Riders highlight toughness of 2013 Vuelta route
Contador, Rodriguez, Sanchez and Valverde comment
With a record number of summit finishes in the 2013 Vuelta, all three top-finishing riders overall in the 2012 Vuelta agreed that the 2013 route is one of the hardest they have ever seen.
āItās very similar to last year but with even more climbs, itās going to be really hard right the way through,ā said Katushaās Joaquim Rodriguez. āPossibly itās the absolute hardest, but itās pretty close.ā
āEven the opening team time trial is long enough [27 kilometres] to make a big difference. And then with that first category climb on the second stage, weāll immediately start seeing whoās going well and whoās not. Galicia is a very hard region to race in if youāre not in good shape!ā
āIt will be a question of survival of the fittest, weāll see almost immediately whoās really interested in the overall. Thereās no way you can ease yourself into the race. Youāll have to be in top condition right from the very start.ā
āEven the time trial will be difficult, because itās got a climb in it,ā pointed out double winner Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff). āThe wind could make a big difference, itās very exposed and coming after a rest day thatās going to make it harder too.ā
āThat second stage climb, for example, youāll still have sore legs from the team time trial.Itās going tobe very difficult, a very tense, hard race.ā
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) was questioned about the return to Peyragudes, a finish with good memories for him given he won there in the Tour de France, but recognised that āthereās so much climbing itās almost frightening.ā
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āGaliciaās going to be hard enough, we know from previous years that itās barely got a metre of flat. You can lose time very fast here...the Vuelta could be decided a long time before we get the Angliru. Weāre going to be very tired when we get there. Thereās more than enough opportunities to open up gaps on the rest.ā
Contador said, though that the 232 kilometre mammoth Pyrenean stage, featuring four first category climbs, āwas the sort I really like because itās a real test of strength.ā
āTheyāre taking a risk with so much climbing,ā said Euskaltel team manager Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano, āso weāll just to hope that the route goes as well as in 2012..ā
āIt could be decided too soon, though, and that could block the race badly. Itās a big gamble.ā
Asked if it was too hard, Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) - who did not ride last year - said āwe are paid to race against each other. I think itās good.ā
As for the Angliru, local rider Sanchez - who lives in nearby Oviedo - said āthatās one climb which will sort out absolutely everybody, itās going to give the race a real sting in the tail.ā
āMaybe there are not so many explosive climbs as last year, but thereās more climbing in general for sure.ā
āThere are no stages of over 250 kilometres,ā race organiser Javier Guillen pointed out, āalthough thereās a lot of around 170 or 180 kilometres.ā
āBut we wanted a race with so many tough stages because thatās what the public likes. Spain is a country which allows us to go to a lot of different mountain ranges and go through a lot of different terrain, and we have to exploit that. Last year, which had 10 mountain top finishes, was a fantastic Vuelta and this year we want the same.ā
Valverde and Rodriguez said the Vuelta was sure to be on their race programs, in Valverdeās case after the Tour de France - which Rodriguez said he is determined to race, too - whilst Contador said he had yet to decide if he would include it on his 2013 schedule.
āThe Tour is my number one objective but the Vuelta is my home race and thatās always important. On top of that it comes at the end of the season and that makes it compatible with the Tour. I will talk things over with the team and then decide what I am going to do,ā Contador said, before commenting that he could not decide whether he would ride the Vuelta yet. āFor the riders itās going to be very, very demanding, with a lot of tension.ā
He refused to comment on the question of what his former team-mate Lance Armstrong might say in his interview next week, saying āhe knows what heāll say and anything else we say about it beforehand is just speculation.ā
Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling, The Express and Reuters.