The Vuelta a Espaaa gets underway as it did in 2015, with a team time trial. At 27.8 kilometres, the Stage 1 should see moderate time gaps between those hoping for overall victory. Join The Roar for live coverage from 2:30am (AEST).
The final Grand Tour of the year shapes as the most compelling general classification fight.
Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, and Nairo Quintana represent the established contenders, while Giro standouts Esteban Chaves, and Steven Kruisjwijk lead the new guard.
A brutal course awaits those dreaming of overall victory, with ten summit finishes sprinkled throughout the 21 stages.
Time trialling has been kept to a minimum, with today’s TTT and Stage’s 19 37-kilometre individual time trial being the only tests against the clock.
The 2016 Vuelta is one for the pure climbers, presenting Contador and Quintana with their best chance to knock off the seemingly invincible Froome.
Coming off his dominant Tour de France victory, Froome starts as favourite, however the plethora of summit finishes in the race will see him under constant attack.
The TTT has become the traditional start of the Vuelta in recent editions, and the 2016 opening stage, from Balneario Laias to Castrelo de Mino, is reminiscent of the 2013 TTT (27.4km), which produced a 49-second gap between first and tenth.
For teams with GC ambitions that don’t have the horsepower needed for a TTT, today is about damage limitation. On the flipside, teams like Sky and BMC have an opportunity to take valuable seconds on their rivals.
Movistar, who have shown marked improvement in the TTT, should be able to keep Quintana in touch with Froome, likewise Orica Bike-Exchange for Chaves.
Contador’s Tinkoff team, on paper, doesn’t look overly suited, so they will be hoping to limit their losses, as will Kruiswijk and Lotto NL-Jumbo.
Prediction
BMC will narrowly hold off Team Sky, and Spaniard Samuel Sanchez, in his home Grand Tour, will pull on the first red leader’s jersey of the 2016 Vuelta a Espana.
Join The Roar for live coverage of Stage 1 of the 2016 Vuelta a Espana from 2:30am (AEST) and don’t forget to add your own comments below.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Stage 1 Official Top 10: 1 Team Sky 00:30:37 2 Movistar 00:30:37 3 Orica-BikeExchange 00:30:43 4 BMC Racing Team 00:30:44 5 Etixx-QuickStep 00:30:59 6 LottoNL-Jumbo 00:31:04 7 Trek-Segafredo 00:31:27 8 Cannondale 00:31:29 9 Tinkoff 00:31:29 10 Bora-Argon 18 00:31:34
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Thank you for your company tonight. We will be back with coverage of stage 2 tomorrow night.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Race Summary: Bora Argon set the early standard posting 31min 34 which stood up until Ettix Quick Step set a new benchmark of 30min 59. Orica Bike-Exchange rode a brilliant TTT to best Ettix by 16 seconds. Pre stage favourites BMC led Orica at all the time checks until the finish coming up 1 second short. Movistar paced their ride perfectly not leading at any intermediate time checks but crossing the finish line 6 seconds quicker than Orica. Drama ensued when Team Sky crossed the finish line in first but appeared to be 0.4 seconds slower than Movistar. However official confirmation came through that despite posting the same time Sky were the official winners, and Peter Kennaugh the leader of the race.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Peter Kennaugh led Team Sky over the line and will pull on the first red leaders jersey of the race.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Tinkoff post 31min 29, 52 seconds down on Sky and Movistar. Not a great result for Contador.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Team Sky are now the official leaders posting the the same time as Movistar but lead by hundreths of a second.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Still awaiting confirmation on the official winning time at the finish. There were gaps in the Team Sky group which may have affected the timing.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Tinkoff the last team on the road and they haven't been setting the world on fire today. At the last check they were 37 seconds down.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Team Sky equal Movistar at the finish. The graphic showed Team Sky as position 1 but .4 seconds slower. Waiting for official confirmation.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
At the finish Movistar leads Orica by 6 seconds with BMC 3rd at 7 seconds.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Only two teams remain Team Sky and Tinkoff. Sky will challenge Movistar while Tinkoff will be hoping to limit the damage.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Movistar had a powerful finish putting 17 seconds into Orica in the final section.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Movistar nearing the line and this is very close and they go to the top with a 30min 37. Stunning ride. Appeared Valverde led them over but not sure.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Movistar down to six. Tinkoff is 37 seconds down on BMC at the second check.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Movistar due at the finish next, as Tinkoff races through the second time check.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Lotto NL Jumbo posting a time above expectations. They cross the line only 20-25 seconds down on Orica clock didn't stop so hard to tell. Kruijswijk will be ecstatic with that
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Team Sky 7 seconds down on BMC at the second time check but only 1 second slower than Orica. This will be super close.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Lotto NL Jumbo like so many teams today is left with only 5 riders nearing the finish.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
Team Sky appear the only team left on the road capable of challenging Orica Bike Exchange as they pass through the second time check.
Ryan Day
Roar Guru
BMC coming to the finish with 5 riders. They post 30min 44 missing out by a second. Orica remain at the top clear by only 1 second.