It's time for one of the most important build-up weeks of the cycling season, with the next few days offering no less than four stage races that will form a key part of the preparation that shall see classics and stage race riders hit peak condition for the months of March and April. One of the options for the world's best cyclists is to head to Andalusia for the Ruta del Sol which offers five days of mountainous racing under usually sunny conditions and even though there will be no repeat of last year’s clash between Alberto Contador and Chris Froome, the Spanish race has still managed to attract a great line-up of grand tour stars that are ready to test themselves less than a month before the first European WorldTour stage races.

 

The month of February may not offer the most prestigious bike races on the calendar but the final winter month plays a crucial role for every ambitious cyclist. With the first big races coming up in March and the cycling season having really ramped up in the last few weeks, it is now time to get in the racing miles that will allow the riders to hit their best form for the races that really matter.

 

Hence, it is no wonder that the month of February is littered with stage races in Southern Europe and the Middle East and they offer the riders the chance to test their legs and get in quality racing under reasonable weather conditions. Next week plays a special role as it offers the final chance for the riders to do some racing ahead of the Belgian opening weekend.

 

In the past, all riders headed to Southern Europe for those important early-season kilometres. With races like Etoile de Besseges, Tour Mediateraneen, and the Tour du Haut-Var, France had a lot to offer, Portugal had the Volta a Algarve, and Spain and Italy both had a nice series of short stage races that worked as solid preparation.

 

In recent years, the economic crisis has had its clear effect on the racing scene. While the wealthy Middle East now offers a very well-organized and attractive block of racing with the Dubai Tour, the Tour of Qatar and the Tour of Oman, several European races have disappeared. Italy no longer plays host to a stage race before Tirreno-Adriatico and last year the Tour Mediteraneen disappeared too. The Spanish scene has been hit hard by the difficult times as the Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana disappeared and the Vuelta a Murcia is now just a one-day race.

 

This left only one Spanish stage race in the early part of the season and for some time it was one of only very few Spanish races that seems to thrive. While the race in Murcia and Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid were shortened, several classic races like Settimana Catalana and Euskal Bizikleta have disappeared, the Vuelta a Asturias has been shortened and was cancelled in 2014, and the WorldTour Volta a Catalunya and Vuelta al Pais Vasco are all in a constant battle for survival but the Vuelta a Andalusia Ruta Ciclista del Sol remains as a perfect option for some early-season racing.

 

In fact, it is an impressive performance for the organizers to have kept the race afloat. Scheduled for the third week of February, it finds itself in fierce competition with the Tour of Oman, the Volta ao Algarve and the Tour du Haut-Var that all battle for the participation from the world's best riders. Nonetheless, the Andalusian race managed to go back to a 5-day format after having been briefly shortened to four days and after a few years when they had clearly lost the battle for attention to the races in Oman and Algarve, all eyes were on Andalusia last year week as the race has attracted a line-up that allowed it to be billed as the first big clash between the grand tour titans.

 

Despite never having done the race before, both Chris Froome and Alberto Contador decided to get their season underway in Andalusia and when Nairo Quintana also announced the race as the scene of his European debut, the organizers may had a hard time believing their luck. Unfortunately, a crash at the Colombian national championships forced Quintana to skip the race but with Contador and Froome both in attendance, the race was the big stage racing highlight of the early part of the year.

 

2016 has seen the resurgence of stage racing in Southern Europe. The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana was held for the first time since 2008, La Méditerranéenne has replaced the Tour Mediteraneen and the Tour Provence will be held for the first time next week. This has made it more attractive to stay in Europe and this year far less WorldTour teams have headed to the Middle East.

 

One could expect this to have given the Ruta del Sol a further boost. However, it was always going to be impossible to match the 2015 edition and this year the race has been unable to attract any of the grand tour titans, with Froome heading to Australia, Contador returning to Algarve, Quintana postponing his European debut and Nibali still preferring Oman. The 62nd edition will be less star-studded but there won’t be a lack of grand tour contenders. Rafal Majka, Alejandro Valverde, Daniel Moreno, Bauke Mollema, Benat Intxausti, Mikel Nieve, Roman Kreuziger, Haimar Zubeldia, Maxime Monfort, Mathias Frank, Wilco Kelderman, Steven Kruijwsijk, Tejay van Garderen, Samuel Sanchez, Damiano Caruso, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Igor Anton, David Arroyo and Daniel Navarro have all been in the top 3 in a three-week race and if one adds an in-form Wout Poels to the equation, there is no lack of star dust in Spain this week.

 

One of the reasons for the change may be the course. Last year the organizers decided an unusually tough route that included two major summit finishes on steep climbs that are rarely used at this time of the year. For 2016, they have opted for a more traditional approach and the course is far less severe. There will still be a summit finish but the Alto del Penas Blancas is nowhere near as tough as last year’s mountains and with a longer time trial also on the menu, the balance may have tipped from the climbers to the time triallists.

 

Last year’s race came down to the expected clash between Froome and Contador who traded blows. While Juan Jose Lobato dominated the sprint stages, Contador rode himself into the race lead on the first mountain stage and looked like the overall winner until Froome bounced back in the final mountain stage on the penultimate day. In a hugely exciting duel, the Brit managed to take back enough time to win the race with a 2-second margin while Benat Intxausti was a very distant third at 2.38. As said, Froome and Contador won’t be back in 2016 but Intxausti will try to do even better as he goes into the race as part of a formidable Sky team.

 

The course

As said, the course for the Vuelta a Andalucia has had a rather varying nature. The Andalusian region has plenty of hilly terrain but at this time of the year, it is important not to make the races too long and too hard. Past editions have been rather easy, with riders like Oscar Freire, Pablo Lastras, Joost Posthuma and Markel Irizar having won editions without uphill finishes.

 

After Irizar's 2011 win, the organizers have made things a bit tougher by including a number of uphill finishes and while they have rarely been overly hard, they have made the race more selective and reduced the importance of the opening prologue that has traditionally kicked off the event. In 2015, however, the organizers bucked the trend by designing an unusually hard course that includes two big summit finishes on stages 3 and 4. It was very unusual for riders to tackle climbs like the Alto de Hazallanas and Alto e Allanadas so early in the year and this made it the hardest February race for years. Furthermore, there was a short time trial on a split first day and the flat stages were more suited to puncheurs than to sprinters.

 

This year the organizers have gone back to a more traditional prologue and tipped the balance towards the time triallists. There will still be a solid amount of climbing as only the first stage is a real sprint stage but there will only be one summit finish on the Alto de Penas Blancas in the final stage. That climb is far less tough than last year’s mountaintop finishes and as there will be a long 21km time trial on the penultimate stage, the race is more geared towards complete rides than pure climbers. Stages 2 and 3 have undulating profiles but the flat finales mean that they are likely to be decided in reduced bunch sprints.

 

Stage 1:

The five-day race has often had a time trial on the opening day but this year the race against the clock will come much later in the race. Instead, the sprinters will get a chance to go for glory on the opening day. They will have to be ready right from the start though as the first stage could easily turn out to be their only chance in the race.

 

The stage brings the riders over 165.2km from Almonaster la Real to the big city of Seville where the sprinters have usually come to the fore. The starting city is located in a hilly region and the climbing all comes in the early part of the race where the riders will tackle a small circuit in the area that will see them go up the category 3 climbs of Alo de Jabugo (5.1km, 4.7%), Puerto de los Pinos (6.4km, 3.0%) and Alto Castano del Robredo (13km, 2.2%) at the 14km, 32.4km, and 5.25km marks respectively

 

After the hilly beginning, the riders head to the southeast and the city of Seville. The terrain is still undulating until they get to the intermediate sprint at the 82km mark but the second half of the stage is mostly slightly downhill. They will enter Seville with 3km to go from where it is almost completely flat. There will be a right-hand turn with 2.6km to go and then there are sharp left-hand turns with 900 and 600m to go respectively. The final challenge is a roundabout just 400m from the finish in a technical finale that has a 6m wide finishing straight.

 

Of course the hilly race hasn’t attracted many pure sprinters but the likes of Nacer Bouhanni, Juan Jose Lobato and Bryan Coquard who are all solid climbers have included the race on their schedule. This stage has bunch sprint written all over it and they won’t miss this opportunity. The wind could come into play but the most likely scenario is a big battle between the fast guys in Seville.

 

Seville last hosted a stage in 2014 when Gerald Ciolek won a bunch sprint. In 2006, Tom Boonen was faster than Alessandro Petacchi and he also won in 2004. Endrio Leoni was the fastest sprinter in 2002.

 

 

Stage 2:

The sprinters hopefully enjoyed their day in the spotlight as they will have to be extremely good climbers to be in contention at the end of what will be a tough stage 2. Actually, the stage is probably the flattest of the entire race but a tough climb in the finale of the race means that it will offer the riders the first big test of their climbing legs and the stage will provide the first selection in the race.

 

The stage brings the riders over 186.3km from Palomares del Rio to Cordoba. The starting city is a Seville suburb which means that it is located in a completely flat part of Spain. The first part of the stage consists of a long northeasterly run towards Cordoba and the riders will barely change direction during the stage. The highlight will be the intermediate sprint at the 79.4km mark.

 

The riders will follow the direct road to Cordoba almost all day but just before entering city, they will make a digression which will completely change the outcome of the race. With 29.5km to go, they will hit the bottom of the category 3 climb of Alto de la Trassierra (6.6km, 5.8%). The top is located just 22.9km from the finish and the final section can be split into three parts. First there are a few lumpy kilometres with some smaller climbs before the real descent starts with 15.6km to go. It ends with around 7km to go from where the roads are only slightly descending.

 

The final 3km are mostly flat and slightly descending. There are 90-degree turns with 2.7km and 1.6km to go before the riders get to the final challenge which is a left-hand turn in a roundabout with 600m to go. The finishing straight is a 6m wide road.

 

The final climb is not overly hard and it won’t be a challenge for the GC riders but it will be a tough one for the fast guys to survive such a long climb. As the GC is still close, it will be hard for a breakaway to make it but there is always a risk in short stage race where there is no obvious favourite. There will be no time bonuses so the GC riders don’t have a real incentive to make the race hard but they all want to be in a good position for the descent which will make at least the final part of the ascent fast. A late attack has a chance but the most likely outcome is a reduced bunch sprint.

 

Cordoba last hosted a stage in 2011 when Oscar Freire won a bunch sprint. The Spaniard had a taste for the city as he was also the fastest in 2010. Gert Steegmans won the stage in 2009 while Denis Flahaut and Tom Boonen came out on top in sprints in 2008 and 2007 respectively. Petacchi took the wins in 2006 and 2005 and Freire was already on top in the city in 2003. In 2002 and 2001, Alexandr Shefer and Pedro Diaz Lobato were the latest non-sprinters to win here.

 

 

Stage 3:

If stage 2 was too hard for them, the sprinters will get a final chance to potentially show their fast speed before the GC battle will dominate the weekend. Stage 3 barely offers any flat roads but the climbing is not too severe and they will definitely try to hang on on each of the four climbs, hoping to still be in contention for the flat finale.

 

At 157.9km, stage 3 is relatively short and brings the riders from Monachil to Padul. Those two cities are located very close to each other and most of the stage is made up of a short journey into the hills on their western outskirts. The first part is almost completely flat but leads to a hillier section with the category 2 Alto del Lucero (8.6km, 3.0%) and the category 3 Alto de los Bermejales (5.4km, 3.0%) at the 36.1km and 48.2km respectively.

 

After the intermediate sprint at the 54.8km mark which is held in a flatter part of the course, the riders will turn around and go back towards Padua by tackling the category 2 Puerto del Legionario (10.9km, 3.2%). The summit is located 65.7km from the finish and from here the riders will take a gradual descent to the finish line which they will cross for the first time with 43.9km to go.

 

The final part of the stage will see the riders tackle a circuit on the southeastern outskirts of Padua. The first part if flat or descending and leads to the category 2 Puerto del Valle (7.6km, 4%). The summit comes 15.1km from the finish from where the riders will follow flat road back to Padua. The finale is relatively uncomplicated as the riders will follow a long straight road until they make a 60-degree turn with 2.1km to go. Inside the final kilometre, there’s a sharp turn with 700m to go and a slight bend 500m from the line. The penultimate kilometre is slightly uphill and then the riders descend to the final 500m which are uphill at a gradient of 1.4%.

 

Overall the stage has a significant amount of climbing but the climbs are all very gentle. They are more of long, gradual uphill sections than real climbs but they will still take their toll. It’s the final chance for the sprinters so they will probably give it a try but if they find the going too hard, the break has a small chance if it is made up of riders who all lost time in stage 2. However, the most likely outcome is another reduced bunch sprint.

 

Padul has not hosted a stage finish of a major bike race in this century.

 

 

Stage 4:

After three days of survival, it will finally be time for the GC riders to come to the fore on the penultimate day which offers what could be the most decisive stage of the entire race. The Ruta del Sol has usually included a time trial but it has mostly been a relatively short prologue. This year the time triallists and GC riders will face a much longer stage but it will not be all about power as some tough climbs will make it a test of versatility.

 

The stage is 21km long and starts and finishes in the city of Alhaurin de la Torre. The riders will first head to the west along mostly straight and flat roads until they get to a small 3.3km climb that averages 1.9%. Based on the profile, it could be much shorter and steeper though. From there, they will mainly descend to the intermediate time check which comes at the 11km mark.

 

The second part of the stage will see the riders travel back to Alhaurin de la Torre along much flatter roads. Having returned to the city, they will follow a straight road for a little while before turning around and heading back towards the finish. Back in the city, the roads will be slightly ascending during the final 3km and gradually get steeper and steeper. The final 900m average 5.5%. The finale won’t be technical as there will be turns with 1.3km and 900m to go and then it’s straight through two roundabouts for with 600m and 500m to go respectively.

 

A 21km time trial always has the potential to open up significant time gaps and as the final mountain stage is not very tough, it will probably be the most decisive stage of the race. The first part of the stage is lumpy and it will be hard to find a rhythm on the undulating roads. The second half is more about power but it will be very important to save some energy for the tough final kilometre. With this kind of mix of flat roads and climbing, it is a perfect test for the versatile GC riders who have a big chance to put decisive time into some of the pure climbers before the final stage.

 

Alhaurin de la Torre hosted the final stage in 2015 when Juan Jose Lobato beat John Degenkolb in and uphill sprint.

 

 

Stage 5:

Last year the climbers had lots of chances to shine but this year they will have to wait to the final day before getting their only opportunity to make their mark on the race. Everything will still be open as we go into the final stage which is also the queen stage of the race. It will be a day with lots of climbing and even though the final climb of Alto Penas Blancas is not the hardest in the region, it will surely create changes in the GC on the final day of the race.

 

The stage is 164.2km long and brings the riders from San Roque to the top of Alto Penas Blancas. San Roque is located near the Mediterranean coast and the first part of the stage is flat as they head to the north into the hilly interior of the region. Here the climbing gets serious as the riders will tackle the category 1 Puerto del Espino (20.8km), the category 3 Alto de Cortes (5.1km) and the category 2 Puerto Espirito (7.4km) in quick succession at the 60.7km, 76km and 90.7km marks respectively. This section barely has a metre of flat.

 

At the top of the third climb, the riders will turn around and head back towards the coast. After a few undulating kilometres, there’s a long descent before the riders face the category 2 Puerto de la Cruz (4.1km) whose summit located 42.1km from the finish. The intermediate sprint comes 7.7km later and then the riders will hit a long descent down to the coast and the city of Estepona.

 

After a short, flat sightseeing trip in the city, they will head back into the hills and it will be almost straight onto the lower slopes of the category 1 Puerto de Penas Blancas. It averages 6.2% over 14.8km and will be a tough end to the race. It has a very steep first part with section of up to 12.5% but after a short flat section at the 3km mark, it gets more regular, with the gradient mostly hovering around 6-8%. The final three kilometres are easier at 5.9%. There’s a sharp turn with 2km to go and a hairpin bend just before the flamme rouge.

 

Alto Penas Blancas made its debut in a major bike race at the 2013 Vuelta a Espana when Leopold König made a late attack in a very tactical race that saw numerous riders slip off the front while the favourites were watching each other. The Czech held off Daniel Moreno by one second while Nicolas Roche, Thibaut Pinot and Ivan Basso arrived four seconds later. The relatively easy gradients in the finale meant that the main contenders finished within second of each other, with Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez using their sprinting skills to put a few seconds into the likes of Chris Horner and Vincenzo Nibali.

 

Alto Penas Blancas is definitely not the hardest climb in Spain and when it was used in the Vuelta, the time gaps were small. At this time of the year, the differences will probably be bigger and the racing will be less tactical and more aggressive as it is the only chance for the climbers to make a difference. However, the climb is more suited to a fast rider like Alejandro Valverde than some of the pure climbers and it is unlikely to create the same time differences as the time trial. Nonetheless, it will certainly do some damage and change the top 10 of the GC on the final day of the race.

 

 

The favourites

In 2015 it was all about Chris Froome and Alberto Contador and the rest of the field was always set to play minor roles in the clash of the titans. The duel created a huge excitement for the race and this year there is obviously not the same kind of anticipation.

 

However, the Spanish race has a different kind of buzz this time around. Even though there is no obvious favourite for the race or any previous Tour de France winners at the start, the field is still stacked with stage racing talent and the playing field is a lot more level. This turns it into a lot more open affair than last year’s race which was always going to be a duel.

 

Furthermore, the new course will make it a completely different race. There are no time bonuses in the race so unless the wind plays a role which currently seems to be unlikely to happen, the first three stages will be all about staying safe for the GC riders. Last year a big crash in the first stage cost time for lots of GC contenders but unless someone experiences similar misfortunate, it will all come down to the final two stages.

 

At the moment, Sunday is forecasted to be very wet day and it remains to be seen whether the riders will be able to tackle the climbs in the queen stage. If the stage has the be modified, it will obviously turn the race even more into the hand of the time triallists but we will base this preview on the assumption that the race will go on as planned. However, the rainy conditions will make the final stage a lot tougher and more selective.

 

The climb of Alto Penas Blancas is pretty easy and even though it will of course be raced very differently than it was at the 2013 Vuelta when it came early in a grand tour, the time differences will not be very big. The 21km time trial can do a lot more damage and so the race suits time triallists that can limit their losses on the final climb. This makes it a completely different race than it was in 2015 when the two big mountaintop finishes were so tough that the short time trial became almost irrelevant.

 

A strong time triallist that can climb – this is the perfect description of Tejay van Garderen. The American has decided to skip the Tour of Oman and will do his first stage race in Spain after testing himself in the Spanish one-day races during the weekend. In the last two years, he has come out with all guns blazing, finishing second in the Tour of Oman two years in a row. This year he seems to again have trained well during the winter as he managed to drop Alejandro Valverde and several strong climbers on the final climb in Saturday’s Vuelta a Murcia and he was only brought back by a small chase group two kilometres from the finish.

 

When he first emerged on the big scene, van Garderen was largely known as a time triallist but he suffered a lot on the climbs. He may have finished fifth in the 2012 Tour de France but it was more due to the two long time triallists than his climbing skills as he was never close to the best in the mountains. Furthermore, he always went too early into the red zone and blew up spectacularly on several occasions.

 

In recent years, he has improved his climbing massively and while it was once a question of limiting his losses in the mountains, he is now strong enough to gain time on the best. The first signs came in 2014 and last year he stepped up another level. He was almost able to match Froome in the Dauphiné and he was poised for a podium finish at the Tour until he fell ill.

 

However, it seems that his improved climbing has cost something in the time trials and he has not been at his previous level in the TTs in recent years. On the other hand, he barely did a real time trial in 2015 and so it is hard to gauge how well he is doing at the moment. The race in Andalusia will be a very important test for him.

 

On the other hand, his palmares show that he is one of the best time triallists in this field and he is obviously in great form. With his current condition, it is hard to imagine that it will be possible for anyone to drop him on the climbs and then it will all come down to whether he can do a time trial at his usual level. The course for the TT suits him very well as he likes this kind of undulating terrain. An in-form van Garderen should be able to beat the GC contenders in stage 4 and then he can allow himself to ride conservatively in the mountains where he will probably be one of the best. The American is out favourite to win the race.

 

His biggest rival will probably be Wout Poels. The Dutchman proved that his massive step up in 2015 was no fluke as he rode to a dominant victory in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. It was no big surprise that he was the strongest on the climbs – we had already made him our favourite to win the race – but few would have imagined that he was able to win the time trial.

 

The result in the Valencia TT proves that he has improved his time trialling massively and the Sky work clearly pays off again. That’s of utmost important in this race where the TT will be the most important stage. However, the course in Andalusia is not similar to the one in Valencia which was more technical and included a tougher climb which obviously suited Poels very well. This TT is undulating but it has more flat sections than the stage in Valencia. It remains to be seen whether Poels has the power to match van Garderen on the flats.

 

As van Garderen hasn’t been time trialling very well recently, it won’t be impossible for him to beat the American and then he will be very hard to distance in the final mountain stage. His form is impeccable and he is one of the best climbers in the race. He is even pretty punchy so the final climb in stage 5 probably suits him better than it does for a less explosive guy like van Garderen. An in-form Poels could steal a few seconds from the American here and with a good time trial, he could make it two in a row in Spain.

 

Alejandro Valverde won this race in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and after a one-year absence, he is back. He hopes to keep his streak alive but he faces a sterner test as the course doesn’t suit him too well. He is a solid time triallist and after a few hard years after his suspension, he has returned to his former level in the last two seasons. In the past, he has mostly done well on hilly courses but last year he also proved his skills on a flat route as he did an amazing TT at the Vuelta.

 

However, Valverde has not been his usual winning self at the start of the year and he is not at the level he has been in the past. This is definitely no coincidence as he has a big year ahead of him and he is aiming for a slower start. Nonetheless, he is still very consistent and always among the best on the climbs and with his fast sprint, he is an obvious favourite for the relatively easy climb on the final stage. The lack of bonus seconds is a clear disadvantage for him but he will still be a very strong contender. It will all come down to whether his condition allows him to do one of his best time trials.

 

Speaking about the time trial, it is hard not to mention Jerome Coppel as a possible winner of the race.  After a few difficult years, the Frenchman has suddenly turned himself into one of the best time triallists in the world. In the past he was always up there on the hilly courses but his third place at Worlds proves that he can now also do well on flat routes.

 

Stage 4’s mix of climbing and flat roads suits him down to the ground and his form is great after he won the TT and the overall at Etoile de Besseges. He is probably the favourite to win the TT and then it will all come down to what he can do on the climb. He was climbing well in Besseges but this race is a lot harder and there is no chance that he will be able to follow the best. However, his gains in the TT could easily be enough to win the race as the final climb is not very hard.

 

Wilco Kelderman is another rider with the right combination of TT and climbing skills. However, the Dutchman is making his season debut in this race and it remains to be seen how well he is going. He has often been good at the start of the season but this year he is deliberately taking things a bit easier. Furthermore, he hasn’t been time trialling at his usual level in the last two years even though he showed signs of improvement last August. Finally, he has not been at his best climbing level since the 2014 Dauphiné and it remains to be seen whether he can find his legs back. He is one of the question marks in this race but his TT skills make him a possible winner of the race.

 

Poels is not the only Sky card in this race. Benat Intxausti is also in very good form as he proved by taking third in Valencia. He is both a good climber and a solid time triallist. On a very hilly course, he is among the best in the TTs as he has proved on numerous occasions in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco but he has a harder time on the flatter courses. This TT is probably a bit too flat for him to really excel and he is unlikely to win the stage. That means that he has to attack on the climbs which won’t be impossible. This kind of climb can be a very tactical affair and while everybody will be looking at Poels, he could be the man to make a move like he did at the 2013 Tour of Beijing.

 

Sky have numerous options in this race. One of them is one of their most loyal domestiques. Vasil Kiryienka is always working extremely hard for his captains but in this race he may get his own chance. He failed to win the TT in Valencia but this one is longer and so should suit him a lot better. He could very well find himself in the leader’s jersey ahead of the final stage and then he will try to see how well he can do. He is actually a very good climber – just remember how he finished in the top 10 on the queen stage of last year’s Volta a Catalunya which had a very similar finale. If he wins the time trial, he could go on to win the overall.

 

Bauke Mollema is doing his first stage race here. The Dutchman is usually very strong in February and even though he didn’t shine in Mallorca, we expect him to be with the best on the climbs. His GC campaign will be decided in the time trial where he usually has mixed experiences. On his best days, he can do really well but he has also done terribly. However, it seems that he has improved his level since he joined Trek and this can bring him far in this race. He won’t win the race but he could definitely be on the podium.

 

Finally, Rafal Majka deserves a mention. The Pole shares the captaincy role with Roman Kreuziger after he made a reasonable debut in San Luis. He has time trialled poorly in the past but he has improved his level very much. If he can do a time trial like he did at last year’s Giro, he won’t be far behind the best. The final climb in stage 5 is too easy for him to make massive gains and he is rarely too good at this time of the year. However, the solid signs in San Luis indicate that he could be much stronger this time around.

 

UPDATE: Benat Intxausti has fallen ill and won't take the start

 

***** Tejay van Garderen

**** Wout Poels, Alejandro Valverde

*** Jerome Coppel, Wilco Kelderman, Benat Intxausti

** Vasil Kiryienka, Cameron Meyer, Bauke Mollema, Rafal Majka

* Rafal Majka, Javier Moreno, Ben Hermans, Tim Wellens, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Mathias Frank, Steven Kruijswijk, Sam Oomen, Sylvain Chavanel