La Vuelta 2015 – Stage 1 Preview (TTT)
By David Hunter
It always seemed a strange decision to start the race with such a short TTT, but now the route has been revealed, it looks a crazy decision. Cities/Towns pay a lot of money to host the start of a grand tour, mainly due to the financial benefits of hosting all the teams, riders and fans for 4 days. The area is very affluent and we’ll see plenty of big yachts, but it should be about the cycling. The stage is an advertisement for the beautiful beach and it stays as close as physically possible to it. How 9 riders will fit, I have no idea. The route is made up of paving stones, plastic mats, dirt track and a wooden bridge. Yes, this is a grand tour!
The riders are not happy with the route. They are about to embark on an important 3 week race and have real fears about their safety. That has led the organisers to decide to neutralise the times. They will still count for the team classification, but not the GC. Basically, you can take it easy if you want, but there is still the race leader’s jersey to race for. That will allow the teams and riders to decide if they want to “risk” it. Some will go for the win, but the GC riders will certainly have a little cycle around a Spanish beach!
At 7.4km, this is more like a prologue. That means it is well suited to sprinters, as well as TT riders. Some teams are full of sprinters and have a good chance of upsetting the normal pattern in a TTT. In this event, we would normally expect to see Orica, BMC and Etixx dominate the leaderboard. Things could be different here.
Movistar have a great record in Spain. They won the 2014 TTT, over 12.6km. They are missing the powerhouses, Malori and Castroviejo, but they still have Valverde, Rojas, Ventoso, Visconti, Erviti and Moreno. Let us not forget that Javier Moreno won the Andalucia TT, over 8.2km. They always know the route well and I think they will go close again. Valverde is very important. He has a good record over this distance, but while he go full gas?
Orica are missing most of their normal TTT riders, but don’t let that fool you. As this is only 7.4km, it favours fast riders and they have plenty. They have Gerrans, Impey, Ewan, Howson, Hayman, Meyer, Docker and Keukeleire. This is a fast team and Orica always look to do a strong TTT.
Giant are here to support John Degenkolb, so they are loaded with fast men. Riders like Mezgec, De Kort, Dumoulin and Waeytens are all fast and Giant could make the podium. That’s something you don’t often hear in a TTT.
The neutralisation has really opened this race up. The tactics will be different too. At 7.4km, you don’t need 9 riders. If some of the team want to take it easy, it’s possible for a team to win with just 5. The narrow roads are more suited to a smaller team and the short distance means that longer pulls shouldn’t be a problem. There will be plenty of crazy riders desperately trying to persuade 4 teammates to join them in a dash around the beaches!
I thing is certain, the GC riders will not take any risks to win a meaningless TTT.
Prediction Time
I see Movistar, Etixx and Orica looking to win the stage. The Spaniards will not be allowed to take it easy, although a rider like Quintana will be allowed an easy ride. Valverde is a born winner, I would be surprised to see him just turn the pedals over. He might take the first big turn and then leave his teammates to battle around the rest of the course. Smaller teams like Jumbo and Caja Rural, could benefit if more teams go easy. They have nothing to lose and will certainly seize any chance of winning the stage and taking the jersey. Jumbo are much improved, in the TT department, and could have an outside chance of making the podium.
I’ll go with Orica. They have plenty of pace and always deliver in this discipline.
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