Vuelta a España 2014 – Stage 16 Preview
By David Hunter
Stage 15 Recap
The break was only 5, but it managed to last until the end. Niemiec, took a brilliant win, as the the 3 amigos spent too long looking at each other. Contador, Valverde and Rodriguez went head to head, like in 2012, and couldn’t shake each other. They stop too many times and allowed, the Pole, to take a great win. Valverde was second, with Rodriguez third. Contador will be happy, as he put a few more seconds into Froome.
Stage 16 San Martin del rey Aurelio – La Farrapona 160.5km
The Queen stage!
With 4 riders still in contention, today is the day!
A cat 1 climb, at the beginning of the stage, means the racing will be very hard. A lot of teams will want to isolate, Contador, early.
All the climbs are tough!
Right at the start, we have 7.4km at 6.7%. 2014 has seen a return to attacking teams, will Movistar and Katusha go long?
The Cobertoria is 10km at 8.8%, this is a very difficult climb.
The San Lorenzo climb isn’t as hard, but look at the last 5km at over 10%… brutal!
Finally, we end with La Farrapona, which is the easiest of the climbs today. Expect a GC showdown, on the final 5km.
The stage profile is perfect for a breakaway. I keep mentioning Jerome Coppel and I expect him to feature today. It’s a very hard stage for a team to control, so the break should stay away.
Back in the peloton, we should see serious attacking. Contador, has looked in control, he has to keep a close eye on Valverde and Rodriguez, but what can Froome bring to the party?
He looked in serious trouble today, unable to use his normal attacking kick. Can he rediscover it today?
Aru has been the closest of the rest, but I see this being a battle between the 3 amigos!
Prediction time…
Breakaway contenders are: Lutsenko, Evans, LL Sanchez, Bennett, Trofimov and Poels. I think one of these riders will win, and I go for Lutsenko.
Behind, I think Contador will control his rivals and start to look secure in red.
David Hunter
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