Not so long ago the pro-cycling world was easy to quantify. Alberto Contador was the pre-eminent stage racer, Fabian Cancellara was numero uno when it came to races against the clock and Mark Cavendish was the undisputed sprint king.
Hardly anyone would have argued otherwise.
Fast forward to 2014 however, and things aren’t so easily defined.
While Tony Martin has usurped Cancellara as the one to beat in time trials and Marcel Kittel has moved level with, or perhaps even surpassed, Cavendish in the fast man stakes, the title of who is the best stage racer is well and truly up in the air.
Of the 11 completed Grand Tours since the beginning of 2011, only one name appears more than once on the winners list – Vincenzo Nibali (2013 Giro and 2014 Tour).
The rest include a merry-go-round of ageing journeymen, riders with dodgy or suspicious backgrounds, one-hit wonders and perhaps the odd rising star. Many fit into more than one of the above categories.
Some, such as Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and Chris Froome in 2013, have stormed their way through a season, winning everything in their path in the lead up to their Grand Tour triumph, but few, if any, have managed to maintain that consistency for longer than a year.
Certainly since Contador’s clenbuterol suspension anyway, the names at the top of the Grand Tour tables seem to continually refreshed.
That may change with this year’s Vuelta a Espana. Usually the poor relation of the Giro and Tour, Spain’s great race suddenly finds itself with a stellar start list and its results could go a long way to proving who the next great stage racer may be.
The big three to take to the roads in Spain are of course Alberto Contador, Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana. Quintana won the Giro back in May and a win here would propel him to the top of the stage racing tree.
Contador and Froome both started the Tour, but crashed out early. While the race itself won’t have fatigued them, the injuries they sustained will have severely hampered their preparations.
If Contador can dance away from the quality opposition on offer just weeks after recovering from a broken leg, then he’ll elevate himself to legendary status, and beware all challengers over the next couple of years.
Froome’s legs should be ok – it was his wrist that was broken on the Tour – but he must overcome a serious case of the jitters. He pretty much talked himself into crashing in France and reports of a stack in training on Thursday isn’t the ideal way to prepare for a three-week stage race.
Should Froome managed to stay upright and finish on the top step of the podium, it could be argued that he is the sport’s number one stage racer. After all, his 2014 hasn’t been a complete write off. While not up to the standard of a glorious 2013 he still won the early season Tour of Oman against reasonable opposition and triumphed at the Tour de Romandie as well. A Vuelta win would cap off his year nicely.
But there are challengers from both new kids on the block and old-timers.
The newbies are led by the sometimes indifferent Carlos Bentancur (Ag2R) and Giro revelation Fabio Aru (Astana). Thibaut Pinot will be there too, but surely his legs will be blunted by a magnificent Tour ride. Andrew Talansky is another who may struggle to raise a gallop after a gruelling if not truncated campaign in France.
Orica Orica-GreenEDGE’s Colombian climber Johan Chaves could also be one to watch out for. Recent stage wins at the Tours of California and Switzerland hint at a promising rider on the rise, although dreams of overall victory are too far fetched to contemplate at this stage.
BMC’s newly acquired talent, Australia’s Rohan Dennis, will get a chance to stretch his legs, but with countryman Cadel Evans and Sammy Sanchez also in the team, it remains to be seen who the real leader will be. The time trials will definitely suit him though.
Evans leads the charge of the old brigade. His recent good form has his most passionate of supporters dreaming of a podium finish, and it might be possible, but top five would be about the best he can hope for – but you never know! A couple of stage wins at the Tour of Utah earlier this month will have done wonders for his confidence.
Joaquin Rodriguez is still clinging to the vague hope of snatching his maiden Grand Tour win, but he seems to have lost the consistency to perform over three weeks, an ability that has seen him come so close to glory over the past few years.
Alejandro Valverde will be supporting Quintana, but one gets the feeling that the Movistar old timer still considers himself a chance, even if no one else does.
There are other names that we have been used to seeing, such as Damiano Cunego and Jurgen Van den Broeck, but as usual, despite adding further depth to the field, they won’t feature prominently at the pointy end of the race. Niether will Ryder Hesjedal or the forgotten man Robert Gesink.
Perhaps the biggest threat to the favourites will be Rigoberto Uran. The flying mullet is reaching the prime of his career and will enjoy re-engaging with his nemesis from the Giro, Quintana. His newly found time trial form will be a handy weapon and if Froome and Contador are struggling for condition, then he may end up being Quintana’s main rival.
For mine though, Quintana is the one to beat. With Nibali being the only heavy hitter absent, it will be a Vuelta worth winning… and watching.
It could very well be the race of the year.
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