The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Vuelta a Espana 2016: Stage 19 Cycling live race updates and blog

Roar Guru
9th September, 2016
Start: Xabia
Finish: Calp
Length: 37km
Type: Individual Time Trial
Chris Froome is the favourite to take a stage win today. (Tour de Yorkshire)
Roar Guru
9th September, 2016
78

Stage 19 of the Vuelta a Espana is the only individual test against the clock in the race and will have a large say in who stands on the final podium in Madrid.

A flat and technical course suits the time trial specialists while the climbers will be focused on damage limitation.

Who will solidify their position on the final podium and who will buckle under the individual pressure only a time trial can provide?

Join The Roar to find out with live coverage of stage 19 of the 2016 Vuelta a Espana from 11pm (AEST).

The 37km time trial course makes its way along the beautiful Mediterranean coast from Xabia to Calp.

The course profile is almost flat with the only exception being a small rise from kilometre 10 to 12.

There are some technical sections as the riders hug the coastline but overall this course is built for the riders with the big engines and top end horsepower.

The course should see time gaps between the top four riders contesting the general classification.

Advertisement

Chris Froome in his absolute top form and on a course profile like this could expect to take 2-3 minutes on Quintana, Contador, and Chaves.

However he has shown signs of fatigue and vulnerability in the mountains which indicate his season may be catching up with him.

Despite this he should still be able to take 1-2 minutes on his rivals and solidify his top-two position heading into the final mountain stage.

Overall leader Nairo Quintana who has showed marked improvement against the clock in recent years will be closest to Froome on the stage of the GC riders and should maintain a comfortable lead before heading into his preferred mountainous terrain for the penultimate stage.

The real interest is in the battle for the final podium position between Esteban Chaves and Alberto Contador with Chaves holding a narrow five-second advantage.

Contador on paper should be able to put significant time into Chaves due to his greater time trial pedigree and Grand Tour experience.

In Chaves’ favour is that he should be the fresher rider having skipped the Tour de France and has looked strong on the climbs in recent stages.

Advertisement

Contador on the other hand has expended a lot of energy in this year’s Vuelta, after crashing earlier in the race he has bravely animated the mountain stages with daring attacks. How much has he got left to give?

Outside the battle for the podium the rest of the top ten on general classification should see some change with only 2min25 covering fifth to ninth.

Prediction
Before the race started this stage would have been marked down as the crowning of Froome as the winner of the Vuelta taking the overall lead with a dominant stage winning ride.

Although he won’t take the race lead Froome is still the best against the clock in this field and should take the stage win.

Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar) is the best credentialled time trial rider behind Froome and could threaten for the stage win.

Quintana will maintain a comfortable lead over Froome and Contador will take enough time to leapfrog Chaves into third overall.

Join us from 11pm AEST for live updates of the Vuelta a Espana as we follow this fascinating race into its final decisive days.

Advertisement
close