.465+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 21 Preview & Favorites<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjG2xTYjGd-Ki4l1HMCN72Iiv93Qed9dobCqMco0vnK0vU8aywQmeqhUF7c4M_oBDgErfNt0y3rdFipwRszT_zc51X1s3qfeUngZKP3ZO84EefYHWSLQu7EYejrLVk9stC9s5TmhcqB4/s1600/vuelta_Stage21.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjG2xTYjGd-Ki4l1HMCN72Iiv93Qed9dobCqMco0vnK0vU8aywQmeqhUF7c4M_oBDgErfNt0y3rdFipwRszT_zc51X1s3qfeUngZKP3ZO84EefYHWSLQu7EYejrLVk9stC9s5TmhcqB4/s640/vuelta_Stage21.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US">Chris
Horner and Vincenzo Nibali gave us an amazing finish to this year’s Vuelta.
Nibali attacked several times within the last 6 km but in the end, Horner went
away and Nibali couldn’t respond. Valverde had problems in the beginning but he
too recovered and secured his third place overall. Kenny Elissonde took a beautiful
stage win after a long break and gave France their fourth stage win this race. That’s
three more than they won in the Tour. Anyway, let’s take a look at the final
stage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
sprinters haven’t had many chances in this year’s edition. Latest, Bauke
Mollema took them by surprise when he attacked on the final kilometer of stage
17. However, I think it’s safe to say that this stage will end in a bunch
sprint. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Despite a
very tough course, we still have most of the starting sprinters left in the
race. One of the most consistent ones is <b>Max Richeze</b>. The Argentinian has four Top3 places so far but he is still missing a stage win - so is his team Lampre
and they will be very eager to finish this race in style. A tough final week
has often seen an outsider winning in Madrid and that could very well be case
again this time. The way I see it, Richeze and <b>Edvald Bosson Hagen</b> are the two
big favorites. The Norwegian was clearly the strongest in the sprint when
Mollema won but the finish in Madrid is not a typical Boasson Hagen sprint. A
short and flat stage with a criterium finish is better suited for some of the track
riders like <b>Leigh Howard</b> and <b>Michael Mørkøv</b>. However, I think it will be very
difficult to beat Edvald Boasson Hagen in Madrid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDo0QvYFsQBDRs0IRDCAftjpIy6U-HQR7_0S7uTdS0_ztCvGRvrXHaZidqCsCabZEQIObV6xoR2S-Wjl2dn_3yr6NfDdZGj_e8jSTnmc32GjmwmZM32qISBgc1QICxJMLSP5SXuSVkO6Y/s1600/vuelta_stage21_final5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDo0QvYFsQBDRs0IRDCAftjpIy6U-HQR7_0S7uTdS0_ztCvGRvrXHaZidqCsCabZEQIObV6xoR2S-Wjl2dn_3yr6NfDdZGj_e8jSTnmc32GjmwmZM32qISBgc1QICxJMLSP5SXuSVkO6Y/s320/vuelta_stage21_final5.JPG" width="279" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the final laps in Madrid. Click for larger view.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US">GreenEdge
has only four riders left but two of those, Howard and <b>Michael Matthews</b>, are
very good candidates for the win. Matthews started out this race and the fastest
man in the sprints and if he has been able to keep his speed during the last hard week, his chances are as good as Richeze's and Boasson Hagen's.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Team
Argos-Shimano came to the Vuelta with a young team ready to fight in the bunch
sprints. Their Vuelta has already been a success but not because of the
sprints. This is not their usually sprint team and that shows. However, they
are still eight riders left and in <b>Nikias Arndt</b> and <b>Reinardt Janse van Rensburg</b>
they have two strong outsiders. Arndt is the youngest rider in the race.
Barguil and Kenny Elissonde are the second and third youngest
and they have both won a stage. It won’t be easy for Nikias Arndt to win as
well but on a good day, he may be able to pull it off. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Tyler
Farrar</b> won the final stage of the Vuelta in 2010 when he outsprinted Mark
Cavendish. A lot of things have happened since then and now Farrar is not even
close to beat the best sprinters in the world. He is very consistent but it
almost never gets better than 3<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">rd</span></sup> or 4<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> place. Farrar is
fast on the final meters and if only he could position himself better, he
should be able to win. I doubt the American will take another win in Madrid but
in this company - no offense to Richeze and EBH - Farrar simply has to be able
to win. If not, he may as well just kiss his days as “top sprinter” goodbye. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Before the
Vuelta started, <b>Gianni Meerman</b> seemed to be good for at least a couple of stage
wins. However, the strong Belgian hasn’t won a single stage yet. This kind of
sprint doesn’t really suit Meersman but this has been a tough Vuelta and it’s
all about who has something extra left in the tank. Meersman has been doing
well in the mountains but I was surprised not to see him in front group on
stage 17. I wouldn’t count off Gianni Meersman but personally I doubt he will
win this stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If you are
looking for other good jokers for the stage win in Madrid look to riders like;
<b>Francesco Lasca</b>, <b>Robert Wagner</b>, <b>Adrien Petit</b>, <b>Tosh Van der Sande</b> and <b>Zakkari
Dempster. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s
difficult to pick a winner for this stage but if I had to pick one it would be <u><b>Edvald
Boasson Hagen</b></u>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"><i>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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For the last stage of this year's Vuelta, Laura picks <b>Max Richeze </b>to win.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RXaAtFfKIrE?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-37020471777932328142013-09-13T21:17:00.002+02:002013-09-13T21:43:17.274+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 20 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJOycT8IS_3OK_Unxp-eiWwyB1nwlDRdBE_5O4pNkuKYoIm3fFUHZL0EvteZimh8H5ygJTLxqOfZ85Cm37nM3ROkQnUsg1lcJP3_ONmupOfJhbnu95ZlVY1WY-H8fpRxX_hztGI87Wc5c/s1600/vuelta_stage20_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJOycT8IS_3OK_Unxp-eiWwyB1nwlDRdBE_5O4pNkuKYoIm3fFUHZL0EvteZimh8H5ygJTLxqOfZ85Cm37nM3ROkQnUsg1lcJP3_ONmupOfJhbnu95ZlVY1WY-H8fpRxX_hztGI87Wc5c/s640/vuelta_stage20_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Joaquim ’Purito’
Rodriguez finally took his first stage win of this year’s Vuelta on stage 19. Katusha
worked in front of the peloton all day long and with one kilometer to go,
Purito dropped the rest of the favorites. Vincenzo Nibali couldn’t keep up with
Horner on the final meters and Chris Horner is now leading the race with three
seconds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Before the
Vuelta started, we could only hope for a fight this close and Angliru will now determine
who’s going to win this bike race. Chris Horner has been the best climber so
far and usually the best climber wins on Angliru. In the past, the big favorites
have won here and I doubt that will change this time. The bonus seconds on the
line can prove to be very important and the prestige alone of winning on
Angliru should mean we won’t see the peloton let the early break get too far
away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s a
short stage of only 142.2 km but it won’t be an easy day in the saddle. Even
though the chances of a breakaway making it aren’t great, half the peloton will
try to make it into that break anyway. It’s the last chance before Madrid to
win a stage and strong teams like Movistar, Lampre and Euskaltel are still
winless in this Vuelta. Except for the opening team time trial Astana hasn’t
won anything either yet and without having to control the race, we may see them
send a good climber up the road. If not to win the stage, then at least to help
Nibali on the final climb. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There are
three categorized climbs on the menu before taking on Alto de l’Angliru and all
three of them are very steep. The first one, Alto de la Cabruñana, is the
easiest one. It comes after 40 km and has an average gradient of 6.6 %. From
the top, there are only 30 km to Alto de Tenebredo starts. This climb is only
3.4 km long but it has an average gradient of over 10 %! The GC favorites won’t
be dropped here but the steep gradients will hurt their legs before the final
two climbs of the day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOryf2vNUC-iKMterOVQLYir84EKaTL1tujETUWrduz8VSU_xr9WbDdDcMxlK_wVVtm58d-utV-n3nF2Ve245elfMfefKo0YMfzU5X05Xryg_YTiiq6x34cbT-hD9xWzwFb64PWh0XJw/s1600/vuelta_stage20_angliru.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOryf2vNUC-iKMterOVQLYir84EKaTL1tujETUWrduz8VSU_xr9WbDdDcMxlK_wVVtm58d-utV-n3nF2Ve245elfMfefKo0YMfzU5X05Xryg_YTiiq6x34cbT-hD9xWzwFb64PWh0XJw/s320/vuelta_stage20_angliru.png" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alto de l'Angliru. 12.2 km / avg. 10.2 %</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With 26.6
km to go, it’s time to climb Alto del Cordal. This is a category 1 climb and
the 5.3 km towards the top has an average gradient of 9.6 %. If Alejandro
Valverde or Joaquim Purito are feeling exceptional well, we may see Movistar
and Katusha set a high pace on Cordal in order to tire out their rivals. There
won’t be many riders left in the peloton when reaching the top and those who
are dropped won’t see the front of the peloton again today. After the fast
decent, the riders start on Angliru right away. This climb is said to be the
hardest one ever done in a bike race and its 12.2 km with an average of 10.2 % confirm
that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This is only
the 6<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> time a stage finishes on Angliru and looking at some of the
past winners, it’s clear this is one for the pure climbers. Jimenez, Simoni,
Heras and Contador were all best in the world when they won here. Juanjo Cobo was
the last winner on Angliru (in 2011). That year the Vuelta also had a stage
finish on Peña Cabarga. Last Thursday Chris Horner sat a new record on the
climb. He was more than 40 seconds faster than Cobo was in 2011.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US">Naturally,
<b>Chris Horner</b> is the big favorite to win this stage. However, <b>Vincenzo Nibali</b>
has a point when he says the climb suits the Italian better than Horner.
Angliru is all about keeping a steady rhythm, sitting on the bike. Horner is
always standing in the pedals and should it rain, it won’t be easy for him to
distance the others. It’s true that Horner is better than the rest on the steep
gradients right now but Angliru is <i>constantly</i>
steep and therefore it’s more important to keep a steady rhythm. Also, Horner
has never climbed Angliru before. Nibali has. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Like in the
Tour, <b>Purito</b> seems to be very strong after the last rest day. However, after
his win on Alto de Naranco he also said that “this was his last chance”. He
knows it will be extremely difficult to win on Angliru and he’s probably more
focused on gaining time on Valverde than going for the stage win. However, this
climb suits <b>Alejandro Valverde</b> very well. The Movistar leader knows how to keep
a high speed and honestly, I don’t think Purito will be able to distance
Valverde enough to make podium. Actually, I doubt he will distance Valverde at
all. The only chance for Purito to take 3<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">rd</span></sup> place is if Nibali has a
- very - bad day. </span>In 2011, Liquigas sat a strong pace for Vincenzo Nibali in
the bottom of Angliru but halfway to the top, Nibali couldn’t follow anymore
and he ended up losing 2:37 min to Juanjo Cobo. I doubt it will happen again
this time but if Radioshack, Movistar and Katusha work together and put
pressure on Nibali already on Cordal, he may crack again on Angliru.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As
mentioned, Movistar, Lampre and Euskaltel haven’t won a single stage in this
year’s race and they will all be eager to change that fact today. <b>Eros Capecchi</b>
and <b>José Herrada </b>are probably the two best cards Movistar can play in a
breakaway. Capecchi was very good on Angliru in 2011 and it’s important to know
this climb. I had <b>Diego Ulissi</b> down as my joker for stage 19 and he finished 2<sup>nd</sup>
after Purito. Ulissi seems to have timed his shape perfectly for the World
Championships and if he gets into the break, he will be very difficult to beat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A steep
climb like Angliru is always good for the pure climbers and Euskaltel has a lot
of them. <b>Mikel Nieve</b> and <b>Igor Antón</b> are both out of the GC and will have
freedom to attack. In 2011, Antón put in a strong attack with 7 km to go and
for a time, he seemed to be the winner. However, he couldn’t follow when Cobo
made his move. Back then, Antón attacked from the peloton. He ended up losing 1:21
min but imagine what he can do with a gap of 3 minutes in the bottom of the
climb. Igor Antón has won on Monte Zoncolan in the past (2011) - the Italian
pendant to Angliru - and he’s always been best on the steepest gradients. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It would be
a smart move by Astana to send a rider or two in the early breakaway. They don’t
have to control the race anymore and they would be happy to see the bonus
seconds taken out of the equation if Nibali can't follow Horner. </span>Tanel Kangert and Paolo Tiralongo will most
likely stay with Nibali. Kangert sits 11<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> overall and Tiralongo never
leaves Nibali’s side. Not even when the doctors advised him to do so when he
was sick during the Giro. I think <b>Janez Brajkovi</b>c and <b>Jakob Fuglsang</b> may fancy
their chances. Brajkovic was the first rider in the Red Jersey and he’s been
looking strong, working for Nibali, ever since. Before the Vuelta started, Fuglsang
said he came to support Nibali and prepare for the World Championships. So far,
he’s been riding very well without going over his limits. In the beginning,
Fuglsang was aiming for a stage win but he became locked after Nibali took the
jersey early in the race. Now he has a chance, his last chance, and it would be
a shame to waste it. At least to get a strong day of racing before Florence.<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<i><br /></i><i>For this final day in the mountains</i><i>, Laura picks <b>Alejandro Valverde </b>to win.</i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u><br />
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/b4hUpzvqM2A?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-67249930493460267642013-09-12T22:13:00.000+02:002013-09-12T22:13:04.987+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 19 Preview & Favorites<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYjsF0rdBeQG5yVPBkUbHMcnB5X6p-Xr3yIJ5uVrGtt2nz2rHaZqOYgYRETf2J9IMhirZgcvLqL2ndrim3Cf9tY5kB0ohEheG3VuNW2ZprMgfAon2ouHixpuvXMHolOLuSI5uzzcl908/s1600/vuelta_Stage19_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYjsF0rdBeQG5yVPBkUbHMcnB5X6p-Xr3yIJ5uVrGtt2nz2rHaZqOYgYRETf2J9IMhirZgcvLqL2ndrim3Cf9tY5kB0ohEheG3VuNW2ZprMgfAon2ouHixpuvXMHolOLuSI5uzzcl908/s640/vuelta_Stage19_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US">I’ve
pumping up Vasil Kiryienka’s chances of making it all the way from a breakaway
the last couple of days and Thursday afternoon, he finally did. Kiryienka went
solo with 45 km to go and managed to keep everybody behind him. Chris Horner
showed he is still the strongest uphill when he climbed Peña Cabarga about 40
seconds faster than Juanjo Cobo did in 2011. Cobo won the Vuelta that year and
right now, it seems like Horner will win this year’s edition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Stage 19 is
another one for a breakaway. The GC riders are focusing on Angliru and I doubt
they want to use up their teams already. That being said, if Valverde or Purito
wants to win a stage in this year’s Vuelta, this is probably their last chance. </span>Astana and <b>Vincenzo Nibali</b> will be happy to see a
breakaway take all the bonus seconds again this time. Nibali can’t follow Chris
Horner on the steep gradients and even though the final climb isn’t very steep
this time, I can’t see Nibali gain time on Horner in Oviedo.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The first
100 km of stage 19 take place next to the sea. The wind is coming from north-northeast
and if it’s strong again, we might see a team like Saxo-Tinkoff trying to split
up the peloton again. However, they are still about 80 km to go - and six climbs
- so I doubt it will happen. However, DS Fabrizio Guidi says the team is
looking to climb the GC and that means taking time on Purito and Valverde. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Usually the
big favorites want to go for the stage win on the mythical Angliru climb and
that means this is the last day for a breakaway to make it. Therefore, we can
expect another very fast with half of peloton trying to get away. For once
Movistar missed the breakaway on stage 18 and I’m sure they will be eager to get
at least one rider up front this time. It’s true the final climb suits
Alejandro Valverde very well but I dou</span>bt Movistar can control the race all by themselves.
They tried on stage 18 and look what happened.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQurIolF8RxZkNOKck9Fobe7rhnxv7po85pkbtM4t5rtckcOgSfgsDS7hJsDLF_PT8Ka9akoj5J8FJGJ3ffVv92k2TLvrYYg0K6JgtrYQEtLzIJCkjC9Ti_LuFUVHR5usqQP1Zoh8tQo/s1600/vuelta_Stage19_final5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQurIolF8RxZkNOKck9Fobe7rhnxv7po85pkbtM4t5rtckcOgSfgsDS7hJsDLF_PT8Ka9akoj5J8FJGJ3ffVv92k2TLvrYYg0K6JgtrYQEtLzIJCkjC9Ti_LuFUVHR5usqQP1Zoh8tQo/s320/vuelta_Stage19_final5.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final 5 km of stage 19 on Alto de Naranco.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US">The final
40 km of stage 19 are the hardest. There are three categorized climbs on the
menu but actually, the intermediate sprint is also placed on top of a hill with
an average of nearly 5 %. Typical for the Vuelta. The penultimate climb of the
day, Alto de la Manzaneda, is the steepest one. It’s only 3.6 km long but has an
average gradient of 6.2 %. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After
entering Oviedo the final 5.7 km are uphill towards the finishing line. Alto
del Naranco has average gradient of just 4.2 % but there are a steep kilometer
of nearly 10 % with 3 km to go. The final two kilometers have an average
gradient of 6.5 % and take place in headwind. The last 300 meters are straight
out with a tailwind and should a couple of riders arrive together, it may be an
idea to try an early sprint out of the final corner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If the
peloton catches the breakaway, <b>Alejando
Valverde</b> is the big favorite but the chances of that aren’t very good. I
think the GC riders will be saving a little energy for Angliru and that means
we - once again - should look to riders down out of the general classification.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">First rider
on my list is <b>Bauke Mollema</b>. He didn’t
have the legs to go for the GC after the Tour but he stayed in the race aiming for
a stage win. That win came on stage 17 when he took the peloton by surprise
with a late attack. Mollema is targeting the World Championships in Florence
later this month and he’s coming out of this Vuelta in great shape. The final
climb suits Mollema perfectly and unlike many other, the Belkin captain doesn’t
need to solo away in order to win. Bauke Mollema is very fast on the line and
it’s probably only Valverde and Dani Moreno could can outsprint him on a finish
like this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another
strong rider right now is <b>Diego Ulissi</b>.
I’ve been naming him a couple of times already as a good candidate for an early
breakaway but so far, Ulissi hasn’t been able to make it. However, the young
Italian is climbing very well these days and this stage really suits him. He
tried a late attack the other day but never really got away. This is Diego
Ulissi’s last chance for a stage win and I’m sure he will do whatever he can to
make that final breakaway. Lampre also has <b>Michele
Scarponi</b> for a stage like this one together; Ulissi and Scarponi are a very
dangerous duo for stage 19. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Team NetApp
Endura has been doing extremely well so far in this Vuelta. Leo König is still
sitting 8<sup>th</sup> in the overall classification and <b>Bartosz Huzarski</b> was close to take the team’s second stage win the last
time Warren Barguil won. König’s focus will be on Angliru but I think Huzarski
has this stage marked in his road book. The strong Pole knows how to get into
the right breakaways and he seems to be climbing very well right now.
Furthermore, Huzarski is actually fast in an uphill sprint too. Don’t forget he
took second place after Purito on <u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU80CfkV00o" target="_blank">stage 10 in the Giro last year</a></u>.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
For other
good candidates looks to riders like; <b>Warren Barguil, Rigoberto Uran, José Herrada, Ivan
Santaromita, Rafa Valls, Andre Cardoso, Oliver Zaugg</b> and the strong Euskaltel trio <b>Igor
Antón, Mikel Nieve</b> and <b>Mikel Landa. </b>Euskaltel is aiming big at the team classification and we expect at least one orange rider in the breakaway.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/48Gx6CIaWds?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-42201250374959797382013-09-11T21:58:00.000+02:002013-09-11T22:53:08.915+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 18 Preview & Favorites<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXmTLQFl2JEQSTRt0bal5qLKbm5DxEyJrtrdW09FWlP5FP9kSxsFEKbfGS2o3GHhVcBUs-DW402_Cd29ZP12aYcqDAAOb3r1kTUTPKeuIDbESuqB0ODsiu2t1o4xENWTPr9MOS3oAEH44/s1600/vuelta_stage18_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXmTLQFl2JEQSTRt0bal5qLKbm5DxEyJrtrdW09FWlP5FP9kSxsFEKbfGS2o3GHhVcBUs-DW402_Cd29ZP12aYcqDAAOb3r1kTUTPKeuIDbESuqB0ODsiu2t1o4xENWTPr9MOS3oAEH44/s640/vuelta_stage18_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US">Team
Saxo-Tinkoff did it again. They took the peloton by surprise in the crosswind
and managed to distance Domenico Pozzovivo by 1:30 min. Nicolas Roche is
therefore now back in Top5 - his big goal - and it will be interesting to see what
Pozzovivo can do to take back the time he lost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Stage 18
provides the first opportunity to change the overall classification. The 186.5
km include no less than five categorized climbs and the last one, Peña Cabarga,
is one of the toughest in this year’s Vuelta a España. The day starts in Burgos
where the riders head north. A light headwind will accompany the peloton for
most of the day and we can expect another hard day in the saddle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
breakaway has a good chance of making it all the way again and it will be a
furious fight to get into that final break. There are no real climbs the first
75 km it won’t be a surprise if the break doesn’t get away for good until they
hit the first climb. Alto de Bocos is only 3 km long but its average gradient
of 6.6 % will show who has the legs to be in front today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The following
three climbs come right after eac</span>h other and the penultimate one, Alto del
Caracol, has its top just 40 km from the finishing line. The run-in towards the
final climb is up and down at all the time and nobody will arrive at the bottom
of Peña Cabarga with fresh legs. There is an intermediate sprint in Solares with
just 10 km to go and in case the break is caught, we may see the GC riders
sprint for the three bonus seconds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD2rrXueLjEdbF6kGy5OuVj7OY8PzPLFeWSPEuehIHzJlw1xx_BbfvztTbX2V_8c2rwyi_e_VLMrauBGUjUc1La1V-TAtWesxlPC2w863PIvqsP2KAdV630hbRf7FK7IZcxpVh4stCtic/s1600/vuelta_stage18_pena_cabarga.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD2rrXueLjEdbF6kGy5OuVj7OY8PzPLFeWSPEuehIHzJlw1xx_BbfvztTbX2V_8c2rwyi_e_VLMrauBGUjUc1La1V-TAtWesxlPC2w863PIvqsP2KAdV630hbRf7FK7IZcxpVh4stCtic/s320/vuelta_stage18_pena_cabarga.png" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peña Cabarga. 5.9 km / avg. 9.2 %</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US">As the
riders gets close to the final ascent, the roads turns 180° which means the
peloton will start the last climb with a light tailwind. Peña Cabarga is 5.9 km
long and has an average gradient of 9.2 %. There are even parts of over
20 % on the last kilometer. <u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIRIAinJo0E" target="_blank">In 2011, Chris Froome took his first GrandTour stage win, when he outsprinted Juanjo Cobo on the final meters</a></u>. Back then,
Cobo attack with 1 km to go and at this point, they were still 10 riders left
in front group. This time we may see attacks a bit earlier. Valverde and Purito
can’t wait to the last kilometer and the TV-viewers can enjoy a great fight
this Thursday afternoon. As Chris Horner says: “<i>Grab your beer and get ready for the show!</i>”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Chris
Horner</b> still seems to be the strongest rider uphill in this race and it’s
difficult to imagine why it would change now. Astana will be happy if a
breakaway makes it and thereby takes the bonus seconds on the line. <b>Vincenzo Nibali </b>didn’t look too good the other
day, however I’m sure the Italian is only getting better. It won’t be easy to
drop him on the steep percentages. Tanel Kangert, Janez Brajkovic and Jakob
Fuglsang will all be there to support Nibali in the final and probably Paolo
Tiralongo as well. Chris Horner only has <b>Robert Kiserlovski</b> left to help but
then again, the Croatian champion is probably among the best climbers in the
race right now. Kiserlovski can’t afford to have a bad day though - in that
case, Horner will be completely isolated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It will be
very interesting to see how Movistar will ride this stage. They haven’t won a
single stage yet and they must be eager to finally cross the line first. Before
the stage to Formigal, <b>Alejandro Valverde </b>seemed happy just to take 3<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">rd</span></sup> place
overall but not anymore. Valverde now eyes the Red Jersey and he says he won’t
be afraid of attacking from a far - and to risk losing everything - if he sees
an opening. However, it’s important to remember that Valverde doesn’t know the
Peña Cabarga ascent. He decided to rest after the Tour instead of going to
check out the climb. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Joaquim ‘Purito’
Rodriguez</b> is probably on the same page in the tactic book as Valverde. He
showed he is now strong enough to drop the other GC riders uphill and on the
steep percentages on Peña Cabarga, Purito has to try again. I would imagine Dani
Moreno to set a high pace in the beginning of the climb in order for Purito to
attack when gradients get over 10 %. Purito already knows what it takes to win on Peña Cabarga. <u><a href="http://youtu.be/SVpNrcMZjdc?t=51m59s" target="_blank">He won here in 2010</a></u> when he distanced Nibali with 20 seconds after a late attack with just 800 meters to go. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Domenico
Pozzovivo</b> lost his 5<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> place overall in the crosswind on stage 17
and he will be eager to take it back from Nicolas Roche. The steep climbs suits
Pozzovivo perfectly and with only 53 kg to carry, he should be able to distance
Roche in the final. He probably won’t take back all the time he lost in the
wind but he will get closer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As stated,
the breakaway has a good chance of making it again. It would suit Astana
perfectly if the bonus seconds weren’t up for grabs and Movistar and Katusha
may be too focused on the battle for the GC to control the peloton. However, if
Valverde and Purito wants a stage win from this year’s Vuelta this is an
opportunity they can’t afford to miss. Anyway, in case a break makes it all the
way, let’s take a look at some of the best candidates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">First up is
<b>Michele Scarponi.</b> The Italian is very strong right now and has been good at
hitting the right breaks. Scarponi can’t drop the best riders uphill anymore
but he showed the other day, that he is in great shape. He finished second
after Alexandre Geniez and was one of the few riders able to take back time on
the Frenchman on the last climb. Why he let him get away in first place is a
mystery. One thing talking against Scarponi is that he’s only 12:08 min after
Vincenzo Nibali. At this point in the race, the team start to protect their
Top10 places and they may not let Scarponi get too much of a gap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Euskaltel
are trying hard to get a stage win in their last Vuelta and I’m sure they will
do whatever they can in order to put a strong climber in the early breakaway.
<b>Igor Antón </b>and <b>Mikel Nieve</b> are not big threats in the GC and especially Antón
seems to be doing pretty well right now. Another Spanish climber who’s getting
better and better is <b>David Arroyo</b>. He came to race in great shape but crashed in
one of the first stages. Slowly Arroyo is getting back at a high level and he’s
now less than a minute from breaking into Top10 overall. The final climb suits
Arroyo just fine but he won’t be able to drop the other GC riders. If he wants
to give Caja Rural a stage win, he needs to attack f</span>rom a far. Like Scarponi,
it won’t be easy to get a big gap but you never know this late in the race.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span lang="EN-US">For other
good candidates look to riders like <b>Amets Txurruka, Nicolas Edet, Georg Preidler</b>, <b>Ivan Santaromita</b>, <b>Diego
Ulissi</b>, <b>Rafal Majka</b>,<b> Dario Cataldo</b> and <b>Yoann Bagot</b>. Bagot is right now
22<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">nd</span></sup> in the overall classification but he needs four minutes to make
into Top20. So far, the French riders have been very good in this Vuelta and I
can’t see why <b>Warren Barguil</b> shouldn’t be able to make a hat-trick. He’s
obviously in outstanding shape right now and despite his inexperience Barguil really
knows how to hit the right breakaway!</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></i>
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<i><br /></i><i>For Stage 18, Laura picks <b>Joaquim 'Purito' Rodriguez </b>to win.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span><br />
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2D37CJ4proc?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-83463656220382232982013-09-10T19:57:00.000+02:002013-09-11T13:35:52.854+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 17 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQT0LVUQGaal-cJ6Gs4QHs36Jo5GVv2VRLwkE9kFa45dRIv4GZGRMYV3fXf8ziZKSaMCj0fcy7XqddNTG4ASeEXJkv8G0GR_XRi0hZFyzShTfXDA7a4X6_Sll9Hmt80ObK9lidkN2K-UQ/s1600/vuelta_stage17_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQT0LVUQGaal-cJ6Gs4QHs36Jo5GVv2VRLwkE9kFa45dRIv4GZGRMYV3fXf8ziZKSaMCj0fcy7XqddNTG4ASeEXJkv8G0GR_XRi0hZFyzShTfXDA7a4X6_Sll9Hmt80ObK9lidkN2K-UQ/s640/vuelta_stage17_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After a
well-deserved rest day, the Vuelta continues with a stage for the sprinters -
or so it seems. In fact, the final 10 km are very demanding with a steep hill
and a tricky descent. More on the later. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The day
starts in Calahorra and finish in Burgos after 189 km in the saddle. Without
being completely flat, this isn’t a very hilly stage either. The sprinters
haven’t had many chances in this year’s Vuelta and their teams will be eager to
control the race. The first 100 km take place in head- and crosswind and we
shouldn’t see a breakaway get too much of a gap. After 109.8 km it’s time for the first
categorized climb of the day, Alto de Pradilla. It’s a category 3 climb and the
6 km towards the top have an average gradient of 5.4 %. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The next
climb, Alto de Valmala, starts after 133.5 km and from its top there are 50 km
to the finishing line. The last intermediate sprint comes with 36 km to go and
from here, the riders will be able to enjoy a strong tailwind towards Burgos. On
paper, the final 10 km don’t look very tough but if you haven’t done your
homework, you will be in for a big surprise! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With about
10 km to go, the riders turn right - away from the big road - up the little
Calle Eras de San Francisco. The following 1.2 km are uphill and especially the
first part is steep. While the riders won’t be able to admire it, the
TV-viewers will have a beautiful view over Burgos on the way towards the top of
the hill. From here, it’s downhill for about 450 meter before the road kicks up
again for 200 meters. The following 800 meters downhill are very technical and
on narrow roads. The peloton will be stretch out significantly on this part,
and it’s doubtful all the sprinters will make it back to the front in time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The final 5
km are straight out with a few up and down parts. There is now cross- and headwind
towards the line and it won’t be easy for a lonely rider to keep the peloton
behind him. However, if the sprinters aren’t back in the peloton, it may be
very difficult organizing the chase. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplHjDDmByjt0OyHFLxOl_IwaEfxo6f7oo1mQo0yNbt2Fx4i-K32sqpU9Kn_yyi9NZayk8Pe9Mw72O_gAWRLoEee7XPlZfJpAWP3jQT2Kw_rh1H3AQEPpgNC_6SWt8HqKOC4wXN5TlQgQ/s1600/vuelta_stage17_final14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplHjDDmByjt0OyHFLxOl_IwaEfxo6f7oo1mQo0yNbt2Fx4i-K32sqpU9Kn_yyi9NZayk8Pe9Mw72O_gAWRLoEee7XPlZfJpAWP3jQT2Kw_rh1H3AQEPpgNC_6SWt8HqKOC4wXN5TlQgQ/s320/vuelta_stage17_final14.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final 14 km of stage 17. Many things to pay attention to!<br />
Click for larger view.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We haven’t
seen a regular mass sprint since Michael Matthews won Stage 5 and the chances
are good that we won’t get one this time either. Usually Philippe Gilbert, Luis
León Sanchez and Simon Gerrans would be excellent winner candidates for a
finish like this one. However, they are all out of the race and instead we
should probably look to opportunistic riders like <b>Juan Antonio Flecha</b>, <b>Fabian
Cancellara</b>, <b>Luca Paolini</b> and <b>Rinaldo Nocentini</b> for a late attack on the hill. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Especially <b>Fabian
Cancellara</b> is extremely strong right now and if he gets away on the descent, I
doubt the peloton will see him again until after they cross the finishing line.
The same goes for a rider like <b>Samuel Sanchez</b>. He’s getting better and better
but he still isn’t able to beat the best climbers uphill. Sanchez knows how to
attack on the final kilometers and keep the peloton behind him and he’s very
eager to give Euskaltel their first stage win in the their last Vuelta a
España. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In case it
all gets back together in time for the final sprint, it should come down to a
battle between <b>Gianni Meersman</b> and <b>Michael Matthews</b>. In theory, any of them
should have problems on the 1.2 km climb but it all depends on how fast the
peloton is going. <b>Edvald Boasson Hagen</b> is another very good candidate for the
stage win. He came close when Gilbert won and he’s been trying very hard to hit
the right breakaway the last couple of days. The strong Norwegian is obviously
in great shape and I would be surprised not to see him fight for the win in
Burgos.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are
looking for a super joker, look to <b>Anthony Roux</b>. He’s very fast on the line,
especially in a reduced peloton, and he’s been doing very well the last two
days in the Pyrenees. He may not be able to beat the big sprinters in a regular
bunch sprint but with a finish like this one, he should be in the mix.<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"><i>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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For Stage 17, Laura picks <b>Fabian Cancellara </b>to win.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u><br />
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/re7uilDcZfY?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-16296641232805013152013-09-08T21:34:00.000+02:002013-09-09T10:26:08.905+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 16 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhewjX5Dn-Mb51Hd1oG1Qixri7it7i1ywAfapJslX6LahR3gbCgavHRqHHuXWx_TKsvOs3ASLRkuZi99JsFNlag1JpYRg9UBkg6xWkVPtmBikhGYPGUCXpp51hMfZ2KHf5ArJOZn3ZLU/s1600/vuelta_stage16_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhewjX5Dn-Mb51Hd1oG1Qixri7it7i1ywAfapJslX6LahR3gbCgavHRqHHuXWx_TKsvOs3ASLRkuZi99JsFNlag1JpYRg9UBkg6xWkVPtmBikhGYPGUCXpp51hMfZ2KHf5ArJOZn3ZLU/s640/vuelta_stage16_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As
expected, a break made it all the way on stage 15. Alexandre Geniez made sure
the French spectators could celebrate the Vuelta visiting when he soloed away
with 25 km to go. No changes in the overall classification as the first five
riders stayed together all the time. Only Purito seemed to have energy to keep
on trying to attack. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Monday’s
stage is another hard day in the Pyrenees but not nearly as hard the last two
days. The stage is only 146 km long and this time and it seems like the rain is
now gone and the sun is back. Everybody is tired and it won’t be a surprise if
an early breakaway manages to stay away again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The first
20 km takes place in tailwind and this means we are in for another very fast
start. Most likely, we will see a break getting away on Puerto de la Foradada. It’s
only a category 3 climb but the 5.9 km towards the top still have an average
gradient of 5.9 %. There are a lot of tired legs in the peloton after the last
two days and it will be interesting who has something left in the tank.</span>From the
top of Puerto de la Foradada, the riders will have 60 km to cover in a light
crosswind before the they start on the next climb. Puerto de Cotéfablo is 12.5
km long and has an average gradient of 4 %. It’s not a very steep climb but
after the last two days, it won’t be a walk in the park either.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At this
point on the stage, the wind has now changed and what started out as a tailwind
is now a headwind. This means the final 30 km will be extremely hard for a
breakaway and it's important to have saved something for the final climb. The
ascent up to Aramón Formigal is 15.8 km long and has an average gradient of
only 4 %. However, most of the first 6 km are either flat or downhill. The road
start to kick up with 10 km to go and the following 3.5 km are steep with parts
of nearly 10 %. The climbs then evens out for about 4 km before it gets steep
again. The final 3.5 km have an average gradient of 7 % and this is where you
can make the difference. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB06b85m3wfyg8HahyNA5_pQ69aP_j5EP3a346Y979o_SpHht-7SUY23fui8bmceNonR8od3XwnnXvenRDxaCl16s4mlFc30rvt5J10JzRBJGK2oFd0qvSwTuODPDYQSAN2z6yT16wv1c/s1600/vuelta_stage16_formigal.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB06b85m3wfyg8HahyNA5_pQ69aP_j5EP3a346Y979o_SpHht-7SUY23fui8bmceNonR8od3XwnnXvenRDxaCl16s4mlFc30rvt5J10JzRBJGK2oFd0qvSwTuODPDYQSAN2z6yT16wv1c/s320/vuelta_stage16_formigal.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aramón Formigal. 15.8 km / avg. 4 %. Last 3 km avg. 7 %.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In my
<u><a href="http://c-cycling.blogspot.cz/2013/09/vuelta-espana-stage-15-preview-favorites.html" target="_blank">preview for stage 15</a></u> I mentioned riders like <b>Vasil Kiryienka</b>,
Mikel Landa and <b>Diego Ulissi </b>as good
breakaway candidates. Landa made it into the break but didn’t have the strength
to stay with Geniez. Kiryienka and Ulissi stayed in the peloton and once again,
I’d like to point to those two as candidates for a break. I will add to that
list riders like <b>Egoi</b> <b>Martinez</b>, <b>Bauke Mollema</b>, <b>Marcos Garcia</b>, <b>Georg
Preidler</b> and <b>Chris Anker Sørensen</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The last
two names for the (long) list of good candidates are <b>Amets Txurruka</b> and <b>Rigoberto Uran</b>. </span>Txurruka was very active in the beginning of stage 15 and he started
several breakaways. However, Txurruka couldn’t cover every move and in the end
the big break went away without him (but with two other Caja Rural riders). Rigoberto
Uran too was very active on stage 15. He stayed with the favorites for most of
the time and he even tried to get away a couple of times. Uran is obviously
feeling better and being nearly 25 minutes after Vincenzo Nibali, he won’t be
the first rider the peloton start chasing down.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Among the
favorites, there are no doubts that <b>Vincenzo
Nibali</b> and <b>Chris Horner</b> are the
two strongest riders uphill right now. Actually, it’s probably Horner’s
teammate <b>Robert Kiserlovski</b> who’s
best climber at the moment. The Croatian champion is a very important help for
Horner these days! The last two days have been tough on the riders and once
again, it will be interesting to see how 41 years old Chris Horner will
recover. Naturally, he can’t recover as fast as the younger riders but so far
he doesn’t seem to have any problems at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Alejandro Valverde</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> and especially <b>Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez</b> tried to attack on stage 15 but Nibali
and Horner never let them get more than a few meters. The final climb is not
very steep this time and it will be very difficult for the two Spaniards to get
away. Valverde seems to be satisfied with third place overall and he’s probably
paying more attention to Purito in 4<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> place than to Horner in 2<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">nd</span></sup>
place. Valverde knows he can outsprint Purito in the end Purito knows it too. The
final three kilometers on Formigal are the steepest and I expect Purito to put
in a couple of strong attacks in the hairpin corners trying to drop Valverde.
It won’t be easy but it seems like Purito is very eager to make up for the lost
time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQffJL2x5LbxUY_GlyCLS6VwUr_T2xFnurtCDxbSw8cKlKavkxQmd8XSUcfBIUWBMtDsInuSeh-PaMxNYaq0sN8E_-1WxwsipNoLvqyzDKhJ7SEG1OlLoaev_XTvUAISPV0thF93RkezI/s1600/vuelta_stage16_final3_map.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQffJL2x5LbxUY_GlyCLS6VwUr_T2xFnurtCDxbSw8cKlKavkxQmd8XSUcfBIUWBMtDsInuSeh-PaMxNYaq0sN8E_-1WxwsipNoLvqyzDKhJ7SEG1OlLoaev_XTvUAISPV0thF93RkezI/s320/vuelta_stage16_final3_map.JPG" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final 3 km of stage 16. Avg. of 7 %.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Domenico Pozzovivo</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> is only six seconds in front of <b>Nicolas Roche</b> in 5<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> place
but I don’t think he will have problems keeping the Irishman behind him.
Pozzovivo has been very focused on not wasting any energy too early in the
race. The Italian climber came to the race aiming for Top5 overall and he’s
been saving energy for the last week. Roche has already put in numerous attacks
and hadn’t he had a one </span>minute gap to the favorites on the last climb on stage
15, he probably would have lost time again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Samuel Sanchez</b> is right now the best
Euskaltel rider in the mountains and he too seems to be getting better and
better every day. Sanchez can’t follow the top favorites when it gets steep but
he’s clever and knows how to keep a good pace. The final climb on stage 16 has
a couple of flat parts and I won’t surprise me to see Sanchez attack on the
flat parts to get a good gap before the road kicks up again. He may even be
able to win this stage like that if the peloton keeps the breakaway within striking
distance.<br />
<br />
The Vuelta pays homage to Fernando Escartín with this stage. The former Kelme captain never managed to win Vuelta a España but he was among the best climbers the country has ever produced.<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"><i>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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For Stage 16, Laura thinks a breakaway will make it and she picks <b>Amets Txurruka </b>to win.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zbWpFPX1dWw?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-91244178431091954372013-09-07T22:24:00.000+02:002013-09-08T11:54:38.454+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 15 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh22pqJuVSlcERrYe_cOXSKzGRYO02I7-DxLLLP6V8Sfa0_ciB-YDrMQGSSLNDuPQ6PozklSU6d4uGRh1SvRzM2Aynv565bZRgzrdN99pSAbtnTPxLR1L3fKjTA0pkty1ZGTW2DBTLufoI/s1600/vuelta_stage15_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh22pqJuVSlcERrYe_cOXSKzGRYO02I7-DxLLLP6V8Sfa0_ciB-YDrMQGSSLNDuPQ6PozklSU6d4uGRh1SvRzM2Aynv565bZRgzrdN99pSAbtnTPxLR1L3fKjTA0pkty1ZGTW2DBTLufoI/s640/vuelta_stage15_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Daniele
Ratto took a beautiful stage win in the rain when he soloed away to win on Collada
de la Gallina. Belkin deserves to be mentioned as well though. The Dutch team
put in play a brilliant plan but unfortunately, Luis León Sanchez crashed on
the long descent and had to quit the race. So did Ivan Basso and since Purito
and Valverde are not on top of their game, this Vuelta is down to the battle
between Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Horner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Stage 14 was
a horrible day in the saddle for the riders and it won’t get any better this
Sunday. In fact, it only gets worse as the stage is almost 100 km longer. The
weather stays the same and there aren’t any less climbs on the menu. </span>On paper,
this is another good stage for a breakaway. The favorites will focus on each
other and since Nibali and Horner are the strongest uphill, we probably won’t
see Katusha and Movistar go hard for the stage win. At least not from the very
beginning.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The riders
start climbing after just 7 km of the stage when Puerto del Cantó starts. The
24.4 km towards the top have an average gradient of 4.2 %. It’s steepest in the
beginning and we can expect a lot of attacks right from the start. From the top
of Puerto del Cantó, there are still 50 km until the next climb starts and in
tailwind, the breakaway has time to get a good gap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQgFaxVHuxkogQ6oc7Hp0hOW7qyNFgZpjFVT6QoRbfd1NOahn_u-_Bw94Ad03F-yTpl83lI1XdSoB4ZuuHNh_93GHN01ClHoCmbgmdW2yaMfpWILgRNVXoKEmC3ft5aEDmFaYTCuwjKbA/s1600/vuelta_stage15_Peyragudes.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQgFaxVHuxkogQ6oc7Hp0hOW7qyNFgZpjFVT6QoRbfd1NOahn_u-_Bw94Ad03F-yTpl83lI1XdSoB4ZuuHNh_93GHN01ClHoCmbgmdW2yaMfpWILgRNVXoKEmC3ft5aEDmFaYTCuwjKbA/s320/vuelta_stage15_Peyragudes.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final 16.7 km of stage 15 up to Peyragudes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="ES">After 81 km it’s
time for Puerto de la Bonaigua. </span><span lang="EN-US">It’s another long climb - 20 km - and with an average gradient of
5,5 %, there won’t be many riders left in the peloton at the top. The
descent is almost 65 km long and it’s extremely important to be wearing enough
clothes. It will be a very cold day and if you forget to eat and stay warm, you
probably won’t be able to cope with the tough final in France.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The last 50
km are the same as when Alejandro Valverde won on Peyragudes in the Tour de France
last year. First Col du Port de Balés, then Col de Peyresourde and after a
short descent it’s time for the final 4 uphill kilometers towards the finishing
line. I think a breakaway will make it all the way again, especially with the
tough start of the stage in the mind. There are still many hard climbs left in
this Vuelta and the GC riders have to save as much energy as possible in this
horrible weather. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I had big
expectations for Euskaltel’s <b>Mikel Landa</b>
heading into to this Vuelta. Landa did very well in Burgos and seemed to be in
great shape. However, he hasn’t shown much of his qualities, until this
Saturday. On the hardest stage of the race so far, Mikel Landa stayed with the
favorites almost all the time and finished in 9<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> place. Euskaltel
tried a big play with three riders (Urtasun, Martinez & Antón) attacking but
they didn’t manage to get away. It really seems like the team has woken up
after the good news of Fernando Alonso saving the team. Mikel Landa is more
than one hour after Nibali in the GC and he’s not a rider they will give many
thoughts should he attack. It shows a lot of strength to do as well as Landa
did on Stage 14 and if he can recover well enough, I think he will try to give
Euskaltel their first stage win in their last Vuelta España - as we have known
them for 20 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another
rider who did very well on Saturday’s tough stage is <b>Vasil Kiryienka</b>. With both of his captains out of the GC, Kiryienka
can now take his own chance and he tried a couple of times on stage 14. He didn’t
manage to get away but when they were only 10 riders left in front, Vasil
Kiryienka was still there. He faded at bit in the end and finished 26<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup>
but I’m sure his sensations were good. The strong Belarusian knows how to get
into the winning breakaways and finish it off in the big mountains. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nNYyz3naa-h5hd9utYRViWn-smb8vvir4PZ4wP2qbp73d4e_KSQF0pEdZvrQBOu9k4fQczk2P5LfeaobPhu0PPEi1d9wGaPgJ5qP99REMcNibPwmAySXP1ZD8kcDpwXpMwcZCs3Ovsc/s1600/vuelta_stage15_meteo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nNYyz3naa-h5hd9utYRViWn-smb8vvir4PZ4wP2qbp73d4e_KSQF0pEdZvrQBOu9k4fQczk2P5LfeaobPhu0PPEi1d9wGaPgJ5qP99REMcNibPwmAySXP1ZD8kcDpwXpMwcZCs3Ovsc/s320/vuelta_stage15_meteo.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weather forecast for stage 15. Click for larger view.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I also
think <b>Diego Ulissi</b> has a good chance
on this stage. The young Italian won the first mountain stage in Tour of Poland
last month, also in rainy conditions. Ulissi is very strong on the climbs, not
afraid of attacking and he packs a very good sprint as well. The final
kilometer of stage 15 is flat and should it happen a few riders arrive
together, it will be difficult to beat Diego Ulissi. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the Giro
this year, <b>Vincenzo Nibali</b> already
showed he doesn’t mind the harsh weather. He is right now the strongest rider
in the race and I doubt he will let go of the Red Jersey anymore. Of course,
everybody can have an off day and it’s important to recover well after Saturday’s
struggle. Therefore, it will be very interesting to see how soon-to-be 42 years
old <b>Chris Horner</b> will cope with this
long and difficult stage. So far he hasn’t shown any weaknesses uphill and with
Robert Kiserlovski in outstanding shape, I guess the other GC riders just can’t
drop him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Alejandro Valverde</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> said he had the worst day</span> of his life on bike
in Andorra. He was cold on the descents and it wasn’t until they started
climbing he was able to get warm and find his rhythm. However, when he started
to climb he was fast. Very fast! He overtook one rider after the other to finish
6<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><sup>th</sup> </span>on the stage. Valverde knows the final on this stage climbs very
well and if he can cope with the bad weather and stay in front, he has a very
good chance of repeating his stage win from last year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Katusha
wanted to set up <b>Joaquim ‘Purito’
Rodriguez</b> near his home in Andorra but Purito simply couldn’t follow the
attacks from Horner and Nibali. He decided to keep his own pace and minimize his
losses and now the Spanish climber is 2:57 min after Nibali in the overall
classification. He has 1:05 min up to Valverde in third place and I think it
will be very difficult for Purito to make the overall podium this year. Of
course, anything can still happen on these stages but Purito needs to find
stronger legs if he wants to distance his rivals uphill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If you are
looking for other interesting riders to make the early breakaway, look to guys
like; <b>Chris Anker Sørensen</b>, <b>Andre Cardoso</b>, <b>Amets Txurruka, Javi Moreno, Rafa Valls </b>and <b>Ivan
Santaromita</b>. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"><i>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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For Stage 15, Laura picks <b>Mikel Nieve </b>to win.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/eH4XDWRVOkY?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-29641250341384669672013-09-06T21:03:00.000+02:002013-09-06T22:24:14.325+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 14 Preview & Favorites<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbm-cAJ3CE5vKr_pA19u-TZYT9APtGruLk2VjJQxhLX8yrZbeswhH8d1MFvZoFXaiBjrw68XlQ-4p6QbK2LU9SIsxUkg9Xy9Qaatn2D-PGWI3qmUL9-jzlNDBtw0EwUxalqj4Atkk66PQ/s1600/vuelta_Stage14_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbm-cAJ3CE5vKr_pA19u-TZYT9APtGruLk2VjJQxhLX8yrZbeswhH8d1MFvZoFXaiBjrw68XlQ-4p6QbK2LU9SIsxUkg9Xy9Qaatn2D-PGWI3qmUL9-jzlNDBtw0EwUxalqj4Atkk66PQ/s640/vuelta_Stage14_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">The
breakaway made it all the way Friday on stage 13. Unfortunately, this unlucky
combination took out Beñat Intxausti. The Basque Movistar rider managed to get
into the winning break on the day the race started in the hometown of his late
his teammate Xavi Tondo. It would have been a beautiful story had Intxausti won
the stage but he never got the chance. Instead, Warren Barguil took the biggest
win of his young career after an impressive late attack. Vincenzo Nibali still
leads the race overall and it will be interesting to see if he can keep the Red
Jersey after stage 14.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Vuelta
enters Andorra this Saturday and that means it’s time to start climbing. However,
the first 40 km are downhill and we can expect another fast start. On paper, a
breakaway could make it again but this is a short and extremely hard stage and
the favorites will be eager to test each other. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Port de
Envalira is the highest point of this year’s race, the so-called Cima Alberto
Fernández. The 26.7 km towards the top have an average gradient of 5.2 % and
start after 60 km. There are steep parts of 15 % near the top and we can expect
a very reduced peloton already at this early point of the stage. If you have a
bad day today, you will end up losing a of time and with many strong teams, I
doubt the pace won’t be high on Port de Envalira.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
following two climbs, Coll de Ordino and Alto de la Comella, both have an
average gradient of about 5 % with steep parts near the top. They will
tire out the peloton but they won’t be decisive. After 148.5 km in the saddle,
the riders arrive to the bottom of the final struggle of the day. Collada de la
Gallina is 7.2 km long and has an average gradient of 8 %. It was on this climb
that Alberto Contador was caught on the final meters last year. In case you don’t
remember the stage you can watch it below:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-TA6YtiWB-c?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In 2010, <b>Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez</b> did
everything he could to wear the Red Jersey when the Vuelta entered Catalunya.
He wanted to show off the jersey on home soil and he managed to do it. Now we
are in Andorra and once again, Purito is home. Confused? Don’t be. Purito is
now living in Andorra and he knows this climb better than anyone does. He
wanted to win here last year but after closing the gap to Contador, Valverde
came around him on the final meters. This year, Purito is out for revenge. On
Sunday the 8<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup>, it’s the national holiday in Andorra and according
to Purito; “<i>it would be the bomb to win
here the day before the national holiday. Especially after what happened last
year”. </i>A breakaway has good chances of making it all the way but I think
Katusha will be eager to control the race. Purito is 2:33 min after Nibali in
the overall classification and he knows he has to attack. He can’t just wait to
the final kilometer and take the bonus seconds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Purito’s
teammate <b>Dani Moreno</b> had a brilliant
day on Collada de la Gallina last year where he constantly stayed next to
Purito. Moreno is now 3:56 behind in the GC and there is no doubt that he will
be acting as super domestique for Purito again this Saturday. On stage 12,
Moreno went down the same place where Intxausti crashed but luckily he didn’t
hurt himself too much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Chris Horner</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> has been the best rider on the climbs so far
in the race. The American veteran easily dropped the other GC riders on the
last mountain top finish and if he shows the same strength, he will be
difficult to beat. Personally, I doubt Horner will be able to keep his high
level for the rest of the race but then again, it wouldn’t be first time he
surprised everybody in this Vuelta…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It will be
interesting to see how Astana will ride this stage. <b>Vincenzo Nibali</b> seems to be in control and with his late attack the
other day; he showed he’s very strong right now. Jakob Fuglsang will be an
important help for Nibali when they are only 10 riders left in front. It’s very
difficult to attack and keep a gap when the Danish climber sets the pace. Just
ask Pozzovivo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUGzhDwuBxVj9Ovwo4gmPOxrwhSFbpSOVjncsSMQ0XSy1-TeWSDJkl-NdUIsgj_3kTV8R6lpgtzqEZhyphenhyphenExvLYa_Azh_ThM7wiWD7hM9YEOf3pknpuEvbzGXP8D1e-rY7HcCdiJAn_Q2c/s1600/Collada+de+la+Gallina.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUGzhDwuBxVj9Ovwo4gmPOxrwhSFbpSOVjncsSMQ0XSy1-TeWSDJkl-NdUIsgj_3kTV8R6lpgtzqEZhyphenhyphenExvLYa_Azh_ThM7wiWD7hM9YEOf3pknpuEvbzGXP8D1e-rY7HcCdiJAn_Q2c/s320/Collada+de+la+Gallina.png" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collada de la Gallina. 7.2 km / avg. 8 %</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US">Collada de
la Gallina is a very tough climb but I doubt we will see huge times differences
between the big favorites. They all seem to be very equal. Last year <b>Alejandro Valverde</b> attacked from the
peloton with three kilometers to go but later on, he had problems following the
strong accelerations of Contador and Froome. Valverde is only 46 seconds after
Nibali and knowing there are still many climbs left in this Vuelta, he may be
fine just sticking to the strong Italian and then beat him on the line. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Nicolas Roche</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> is the big joker. He’s in the shape of his
life but he got dropped several times on Alto de Hazallanas. Every time he managed
to fight his way back but how long can he continue to do that? On stage 13, he
looked very strong when he followed Katusha’s move on Rat Penat but it’s
uncertain how he will cope with the hard climbs in Andorra. Saxo-Tinkoff also
has Rafal Majka in Top10 overall and the Polish climber will be a very
important helper for Roche. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A third
Saxo-Tinkoff rider I think we need to keep an eye on for this stage is <b>Roman Kreuziger</b>. He finished 5<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup>
overall in the Tour de France this summer but didn’t want to aim at the GC in
the Vuelta. Instead, Kreuziger is focusing on the World Championship in three weeks’
time. Originally, the plan was to aim for a stage win but with Roche near the
Red Jersey, Kreuziger may have to stay in the peloton and help his Irish teammate.
The Czech Amstel Gold Race winner did a great time trial the other day and I
think Kreuziger will be up there near the front to help Roche on Collada de la
Gallina. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The weather
forecast shows clouds and possible thunderstorms for tomorrow’s stage. The
complete opposite of what we have seen the first part of the Vuelta. In the
Giro this year, Vincenzo Nibali showed that not even a snowstorm could hold him
back on the climbs and he won’t be suffering in the bad weather. One that may
do is <b>Domenico Pozzovivo</b>. He
surprised many with his third place in the time trial and so far, he’s been looking
very strong uphill. However, Pozzovivo doesn’t like the cold weather and we may
see the tiny Italian fade a bit in the cold temperatures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Thibaut Pinot</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> has been among the best riders uphill the last
week but <a href="https://twitter.com/ThibautPinot/statuses/376032967149506561" target="_blank">he’s not feeling 100 % at the moment</a>. The French climber is not comfortable on the descents and with three of them
before the final climb; he may lose ground. Especially if weather is bad. </span><b><span lang="EN-US">Ivan Basso</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> is no champion on the descents either but when
he’s first in the front group, he doesn’t let go. The many climbs are good for
a diesel motor like Basso and even though he can’t follow the strong attacks of
Horner or Purito he knows how to keep his pace and come back to the front. Time
after time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In case a
breakaway ends up making it all the way, look out for riders like: <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Chris Anker Sørensen</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> - <i>Feeling better and better every day
and is looking to win a stage from a break.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Sergio Henao</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> - <i>Out of the GC and hopes to save his Vuelta
with a stage win.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Diego Ulissi</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> - <i>Strong and very eager to attack.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Igor Antón</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> - <i>7<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> Collada de la Gallina last
year and already out of the GC.</i></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><i><br /></i></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-US"><i>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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span></span></span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></i>
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For Stage 14, Laura picks <b>Joaquim 'Purito' Rodriguez </b>to win.</i><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><i><br /></i></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/M9hjwVtRE3Q?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-3419754840086249942013-09-05T22:13:00.000+02:002013-09-06T12:24:56.888+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 13 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMMoe6Pr50mkiZJZTSCBmVyUF4Co-8SrGSBwXBcORowS9QtGRHZlwswZ6czN00ONv4rtrMWIv5aaYpAd7IZQ2BJmYjK1J6N5EislPfL1PbBftfpXDKzYfVFsKbPtKz6k_CSeHD4YbsT4/s1600/vuelta_stage13_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMMoe6Pr50mkiZJZTSCBmVyUF4Co-8SrGSBwXBcORowS9QtGRHZlwswZ6czN00ONv4rtrMWIv5aaYpAd7IZQ2BJmYjK1J6N5EislPfL1PbBftfpXDKzYfVFsKbPtKz6k_CSeHD4YbsT4/s640/vuelta_stage13_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Philippe Gilbert
finally got his first win in his Rainbow Jersey when he won stage 12 of the
Vuelta. Just like last year when he arrived winless at the Vuelta. Back then, Gilbert
went on to win another stage in the race and I think he may just make it two in
a row. More on that later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Stage 13
comes on a Friday and like in the Tour earlier this year, this unlucky
combination may cause carnage. In July, Belkin and Saxo-Tinkoff split up the
peloton in the crosswind and due to a bike problem; Alejandro Valverde ended
losing his race that day. Despite riding alongside the coastline the last 15
km, the wind shouldn’t be a problem on this stage However, the steep Alto del
Rat Penat will make sure, nobody arrives to final with fresh legs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Alto del
Rat Penat comes after 114.8 km and even though this category 1 climb is only
4.3 km long, its average (!) gradient of 10.6 % will definitely stretch out and
split up the peloton. The following descent is very technical and on small
roads, it won’t be easy to get to the front if you’re already dropped on the
climb. However, it won’t be easy to keep the peloton behind you either, should
you attack on the climb. The final 15 km next to beach are flat and
we can expect the peloton to set a high pace at this point. It’s a short stage
of only 169 km and that means it will be fast stage as well. Many of the usual
sprinters will be dropped and even those remaining won’t have it easy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5YGhoyxhOU7duEg93fBYd2dnpur0BthIVgjymEr8PRU1yWHGiZw2gqughiZ-8Ou809STbv1cs7fVv-vyYy6ODATGEL4xTqCgntUJuZ-522rd56XjefQCbYo6D6ZKdLMRj6IzSW_68GY/s1600/vuelta_stage13_penat.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5YGhoyxhOU7duEg93fBYd2dnpur0BthIVgjymEr8PRU1yWHGiZw2gqughiZ-8Ou809STbv1cs7fVv-vyYy6ODATGEL4xTqCgntUJuZ-522rd56XjefQCbYo6D6ZKdLMRj6IzSW_68GY/s320/vuelta_stage13_penat.png" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alto del Rat Penat. 4.3 km / avg. 10.6 %</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With 3 km
to go, the riders turn left, away from the beach. From here, they continue
straight out for about two kilometers. The final kilometer includes a couple of
turns and with 500 meters to go, the peloton have to overcome a rather large
roundabout. Coming out of the roundabout, he final 400 meters are uphill and
especially the final 150 meters are steep. It’s very important to have
something left in the legs for this final part. It’s not as steep as Alto del
Rat Penat but it’s enough to make a significant selection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Philippe Gilbert</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> timed his sprint perfectly on stage 12 and knew
he was the best in the uphill sprint. He didn’t panic when Edvald Boasson Hagen
got a bug gap early and that shows that Gilbert mentally is very strong too. He
hasn’t won a single bike race since he won the World Championship last year and
it takes a lot to cope with that pressure. This final is perfect for Gilbert
and I’m convinced BMC will do whatever they can to control the race in the
final. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The biggest
threat to Gilbert is, the way I see it, <b>Dani
Moreno.</b> The strong Spaniard has already won two stages in this year’s
Vuelta and a win here, will also extend his lead in the points classification.
It may not be his primary target in the race but if Katusha can’t put a rider
on the final podium, at least they can take the Green Jersey. Dani Moreno
forgot to eat the other day, when Horner won the stage, but he still seems to
be in outstanding shape. Thursday, Moreno turned 32 and a win in Castelldefels
would be a great birthday present for the strong Katusha rider. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another
Katusha rider who will be extra motivated is <b>Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez</b>. Stage 13 starts in Valls, the hometown
of the late Xavi Tondo. The Spanish rider tragically died on May 23, 2011 while
getting ready for training ride. Purito was a good friend of Tondo and last
year, he won stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia on the day marking Tondo’s death. It
won’t be easy for Purito to win the stage and dedicate it to his late friend
but together with Dani Moreno, it’s not impossible.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span><b><span lang="EN-US">Michael Matthews</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> punctured with 5 km to go on stage 12 and didn’t
get a chance to take part in the sprint. The uphill finish on stage 12 probably
suited Matthews more than the one on stage 13 will do but the former U23 World
Champion seems to be in great shape. Matthews has been killing the competition
on the steep finish in Stirling, in Tour Down Under, two years in a row (2011
& 2012) and on a good day, he’s up there fighting with Gilbert and Moreno
for the stage win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Other
strong candidates for the stage win are riders like <b>Alejandro Valverde</b>, <b>Gianni Meersman</b>, <b>Zdenek Stybar</b>, <b>Luis León
Sanchez</b>,<b> Rinaldo</b> <b>Nocentini </b>and <b>Edvald Boasson Hagen.</b> On paper, this finish is also perfect for <b>Simon Gerrans</b>. However, the Australian
doesn’t seem to be 100 % after his crash earlier in this race. Of course, if
Gerrans is ready to fight, he is one of the favorites for this stage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Juan Antonio Flecha</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> is another good outsider. Vacansoleil-DCM is
without sprinters at the moment since Barry Markus is out of the race and Grega
Bole is fighting a respiratory infection. Flecha is in great shape right now
and he’s constantly near the front in the final. In addition, with 22 km to go,
the peloton passes through Sitges where Flecha moved to from Argentina at the age of 11. Flecha is now living in today's finish town Castelldefels. It won’t be easy for the
Spaniard to outsprint the fast guys but if he can get a little gap, he may be
able to take a big win on home soil. One thing is for sure; Flecha will be extremely
motivated!</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"><i>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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>For Stage 13, Laura thinks a breakaway will make it and she picks <b>Juan Antonio Flecha </b>to win.</i></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gqdm6jcHS7U?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-91839030283190418662013-09-04T20:49:00.000+02:002013-09-05T11:10:12.481+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 12 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-at6fw0eTH3MRoxopcPDOJ90ihuavBfgk2RSBW8snRjg0ZkVaOtfk2W53YjyNQFDB_hmJsKaf28WylWOYJPp7-wSfRefvlSdxelM4qmqwI_AvEV37kBGtBbY8CElDtCsNr1Fz9pvMx5M/s1600/vuelta_Stage12_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-at6fw0eTH3MRoxopcPDOJ90ihuavBfgk2RSBW8snRjg0ZkVaOtfk2W53YjyNQFDB_hmJsKaf28WylWOYJPp7-wSfRefvlSdxelM4qmqwI_AvEV37kBGtBbY8CElDtCsNr1Fz9pvMx5M/s640/vuelta_Stage12_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Fabian
Cancellara confirmed his great condition by beating Tony Martin against the
clock for the first time a couple of years. As expected, his teammate Chris
Horner lost the Red Jersey, which is now back on the shoulders of Vincenzo
Nilbali. A wasp stung the Astana captain the evening before the time trial but
Nibali showed that a wasp can’t take out of shark. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Vincenzo
Nibali will have no problems keeping the Red Jersey on Stage 12. This is a day
for the sprinters and after missing out on the last two occasions, their teams
will be extra motivated to control the race. The first part of the 164.2 km
from Maella to Tarragona is up and down most of the time. The riders will be
battling cross- and headwind all day long and I don’t expect a breakaway to get
much of a gap. The sprinters’ teams won’t take any chances and the strong,
opportunistic riders know they may have a better chance on stage 13.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There is a
single categorized climb on today’s stage. Alto del Collet starts after 83 km
and the 7.5 km towards the top have an average gradient of just 3.6 %. From the
top, there are 73.7 km to go and this is definitely the easiest part of the
route. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It sounds
like a broken record but once again, the race organizers have created a tricky and
difficult final. The peloton will be heading towards Tarragona in high speed
and a couple of sharp corners will test the riders’ ability to stay upright. With
3 km to go, the peloton turns left and rides next to see beachfront. The
following kilometer is flat and we can expect Argos-Shimano and GreenEdge to
set a high pace. However, after crossing the 2 km to go-port, the road starts
to kick. Not much but enough to tire out the leadout teams. An uphill U-turn
and a couple of 90° turns will serve as good place to attack if the sprinters’
teams can’t keep it together.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yH0PMrhFismpLKZGFlZQQTwbQSIZO9a4d0nTpISJ5sHnoTZOSa1WmCwpUzId3NrYqnoUkoHa15ch8Vf3_GbYcRkzaCE0HjsMHfgbMnsx2KjVtyjlAZK4NdGFuVDNwQkWw66rz_EECDE/s1600/vuelta_stage12_final5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yH0PMrhFismpLKZGFlZQQTwbQSIZO9a4d0nTpISJ5sHnoTZOSa1WmCwpUzId3NrYqnoUkoHa15ch8Vf3_GbYcRkzaCE0HjsMHfgbMnsx2KjVtyjlAZK4NdGFuVDNwQkWw66rz_EECDE/s640/vuelta_stage12_final5.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the final 5 kilometers of Stage 12. The road starts to kick up with 2 km to go. The final kilometer is flat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The final
kilometer is flat but not without danger. Right after crossing flame rouge,
there is a sharp left-hand turn and with 300 meters to go, the riders have to
cross a roundabout in high speed. The ideal scenario is to enter this
roundabout in second position with a single leadout rider in front of you. If
you are not among the first three riders here, you won’t win this stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The last
two bunch sprint stages have been extremely chaotic. Tony Martin almost kept
the peloton at bay in the first one and the day after, Philippe Gilbert and
Zdenek Stybar manage to hold off the pack with a late attack. The uphill
kilometer in the end doesn’t favor the sprinters but I think they will keep it
together this time. The way I see it, <b>Michael
Matthews</b> is still the fastest rider in this bike race. GreenEdge have been
saving their riders the last two days, thinking about this stage and among the
remaining sprinters, I can’t see who should beat Matthews in a clean sprint.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Gianni Meersman</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> is fast too but I don’t think he can match
Matthews’ speed right now. Meersman usually positions himself very well but
without a leadout, I doubt he will do better than top3. <b>Max Richeze</b> has been very strong so far in his Vuelta. He has
already finished second twice and if anybody is able to beat Michael Matthews,
it may be Lampre’s Argentinian sprinter. Richeze is very fast on the final
meters but he needs to enter that last roundabout among the first three riders.
Alone against the leadout trains, that’s a tall order.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Tyler Farrar</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> deserves to be mentioned as well but the
American sprinter is much better at making top3 than at winning bike races.
Farrar is very consistent but he lacks that extra edge. It would be a mistake
to count him out in this field but it will also be a bit surprising to see him
win in Tarragona.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Argos-Shimano
hasn’t been able to control the race as well as they have done earlier this
season. They bring a very young team to the Vuelta and their inexperience shows.
However, the team is still strong and with riders like Nikias Arndt, Reinardt
Janse van Rensburg and <b>Ramon Sinkeldam</b>
they should be able to do a great leadout. Sinkeldam is very fast and if Arndt
and Janse van Resnburg can keep the speed high and make sure they enter that
last roundabout in front, Sinkeldam may surprise a few. I doubt he can
outsprint Michael Matthews but I think he will put up a good fight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another interesting
rider for this stage is <b>Edvald Boasson
Hagen</b>. Team Sky has been very anonymous so far in the race and without
anybody able to fight for the overall win, they may change their focus to the
sprints. Boasson Hagen doesn’t need a leadout and he knows how to position
himself well in the final. The uphill kilometer towards flame rouge favors the
strong Norwegian and if he’s not scared of doing the sprints - after getting
back from an injury - he should be able to fight for the win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Riders like
<b>Juan-Antonio Flecha</b> and <b>Philippe Gilbert</b> are never afraid of
attacking and I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of them trying a late attack
on the uphill part in the final. The many twist and turns don’t favor the
peloton but it won’t be easy to stay away. Instead, Friday’s stage 13 looks a
lot better for Gilbert and the other puncheurs. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"><i>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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>For Stage 12, Laura picks <b>Michael Matthews </b>to win.</i></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/cMQMHYeqZq0?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-4050051554063979332013-09-03T21:33:00.000+02:002013-09-03T21:36:31.703+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 11 (ITT) Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0CxUYk3_puDFop-_en08NXGQrUDny0z9EGfbEBJKeqjrPmZCFMw6LOBN2ZcnCby7Z0QBESEop5x6ojWHOQGs3njstMHja0fghlUBoNBomPvCOs0dRPGl1wTHSlpRUFOrAM1aWCSqSb0/s1600/vuelta_Stage11_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0CxUYk3_puDFop-_en08NXGQrUDny0z9EGfbEBJKeqjrPmZCFMw6LOBN2ZcnCby7Z0QBESEop5x6ojWHOQGs3njstMHja0fghlUBoNBomPvCOs0dRPGl1wTHSlpRUFOrAM1aWCSqSb0/s640/vuelta_Stage11_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After a
well-deserved rest day, the Vuelta continues with a time trial. This has
already been a very tough race and it will be interesting to see how the legs
of the GC riders will respond after a day off the bike. We have often seen
riders having an off-day after a rest day and alone against the clock, you can
really lose some time if you’re not ready. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This year’s
Vuelta is one for the climbers and that shows on the time trial too. The 38.8
km around Tarazona include a long category 3 climb. The road book has Alto del
Moncayo to be 9 km long but actually, it’s already been uphill for a while before
the official start of the climb. Compared to the last time trial in the Tour de
France this year, this isn’t as tough. It’s definitely a hard course but with
an average gradient of just 4.1 % and no steep parts, Alto del Moncayo won’t
kill the hopes of the time trial experts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In fact, the
second part of the route favors the big engines like Tony Martin and Fabian
Cancellara. Most of the final 20 km are downhill and we can expect a fast
finish with a tailwind on this second part. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Favorites</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Not
surprisingly, the bookmakers' favorite is <b>Tony
Martin</b>. He’s the double World Champion and he’s simply in a league of his
own against the clock these years. The last time trial of the Tour had two hard
climbs on the menu and naturally, a big rider like Martin didn’t stand a chance
against Froome and Contador. The climb on this time trial isn’t as hard as
those in the Tour and with a long and fast descent, it will be extremely difficult to beat the German Panzerwagen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Fabian Cancellara</b> is probably the only rider able to take this win away from Tony Martin. However, Cancellara hasn't been the same time machine we used see in recent years. This is probably also why he’s now focusing on the road race instead of the time trial for
the World Championships in Florence later this month. Cancellara looks very
lean right now and so far, he has been been very good on the climbs in this
Vuelta. Because of this, some may say the climb favors him over Tony Martin but
I think Cancellara’s hard work in front of the peloton will show in time trial.
Tony Martin has been able to “take it easy” and save himself for this stage and
that will be important. Of course, Cancellara is still a world-class time
trialist and it will be a close fight for the stage win Tarazona!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Outsiders</u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Looking at
the start list, there are many strong riders able to make podium in this time
trial. Specialists like <b>Marco Pinotti</b>,
<b>Stef Clement</b>, <b>Kristof Vandewalle </b>and <b>Lieuwe
Westra</b> all have what it takes to put in a strong performance. The climb may
be too much for Vandewalle but I’m sure he’s eager to show off his Belgian national
jersey. Pinotti did very well in the final time trial of Tour of Poland a month
ago and on a good day, he should be up there fighting for top3. Westra has been
very anonymous so far in the Vuelta. However, the team explains that Westra
feels better and better every day and they now hope for a strong time trial
from the Dutch national champion. For other good outsiders look to <b>Luis León
Sanchez</b>, <b>Jan Barta</b>, <b>Ben Hermans</b>, <b>Dario Cataldo</b> and <b>Edvald Boasson Hagen</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Astana has
a lot of riders able to do well in this discipline. Jakob Fuglsang, Janez
Brajkovic, <b>Tanel Kangert</b> and Andriy
Grivko can, in theory, all do top10 but I doubt Astana will let them go full
speed. There is still a long way to Madrid and Vincenzo Nibali needs his strong
domestiques to be ready when it counts. Kangert sits 14<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><sup>th</sup> </span>in the
overall classification before this time trial and the team may give him the
green light to try his luck. He did very well in the first time trial in the
Giro this year and on a good day, he may re-enter Top10 overall Wednesday
afternoon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Overall Classification</u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Looking at
the fight for the Red Jersey, I doubt <b>Chris
Horner</b> will lead Vuelta España after this time trial. He’s more skinny than
I’ve ever seen him and even though he has done good time trials in the past, I
can’t see him keep the jersey. On the final, short (9.2 km) time trial in
Tirreno-Adriatico, Horner almost lost 20 seconds to Nibali. This time trial is
four times as long and despite the climb, Nibali will be able to take a lot of
time on the American veteran. Last year, Horner finished 13<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup>
overall in the Tour de France but even though he was in great shape, he didn’t
do well in the time trials. The first time trial in the Tour that year was
about the same length as this one and back then, Horner lost more than three
minutes to Nibali. The time differences won’t be as big this time but surely <b>Vincenzo Nibali</b> is able to take back
the 43 seconds he’s after Honer in the GC. Actually, we may even see Nibali
make podium in this time trial.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Astana’s
big plan for this Vuelta was for Nibali to start out the race on 75 % and by
the first rest day reach 100 %. So far, everything has gone according to plan
and it will be a big surprise not to see Nibali in the Red Jersey at the
beginning of Thursday’s stage 12. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I also
expect <b>Nicolas Roche</b> to do well. Bjarne
Riis always demands his riders to focus on the time trials and Roche has made
significant improvements this year. He finished 24<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> in the final
time trial in Tour de Suisse and no, that wasn’t because of the hard climb. Nicolas
Roche actually had 14<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> best time after the flat part. In front of riders
like Peraud, Millar, Monfort, Klöden etc. In the Tour the improvements continued as Roche finished </span> 28<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> in the first time trial. The Irishman has lost 2.5 kg since the Tour
and that really shows on the climbs. It will be interesting to see how weight loss will
affect his time trial performance this Wednesday. He won’t beat Nibali but Roche should be
able to keep the other GC riders behind him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This is
also a good course for <b>Alejandro
Valverde.</b> He knows how to keep his pace on the demanding parts and Valverde
is an excellent descender. The Movistar captain did very well in the final time
trial of the Tour and even though this one isn’t as tough, he should be able to
clock in a great time. Also, look out for his teammate <b>Beñat Intxausti</b>. The Basque rider is good against the clock and his
time checks will be vital for Valverde. In addition to that, Intxausti starts
just in front of Tony Martin. In the first time trial of the Tour, Thomas De
Gendt started in front of Tony Martin. The strong Belgian had never been
overtaken in a time trial before and he was eager to keep his record. At the
end of the day, Thomas De Gendt finished 3rd on the stage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><u>Starting Order</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Lieuwe
Westre starts as number 18 at 13:31 and his time will most like stand for a
while. Marco Pinotti starts at 14:15 and just three minutes later, it’s Tony
Martin’s turn to take the starting ramp. Fabian Cancellara starts at 14:54 and
as the last rider, Chris Horner roles out on the course at 16:50 local time.
You can see the complete starting order <u><a href="http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias-ficha.asp?id=65426" target="_blank">HERE</a></u>.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-US"><i>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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>For this time trial, Laura picks <b>Fabian Cancellara </b>to win.</i></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4vSJKo_I6vI?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-31373049549167993452013-09-01T21:34:00.000+02:002013-09-02T10:50:04.794+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 10 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDHT7eu61vw-EM8j2oiMNcJWk8W9hiB3gMF1gdNAa1bIusoIlUrGpE5pjtnMxZfekT0VPsDB_t47x9annTPQelE7oNhQ1m5emcSW2hiaQJPmXhaJ4VIqXozHAte-AG6D0eJKWZ13St5s/s1600/vuelta_stage10_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDHT7eu61vw-EM8j2oiMNcJWk8W9hiB3gMF1gdNAa1bIusoIlUrGpE5pjtnMxZfekT0VPsDB_t47x9annTPQelE7oNhQ1m5emcSW2hiaQJPmXhaJ4VIqXozHAte-AG6D0eJKWZ13St5s/s640/vuelta_stage10_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Katusha did
exactly what we expected on stage 9 and Dani Moreno showed how strong he is
right now. Nicolas Roche lost the Red Jersey by one second to Moreno and it
will be interesting to see who will lead the race after Monday’s extremely tough
day in the mountains.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Stage 10 is
the last day to overcome before the first rest day of the race. On paper, this
is a good stage for a breakaway to make it but it has to be a break of very
strong riders. The first 74 km don’t include any categorized climbs but there
are several long hills which will make for a hard start of this stage. Everybody
knows the breakaway has a chance today and therefore we can expect a fast start
with many attacks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSb2vzUQDaxflRGbJWrHt4NWY6yVMoLKsJ7T09t7mpxZPGkCHwkOz7h3nFEzTdB73lE30rBEyzk8SNo66F97tnuI819wbeJ86QAMBTcTie0_v-Vtpq4BxPpD6mEwiWx7amhAKfRwDnxs/s1600/vuelta_monachil.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSb2vzUQDaxflRGbJWrHt4NWY6yVMoLKsJ7T09t7mpxZPGkCHwkOz7h3nFEzTdB73lE30rBEyzk8SNo66F97tnuI819wbeJ86QAMBTcTie0_v-Vtpq4BxPpD6mEwiWx7amhAKfRwDnxs/s320/vuelta_monachil.png" width="289" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alto de Monachil. 8.5 km / 7.7 % avg.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The first
part of the stage is tough but it’s nothing compared to the final 36 km. Alto
de Monachil starts after 150 km in the saddle. The 8.5 km towards the top have
an average gradient of 7.7 % and the first four kilometers are very steep.
There are just 27.8 to go from the top of Alto de Monachil and after a descent,
which is not easy at all, Alto de Hazallanas starts right away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The first 5
kilometers have an average gradient of 5 %. The following 3-4 km are more or
less flat and after a descent through Güéjar Sierra, the actually climb begins.
The final 7 km kick up with 8.5 % and there are numerous parts of over 15 %.
With two kilometers to go the gradients almost reach 20 % and this will be a
perfect place for the pure climbers to put in a strong attack. The final km is
not very steep and the stage actually ends with a little descent towards the
line. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So far <b>Dani Moreno</b> has been the strongest
rider uphill in the race and it’ difficult to see him losing the Red Jersey.
However, the time differences between the first five are still very small. Horner,
in fifth place, is only 28 seconds behind Moreno. It’s now up to Katusha to
control the race and I’m personally looking forward to see when/if <b>Purito</b> attacks. He doesn’t seem to be
on top of his game right now but he needs to take back time on Nibali and the
other GC riders. The steep gradients suit Purito perfectly and even if he can’t
drop his rivals, he can lead the way for Dani Moreno to attack in the final and
extend his lead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Compared to
the steady uphill finish on Saturday, this final climb doesn’t suit <b>Ivan Basso</b> very well. The Cannondale captain
is without a doubt in great shape right now but the constant change of rhythm
is not good for Basso. That being said, if Basso shows the same strength as the
other day, he won’t lose much time to guys like Moreno, Purito and Valverde. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Especially <b>Alejandro Valverde</b> will be interesting
to follow on the final climb. I expect Movistar to put a rider in the morning
breakaway and by that make Katusha do all the work in the peloton. Valverde hesitated
a bit when Dani Moreno attacked on stage 9 but he still showed good legs by
taking second place. In the last couple of uphill finishes, Valverde and Purito
have waited until the final 500 meters by attacking their rivals. If they
attack a bit earlier on Hazallanas, they could really take some time. Also, if the
peloton catches the breakaway, it will be difficult to beat Valverde in a
finish like this one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeg7QO4H3nszEh60sz0R92mKm1sj7YDucICRRFaVnsFxvc-1w-14qAE5YFHrFcb67T467BfmuOru5l9EJFGnkE63sLzPJ3sC0ICLS-w-7d7NeWmVxFdK0YUu7HGITTDdDiMKK8DkDnQ_g/s1600/vuelta_Hazallanas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeg7QO4H3nszEh60sz0R92mKm1sj7YDucICRRFaVnsFxvc-1w-14qAE5YFHrFcb67T467BfmuOru5l9EJFGnkE63sLzPJ3sC0ICLS-w-7d7NeWmVxFdK0YUu7HGITTDdDiMKK8DkDnQ_g/s320/vuelta_Hazallanas.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alto de Hazallanas. 15.8 km / 5 % avg.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Chris Horner</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> had big hopes for Saturday’s uphill finish but
after a couple of strong attacks, he couldn’t respond when Roche, Basso and
Moreno went away. Horner likes it steep but not on a short distance as in
Valdepeñas de Jaén. Alto de Hazallanas is a perfect climb for the American
veteran and I’m sure he will try to take back the Red Jersey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On paper,
Astana has one of the strongest teams in this year’s Vuelta. However, <b>Vincenzo Nibali</b> was very isolated the
other day. Only Tanel Kangert was with him in the end and right now, it doesn’t
seem like Nibali is on the same level as Dani Moreno and <b>Nicolas Roche.</b> It may come later in the race, I’m sure it does, but
he still has work to do. His teammate <b>Jakob
Fuglsang</b> has deliberately lost one minute after the other in order to drop
out of the overall classification. Fuglsang aims at winning a stage after missing
out in Dauphiné and in the Tour earlier this year. As pointed out, this is a
good day for a breakaway and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jakob Fuglsang in
the break. Fuglsang is eager to win and he needs to take advantage of his
post-Tour shape before it’s too late. If you’re looking for a joker for the
stage win, I’ll suggest the Danish climber.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
The final
climb is also suiting riders like <b>Domenico
Pozzovivo</b>, <b>Thibaut Pinot</b>, <b>Sergio Henao</b> and <b>Leopold König</b> very well. König has already shown his strength and
even though I doubt he wins this stage, he should be able to stay near the favorites.
Sergio Henao is 3:28 min after in the overall classification and even though
there is still a long way to Madrid, he soon needs to start taking back time.
Henao is a great climber and if he has the legs to do it, he should attack
early on the final 7 kilometers. Pozzovivo started out this Vuelta aiming for
top5 overall but he too has some ground to make up. The pint-sized Italian is
not afraid of attacking from a far and this climb is pretty much perfect for
him. If the other GC riders start looking at each other, I’m sure Pozzovivo
will try to sneak away.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i>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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>For Stage 10, Laura picks <b>Joaquim 'Purito' Rodriguez </b>to win. </i></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/rh0wibO6OQk?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-15262291640313912642013-08-31T21:51:00.001+02:002013-08-31T21:53:15.079+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 9 Preview & Favorites<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguozJBfsmb6Almi1AooU1Jf1uLxpbY3KFYPvuwqagT-DdRKxCYik98jbMSwpVHOLGyJicLjkMBMpgHrtecEgf2cjET5kfW-7vhirrWDFo4n4BX8PDyNJ5-xScj42Er8sk9XUgr5VFDpgQ/s1600/vuelta_Stage9_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguozJBfsmb6Almi1AooU1Jf1uLxpbY3KFYPvuwqagT-DdRKxCYik98jbMSwpVHOLGyJicLjkMBMpgHrtecEgf2cjET5kfW-7vhirrWDFo4n4BX8PDyNJ5-xScj42Er8sk9XUgr5VFDpgQ/s640/vuelta_Stage9_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US">As
suggested in the preview yesterday, we got the second Czech stage win in a row
when Leopold König won stage 8. NetApp Endura had been working in front of the
peloton for most of the day and this was truly an impressive victory for the
wild card team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Stage 9 is
one I’ve personally been looking forward too. On paper, this is not a very
demanding stage but the final 45 km are very tough. There aren’t any big climbs
on the menu but with just 22 km to, the peloton faces Alto de la Frailes. The
6.2 km towards the top have an average gradient of 5.8 % and we can expect
Katusha and Movistar to set a furious pace. Coming down from the top, the first
7 km are flat before the final kilometer rises towards the line. In 2010 and
2011 we had a single rider in front at this point (Uran in 2010 & Moncoutie
in 2011) but you need almost a minute before the final kilometer if you want to
make it all the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The final
1000 meters up to the finishing line is extremely steep. There are gradients of
nearly 30 % and not surprisingly,<b> Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez</b> is the big
favorite. In 2010, he attacked too early and ran out of gas as Igor Antón went
away on the final 300 meters. In 2011, Purito took no chances. His teammate<b> Dani
Moreno</b> hit the front as soon as the steep gradients started and only Purito, Vincenzo
Nibali and Wout Poels managed to follow. Nibali couldn’t keep up the pace and
like Antón the year before, Purito put in his final attack with 300 meters to
go. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_dTktQhUFa4?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
I expect
the same scenario this year. The way I see it, nobody can beat Purito &
Moreno on the finish like this one. Dani Moreno seems to be in the shape of his
life right now and knowing that Purito is the team leader, I think they will
try to repeat the performance from 2011. Vincenzo Nibali was the first to
respond to Katusha’s attacks in 2010 and 2011 but it seems like he’s still
missing a little bit at this point.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It starts
to show that <b>Alejandro Valverde</b> wants to win the World Champions more than the Vuelta.
However, few have Valverde’s killer instinct when he sees the line. The steep
gradients are definitely better suited for Purito than for Valverde but
compared to Nibali and Basso, Valverde should be able to gain a little time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Nicolas
Roche</b> is new rider in the Red Jersey and as I pointed out in the overall
preview, the Irishman seems to be extremely motivated to finally crack top5 overall
in a Grand Tour. Roche finished 8<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> in Valdepeñas de Jaén in both
2010 and 2011. I think the Saxo-Tinkoff leader will probably lose 7-10 seconds
to Purito on this stage and therefor Roche shouldn’t have problems keeping the
Red Jersey. The only way - as I see it - that Roche can lose the jersey is if
Moreno wins the stage - gets the 10 bonus seconds - and distances Roche with 7
seconds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another
important factor at this point in the race is the fatigue. This is the 9<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><sup>th</sup>
</span>stage in a row without a rest day and many riders will be on the limits. Add to
that the extreme temperatures the last couple of days. Samuel Sanchez, Roman
Kreuziger & Bauke Mollema are already almost out of the GC and we could see
a few more lose ground this Sunday. The time differences won’t be very big but
if you have a bad day, you can easily lose 45 seconds on the final kilometer.
It may not sound of much but it’s of huge psychological value. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s
difficult to point at a joker for this stage. Purito and Moreno are in a league
of their own on this kind of finishes and without Carlos Betancur in good
shape, no one really has what it takes to beat them. <b>Sergio Henao</b> and <b>Domenico
Pozzovivo</b> are both strong on the steep gradients but they need to attack right
from the bottom if they want to win this stage. Pozzovivo’s teammate <b>Rinaldo
Nocentini</b> is usually good on a finish like this but against the GC riders, I
doubt he win. <b>Igor Antón</b> came close on stage 8 but I don’t think he has the
same kick he had in 2010 when he won. <b>Wout Poels</b> too is far from his Vuelta
shape from 2011 when he finished 2<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">nd</span></sup>. </span>A super joker could be <b>Ivan
Santaromita</b>. The Italian champion is in great shape right now and with only 58
kg to carry, he has what it takes to stay in front on the steep gradients.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
Last but
not least, we can’t forget about the World Champion <b>Philippe Gilbert</b>. Like last
year, he seems to be getting better and better as the Vuelta progresses. Had
this been 2011, we all know who would win the stage. However, Gilbert doesn’t
have the same kick he had two years ago and with parts of 30 %, I can’t see him
beat Purito and Moreno. He may take 3<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">rd</span></sup> place on the stage but to
me, it would be a little surprising to see him take his first win in the
rainbow jersey here.<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i>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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>For Stage 9, Laura picks <b>Joaquim 'Purito' Rodriguez </b>to win. </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/TjrBWDN2rw0?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-83478598053411909002013-08-30T22:19:00.000+02:002013-08-31T11:20:19.889+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 8 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdWIzp1zEEjUzqPfUF5qYH-f00oOr90LL6l8m9RlxDcGkQo5Y95y-yLoF2XEtHzE3o0kdiqExrFoynuIeYaxx74WsKk7hXadb6itik27XiubQMESbJ34TmQthnQWiYLmyZWtQ3L15GfM/s1600/vuelta_stage8_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdWIzp1zEEjUzqPfUF5qYH-f00oOr90LL6l8m9RlxDcGkQo5Y95y-yLoF2XEtHzE3o0kdiqExrFoynuIeYaxx74WsKk7hXadb6itik27XiubQMESbJ34TmQthnQWiYLmyZWtQ3L15GfM/s640/vuelta_stage8_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Many riders
are not familiar with this climb but one rider knows it like the back of his
hand. I talked about <b>Luis Angel Maté</b>
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 27<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> in front of strong climbers like Antón, Ten Dam
and Rolland. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In case the
GC riders end up gunning for the stage win, <b>Alejandro Valverde </b>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 <b>Javi Moreno</b>, <b>Eros Capecchi</b> and <b>José Herrada </b>could also be jokers for the stage win. Especially
Herrada has been extremely strong, leading the peloton whenever the road kicks
up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcnVc_ltIwT0P5qmt0-Tdti4DzWLp9wMcIgRVd13suRK6eHfQjBCGdMJI-Am8oo0nk74LupP2dGUQW0TfpQZHJIJ3wUUEHoVYEF02VtrSNNOORXpceZoNTS0L5h1ctwThyphenhyphenG8PGnrmv7a4/s1600/vuelta_stage8_penas_blancas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcnVc_ltIwT0P5qmt0-Tdti4DzWLp9wMcIgRVd13suRK6eHfQjBCGdMJI-Am8oo0nk74LupP2dGUQW0TfpQZHJIJ3wUUEHoVYEF02VtrSNNOORXpceZoNTS0L5h1ctwThyphenhyphenG8PGnrmv7a4/s320/vuelta_stage8_penas_blancas.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peñas Blancas. 14.5 km / avg. 6.6 % - Click for lager view.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> 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 <b>Dani Moreno </b>may put in another attack and take advantage of his
great shape. Riders like <b>Ivan Basso</b>
and <b>Samuel Sanchez</b> are normally very
good on these kind of climbs and I expect to see both of them in the front as
well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The leading
rider, <b>Vincenzo Nibali</b>, 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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One of my
personal outsiders for the stage win is <b>Leopold
König</b>. 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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Other good
candidates for the stage win are <b>Domenico Pozzovivo</b>, who’s in outstanding shape
right now, <b>Chris Horner</b>, who is aiming to take back the Red Jersey, <b>Bauke
Mollema</b>, who looks very strong and <b>Sergio Henao</b>, who is eager to take back the
time he lost on stage 2.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>For Stage 8, Laura picks <b>Alejandro Valverde </b>to win. </i></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jVCGNc88WbRpatOtcFR_Ki1Fyv6J77WULToaFCfVhouL22XsHGTeMwxDW8RMcf4CuvT94enpWCLJczjnJ1J1LAMYHZn2AkzCD5PFWYsILEorw6ahMCNF40tTUbnzUoMxth1JExHG6dA/s1600/lavuelta_gc_stage7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jVCGNc88WbRpatOtcFR_Ki1Fyv6J77WULToaFCfVhouL22XsHGTeMwxDW8RMcf4CuvT94enpWCLJczjnJ1J1LAMYHZn2AkzCD5PFWYsILEorw6ahMCNF40tTUbnzUoMxth1JExHG6dA/s640/lavuelta_gc_stage7.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gKRQPgWaKbo?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-80267390636670525302013-08-29T21:18:00.000+02:002013-08-29T22:35:45.748+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 7 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFW6Z4psGfMe15pErW94V60KDIXyJ6B36CjaO3v0MFez8osLoZ1Eb6BMsruqWoUvIxjlDfWimGEDU5giqDFh3s6NZTD2DuyBuOSYmCnov17ECCKFnIufwUFHJ3VJR8xrrLKevzMLiJnJg/s1600/vuelta_stage7_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFW6Z4psGfMe15pErW94V60KDIXyJ6B36CjaO3v0MFez8osLoZ1Eb6BMsruqWoUvIxjlDfWimGEDU5giqDFh3s6NZTD2DuyBuOSYmCnov17ECCKFnIufwUFHJ3VJR8xrrLKevzMLiJnJg/s640/vuelta_stage7_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What an effort
from Tony Martin on stage 6. Alone in front from the start to the end, well
almost to the end. Fabian Cancellara got a jump on the Argos-Shimano train and
performed a perfect leadout for Michael Mørkøv who won the stage. This is only
the second professional win in Mørkøv’s career. The first one came in June
earlier this year when he won the Danish Championship. Impressive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Stage 7 is
another flat stage and after missing out on Thursday, I’m sure the sprinters’
teams won’t take any chances. The peloton continues south into Andalucía and
without a single categorized climb, this won’t be a difficult day in the
saddle. The GC riders will have their mind fixed on tomorrow’s mountain stage
and they will hope for a quiet day in the peloton. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Everybody
managed to stay upright despite the technical finish on stage 6 and hopefully
the same will happen Friday afternoon. Once again the race organizers have put
in numerous obstacles on the final kilometers. Six roundabouts within the last
three kilometers are what the riders have to overcome. The last one, turning
right, is placed just 700 meters from the line. The road slightly bends to the
left on the last 300 meters and first rider out of this bend most likely wins
the stage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s
another technical finish but luckily the riders will have a chance to get to
know it before it counts. There is an intermediate sprint on the finishing line
with 31.4 km to go and knowing the route will hopefully keep everybody upright
in the final.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Argos-Shimano
almost managed to set up <b>Ramon Sinkeldam</b>
perfectly on stage 6. Tony Martin’s strong effort made them take the lead a
little too early and they paid for their work in the end. Sinkeldam was extra
motivated to win on his wife’s birthday but despite great legs, he couldn’t do
better than 15<sup>th</sup> place. As I mentioned yesterday, this isn’t
Argos-Shimano’s top leadout team. It’s a young team but they still show a lot
of power taking the lead. I think it will be a “normal” bunch sprint on stage 7
and if they manage to set up Ramon Sinkeldam again, he could take the peloton
by surprise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FjYwu50BAI7i86r9AWbVUzehebTxnQbcopeFI4IUGaooYQP5Hap61OUa9dR5sUgazvKawfc7Y8yLr8eZS6HYyju16r_wEOy23Ek5II0JEXq8uqCql6XWreGbVSn7PlhMyhGJkPKAfsM/s1600/vuelta_stage7_final5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FjYwu50BAI7i86r9AWbVUzehebTxnQbcopeFI4IUGaooYQP5Hap61OUa9dR5sUgazvKawfc7Y8yLr8eZS6HYyju16r_wEOy23Ek5II0JEXq8uqCql6XWreGbVSn7PlhMyhGJkPKAfsM/s320/vuelta_stage7_final5.JPG" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final 5 kilometers of stage 7. Click for larger view.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US">Like
Argos-Shimano, also GreenEdge have a couple of strong guys for the sprints. <b>Michael Matthews</b> is obviously the
fastest one right now but a flat sprint like this one is probably better for <b>Leigh Howard</b>. Matthews said that
everything now is just a bonus but I’m sure the Australians are very eager to
take another win. Matthews is now riding in the green points jersey and the
despite the many mountains, this could be a goal for him. It won’t be easy but
if GreenEdge decides to go for him in all the sprints, I can’t see why he
shouldn’t win a handful more stages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Max Richeze</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> has been second the last two days in a row and
he’s definitely one of the favorites for this stage. The Argentinian sprinter
is getting better and better as the race goes on. He doesn’t have that final
leadout rider to deliver him in the sprints but he’s very fast on the final
meters. Richeze needs to get on the right wheel and he if manages so, he could
very well end up winning this stage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Tyler Farrar</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> couldn’t to better than fourth place on stage
6 but to be fair, Farrar was very fast in the end. The American’s big problem
is his positioning. Personally, I don’t understand why Garmin doesn’t wait
until the end before taking the lead. Alex Rasmussen is a brilliant leadout
rider and if Farrar enters the last bend on the wheel of Rasmussen, he will be extremely
difficult to beat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Omega
Pharma Quickstep will most likely try to set up <b>Gianni Meersman</b> again on stage 7. The Belgian sprinter doesn’t seem
to be as fast as Matthews and Richeze right now but with a little bit of luck,
Omega Pharma Quickstep may finally take a stage win. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I also have
to mention <b>Michael Mørkøv</b> among the candidates after his impressive win on
stage 6. The Danish Champion said he was sure he would win when he saw the
finish line on the wheel of Cancellara. Obviously he’s in great shape right
now. Usually, Mørkøv works hard for his teammates but after his win in Cáceres,
I’m sure he will be eager to try again in Mairena Del Aljarafe.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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The way I
see it, there is 95 % chance of this stage ending in a bunch sprint. A break
will definitely get away in the beginning but they know it’s almost doomed. It’s
usually local riders and riders from the smaller teams who get into these kind
of breakaways and as one of the semi-locals, look out for <b>Luis Angel Maté</b>. <i>El Lince Andaluz</i> is not afraid of
attacking despite poor chances of succeeding and I’m sure we will see the
Cofidis rider in a break soon. If not this Friday then definitely in the
weekend.<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>For Stage 7, Laura picks <b>Michael Matthews </b>to win. </i></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></div>
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<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YgG7OgQdqXQ?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-79377599090789821822013-08-28T21:28:00.000+02:002013-08-29T13:41:17.715+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 6 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySY8TW46BuyzI8srZXatDiFopNYtvEBobr5Z-r2JIt2XijOBQrNVtCmsbaMK5POQE4xMYrUN-nu6eOGYXFcMTpaf0nXVQRCZQTTtgXYQz_CP3tqlNL2eBXKYl_Ci5sbsUbuUuKpudHno/s1600/vuelta_stage6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySY8TW46BuyzI8srZXatDiFopNYtvEBobr5Z-r2JIt2XijOBQrNVtCmsbaMK5POQE4xMYrUN-nu6eOGYXFcMTpaf0nXVQRCZQTTtgXYQz_CP3tqlNL2eBXKYl_Ci5sbsUbuUuKpudHno/s640/vuelta_stage6.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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After
missing out on stage 4, Michael Matthews did a perfect sprint to win stage 5. GreenEdge
worked all day in front of the peloton all day long and in the sprint, nobody
came close to the young Australian. Garmin tried to set up Tyler Farrar but they
will soon have to realize that Farrar’s day as a top sprinter seems to be over.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Stage 6 is
the second of three days in a row made for the fast guys and we can expect
another bunch sprint. The stage starts out in Guijuelo and the riders will be
able to enjoy a slight tailwind all the 174 km south towards Cáceres. There isn’t
a single categorized climb on the menu and even though it’s not flat either, it’s
definitely not as hard as the last two days. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With 7 km
to go, the road starts to kick up a little but only 2.5 %. It won’t make for a selection
in the peloton but the technical final four kilometer may do. Are no less than
six difficult turns within the last four kilometers and of course a handful of
roundabouts to overcome as well. This being the Vuelta and everything, of
course the final turn comes just 400 meters from the line. Heading into a
roundabout the peloton goes the long around instead of just turning left. This
will really stretch out the peloton. If you enter this roundabout in second or
third position, you have a very good chance of winning the stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Michael
Matthews</b> has been the fastest of the sprinters the last two days and he’s
morale is now sky high. Originally GreenEdge had <b>Leigh Howard</b> down for this
stage but it doesn't really make sense not to go for Matthews again. He’s obviously
the fastest right now. Then again, the team spirit on GreenEdge is amazing and thinking about it, it wouldn’t actually surprise me to see Matthews leading out Howard to win.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Gianni Meersman</b> tried to pass Matthews in the final of
stage 5 but he didn’t even come close. I think it will be very difficult for
Meersman to win this stage and it wouldn’t surprise me if Omega Pharma
Quickstep gave youngster<b> Andy Fenn</b> a chance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA7CaPmCPZuFYrzssI_lDtmWtp18jloAVgeDYSFaeHL0aChitssow6HA8GPKGkYMbfhEjzCEzDqIVQ7mSMv5_sLXfWrWZAV6rk6FVJ7UmNTGH-Kh4VSDLnP7vlG613U2jPEpxnmpxtvYw/s1600/Vuelta_Stage6_last4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA7CaPmCPZuFYrzssI_lDtmWtp18jloAVgeDYSFaeHL0aChitssow6HA8GPKGkYMbfhEjzCEzDqIVQ7mSMv5_sLXfWrWZAV6rk6FVJ7UmNTGH-Kh4VSDLnP7vlG613U2jPEpxnmpxtvYw/s320/Vuelta_Stage6_last4.JPG" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final four kilometers. Click for larger view.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Argos-Shimano
is right now the best sprint team in the world. They have finally perfected
their leadouts and again on stage 5 they tried to make a surprise. They have a
young team for this Vuelta and you don’t see any of the regular Tour de France
riders among the nine starters. However, they still managed to hit the front
with 5 riders on the final kilometers. <b>Nikias Arndt</b> was the man for stage 5 but
it’s not necessarily him they will be going for every day. <b>Reinardt Janse van
Rensburg</b> and <b>Ramon Sinkeldam</b> are also very fast on the line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Lampre’s
<b>Maximiliano Ariel Richeze</b> is another fast rider in great shape right now. He
wasn’t on top of his game in Eneco Tour but he still managed to finish 2<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">nd</span></sup>
and 4<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> in the sprints. This Vuelta is Richeze’s first Grand Tour since
he did the Giro d’Italia in 2007 and he’s super motivated to do well. The
Argentinian had to fight hard to get on Matthews wheel in the final of stage 5 and
with a little bit more luck he might have been able to get closer. It won’t be
easy for Richeze to win stage 6 but I think we will see the him in top3 again.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<b>Edvald Boasson Hagen</b> has finished 6<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> the last two days in a row. The Norwegian rider was a bit disappointed with his sprint on stage 5 and he will be very motivated to do better this time. Boasson Hagen seems to be getting stronger every day and without any top sprinters in the peloton, he may give Team Sky their first win in this Vuelta Thursday afternoon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Last of the
outsiders for the win in Cáceres is also the rider finishing last on stage 5.
<b>Barry Markus</b> is only 22 years old but he hasalready been close to beating some of the
big sprinters. In Tour of Qatar he finished 2<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">nd</span></sup> after Mark Cavendish
twice and after coming back from his injury, Markus took 2<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">nd</span></sup> place
on stage 1 of Arctic Race of Norway earlier this month. Vacansoleil-DCM has
been setting up Grega Bole the last two days but with a more flat stage, it’s
now time for the fast Dutchman.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As of
Wednesday evening the weather forecast shows 50 % chance of rain for the final.
Hopefully the roads will stay dry. If not, it seems unlikely nobody will crash
on the last four kilometers.<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>For Stage 6, Laura picks <b>Gianni Meersman </b>to win. </i></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/XFfbElR80Eo?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-4981029519949219662013-08-27T22:17:00.000+02:002013-08-28T09:20:37.612+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 5 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGATo8lUtrB0sCqmZVWTZZuCinX6wko-Aj5ONdNPdFnQabFZXMl-henPG9w_ukQxR1wuGj7ix4rEF7EeNtJxwLsggqtLygXhlGdmRexg7RUaqzgSu3V7ZF0T32D8MytspShgo6WWJXbI/s1600/vuelta_stage5_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGATo8lUtrB0sCqmZVWTZZuCinX6wko-Aj5ONdNPdFnQabFZXMl-henPG9w_ukQxR1wuGj7ix4rEF7EeNtJxwLsggqtLygXhlGdmRexg7RUaqzgSu3V7ZF0T32D8MytspShgo6WWJXbI/s640/vuelta_stage5_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On stage 2,
Dani Moreno waited too long when Nicolas Roche attacked. That mistake cost him
the stage win. Tuesday afternoon, Moreno took no chances when he attacked from
afar and managed to keep Fabian Cancellara and the rest of the peloton behind
him. Cancellara’s strong effort probably made the gap among the favorites,
which made Chris Horner lose the Red Jersey to Vincenzo Nibali. However, the
American doesn’t seem too upset over losing the jersey. “It’s ok for now. I
will use my good legs to get it back”, he says.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Astana
shouldn’t have problems keeping the jersey on Stage 5 even though it won’t be
an easy day in the saddle. There are only two categorized climb on profile but
the 174.3 km from Sober to Lago de Sanabria include numerous hills. Officially,
the first climb Alto do Covelo doesn’t start until after 68.6 km. However, at
this point the road has already been going uphill for the past 11 km. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With 42.3
km to go, the final categorized climb of the day begins. Alto de Padornelo is
11 km long but with an average of just 2.6 % it won’t make for a huge selection
in peloton. It gets steeper towards the top but strong sprinters like <b>Gianni
Meersman</b>, <b>Michael Matthews</b> and <b>Edvald Boasson Hagen</b> won’t have problems staying
in front. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Coming down
from Alto de Padornelo the final 20 km may look flat but don’t be fooled. We
are in Spain and that means you shouldn’t trust the road book when it comes to “flat”
parts. The last 10 km are constantly up and down and there is a part of 1.5 km
with an average gradient of 4.3 % as the peloton enters Cubelo with 6 km to go. </span>A tailwind will
help the riders keep a high pace the final 5 km and without any sharp corners;
it will be a fast finish. However, this is the Vuelta and it can’t surprise
anybody that the race organizers have put in a 90° corner with just 600 meters
to go. This will stretch out the peloton significantly and it’s important to be
near the front at this point. Preferably with two teammates in front of you.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Dani Moreno
took the peloton by surprise on stage 4 but with a flat finish, guys like
Meersman, Matthews and Boasson Hagen should be able to fight for the win. It’s
a tough day and I’m not quite sure the pure sprinters will manage to stay
in the peloton. The joker picks for a sprint are the same as those for stage 4.
Meaning riders like <b>Reinardt Janse van Rensburg</b>, <b>Grega Bole</b> and <b>Anthony Roux</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There is a
good chance of this stage finishing in a bunch sprint but it wouldn’t be a
surprise to see a breakaway making it all the way. It could be the morning
breakaway and it could be a late breakaway on Alto de Padornelo. Vincenzo
Nibali is not interested in losing the Red Jersey again so we have to look to
riders already out of the GC for possible breakaway candidates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Amets
Txurruka</b> is 4:33 min behind in the overall classification and the Basque rider
is a true breakaway specialist. Txurruka is in great shape right now and has
already tried to breakaway twice within the last couple of days. Another strong
rider down the GC who is in good shape is <b>Juan Antonio Flecha</b>. He has attacked
on the last kilometers the last two days in a row but without success. Flecha
is obviously going strong right now but maybe he’ll have more luck with an
attack from afar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The TV-viewers
have been spoiled with images of the beautiful scenery in Galicia and with the
finish line next to Lago de Sanabria, this will be another spectacular stage to
watch. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><i>For Stage 5, Laura thinks a breakaway will make it and picks <b>Thomas de Gendt</b> to win. </i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lreg-R2Mmek?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8325347338223117152.post-7746241053428542232013-08-26T21:18:00.000+02:002013-08-27T09:39:13.965+02:00Vuelta a España: Stage 4 Preview & Favorites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtd9MjtGN6zTbkxWrZKNzPHa0Cy1ClPXLizgfDyRfJC-818Z2TvhtdbP_asp6-0JzF3c5s0lqrzNYphnNdagUCXycYYrF9enHjEr5oTzurmCm6lEOmMm8zSAtsjiXbrfNl4noy2hXDzTw/s1600/vuelta_Stage4_profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtd9MjtGN6zTbkxWrZKNzPHa0Cy1ClPXLizgfDyRfJC-818Z2TvhtdbP_asp6-0JzF3c5s0lqrzNYphnNdagUCXycYYrF9enHjEr5oTzurmCm6lEOmMm8zSAtsjiXbrfNl4noy2hXDzTw/s640/vuelta_Stage4_profile.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Movistar
and Alejandro Valverde missed out once again on stage 3. They didn’t have
enough fresh riders to close the gap on stage 2 and somehow they managed to
make the same mistake Monday. Valverde even said he had the legs to win.
Instead Chris Horner attacked and took an impressive stage win, only surpassed
by his Spanish interview afterwards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In my
overall preview I wrote that Chris Horner was targeting the Red Jersey within
the first couple of stages. One of the key points for that to happen was a
strong team time trial and thanks to Fabian Cancellara, Horner had a chance to
take the jersey. The 41 years old American climber is now the oldest rider ever
to win a stage in a Grand Tour and he should have no problems keeping the
leader’s jersey on stage 4.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tuesday’s
189 km long stage takes the riders west from Lalín/A Estrada towards the
finishing line in Fisterra. The riders will be battling the crosswind for most
of the stage and we could see the peloton getting split up again. After 152.8
km the riders reach the feared ascent up to Mirador de Ézaro. This is only a
category 3 climb but the 1.8 km towards the top have an average gradient of 13
%! There are only 34.4 km to go from top of Mirador de Ézaro and a strong team
could really blow the race apart. Last year, stage 12 of the Vuelta finished on
Mirador de Ézaro and in case you need a re-view <u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZp1-hlxAEQ." target="_blank">click here</a></u>.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8T9Mnx1YQvhZCC1kcydJi7to_Bvuf1TeMSnlKd39H_RTPqkWjMqh9u2pJtNLR6sMpxxQbWndbZb5ppEacD2B51X5shROGeunXD5B97VGOSrBOEPJMtOFt8zMP34Rfj-nRB7K9sPJOOY/s1600/fisterra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8T9Mnx1YQvhZCC1kcydJi7to_Bvuf1TeMSnlKd39H_RTPqkWjMqh9u2pJtNLR6sMpxxQbWndbZb5ppEacD2B51X5shROGeunXD5B97VGOSrBOEPJMtOFt8zMP34Rfj-nRB7K9sPJOOY/s320/fisterra.jpg" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The stage to the end of the world".<br />
Photo via @lavuelta on Twitter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US">This
stage is called “the stage to end of the world” and it’s easy to see why. With
5 km to go, the peloton turns left and from hereon they simply continue
straight out until the road ends. It’s a spectacular finish with a slightly uphill
run-in towards the line. The final 2 km kick up with about 3.5 % and this time,
<b>Gianni Meersman</b> shouldn’t have problems fighting for the win. Of course, he has
to survive Mirador de Ézaro first. There is a soft left-hand corner with 200 meters to go and with a tailwind towards the line, first rider of out this corner most likely wins the stage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meersman
finished 38<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span></sup> on stage 3, just 22 seconds behind the favorites. The
final kilometer was too hard for the Belgian rider, but the finish in Fisterra
is perfect for him. Gianni Meersman arrived to the Vuelta with his eyes on this
stage and I think he will be very difficult to beat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Another
strong candidate is <b>Michael Matthews</b>. The former U23 World Champion is a real
specialist on these kind of finishes and he comes to the race with two fresh
stage wins from Utah in the bag. GreenEdge
didn’t manage to set up Simon Gerrans for stage 3 but I think they have a good
chance to set up Matthews for stage 4. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Argos-Shimano
have two interesting riders for this stage in <b>Nikias Arndt</b> and <b>Reinardt Janse
van Rensburg</b>. Both are very fast on the line in a sprint like this and it will
be interesting to see if the two Grand Tour debutants can get over Mirador de
Ézaro with the peloton. FDJ.fr also have a strong duo for these kind of finishes.
<b>Geoffrey Soupe</b> and <b>Anthony Roux</b> are both in great shape right now. Especially
Roux who won stage 4 of Tour of Burgos and finished in top4 on the first three
stages of the race.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The
following three stages are for the pure sprinters so this is the last chance in
a while for the strong puncheurs.<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">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 <b>Laura Meseguer</b>. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><i>For Stage 4, Laura picks <b>Gianni Meersman</b> to win. </i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For live coverage of the stage go to </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">steephill.tv</a></u></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/em8RnchMUsQ?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>Mikkel Condéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820564126960221923noreply@blogger.com0