Now settled into its new slot in late March (where it has resided since 2010), having originally occupied a position following the Giro d’Italia, one of cycling’s oldest stage races offers an opportunity for the climbers to strut their stuff in an event which traverses some of the most mountainous parts of the Catalan region before finishing in one of the most famous cultural and sporting cities in the world, Barcelona.
What kind of race is it?
The first of Spain’s four WorldTour events – and the fourth-oldest stage race in cycling, after the Tours of France and Belgium and the Giro – is a week-long stage race packed with plenty of testing medium to high climbs. In its latest format it is one of the few major races to be run without a time trial, making it an event which finds favour with those who prefer to race against gradients rather than the clock, and there are still enough opportunities to attract sprinters.
Its position in the calendar means that Flanders Classics specialists will not be present, although the terrain does offer a proving ground for those looking towards the Ardennes or riders wishing to stake a claim for selection in their team’s squad for the Giro d’Italia.
Unsurprisingly, the winners’ list for this race reads like a Who’s Who of Spanish cycling. Miguel Indurain won three times, while more recently Joseba Beloki, Roberto Heras, Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez have also claimed GC victory. Ten of the last 14 editions have been won by a Spanish rider.
The most recent winners of the race are:
2008: Gustavo Cesar (Karpin-Galicia)
2009: Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne)
2010: Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha)
2011: Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD)
2012: Michael Albasini (GreenEDGE)
What happened last year?
2012 winner Albasini (image courtesy of GreenEDGE)
GreenEDGE’s Michael Albasini laid the foundations for overall victory by winning the first two stages. He claimed the first after soloing away from his breakaway accomplices, while the second came in a reduced bunch sprint.
He was aided by the nullification of race times on a snow-shortened queen stage, which also resulted in large-scale abandonments. But he had no problem defending his advantage thereafter as Saur-Sojasun’s Julien Simon took two sprint finishes, with Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Rigoberto Uran (Sky) taking a victory each.
We will see all 19 ProTeams plus wild-cards Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Cofidis and Sojasun in Catalunya. It’s straight down to business on an opening stage which features five categorised climbs, the last 18km from the finish on which the sprinters’ teams will struggle to contain the inevitable attacks. The fast-twitch men may have to wait until the following day for their first opportunity, although there’s plenty of uphill gradient on the circuit loop around Banyoles to make life difficult.
It is over the next two days, however, where the GC contenders will come to the fore. Stage three concludes with a summit finish at the special-category Vallter 2000, a 12km climb to 2,200 metres averaging 7.8%. The following day’s parcours sees a never-ending succession of ascents finishing with a pair of special-category climbs totalling 43.5km in length.
The GC is unlikely to alter significantly over the final two stages, although there’s no joy for the sprinters either. Stage six includes a Cat 1 climb with a further Cat 2 only 15km from the finish. And the concluding stage in Barcelona includes eight ascents of Montjuic hill around the 1992 Olympic Games park, a 2km climb averaging 5.75%, before a downhill finish.
Who to watch
The official start-list had yet to be published at the time of writing – but here goes anyway! Two of the last three overall winners are here: Katusha’s Joaquim Rodriguez and Lampre-Merida’s Michele Scarponi (who inherited the 2011 victory after Alberto Contador’s suspension). Katusha are bringing a particularly strong team, with Denis Menchov a formidable second-in-command and Daniel Moreno and Simon Spilak to do the hard work on the climbs.
Rodriguez returns to pursue a second Catalunya win (image courtesy of Katusha)
Blanco will look to continue their impressive early season form, with Robert Gesink aided and abetted by Steven Kruijswijk and Laurens ten Dam. Similarly, Garmin-Sharp can field a potent one-two punch in defending Giro champion Ryder Hesjedal and Dan Martin, as can Sky with Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins and the consistently impressive Rigoberto Uran. A lot of eyes will be on Wiggins ahead of the Giro given his low profile so far this year. Thibaut Pinot and Arnold Jeannesson will combine in search of valuable WorldTour points for FDJ.
Others looking to gear up for the Grand Tours or to prove a point about their ability as team leaders include Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto-Belisol), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Nicolas Roche (Saxo-Tinkoff) and Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi). Vacansoleil’s Giro podium finisher Thomas De Gendt may focus more on stage wins rather than the overall – if he does he is likely to find himself in good company with riders from the wild-card teams, in particular Spanish squad Caja Rural.
With different riders at widely differing points in terms of their preparation depending on their targets for the season, the outcome of this race is difficult to predict, but there is every chance that a well-judged breakaway could propel an unexpected name on to the podium, as it did with Albasini last year.
Race details
March 18th: Stage 1 – Calella to Calella, 159.3km
March 19th: Stage 2 – Girona to Banyoles, 160.7km
March 20th: Stage 3 – Vidreres to Valter 2000-Setcases, 180.1km
March 21st: Stage 4 – Llanars to Vall de Camprodon-Port Aine-Rialp, 217.7km
March 22nd: Stage 5 – Rialp to Lleida, 156.5km
March 23rd: Stage 6 – Almacelles to Valls, 178.7km
March 24th: Stage 7 – El Vendrell to Barcelona (Montjuic), 122.2km
The Volta a Catalunya starts on Monday 18th March and concludes on Sunday 24th. Daily live coverage will be shown in the UK by Eurosport. For other options check cyclingfans.com.
The peloton heads for southern Portugal in search of temperate weather and racing mileage, and the 39th edition of the Volta ao Algarve is ready to oblige. Starting tomorrow (Thursday), this four-day race has a little bit of something for everyone, with stages that will appeal to sprinters and puncheurs, climbers and time-trialists. Good things come in small packages – this is as comprehensive a mini-Grand Tour as you will find.
What kind of race is it?
The Algarve parcours has evolved from a race which sprinter Alessandro Petacchi was able to win in 2007 to one which provides a well-balanced mix of sprint, hilly and steep mountain stages, with a concluding time trial to leave the general classification in doubt right to the end. Consequently it’s an attractive tune-up race – testing but not too exhausting – for many riders who will be focussing on the Grand Tours later in the year, or as a stepping stone in preparation for Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico.
Alberto Contador has won this race twice, while the last two years have demonstrated that there’s more than one route to victory: Tony Martin climbed decently and time-trialled brilliantly to win in 2011, while Richie Porte climbed brilliantly and time-trialled well to win take the overall last year.
The most recent winners of the race are:
2008: Stijn Devolder (Quick Step)
2009: Alberto Contador (Astana)
2010: Alberto Contador (Astana)
2011: Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad)
2012: Richie Porte (Sky)
What happened last year?
Last year’s race marked the opening chapter of Sky’s season-long domination of stage races. Three of their riders won stages, with Richie Porte dethroning defending champion Tony Martin and Bradley Wiggins third.
2012 winner Richie Porte (image courtesy of Sky)
Lotto Belisol’s Gianni Meersman claimed the opening bunch sprint, but after that it was all about the boys in black and blue. A rolling second stage with a hilly finish was won by Edvald Boasson Hagen before the entire team starred on the queen stage to the summit of Alto do Malhao. A five-man diesel express of Chris Froome, Wiggins, Thomas Lovkvist, Porte and Boasson Hagen first chased down the breakaway and then detonated the peloton on the final 10% climb, allowing Porte to finish the job himself with some style and assume the overall lead.
OPQS ambushed the other sprinters’ teams on stage four as a devastating early lead-out by Matteo Trentin catapulted Gerald Ciolek to an easy win. In the final day’s 25.8km individual time trial Wiggins edged out Martin by a fraction of a second, with Porte an impressive third just 13 seconds down to win by 0:37 overall. The Tasmanian would go on to return the favour by being one of Wiggins’ main men in the mountains as the Briton claimed a historic yellow jersey at the Tour de France.
The 2013 edition has been shortened to four stages, leaving a small but perfectly formed parcours which ticks every box you would want a stage race to feature. The opening stage is long – a whisker under 200km – and set up for a bunch sprint, but with some coastal sections early on which will keep the peloton on its toes to avoid a potential split. The following day contains a couple of early climbs and a lumpy second half which will give an adventurous breakaway a decent chance.
Barring a major misjudgment, however, it is the final two days which will determine the GC. Stage three sawtooths up and down for almost its entire distance and includes two trips up the Malhao, with the concluding section at the finish averaging 10% over its final 2.5km.
The queen stage (three) once again finishes atop Alto do Malhao
The last stage is an up-and-down 34.2km individual time trial which will no doubt shuffle the top of the order and potentially provide a last-minute change in the race leadership. It gives the time-trialists every incentive to cling on and save every second possible on the Malhao.
Who to watch
Eight ProTeams are sending squads to Portugal, in a field which includes two world champions and a double Vuelta winner.
Richie Porte will not defend his title – he’s at the Tour of Oman – but Sky’s team is packed with GC contenders. Britain’s Jonathan Tiernan-Locke is joined by the Colombian climbing duo of Rigoberto Uran and Sergio Henao – seventh and ninth at last year’s Giro – and American neo-pro Ian Boswell, who Sheree recently interviewed.
Martin will aim to record a second Algarve victory (image courtesy of OPQS)
2011 winner and double time trial world champion Tony Martin is back, however, and if he can limit his losses on the climbs he will fancy his chances of a second overall victory in the concluding time trial. OPQS can also count on King of the Sandcastles and former rainbow jersey Mark Cavendish, fresh from his four straight wins in Qatar, and Classics specialist Sylvain Chavanel, who will probably fancy a tilt at stage two.
Elsewhere, possible GC contenders include two-time Vuelta champion Denis Menchov (Katusha), 2012 Giro podium finisher Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil) and Tour de Suisse winner Rui Costa (Movistar). Watch out also for RadioShack’s Andreas Kloden and Tiago Machado (ninth at the recent Tour Down Under) and Caja Rural’s former Carrot Amets Txurruka (for no other reason than the fact we love him). However, it’s entirely possible that a second-tier name hitting peak form now will upset the more established names who have their eyes on bigger prizes further down the line.
Race details
February 14th: Stage 1 – Faro to Albufeira, 198.8km
February 15th: Stage 2 – Lagoa to Lagoa, 195km
February 16th: Stage 3 – Portimao to Alto do Malhao, 193km
February 17th: Stage 4 – Castro Marim to Tavira, 34.8km individual time trial
The Volta ao Algarve starts on Thursday 14th February and concludes on Sunday 17th. Daily highlights will be shown in the UK by Eurosport. For live coverage and other viewing options check cyclingfans.com.
After 23 days and 3,360km of gruelling effort, much of it uphill and frequently featuring ramps in excess of 20%, the 2012 Vuelta a España is finally over and we have a Spanish clean sweep of the podium places. Ultimately the race hinged on one apparently innocuous summit finish and a spectacular effort by Alberto Contador, which turned a race which seemed to be going very much Joaquim Rodriguez‘s way completely on its head. Here is a stage-by-stage reminder of how Contador, Valverde and Rodriguez came to dominate their home Grand Tour.
Rabobank topped the time-sheets for much of the opening team time trial, before being – somewhat surprisingly – knocked off at the last by Movistar‘s late bull-run around the streets of Pamplona. On his Grand Tour debut, Jonathan Castroviejo had the honour of donning the first red jersey. Just five seconds covered the next seven teams in a thrilling opening to the 2012 Vuelta.
Stage winner: Movistar.
General classification: 1. Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar), 2. Javier Moreno (Movistar) same time, 3. Benat Intxausti (Movistar) s/t.
A routine bunch sprint concluded the first proper road stage of the race. John Degenkolb – who finished second, third and fourth in sprints in last year’s edition – finally achieved the top step of the podium with a well-timed final burst. The German powered past Sky’s Ben Swift and Orica-GreenEDGE’s Allan Davis in the closing metres to claim victory.
Stage winner: John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano).
General classification: 1. Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar), 2. Nairo Quintano (Movistar) same time, 3. Javier Moreno (Movistar) s/t.
In a thrilling finale, Alberto Contador launched a sequence of stinging attacks on the final climb of Alto de Arrate, shaking off all but Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim Rodriguez and Chris Froome. However, he missed out on the time bonuses as Froome held him off for third while Valverde edged out Rodriguez for the win by a tyre’s width.
Simon Clarke claimed his first professional win – and his first of any description in over four years – despatching Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) in a two-up sprint after the pair had ridden away from their breakaway companions. Most of the main GC contenders finished two minutes behind – except for Alejandro Valverde, who lost time in a crash after Sky split the peloton in crosswinds. Joaquim Rodriguez took over the race lead – by one second.
Stage winner: Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEDGE).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Chris Froome (Sky) +0:01, 3. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +0:05.
John Degenkolb overhauled RadioShack-Nissan’s Daniele Bennati to take his second stage victory after eight circuits of Logroño. Andalucia’s Javier Chacon embarked on a long solo breakaway, gaining 12 minutes at one point, but his effort was always going to be doomed on what amounted to a day off for the GC contenders.
Stage winner: John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Chris Froome (Sky) +0:01, 3. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +0:05.
Joaquim Rodriguez took the stage win from Chris Froome after Sky had helped explode a greatly reduced contenders’ group in the final kilometre of the Alto Fuerto de Rapitan. The GC riders ended up strewn all over the road, with Alejandro Valverde finishing alone in third and a dehydrated Alberto Contador fourth.
Stage winner: Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Chris Froome (Sky) +0:10, 3. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +0:36.
Excitement factor: 4/5.
Stage 7: Huesca to Alcañiz. Motorland Aragón, 164.2km
On a routine flat sprinters’ stage, Sky burnt up their lead-out for Ben Swift too early. Argos-Shimano took charge when it really mattered in the final kilometre and promptly delivered John Degenkolb to his third victory.
Stage winner: John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Chris Froome (Sky) +0:10, 3. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +0:36.
Excitement factor: 1/5.
Stage 8: Lleida to Andorra. Collada de la Gallina, 174.7km
Alejandro Valverde started a series of attacks and counter-attacks 3km from the summit finish on the Collada de la Gallina, and then finished it to edge out Joaquim Rodriguez for the stage victory, his second of the race. Alberto Contador‘s stinging attack in the final kilometre appeared to have earned him victory, but his two compatriots hurtled past him within sight of the line to deny him. Chris Froome couldn’t stand the pace and lost 15 seconds on the road.
Stage winner: Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Chris Froome (Sky) +0:33, 3. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +0:40.
Yet again Alberto Contador had nothing to show for initiating a late attack, this time on Barcelona’s Montjuic hill. Rodriguez and Philippe Gilbert rode off the front of the pack near the summit and held them off all the way to the finish, with the Belgian’s superior sprint easing him to his first win of the year. Nonetheless the race leader was delighted to have put a further 20 seconds (including bonuses) into all his main rivals.
Stage winner: Philippe Gilbert (BMC).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Chris Froome (Sky) +0:53, 3. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +1:00.
John Degenkolb made it four sprint wins out of four as he dominated the bunch finish in Sanxenxo with a long-range effort. Nacer Bouhanni was second and Daniele Bennati third as the GC contenders ticked off another day on the calendar.
Stage winner: John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Chris Froome (Sky) +0:53, 3. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +1:00.
Excitement factor: 1/5.
Stage 11: Cambados to Pontevedra, 39.4km individual time trial
Fredrik Kessiakoff blitzed the hilly course to claim a surprising but deserved victory in an exciting individual time trial. Alberto Contador beat Chris Froome for second, while both Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez rode the time trials of their lives to finish fourth and seventh-fastest respectively. Rodriguez retained the red jersey from Contador by a single second.
Stage winner: Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +0:01, 3. Chris Froome (Sky) +0:16.
Excitement factor: 4/5.
Stage 12: Vilagarcía de Arousa to Mirador de Ézaro, 190.5km
The day’s four-man break looked to be heading for victory before disintegrating on the super-steep final climb to Mirador de Ézaro. Alberto Contador and Joaquim Rodriguez accelerated away from their rivals on the ascent, but despite Contador’s best efforts to break him, the race leader jumped out of his wheel in the closing stages and sped away, extending his overall lead from one to 13 seconds.
Stage winner: Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +0:13, 3. Chris Froome (Sky) +0:51.
Excitement factor: 4/5.
Stage 13: Santiago de Compostela to Ferrol, 172.8km
Out of a break of seven men, it was Steve Cummings who made the decisive move to split away from his breakaway companions and ride a 4km individual time trial to victory. He was never more than a handful of seconds ahead of Cameron Meyer and Juan Antonio Flecha, but neither could bridge the Briton’s winning four-second gap. The rest of the peloton steadfastly refused to help Argos-Shimano in a forlorn chase, electing to save their energy for the three summit finishes to follow.
Stage winner: Steve Cummings (BMC).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +0:13, 3. Chris Froome (Sky) +0:51.
Excitement factor: 3/5.
Stage 14: Palas de Rei to Puerto de Ancares, 149.2km
Alberto Contador attacked, then attacked, then attacked again on the Puerto de Ancares, blowing the GC to smithereens, before finally breaking away and establishing an 11-second cushion with half a kilometre remaining. To no avail, as yet again Joaquim Rodriguez remained calm under pressure and swept past Contador with ease with a devastating final burst. Alejandro Valverde again lost a handful of seconds, Chris Froome rather more on the first of three huge days in the high mountains.
Stage winner: Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +0:22, 3. Chris Froome (Sky) +1:41.
Antonio Piedra soloed off the front 10km from the summit of the legendary Covadonga to claim a season-defining win for his wild-card Caja Rural team. Ten minutes behind, Contador again launched multiple attacks but ultimately he, Rodriguez and Valverde finished together as Chris Froome‘s podium hopes began to fade as he lost 30-plus seconds for the second day in succession.
Stage winner: Antonio Piedra (Caja Rural).
General classification: 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) +0:22, 3. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +1:41.
Excitement factor: 5/5.
Stage 16: Gijón to Valgrande-Pajares. Cuitu Negru, 183.5km
Dario Cataldo pulled away from breakaway companion Thomas De Gendt in the closing stages of one of the slowest finishes – 15 minutes to cover the last 3km – ever seen at a Grand Tour. But a little further down the road Chris Froome finally cracked to leave the Three Amigos – Contador, Rodriguez and Valverde – to slug it out. Contador was again the most aggressive, Valverde fell away and yet again Rodriguez darted ahead in the closing metres to snatch third and the final time bonus to extend his overall lead.
Alberto Contador and Saxo-Tinkoff orchestrated an audacious long-range break, and on the long but comparatively mild climb of Fuente Dé Joaquim Rodriguez foundered, where he had been so confident on the big, steep climbs. Contador snatched the red jersey as an exhausted Rodriguez sustained losses of close to three minutes to drop behind Valverde into third.
Stage winner: Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank).
General classification: 1. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), 2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +1:52, 3. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) +2:28.
Excitement factor: 5/5.
Stage 18: Aguilar de Campoo to Valladolid, 204.5km
A high-speed stage stretched and then fractured the peloton, leaving Daniele Bennati to edge out Ben Swift at the finish. For once, Argos-Shimano and John Degenkolb got it slightly wrong, as the German failed to win a bunch sprint for the first time in the race.
Philippe Gilbert powered away from the field on a tricky uphill finish. A late five-man break formed inside the final 4km which threatened to foil the puncheurs’ uphill charge. But the Belgian was helped to his second win by sterling work from teammate Alessandro Ballan and had no problem easing away from a heavy-legged Ben Swift in the final 150 metres.
Stage winner: Philippe Gilbert (BMC).
General classification: 1. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), 2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +1:35, 3. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) +2:21.
Excitement factor: 3/5.
Stage 20: La Faisanera Golf to Bola del Mundo, 170.7km
Denis Menchov and Richie Porte proved to be the strongest members of the day’s breakaway on Bola del Mundo, with the Russian pulling away in the final few hundred metres to take victory. Behind him, his Katusha team captain Joaquim Rodriguez rolled the dice one more time and succeeded in distancing first Valverde and then Contador to put time into both, but not enough to change the podium order ahead of the processional final stage.
Stage winner: Denis Menchov (Katusha).
General classification: 1. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), 2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +1:16, 3. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) +1:37.
John Degenkolb underlined his mastery of the bunch sprints with his fifth stage victory. There were no changes to the general classification – with Alberto Contador duly taking the overall win – but a sixth-place finish by Alejandro Valverde added insult to injury for Joaquim Rodriguez as the points and all-round classifications passed on to the shoulders of the Movistar rider at the death.
Stage winner: John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano).
General classification: 1. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), 2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +1:16, 3. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) +1:37.
Excitement factor: 1/5.
Roll of honour
Overall winner: Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank).
Points winner: Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
King of the Mountains winner: Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEDGE).
Now settled into its new slot in late March (where it has resided since 2010), having originally occupied a position following the Giro d’Italia, one of cycling’s oldest stage races offers an opportunity for the climbers to strut their stuff in an event which traverses some of the most mountainous parts of the Catalan region before finishing in one of the most famous cultural and sporting cities in the world, Barcelona.
