Chris Froome meets Alberto Contador in the clash of the titans! THERE WILL BE BLOOD! THE SPEED! THE POWER! It really has been billed in the media as the clash of two, at least since the withdrawal of Nairo Quintana. As much fun as the Battle Royal between Froomedog and El Pistelero will be, there is also further narrative to be explored outside these two.
The Course:
The organisers have come up with a very mountainous edition of the Vuelta de Andalucía, with even two of the three 'sprint' stages more inclined to the puncheurs and the climby sprinters. The only stage for the pure sprinters is the first stage, or 1A, which is followed on the same day by 1B, a 8.1 km prologue. Stages 2 and 5 will be for those that can get over a short, sharp climb and then sprint for the victory. Stages 3 and 4 are both mountaintop finishes, and they are very hard climbs for this time of year. Alto de Hazallanas (end of Stage 3) is 16.1 kms long at 5.1%, but in that is included a small descent, and the actual difficulty of the climb is much higher. The lead in to the climb is relatively sedate however, whilst Stage 4 is up and down through hilly terrain the entire day, before the riders tackle the Alto de Allanadas which is 4.4 kms long at 10.1%. The winner of the race will obviously be the best up these climbs, with the other days unlikely to be decisive to the GC.
The Tactics:
Whilst obviously all eyes will be on Froome vs Contador, it will be interesting to see how their teams do in this first battle. Sky typically likes to set the pace on the front of the peleton, whereas Tinkoff-Saxo save their strength. Sky have their A- team here, but Tinkoff-Saxo maybe only have 2-3 who would realistically be part of the TDF squad, so it may be an unfair opportunity for a comparison. There are also 19 other teams with riders looking to crash the party so it won't be a two horse race by any means. The only problem is that the GC will likely come down to the two mountain ascents and they aren't many in the realm of Contador and Froome when it comes to being first up a mountain. AG2R and Lotto NL-Jumbo do have a few contenders apiece in their squad, so could feasibly use a one-two punch, or try to slip a rider into a breakaway, which would put a lot of pressure onto the top 2 teams. Bonus seconds and small gaps are up for grabs on stages 2 and 5, so there could be moves by some of the more explosive climbers (Mollema) to try and get an advantage. The prologue may see some small gaps open up as well, but as Froome and Contador are both pretty good in this discipline, it is unlikely to open the race up at all.
In the end though, the race will be decided by the two mountaintop finishes, and I can't see anyone other than Froome or Contador winning.
The Contenders:
The organisers have come up with a very mountainous edition of the Vuelta de Andalucía, with even two of the three 'sprint' stages more inclined to the puncheurs and the climby sprinters. The only stage for the pure sprinters is the first stage, or 1A, which is followed on the same day by 1B, a 8.1 km prologue. Stages 2 and 5 will be for those that can get over a short, sharp climb and then sprint for the victory. Stages 3 and 4 are both mountaintop finishes, and they are very hard climbs for this time of year. Alto de Hazallanas (end of Stage 3) is 16.1 kms long at 5.1%, but in that is included a small descent, and the actual difficulty of the climb is much higher. The lead in to the climb is relatively sedate however, whilst Stage 4 is up and down through hilly terrain the entire day, before the riders tackle the Alto de Allanadas which is 4.4 kms long at 10.1%. The winner of the race will obviously be the best up these climbs, with the other days unlikely to be decisive to the GC.
The Tactics:
Whilst obviously all eyes will be on Froome vs Contador, it will be interesting to see how their teams do in this first battle. Sky typically likes to set the pace on the front of the peleton, whereas Tinkoff-Saxo save their strength. Sky have their A- team here, but Tinkoff-Saxo maybe only have 2-3 who would realistically be part of the TDF squad, so it may be an unfair opportunity for a comparison. There are also 19 other teams with riders looking to crash the party so it won't be a two horse race by any means. The only problem is that the GC will likely come down to the two mountain ascents and they aren't many in the realm of Contador and Froome when it comes to being first up a mountain. AG2R and Lotto NL-Jumbo do have a few contenders apiece in their squad, so could feasibly use a one-two punch, or try to slip a rider into a breakaway, which would put a lot of pressure onto the top 2 teams. Bonus seconds and small gaps are up for grabs on stages 2 and 5, so there could be moves by some of the more explosive climbers (Mollema) to try and get an advantage. The prologue may see some small gaps open up as well, but as Froome and Contador are both pretty good in this discipline, it is unlikely to open the race up at all.
In the end though, the race will be decided by the two mountaintop finishes, and I can't see anyone other than Froome or Contador winning.
The Contenders: