This starts on Saturday and am very much looking forward to it. The organisers have included two time trails in this years race though they are relatively short. As a result Sastre will most likely benefit. He wasn’t his firey self in the Tour (for one reason or another) and could be fresher for the Vuelta as a result. I like the look of Evans at 17/2 but don’t particularly want him to win as he is a very boring rider. Still he wouldn’t have entered unless he thought he could win and he has the consistency to perform decently in nearly every stage. He kept pace well with Sastre in the mountains and he obvioulsy has the beating of him in the TT’s. Cunego at 14/1 looks good value and he was decent in the Giro. He could be a good each way bet.
C Sastre 4 - 1 P Caucchioli 20 - 1 S Chavanel 40 - 1
D Menchov 6 - 1 J Brajkovic 22 - 1 J M Garate 40 - 1
S Sanchez 7 - 1 L L Sanchez 22 - 1 S Schumacher 40 - 1
C Evans 17 - 2 J J Cobo 25 - 1 L Perez Rodriguez 40 - 1
J A Gomez 10 - 1 M Beltran 25 - 1 M Fothen 50 - 1
T Danielson 12 - 1 F Pellizotti 25 - 1 D Rebellin 50 - 1
D Cunego 14 - 1 H Zubeldia 28 - 1 X Florencio 80 - 1
S Devolder 16 - 1 J L Arrieta 33 - 1 P Bettini 80 - 1
V Karpets 16 - 1 I Anton 33 - 1 G Guerini 100 - 1
O Pereiro 18 - 1 L Piepoli 40 - 1 P Deignan 500 - 1
Each Way Odds 1/4 places 1,2,3
Any details on the route Piper? I’m in Euskadi the week after next and I might pop over the border into Spain if it’s passing through.
I’d be inclined to agree with your implication that Sastre was saving himself a bit in Le Tour. He’s usually very attacking and he didn’t really do that this year other than one stage. This is his home race so I see him giving it loads.
Menchov isn’t much of a threat I don’t think and like you I’d be worried about Evans. No way I’m betting on him though.
Pereiro might be worth a nibble at 18/1 and Zubeldia at 28/1 is a good rider. They’d be my outside tips anyway.
I agree with you regarding Evans. He simply isn’t good enough in my view. Perhaps he will be coming into form but I doubt it. I’m not sure I would say Sastre was saving himself in Le Tour. I actually just don’t think he had it in him to contend. Fill me in on Pereiro and Zubeldia. Here is a summary of course details from cycling news. If you want to give me exact dates I’ll try and find out more detail.
A 145 kilometre road race will get things underway there on September 1st, with the lumpy course finding favour over the possible alternatives of a prologue or a team time trial, as was the case this year. Day two takes the riders 150 kilometres from Allariz to Santiago de Compostela, following which a transfer moves the field to the following day’s start in Viveiro. The peloton will skirt the northern coast on the 155 kilometre route to Luarca, before another transfer gets the competitors, officials and press to Langreo and the start of what will be an early, but crucially important, day’s racing.
The Special Category climb of Lagos de Covadonga played a big part in the 2005 Vuelta, with Eladio Jimenez (Comunidad Valenciana) winning the stage and Denis Menchov managing to stick with Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) despite the Spaniard’s best efforts to crack him. It’s a tough, tough climb and one which normally comes later in the race. But the organisers have decided to stir things up early on with the summit finish coming at the end of stage four.
Grabbing the prize
Photo : Shane Stokes
This early shock is followed the next day with a hilly 155 kilometre leg from Cangas de Ons to Reinosa. It’s unlikely to be as decisive, but the three second-cat and one first-cat climbs en route means that aggressive racing is guaranteed. The first week then continues with a 195 kilometre leg from Reinosa to Logroo, a 140 kilometre race from Calahorra to Zaragoza and then a mainly flat 49 kilometre individual time trial from Denominacin de Origen Carinena to Zaragoza.
After that, two tough days in the high mountains lie in wait. Sunday September 9t begins in Huesca and traverses a hat-trick of second category climbs before the Special Category, 1,920 metre Estacin de Esqu Cerler. The following morning, the field will set out from Benasque, scale two cat two and one cat one ascent before facing yet another Special Category monster, the long climb up to the 2,220 Estacin d’Esqui d’Ordino-Arcals in Andorra.
To summarise: just halfway there to Madrid, but already three summit finishes and a longish time trial.
Act two begins after a welcome rest day on Tuesday September 11. The riders have a long transfer from Andorra down to Oropesa, but if this year’s race is anything to go by, this will be done by plane rather than team bus. The southerly direction continues for the next three days, via flat to undulating stages from Algemes to Helln (167 km), Helln to Torre-Pacheco (150 km) and Puerto Lumbreras to Villacarrilo/ Parque Natural de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas (205 km).
The last of these features one third- plus two second-category climbs, making for a likely battle between breakaway riders and those determined to set things up for a bunch gallop.
The contenders
Photo : Shane Stokes
After three days of relative calm, the overall contenders will likely move to the fore once again on stage 15’s 203 kilometre from Villacarrillo to Granada. The terrain is somewhat deceptive, given that it features two third category climbs plus a first category summit to be followed by just over 20 downhill kilometres to the end of the stage. However despite that finale, Alexandre Vinokourov used a very similar leg to Granada this year to wrest the leader’s jersey from Valverde, riding aggressively up that first category climb of Alto de Monachil and then shedding his big rival on the drop to the finish. It was an audacious move but one which netted him the race lead and, ultimately, played a major part in his winning of the Vuelta.
Whoever holds the Maillot Oro that evening faces a nervous few days before the finish in Madrid. Six more stages lie in wait; undulating legs from Jan to Puertollano (165 km) and Ciudad Real to Talavera de la Reina (180 km), then a tougher one from that town to the spectacular walled city of vila. A first category climb comes early on and with the race finale looming on the horizon, anyone with a shout of the race lead will be firing on all cylinders as they try to get a gap.
The final big mountain stage comes one day later. Stage 19 from vila to Alto de Abantos is just 138 kilometres in length but a glance at the profile shows it will be a hard day in the saddle; cat three, cat two, cat three, cat one, cat three and then a concluding cat one summit finish at an altitude of 1,650 metres spell problems for anyone who hasn’t got his climbing legs on.
After that, there awaits a 25 kilometre time trial, starting and finishing in Collado Villalba, then the 100 kilometre concluding race Rivas Vaciamadrid to the Spanish capital of Madrid. As is the case with other Grand Tours, the final day is by and large a processional one for the overall contenders. There will be countless attacks by those hunting for some last minute glory and/or a stage win, but the rider in the maillot oro will be able to enjoy a pride-swelling, career-boosting final few kilometres in the saddle after a tough three weeks on the road.
Thanks - looks like I’m just missing it.
I didn’t really mean that Sastre was saving himself in Le Tour - though I know that’s what I said. I do think that he didn’t attack as much as usual though because he knew he wasn’t going to win on GC so he rode well on the climbs without killing himself.
Oh and the riders I mentioned:
Zubeldia is an all rounder with Euskaltel. He was 5th in Le Tour this year and has taken over from Mayo a bit as their big hope. He looked in good form from what I saw of him in France so I think 28/1 is a decent price.
Oscar Pereiro rides for Caisse d’Epargne. He was second in Le Tour last year (to Landis, so probably the winner overall when his case finishes). He was the guy who had the big break last year where he gained 30 minutes on the peloton and they thought they’d overhaul him eventually in the mountains but they never did. He was 10th in the Tour this year but he’s another aggressive type rider who could be decent each way value.
Frustrating not been able to watch this. Eurosport don’t have highlights during the evenings even due to there tennis coverage. Today was one of the hardest mountain stages (though not terribly difficult). Sastre attacked a couple of times and put a bit of time into Evans but not enough. Menchov looked decent apparently and Evans had cramp at the end of the stage which will hopefully effect him in the coming weeks.
1 37 EFIMKIN, Vladimir RUS GCE 4:39:56
2 178 PIEPOLI, Leonardo ITA SDV a 1:06
3 64 DEVOLDER, Stijn BEL DSC a 1:06
4 151 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB a 1:06
5 48 MONFORT, Maxime BEL COF a 1:06
6 181 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC a 1:06
7 131 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL a 1:28
8 42 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF a 1:33
9 107 MOSQUERA, Ezequiel ESP KGZ a 1:36
10 123 BERTAGNOLLI, Leonardo ITA LIQ a 1:49
11 188 SRENSEN, Chris DEN CSC a 1:50
12 6 GOUBERT, Stphane FRA A2R a 1:54
13 121 BELTRN, Manuel ESP LIQ a 1:57
14 31 PEREIRO, scar ESP GCE a 1:57
15 128 PELLIZOTTI, Franco ITA LIQ a 2:18
16 171 GMEZ MARCHANTE, J. ngel ESP SDV a 2:23
17 71 SNCHEZ, Samuel ESP EUS a 2:29
18 73 ANTN, Igor ESP EUS a 2:30
19 142 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI a 2:32
Did ya see some other T Mobile guy tested positive and got kicked out of the team?
No sign of Zubeldia in that list - did he lose much time?
Zubeldia had a stinker apparently. He is not team leader for the Vuelta so his role is to help Sanchez and not ride for GC himself. Fill me in on the T Moblie rider.
http://www.rte.ie/sport/cycling/2007/0904/bernuccil.html
Bernucci sacked by T-Mobile
Tuesday, 4 September 2007 14:41
Italian rider Lorenzo Bernucci has been sacked by T-Mobile for failing a drugs test during August’s Tour of Germany.
‘The T-Mobile Team last night terminated Lorenzo Bernucci’s upon notice from the UCI of his A-sample positive test for sibutramine,’ the German team announced on its website.
Sibutramine is an appetite suppressant. The website said Bernucci, 27, had admitted taking the substance and did not realise it had been added to the prohibited list last year.
‘We do not know if this was an attempt at performance enhancement or just poor judgment,’ team manager Bob Stapleton said.
‘But we know it is unacceptable that riders take any medication without the approval of the team doctor. It’s a clear violation of our code of conduct and we act now on that basis.’
Bernucci had been competing in the Tour of Spain for T-Mobile but did not start Tuesday’s stage from Langreo to the Lagos de Covadonga. He was lying 21st overall on Monday.
Bernucci’s biggest career victory was a Tour de France stage win in 2005 whilst riding for the now defunct Fassa Bortolo squad.
T-Mobile dismissed Patrik Sinkewitz in July following a positive test for elevated levels of testosterone. The German said he had used a gel containing the male sex hormone.
Former riders from Team Telekom - the predecessor to T-Mobile - Erik Zabel, Rolf Aldag and 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis, admitted using illegal performance-enhancing substances.
Despite the recent doping cases involving the team, T-Mobile’s sponsor Deutsche Telekom announced last month it would continue its 16-year involvement in cycling.
Seems like an innocent enough thing to take though he really has no excuses. Wasn’t aware that it was Bob Stapelton who was manager of T - Mobile. I think he has a chequered enough history himself though their efforts to clean up sport are genuine imo.
Very much enjoying this years Vuelta. Much more exciting than the TdF. Great finish today in La Campanero
Just saw the last few km’s there. Vicious finish. Not having Sky boring the shit out of everyone at the front of the race is great.
There has been a decent breakaway every day.
Haven’t seen a lot of it because Eurosport have been showing tennis in the evenings.
Been watching it live every afternoon
Nicolas Roche in the breakaway here.
A few decent riders in it.
Should be a good finish here
Great stage
The Vuelta comes up with savage finishes. Quintana fucked up there.