Vuelta a Andalucía 2019 – Stage 2 preview
By David Hunter
Sevilla – Torredonjimeno 217.7km
Possibly the only day for the sprinters, but it is a long day in the saddle for this time of year.
It’s a funny looking stage, with lots of flat but a gradual rise to the finishing line. The parcour mean it’s highly unlikely a break will succeed, we should have a large bunch as the pace starts to rise in the final 30km.
The only categorised climb of the day, Alto de Porcuna, is 4.3km at 4.9% and crests with 25km remaining. It’s not particularly difficult but presents an opportunity for a team to make life difficult for the fast men that don’t climb well. Saying that, this year’s route means we have very few pure sprinters at the race. Once over the climb, the road continues to rise to the finishing line. It’s not steep, but it’s certainly not easy.
The last 5.5km features 2km at 4%, 1.5km of flat and 2km at 3%. As I said, the gradients aren’t difficult, but it will certainly start to hurt the legs of the sprinters. It’s a finish I like.
Weather
Another beautiful day in Andalucía.
Contenders
Matteo Trentin– the Italian has started this season with a bang. Not only did he take an impressive win in Valenciana, but his 3rdplace in the second stage in Murcia really caught my eye. After a hugely disappointing 2018, it’s great to see Trentin back to his best and his confidence must be high. He doesn’t arrive with a sprint train, this race is far too difficult for that, but he’ll still have riders to keep the pace high in the closing kilometres. He’ll also be a fan of the uphill sprint, it suits him better than a flat one.
Danny Van Poppel– the Dutch sprinter started off the season in Australia, netting three top 5 performances. That was a good start, but he can mark the Cadel Evans race as a massive failure. The whole point of his Australia trip was to challenge in that race and it just didn’t happen. That would have been a bit of a shock for Van Poppel, but he’s had enough time to dust himself off and he’ll be ready to go again. Similar to Trentin, he doesn’t have a recognised sprint train with him, but that is the same as most of his rivals. He’s another that will like the look of the final 5km.
Tosh Van Der Sande– I’m sure we’re all delighted to see him in action, after the shock of failing a doping test during the Winter. Tosh was cleared of all wrong doing, something I was delighted with. He’s recently been clocking up some big kilometres, with plenty of climbing, and he should be ready for this stage. He’s a rider who usually performs well in Spain and he’ll be hoping to challenge for the podium.
Carlos Barbero– his time at Movistar hasn’t been that great and he’s now in contract year. Barbero will have to pull some big results out of the hat if he wants a new deal. The uphill finish is good for him, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen him being competitive at the top level. On the plus side for him is that Movistar are always keen on bossing the closing kilometres on home soil.
Andrea Pasqualon– a big gear grinder. Just like the other sprinters mentioned, he’ll like the uphill finish. The Italian has enjoyed his time at Wanty, and he’s delivered consistent results. No doubt we’ll see him challenging in the closing kilometres.
Nelson Soto– of all the quick men, Soto is the one who might struggle with the pace in the final 5km. The Colombian has now settled into live in Europe and 2019 should be the year we start to see him deliver consistent results. His sprint is fast, but he needs his team to deliver him into a good position, something they don’t always do. On his best day, he can challenge for the win.
Iván García– rarely gets an opportunity to sprint for himself, but I think he’ll get more chances this season. The Spaniard likes a hard day in the saddle, I don’t think this finish is hard enough for him.
Prediction Time
This could well be the only sprint stage of the race and I don’t expect any mistakes. Given his start to the season, I think this will be a comfortable win for Matteo Trentin.
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David Hunter
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