Overall Preview – Vuelta a Andalucía Ruta Ciclista del Sol 2020
By David Hunter
The opening weekend of the season is getting closer, but before we head off to Belgium, the peloton head down to the south of Spain. As ever, we have a demanding route, with a tough TT to end the race.
Stage 1
The bunch immediately head for the hills. The stage ends with a cat 1 climb, a short descent, then a typically Andalusian finish. The big climb is tough enough to drop all the sprinters, and as the final 700m averages around 9%, it suits those with some punch in their legs. Not only does it kick uphill, but it’s a narrow little road and there’s also some cobbles. Just imagine a tiny little Spanish street you stumble up after a few holiday drinks!
Stage 2
The only stage for the sprinters, but they might get a nasty surprise. Yet again, the final kilometre kicks up and it will test the legs of the fast men. This is a finish where we’ll see the sprinters battle against the puncheurs.
Stage 3
This is a day where the climbs aren’t overly difficult, but I get the feeling they’ll be harder than some expect. The cat 1 climb is long, but not too difficult. The final categorised climb is tough, but the climbing isn’t finished there. Just like in the opening two stages this stage has a steep rise up towards the finishing line, but unlike those days it does descend to the line.
Stage 4
The Queen stage features the tough climb, Alto del Purche. This tops out with 18.5km still to go, which means we could see groups come back together, before the climbers sprint it out in Granada.
Stage 5
The race ends with a 13km ITT around the streets of Mijas. The roads round here are rarely flat, and this TT includes a few short hills for the peloton to deal with.
Professional Insight
For this race I’m delighted to be joined by one of the main contenders, Jack Haig, of Mitchelton-Scott. The Aussie is a firm favourite of mine, a rider who continues to make impressive progression through the professional ranks.
You started the season really well in Valencia, even though the big climb didn’t really suit you. Did you surprise yourself a little with that performance?
“Kind of. It was the first time I’d spent all winter in Andorra, so I was a little unsure about how my condition was going to be. At that time of the year you’re always training with lots of clothes on and training at 1000m does affect the power numbers you do during training. Nothing was looking amazing in training, but I knew I’d work hard during the winter. It was a surprise, but it wasn’t something that was out of the question. It was definitely a nice way to start the season.”
You did a training camp in Sicily during the winter, knocking up some impressive kilometres. How important is it to get a good base of work in during December/January?
“The training camp in Sicily, the team have done a variation of this in previous years, but I’ve always skipped this and did my own personal one. This year, with the business my wife and I own in Andorra, she needed to stay there so I decided to do the camp. I was pleasantly surprised as I really enjoyed it and it was a very different approach to any other team. I think it’s good for team building as well as building a really nice foundation to go off, there is no way I’d do the same amount of volume of kilometres if I was at home.”
Bahrain and Astana both arrive with multiple options. Are you concerned that you could be isolated, particularly as a few stages have a descent after a big climb?
“There’s quite a lot of strong teams here, especially Bahrain and Astana. As long as I can play off those teams and be smart about how I use my energy and my resources, with my teammates, I don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem, but it will definitely be a bit of a challenge.”
Some of the team have been on Granada on a team camp. Do you know anything about the finish to stage 1?
“Yeah, we had a little bit of a media camp here. We’ve had more or less the whole team here Sunday and Monday to do the team photos, so it’s actually been quite busy with not a lot of riding. I personally don’t know stage 1 very well, I know the Monachil climb much better in stage 4. I know this climb and the area around Granada quite well.”
You were 6th in the TT last year, is this an area you spend time trying to improve?
“The TT is an area I’d like to continue to improve on. Coming 6th last year was definitely a good sign, but there’s not so many TTs in the world tour calendar, so I didn’t have the opportunity to keep testing myself. It’s something I’ve worked on over the winter, but the TT in Ruta del Sol is quite technical looking at the map. I haven’t seen the course in person, but it looks very technical and one that doesn’t suit the pure time trialist.”
2019 was an incredibly consistent year for you, from the opening race in Valencia to the end in Lombardia. What do you attribute this to?
“Last year I had a really good year, like you said, starting at the very beginning and finishing in Lombardia. I guess it just comes down to a lot of consistent hard work, I think I’m quite a hardworking cyclist. I enjoy what I do, that probably goes a long way. Just consistently being there, doing the work, and being happy. Happiness and enjoying yourself is one of the biggest things that can keep you consistent and keep enjoying the sport. Once people lose sight of that that’s when the consistency isn’t there.”
What is your goal for this race?
“Going into the race I’d like to set a goal of top 10. That would be a very realistic goal, I think I was top 10 last year. The course this year is much more difficult, so I have in my sights the top 5. So, top 5 would be my idealistic goal, top 10 I’d be happy with, and just continue to go through the process and prepare for Paris-Nice, which is the end of this three-race block that I have at the start of the season.”
Contenders
Astana – they arrive with a very strong looking squad, just like last year when Fuglsang took home the title. The Dane is back to try and defend his crown, and he’ll be backed up by Ion Izagirre and Aleksander Vlasov, who just won a stage in Provence and finish 2nd on GC. As quite a few stages include a climb near the finish, having a strong team will be very important. Those stages will be hard to control and there is a strong chance a few riders escape from the bunch and stay away to the finish. Having three riders capable of winning gives Astana a tactical advantage.
Bahrain – they are in the same position as Astana, maybe even a little stronger. Arriving with Landa, Teuns, Bilbao and Caruso gives them four options. We all know that Landa struggles on a TT bike, which puts him at a disadvantage compared to many of the big favourites at this race. With such a strong squad, Bahrain will look to ride an aggressive race to try and put the teams with less options under pressure. Teuns started the season well in Valencia, and he can hold his own on the TT bike. Bilbao is better against the clock, but he didn’t look as strong as normal in Valenica. It will be intersesting to see how they approach the big stages.
Movistar – just two options for the Spaniards: Soler and Mas. Soler took an early win in Mallorca, but won’t have been happy with his 12th place in Valencia. Mas started the season in Mallorca, but he had to abandon Murcia on Friday, as he was suffering from a cold. How he performs in this race will obviously depend on how he has recovered from his fever. This means Soler should be team leader, especially as his TT is better anyway. Soler is a very talented climber, and now has more leadership opportunities in the team. The problem is that he has a history of underachieving, I hope we see him at his very best.
Jack Haig – I have a huge soft spot for the Aussie. He simply goes about his business in a quiet, unassuming way. Each year we see him improve, and he’s happy to serve his team leaders in the grand tours. As he develops, Haig now has more opportunities to lead the squad, which is great to see. 2019 was an impressive year for him and he’s started 2020 in the same way, finishing 2nd in Valencia. He will like the look of this route, but I’m a little worried that he’ll find himself isolated in front groups that have multiple riders from Astana and Bahrain. This will make winning the race tough, but he can finish on the podium.
Prediction Time
The team strength of Astana and Bahrain means that the winner will come from those squads. The TT isn’t overly long, but it will make winning the title very difficult for Mikel Landa. I think that makes Fuglsang and Izagirre the favourites to take home the bacon, but which one will succeed? I’ll go with the great Dane, Jakob Fuglsang, to successfully retain his crown.
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