Vuelta Week One Recap/Week Two Preview

The first week has been strange, to say the least. However, this Vuelta has not lacked drama.

Stage One (TTT): Due to the darkness and heavy rainfall on the technical course, teams that went off earlier had an advantage. Team DSM took the win and young Lorenzo Milesi the first red jersey as GC leader. Some big contenders (namely Jumbo-Visma’s superstars) lost a bit of time.

Stage Two: Due to the dangerous nature of the final roads, the organizers neutralized the finish for GC times. Andreas Kron took the stage from a breakaway.

Stage Three: Remco took the win in Andorra with a spectacular mountain sprint ahead of Jonas. There were small time gaps, but Remco’s sprint was quite impressive and possibly a sign of future dominance as this Vuelta gets harder. After celebrating, Remco then crashed into a media person (no one was seriously hurt). The bizarre nature of this Vuelta was on full display for the third day running. The young Belgian also took the red leader’s jersey.

Stage Four: A sprint stage won by Kaden Groves.

Stage Five: A sprint stage won by Kaden Groves.

Stage Six: An insane 35-ish rider breakaway went up the road including GC threats and superstar climbers. After a big day in the saddle, the riders tackled Javalambre. Sepp Kuss, the Eagle of Durango, gave away some time early in the climb, but soon went past the rest of the breakaway as if they were standing still. He would win the stage ahead of Lenny Martinez, who narrowly took the red jersey. The peloton, led by Roglic and Jonas (who took 30 seconds on Remco) finished between 2 and 3 minutes behind the breakaway riders, which made the GC standings a total mess after the dust had settled. It was hard to sort out who is actually strong enough to compete for a top-five or top-ten, and who just won the lottery gaining time in the breakaway.

Stage Seven: A 200-kilometer sprint stage won by Geoffrey Soupe in a strange result. Good for him though!

Stage Eight: Jumbo-Visma came out all guns blazing and reeled in a 30-rider breakaway, which is rare to see in Grand Tours. The stage suited Roglic, and he delivered with the victory, outsprinting Remco. Just a few seconds back rolled in Kuss, Jonas, Ayuso, Mas, Almeida, and SOLER?! Lenny lost over a minute and ceded red to Kuss! GC KUSS IS A GO.

Stage Nine: Again the weather would be a bigger talking point than the race itself. With mud covering the finishing climb, the organizers took the decision to neutralize the final 2 kilometers for GC but let the stage hunters fight it out for the win. There were crosswinds and echelons in the middle of the stage, but everything basically came back together and calmed down before the finale. Lennard Kamna took an expected victory from the breakaway and Roglic took two seconds on everyone before the “GC finish line”. Kuss ceded a few seconds of his lead but still looks resplendent in rojo.

Week Two Preview:

Stage 10 (25.8km) (ITT): In a flat 30-minute effort, the biggest engines will come out and crush most of the one-dimensional climbers. Remco will take time on all of his rivals and probably erase most of the deficit to Kuss here. The GC pretenders will fall in the standings.

Stage 11: A unipuerto with an easy finsh climb of 6k around 6 percent. I don’t know what to make of this stage; I think whether the break makes it depends on the GC situation following the TT. Roglic would be the favorite to win and get bonus seconds here if Jumbo wants to control the breakaway.

Stage 12: A sprint stage.

Stage 13: Possibly the Queen Stage with the Tourmalet to finish. The strongest climber will win, it is as simple as that. I would tap Jonas to take the victory, and Jumbo to shred Remco off the wheel and make the case for a podium sweep. That being said, UAE’s trident of Ayuso, Almeida, and Soler might be able to hang on.

Stage 14: Another TOUGH day in the saddle with three serious climbs. I have no idea how this one will play out, one just has to sit back and enjoy the spectacle.

Stage 15: It is a hilly day out which should go to a strong breakaway rider. I will tap Ganna to win a well-deserved stage.

My heart is with Kuss to bring it home for America. My mind says the odds of that happening are probably between 10 and 33 percent. It does help that possibly his two strongest rivals are on his team. I am building my viewing form into this Vuelta as staring at a grainy bicycling race on my computer has not been my chief priority as of late. But with an American in with a shout of winning a Grand Tour, I will have to step up. Let’s go! What the F*** is a kilometer?

Jamie