It seemed fitting that on the stage that crossed from Andorra to France in tribute to the 100th Tour de France a young Frenchman would cross the finish line first. FDJ’s Alexandre Geniez took the solo win to seal a brilliant breakaway ride, while the top five in the GC came in together nearly 3½ minutes later. Continue reading
One of my favourite things about the Vuelta is that it is so often a springboard for the sport’s up-and-coming stars, despite it being the one grand tour not to have a best young rider competition. In the last two years the Vuelta has seen Chris Froome and Dan Martin blossom into top stage racers, Marcel Kittel win his first grand tour sprint and Argos-Shimano teammate John Degenkolb elevate himself to the major leagues with five victories. So who has impressed me so far in this race who we can expect to thrive in the future? I’ve highlighted three riders here. Continue reading
Leopold Konig has already marked himself out as one of the top climbers to watch in this Vuelta, coming close to winning stage two, then riding to victory in yesterday’s eighth stage. But who is this explosive 25-year-old climber, and where has he come from? Continue reading