Vuelta a España – Stage 1 Preview
By David Hunter
Málaga – Málaga 8km ITT
The race begins with a fast TT around the streets of Malaga.
We start the stage at the Pompidou Centre, which is beside the port. After a quick tour of this tourist area, the riders head along the sea front, before heading up towards the old town. This is where the profile is deceiving, as each rider has to tackle a 800m climb at 6%, which certainly won’t be easy. The riders the head along narrow streets, before tacking a sharp turn with 1.4km remaining and heading into a tunnel.
With 1km remaining, the riders take a fast corner and head along a wide, tree lined boulevard, before taking the final corner with 300m remaining. The stage ends on a pedestrianised street, full of nice shops and you’ll see plenty of pretty TV images. Málaga is a great city and this route shows it in a good light.
Weather
Beautiful weather will greet the riders for the start of the race.
Contenders
Rohan Dennis – starts as the overwhelming favourite to take the red jersey. His TT record in 2018 is excellent, with wins in the Giro, Tirreno and Abu Dhabi. Wearing the red jersey is not new to the Aussie, he took it after the TTT in 2017. The fast circuit is great for him, as is the little climb. Can it be yet another TT win for the fast BMC bike?
Victor Campenaerts – the Belgian was a late addition to the Lotto squad. His record in 2018 TTs is similar to his whole career, with a long line of near misses. His 2nd place in the Binck Bank Tour is a perfect example, where you was well beaten by a brilliant Stefan Küng. He was 3rd in the opening TT in the Giro, just 2 seconds behind Dumoulin. It certainly isn’t impossible for him to beat Dennis, but the statistics suggest he won’t.
Wilco Kelderman – this is his first race since crashing out of the Dutch Road Race. That usually makes it unlikely a rider wouldn’t challenge, but a short TT is a different beast. The Dutch rider is fast against the clock and will fancy his chances of challenging for the podium.
Lars Boom – the appearance of Boom in this list suggests we have a weak TT field. He did win the 16km ITT in the Tour of Britain, in 2017, but he’s never looked like repeating that form in 2018. After a poor season, Boom is riding for a contract, something that will provide plenty of motivation.
Ion Izagirre – the Basque rider enjoyed a good Tour de France and his form was still strong in San Sebastian. He used to be regarded as a specialist TT rider, but his last victory in this discipline was back in 2016, whilst with Movistar. Moving away from a Canyon bike has impacted on his performance.
Team Sky – cast your mind back to the opening TT of the 2017 Tour de France, Team Sky managed to have 4 riders in the top 10, I think we could be in for a repeat performance in Málaga. They line up with Kwiatkowski, Castroviejo, De La Cruz and Van Baarle. These riders all have a shot at winning the TT, especially Kwiatkowski, who won the prologue in the Dauphiné. The big problem is that the Pole hasn’t beaten Rohan Dennis in an ITT since 2015.
Prediction Time
Another big win for Rohan Dennis. Given the route, I don’t see anyone getting close to him.
David Hunter
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