Tag: Vuelta a España

Categories
News

Vuelta a España 2014

Vuelta a EspañaThe Vuelta a España (or less romantically the Tour of Spain) is one of the three races, along with the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France that make up the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) ‘Grand Tours’. Whilst the Tour de France started in 1903 and the Giro six years later in 1909, the Vuelta is by far the youngest cousin with its first running in 1935 and a twenty-year gap until it became a full-blown annual event in 1955. In the same way that both le Tour and Giro were first staged and then grew in order to boost the circulations of their newspaper sponsors (L’Auto in France and La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy), so too was the Vuelta conceived to increase the readership of Spain’s Informaciones.

 

This year’s Vuelta runs from Saturday August 23 to Sunday September 14 and will cover a total distance of 3239,9k across the 21 stages. Starting with a 12.6k Team Time-Trial in the city of Jerez de la Frontera and ending with an Individual TT in Santiago de Compostela (with an additional ITT on Stage 10) there will be five flat stages, 13 hill/mountain stages with 40 summits.

 

The full 2014 Vuelta a España route is:

 

stage 1 Jerez de la Frontera 12.6k (TTT)

stage 2 Algeciras – San Fernando 174.4k

stage 3 Cádiz – Arcos de la Frontera 197.8k

stage 4 Mairena del Alcor – Córdoba 164.7k

stage 5 Priego de Córdoba – Ronda 180k

stage 6 Benalmádena – La Zubia 167.1k

stage 7 Alhendín – Alcaudete 169k

stage 8 Baeza – Albacete 207k

stage 9 Carboneras de Guadazaón – Aramón Valdelinares 185k

stage 10 Real Monasterio de Santa María de Veruela – Borja 36.7k

stage 11 Pamplona – Santuario de San Miguel de Aralar 153.4k

stage 12 Logroño – Logroño 166.4k

stage 13 Belorado – Obregón. Parque de Cabárceno 188.7k

stage 14 Santander – La Camperona. Valle de Sabero 200.8k

stage 15 Oviedo – Lagos de Covadonga 152.2k

stage 16 San Martín del Rey Aurelio – La Farrapona. Lagos de Somiedo 160.5k

stage 17 Ortigueira – A Coruña 190.7k

stage 18 A Estrada – Monte Castrove. Meis 157k

stage 19 Salvaterra do Miño – Cangas do Morrazo 180.5k

stage 20 Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil – Puerto de Ancares 185.7k

stage 21 Santiago de Compostela 9.7k

 

Further details on the Vuelta at lavuelta.com

 

Categories
News

Team Giant-Shimano Line up for Vuelta

Team Giant-Shimano

Team Giant-ShimanoTeam Giant-Shimano has announced its 13-rider long-list for the 69th Vuelta a España, which starts with a team time trial on August 23. The first mountain stage comes after just six days with a summit finish in Granada. The rest of the race presents a plethora of different opportunities which Team Giant-Shimano say their line-up will reflect.

 

The Vuelta long-list comprises German riders Nikias Arndt, John Degenkolb and Johannes Fröhlinger, Warren Barguil, Thomas Damuseau and Thierry Hupond of France, Americans Lawson Craddock and Chad Haga, Koen De Kort, Ramon Sinkeldam and Tom Stamsnijder (Netherlands), Swede Tobias Ludvigsson and South African Reinardt Janse van Rensburg.

 

 

Team Giant-Shimano coach Christian Guiberteau said of the pre-selection ahead of the race: ‘We head into the Vuelta with two real objectives, firstly to help support Warren towards a good overall result in the race. In this we will also help both Warren develop as a leader and also some of the other younger riders in the team to progress in working every day for an overall goal. As well as this we want to target a sprint win but the opportunities for this outcome are few and far between. The team will be built around aiming for these objectives while at the same time focusing on the development that you get from riding a Grand Tour.’

 

More on the Vuelta a España at lavuelta.com and on Team Giant-Shimano at teamgiantshimano.com

 

Categories
News

Chris Horner Wins the Vuelta a Espana

Chris Horner Misses Drugs Test

Chris Horner Wins the Vuelta a EspanaAt the age of 41 Chris Horner has become the oldest ever Grand Tour winner with victory in the Vuelta a Espana. Orica-GreenEdge’s Michael Matthews won the final 109.6km stage to the Vuelta’s traditional conclusion in Madrid in a bunch sprint ahead of Garmin Sharp’s Tyler Farrar and Nikias Arndt of Argos-Shimano.

 

When Horner, who turns 42 in October, won Stage 3 of the Vuelta a España – 172.5km, Vigo to Mirador de Lobeira – he became the oldest rider in the history of cycling to win a stage in a Grand Tour. In winning the overall classification he beat Tony Rominger (1994 winner) by some 8 years to become the oldest overall Vuelta victor, and being five years older than 1922 Tour de France winner Firmin Lambot is now the oldest cyclist ever to take a Grand Tour win. In addition Horner is the first American to win the Vuelta.

 

Commenting on his win Chris Horner said, ‘I’ve been a professional for almost 20 years so this represents a lifetime of hard work.  A Grand Tour is always a goal for a cyclist to show how good a rider you are.  The memories will last forever and the riders I came with were amazing and my team has been fantastic.  My family is home watching.  My daughters are 16 and 14, and my son is 11 so they are old enough to appreciate this…’

 

Astana’s Vincenzo Nibali took second in GC (+ 37”) and Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde third (+ 1′ 36”); Team Sky’s best-placed riders were Rigoberto Uran and Sergio Luis Henao, finishing 27th and 28th respectively.

 

You can follow Chris Horner on Twitter – @hornerakg

 

Categories
News

Astana Win Vuelta a Espana Opener

Vuelta a España 2013 Stage 1Astana Pro Team have won the opening stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2013, the 27.4km Team Time Trial from Vilanova de Arousa to Sanxenxo, with Janez Brajkovic crossing the finish line first to take head of GC. RadioShack Leopard took second spot (10 seconds adrift) and Omega Pharma-QuickStep third on +16; Team Sky, led by GB’s Luke Rowe finished fourth 22seconds behind Astana.

 

The victory demonstrates a change of fortunes for Brajkovic who had to withdraw ahead of the Giro d’Italia with a stomach virus and then completed only six stages of the Tour de France before a crash ended his campaign. Commenting on his victory at the Vuelta a Espana the Slovenian said, ‘This was my lucky day. From the moment I woke up to the moment we crossed the line, everything went right. It’s nice to wear the red jersey after so much bad luck this season, and I am especially proud of how strong the team is. We are here to try and wear this jersey on the final day in Madrid, and today is a good indication of our intent…’

 

Astana Pro Team Director Sportif Alexandr Shefer added: ‘We have never won a TTT before. Second, third, we always seem to miss that one thing, that one element. Today we did everything right, and we finished with six of nine riders. Everybody worked tremendously hard today to do this time trial right, and to take the leader’s jersey on the first day is a proud achievement for our team.’

 

For further details on the Vuelta a Espana see the Cyclo feature here.

 

Categories
News

Team Sky Announce Vuelta a España Squad

Team Sky Announce Vuelta a España SquadTeam Sky has announced its squad who will be taking part in the final Grand Tour of the year – the Vuelta a España which runs from August 24 to September 15. The team is drawn from seven different nations with 25-year-old Colombian, Sergio Henao, set to lead the team after an impressive season, which has already delivered 17 top-10 finishes.

 

Confirming the final selection for the Vuelta a España team, Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford said: ‘It’s a testament to the strength and depth in this team that we can line up in all three Grand Tours this year with such strong squads… We’ve watched Sergio develop since he joined the team and this is a great opportunity for him to demonstrate what he is capable of on a big stage like the Vuelta. We have selected a squad for all eventualities out on the road and we’re excited to get started and to try to build on our success this season.’

 

The full Team Sky line-up for the 2013 Vuelta a España will be: Sergio Henao (Colombia), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway ), Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus), Christian Knees (Germany), Luke Rowe (GB), Rigoberto Uran (Columbia), Xabier Zandio (Spain), Dario Cataldo and Salvatore Puccio (both Italy).

 

Commenting on his team leadership Henao said, ‘The Vuelta is a huge race for me and an important and prestigious event. It is an honour to be picked as the team leader and it’s a responsibility that I want to try and fulfil. I respect what the team has asked of me and I want to try and make the most out of the opportunity. The Vuelta is always a hard race and it’s getting tougher every year. There are a lot of great riders targeting the race this season and the racing is going to be at a really high level.’

 

This year’s Vuelta a España, which covers a total of 3,319.1km, starts with a team time trial from Vilanova de Arousa to Sanxenxo on Saturday August 24 and concludes, as is tradition, in Madrid three weeks later.

 

For further details on the Vuelta a España see lavuelta.com

 

Categories
Featured Features

Vuelta a España 2013

Vuelta a España 2013The Vuelta a España (or less romantically the Tour of Spain) is one of the three races, along with the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France that make up the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) ‘Grand Tours’. Whilst the Tour de France started in 1903 and the Giro six years later in 1909, the Vuelta is by far the youngest cousin with its first running in 1935 and a twenty-year gap until it became a full-blown annual event in 1955. In the same way that both le Tour and Giro were first staged and then grew in order to boost the circulations of their newspaper sponsors (L’Auto in France and La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy), so too was the Vuelta conceived to increase the readership of Spain’s Informaciones.

 

This year’s Vuelta a España (the 68th edition) runs from Saturday, August 24 to Sunday, September 15, covering a total distance of 3,319.1km. It comprises six flat stages, 13 mountain stages (with 41 mountain passes and hills), one Team Time Trial and one Individual Time Trial.

 

Should you find yourself in a Vuelta a España themed pub quiz, Cyclo’s here to help:

 

* Originally staged in spring, it was rescheduled to late August/early September back in 1995 to avoid competing with the Giro d’Italia.

* The greatest number of participants was 207 in 2002, compared to the fewest in 1941, just 32 riders.

* The honour for the greatest number of overall Vuelta victories (three) is shared Tony Rominger (1992, 93 and 94) and Roberto Heras (2000, 2003, 2004).

* The greatest number of stage wins is a staggering 39 all chalked up between 1941 and 1947.Perhaps even more impressive is Freddy Maertens’s 1977 achievement when he scored 13 stage wins in a single edition (and, yes, that did make him the winner in overall classification…)

* The shortest course was a mere 2,419km in 1963, whilst the longest was 1941’s 4,442km marathon.

* The country that has won the most editions of the Vuelta (28) is, not surprisingly, Spain

* The smallest margin of victory was in 1984 when Eric Caritoux won over Alberto Fernández by a mere 6 seconds.

* The largest margin of victory was back in 1945 when Delio Rodriguez came in a massive 30minutes and 8seconds ahead of second place Julián Berrendero.

 

The full 2013 Vuelta a España route is:

 

Stage 1 August 24 Vilanova de Arousa – Sanxenxo 274km (TTT)

Stage 2 August 25 Pontevedra – Baiona. Alto Do Monte Da Groba 177.7km

Stage 3 August 26 Vigo – Mirador de Lobeira / Vilagarcía de Arousa 184.8km

Stage 4 August 27 Lalín/a Estrada – Finisterra. Etapa Fin del Mundo 189km

Stage 5 August 28 Sober – Lago de Sanabria 174.3km

Stage 6 August 29 GuiThulo – Cáceres 175km

Stage 7 August 30 Almendralejo – Mairena de Aljarafe 205.9km

Stage 8 August 31 Jerez de la Frontera – Estepona. Alto Peñas Blancas 166.6km

Stage 9 September 1 Antequera – Valdepeñas de Jaén 163.7km

Stage 10 September 2 Torredelcampo – Güéjar Sierra. Alto Hazallanas 186.8km

Rest Day

Stage 11 September 4 Tarazona – Tarazona 38.8km (ITT)

Stage 12 September 5 Maella – Tarragona 164.2km

Stage 13 September 6 Valls – Castelldefels 169km

Stage 14 September 7 Bagà – Andorra. Collada de la Gallina 155.7km

Stage 15 September 8 Andorra – Peyragudes 224.9km

Stage 16 September 9 Graus – Sallent de Gállego. Aramón Formigal 146.8km

Rest Day

Stage 17 September 11 Calahorra – Burgos 189km

Stage 18 September 12 Burgos – Peña Cabarga 186.5km

Stage 19 September 13 S. Vicente Barquera – Oviedo.Alto Naranco 181km

Stage 20 September 14 Avilés – Alto de L´Angliru 142.2km

Stage 21 September 15 Leganés – Madrid 109.6km

 

For further details on the Vuelta a España see lavuelta.com

 

Categories
News

Contador Wins Vuelta

In taking top spot at the Vuelta a España today in a total time of 84:59:49 Alberto Contador has won his first Grand Tour since serving his largely back-dated ban for doping offences, which saw him stripped of both his 2010 Tour de France and 2011 Giro d’Italia titles. In actual fact the Saxo Bank star had more or less won the Vuelta by the end of yesterday’s penultimate stage (170.7km to Bola del Mundo) and only injury or catastrophic mech failure could have prevented victory in his home city of Madrid today. Never afraid of displaying a little arrogance Contador was happy to trumpet the win a day ahead of schedule, saying, ‘Maybe I’ve won the race through bravery, refusing to conform and because of the way I approach racing, too.’ Fellow Spaniards Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) took second on + 1:16 and Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha Team) third on + 1:37; GB’s Chris Froome finished the 21-stage race off the podium in fourth place despite a hard fought battle throughout.

 

Categories
News

(Almost) Too Close to Call

Stage 3 of the Vuelta a España yesterday saw the most thrilling of conclusions with a sprint finish atop the category 1 Alto de Arrate climb that virtually redefined the term ‘photo finish’. Ultimately though it was Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde who claimed victory over fellow Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), with race favourites Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) crossing the line (in the same time) for third and fourth at the end of the 155km hilly stage through the Basque region of northern Spain.

 

Rodriguez was clearly infuriated by his failure, saying afterwards, ‘I lost a stage I was virtually holding in my hands. I knew the profile of the stage, especially I knew in the end I had to stay ahead because of two difficult downhill corners. In fact I was perfect: but in the last 5 meters I stopped to pedal and Valverde passed me for a bunch of millimetres. I expected today the favourite riders to be at the same standard and I have very good feelings about my shape, but in this moment I’m so pissed against myself that I don’t really care. I can only think I lost a stage not because I was weaker, but because I was stupid.’