La Vuelta (st. 1)

Spaniard from Movistar Team leads Young Riders' competition after showing great form in Usartza climb; finishes inside first group in Arrate, as title holder Roglic (TJV) succeeds.

/ Today’s route

In an allegory of what La Vuelta has turned into in recent years, the riders would face significant mountains from the very start of the race. The 173km stage one route from Irún to Arrate comprised an easier first half of the race, with the Alto de Udana (Cat-3) as only difficulty, and a demanding, final 60km, over the climbs of Kanpazar (Cat-3), Elgeta (Cat-3) and Usartza (Cat-1; 5.3km at 7.7%), just before the sanctuary’s top.

/ Weather report

The winds, quite gusty in the initial part of the stage along the coast (at points stronger than 50kph), would be the main hardening factor for today’s opener, covered under temperatures between 14 and 17ºC and with some chance of rain near the finish.

/ Keys to the race

• It didn’t take long -the race hadn’t even reached San Sebastián- before a strong early breakaway was established, with only five riders yet with top names like Rémi Cavagna (DQT) or Tim Wellens (LTS), alongside Sütterlin (SUN), Bol (BBH) and Jauregui (ALM). It wasn’t long, either, before the time Jumbo-Visma, here defendid their 2019 title with Primož Roglič, took the lead of the main peloton, limiting the gap of the escapees to a maximum 3’30”. The Movistar Team also added some strength to the pursuit from the start, with Jorge Arcas.

• The Spaniard completed a great job, keeping the bunch under stress and significantly reducing the gaps with the breakaway. His Blue team-mates took the baton at the subsequent climbs, with Verona and Oliveira leading the group through the ascents while Erviti and Rojas covered Mas and Valverde as the break was caught into the KOM of Elgeta / Karabieta. Barely 30 riders were part of the main group at the foot of Usartza, with INEOS leading a group shrunk by the pacing and numerous crashes – which, fortunately, did not affect any of the Movistar Team riders.

• At the climb, the rhythm from Iván Sosa (IGD) and the moves from Sepp Kuss (TJV) created a final selection with only six riders, with Enric Mas in. The Telefónica-backed squad’s main leader finished in 6th place, 1″ off Primoz Roglic (TJV), who anticipated the group at the short final descent. In turn, Alejandro Valverde took 11th place, 51″ down, with Marc Soler just over a minute behind the group with Enric, who already leads the U26 competition and will wear the white jersey.

/ Quotes

Enric Mas: “Our goal was to win here, and I couldn’t pull it off; that’s why I apologised to the team, because it was our intention and the reason why we worked so hard, yet I couldn’t. However, I was able to finish with the top contenders, and that leaves me happy. I felt well, even if it was such a difficult day. The winds made it so dangerous, with strong gusts and cold weather – even if it might be the warmest we can get during this Vuelta. We have to get used to this. The wind made for dirty roads, with some branches falling on the road – it might have well been the reason why the crash with the EF riders happened. We will of course enjoy some sunny days in this Vuelta, but most of the race should look like this: cold and rainy.

“The journalists who followed yesterday’s press conference already heard on our intentions: we’re here to win this Vuelta, and we’re confident because we’ll be racing with all the experience of home ground and some good legs. I don’t know if I’ll be the main Spanish hope for the race, but I feel strong and we’ll see what we can do. I was able to rest up well after the Tour, we worked well over the last few weeks and we want to do well here. And the harder it gets, the better for us; I hope all 18 stages are difficult. It will be demanding because of the weather, and I’m not one who really likes these conditions, but the more difficult, the bigger chance we will stand.”

/ Upcoming goals

We’ll be racing at home on Wednesday. In a resemblance of the route used at the 2019 Emakumeen Nafarroako Klasikoa, the La Vuelta bunch would be covering 151km from Pamplona to Lekunberri, over the ‘altos’ of Guirguillano (Cat-3), Urbasa (Cat-3) and the demanding San Miguel de Aralar (Cat-1; 9.4km at 7.9%), with concrete roads and its top just 16km before the end.

Cover picture (c): Photo Gomez Sport