No Tadej Pogačar, but plenty of top riders vying for the Vuelta crown
The race may lack Tadej Pogačar, but it won’t be too much poorer for his absence among the top contenders, with two-time Vuelta a España winner Primož Roglič going for the hattrick alongside a host of other contenders.
“Firstly, it’s a good decision by UAE,” said Keenan of Pogačar missing the race. “He’s won the Tour de France twice but he’s still a really young rider and asking him to ride two Grand Tours is a lot. Anything other than a win, even if he finished second would be viewed as a failure, which - when you’re 22 years old – it’s not.”
“It makes Primož Roglič the absolute favourite. He’s aiming to win the race for the third time. We saw his resilience, he crashed out of the Tour de France then showed his resilience once again as he bounced back and won the gold medal in the time trial at the Olympic Games. This guy can deal with disappointment better than anyone else in the pro peloton.”
Apart from the riders discussed below, the collected talents of Movistar in Enric Mas, Alejandro Valverde and Miguel Angel Lopez, and last year’s podium-finisher Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo) will no doubt have their own impact on the upper standings of the general classification.
INEOS Grenadiers at the ready with a six(?)-pronged trident
Ineos Grenadiers have announced a star-studded squad for the Vuelta featuring Egan Bernal, Richard Carapaz, Pavel Sivakov, Adam Yates and Tom Pidcock. Bernal is the highest-profile star, coming in after impressing mightily to win the Giro d’Italia earlier this year.
“Over at INEOS Grenadiers, they’ve got cards to play, so many options,” said Keenan. “It’s going to be really important to see how they gel together at the race. I’m trying to work out who’s going to be carrying the water bottles.”
Keenan applauded the different approach to the season by Bernal and INEOS Grenadiers, with Bernal bypassing the Tour to focus on the Giro/Vuelta double.
“I thought that was a big call from Egan Bernal in choosing to ride the Giro d’Italia this year,” said Keenan. “I thought it was a move that put more pressure on him than riding the Tour de France.
‘There would been less expectation going into the Tour, but at the Giro, anything less than victory would have been a failure. He’ll come into the Vuelta as the equal favourite with Primož Roglič, especially with that team around him.”
“We haven’t seen him race since the Giro, but one thing I know about that team is that they have an ability to get ready for races without training. Often they come into races better without previous racing. Stage 3 is the first mountain stage, let’s see what happens there.”
Adam Yates comes into the race after some scintillating form at the start of the season and has finished fourth overall at the Tour de France in the past.
Richard Carapaz is fresh off his gold medal ride in the Olympics road race, he earned that win the hard way with a late attack that turned into a solo move ahead of an elite group of chasers. He’s now finished on the podium of all three Grand Tours with his Tour de France third place, but that may have taken the sting out of the Ecuadorian’s legs ahead of the Spanish race.
The Olympic mountain bike gold medallist, Tom Pidcock, is in his maiden WorldTour season, but it’s easy to forget that with the acumen and ability that he displays upon the bike at times. One of the best riders in the classics, what can he do in the Grand Tours? We’ve seen him win at Under 23 level on the Planche des Belles Filles, this is a step up, but one that the young British rider can surmount.
Pavel Sivakov was the bright young star of the sport coming out of the Under-23 ranks with high expectations before the current crop of phenoms made their way onto the scene with their big personalities. The Russian/French rider is more subdued and has taken a bit longer to emerge at the top of the sport, but there’s no doubting his ability to win a Grand Tour one day. He tuned up solidly with fourth overall at Vuelta a Burgos and the 24-year-old has all the ability to ride a top place here.
Exciting new Aussies to feature at Vuelta…
There haven’t been many team confirmations at present, but one Aussie that will be on the startline is WorldTour neo-pro Jay Vine. This time last year he was training the lockdown house down for the National Road Series, with a shot at the Zwift Academy a prospect on the horizon.
A few NRS wins and then the momentous Zwift Academy spot on Alpecin-Fenix and Vine is over with the pros. He’s not looked out of place either, finishing second overall at the Tour of Turkey and then fifth on the queen stage of Vuelta a Burgos, sandwiched between the Grand Tour stars.
“I’m really excited about Jay Vine because of his journey into the pro peloton,” said Keenan. “If it wasn’t for Zwift, he wouldn’t be there, he wouldn’t have been given that chance at 25 years of age.
“He has proven that not only does he have a big engine but that he can ride within the peloton. The Alpecin-Fenix team don’t have Mathieu van der Poel, Tim Merlier on the list, so Jay Vine will get some opportunities. It’s not beyond him to win a stage and what a feel-good story that would be!”
Seb Berwick is another WorldTour neo-pro that is in line for a call-up, unconfirmed at this stage. The straight-speaking climber would be almost in a second home on the steep slopes of the Vuelta climbs and it would be exciting to see the Queenslander in his Grand Tour debut.
“It would be a big inclusion for Israel Start-Up Nation in the race,” said Keenan. “Their big recruitment drive has been Dan Martin, Chris Froome, Andre Greipel… guys in their mid to late thirties. It’s important for this team to have an investment in the future and not just those that have glory in the past.
“Seb is in his first of a three-year contract with the team, they’ve got a long-term investment in him.
“In the Herald Sun Tour at the start of 2020, he was going toe-to-toe with Jai Hindley, later that year, Jai finished second at the Giro d’Italia, so Seb’s clearly got it in him. He should get similar opportunities to Jay Vine if he makes the selection from the long list for Israel Start-Up Nation.”
Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange)- “It wasn’t the best Tour de France for him, it wasn’t due to lack of effort or preparation, sometimes things don’t go to plan. He'd love to pick up some stages, and there are some good opportunities for him.
Lucas Hamilton (Team BikeExchange)- “He used to race against Ben O’Connor at National Road Series level, he was better at that stage, and now he’s seeing O’Connor riding to fourth at the Tour de France. After the disappointment of the Tour, injury, crashing out, etc. I’d love to see how he goes at trying to race for the top 10 at the Vuelta.”
Other likely Aussies at La Vuelta: Chris Hamilton, Michael Storer (both Team DSM), Damien Howson, Robert Stannard (Team BikeExchange).
What makes the Vuelta special?
The Spanish Grand Tour can get a bad wrap as a race when compared to its bigger relatives, the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, but it brings its own unique way of doing things. Late starts, a relaxed attitude, adventurous tactics, and impossibly steep climbs are the hallmarks of the Vuelta.
“The different regions, the Basque country, Asturias and Galicia in particular seem to have a competition to see who can find the steepest climbs,” said Keenan. “The climbs aren’t as long you’ll see in the Tour or Giro, but generally much steeper.
“The other thing is that they’re staircase climbs, they go steep, flat, steep, flat, steep to the finish… it’s really difficult to get a rhythm on them. I think people will be looking forward to those summit finishes that we were missing at this year’s Tour de France.”
You can watch all the Vuelta a España action on SBS VICELAND, SBS OnDemand and the TourTracker, with Matt Keenan in commentary nightly alongside David McKenzie and Bridie O’Donnell. The Ceratizit Vuelta Challenge for the top women in the peloton will run on the final four days of the Vuelta, with more details closer to the event.
Check out the times for the Vuelta broadcast starts here, for what looks set to be an intense battle for the men and women all around Spain for the coveted leader’s jersey.
“I can’t wait to get stuck into it,” said Keenan. “I’ve really enjoyed the 14 days of self isolation at home I had to do after the Tour de France, putting my feet up and watching the Olympics, but I can’t wait to get back behind the microphone for the Vuelta men’s and women’s races.”
