Vuelta a Castilla y Leon preview

Most of the Spanish stage races have either been cancelled or shortened to one-day races but a few of the many regional tours have managed to survive. One of them is the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon and even though the race is no longer what it once was, it remains an important part of the Spanish calendar. This year Alejandro Valverde will use the race as his final test for the Ardennes classics and the Giro d’Italia which has increased the value of a race which is nowadays largely a Spanish affair.

 

In the last century, the Spanish calendar was loaded with stage races in the spring, making it possible to spend almost the entire first part of the season racing on the Iberian Peninsula. However, the economic crisis has taken its toll and nowadays there are barely any races left.

 

In the 1990s, almost every region had its own tour but most of them have been cancelled, shortened or reduced to one-day races. Even the WorldTour races Volta a Catalunya and Vuelta al Pais Vasco have been close to extinction but luckily both have managed to survive. Things have been more difficult for the smaller races. Vuelta a Murcia and Vuelta a la Rioja are now one-day races, Vuelta a Asturias is held over just two days and was cancelled a few years ago and the list of races that have disappeared completely is long.

 

One of the races that have managed to survive is the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon but the race is no longer what it once was. First held in 1985 under the name of Trofeo Castilla y Leon, it has been held every year since its inception with only the 1990 edition being cancelled. It got its current name in 1996 and has been a 2.1 race since the current UCI system was introduced in 2005.

 

In the past, the race was held as a big five-day race in the second half of March where it came at a perfect time for many of the best stage racers. Even though, it has been dominated by Spanish riders, the fact that Alexandre Vinokourov and Levi Leipheimer have won the race and Denis Menchov, Alex Zülle, Laurent Jalabert Jan Ullrich, Thomas Dekker and Bauke Mollema have all been on the podium speaks volumes about the prestige it once had. For several years, it was one of Alberto Contador’s preferred spring races and he won it in 2007, 2008 and 2010 and finished on the podium after having worked for teammate Leipheimer in 2009. That year the race got huge attention as it marked the first time Contador and Lance Armstrong rode together in the Astana team.

 

However, the race was the big loser when a restructure of the calendar saw the race being moved to its current slot in the middle of April. In an attempt to revive the WorldTour race, the Volta a Catalunya inherited its March spot and while it has allowed the Catalonian race to flourish, it has had the opposite effect on the race in Castilla y Leon. As it is the case for races like the Vuelta a Asturias, Klasika Primavera and Vuelta a la Rioja, the race has completely lost its international flavor and now it is predominantly a race for the Spanish teams and small continental squads. There is no longer any live TV coverage of the race, there are barely any international stars and the race has been shortened from five to three stages.

 

Unfortunately, nothing has changed for 2016. Movistar will be the only WorldTour team in attendance and their big rivals will be Caja Rural, meaning that it is again likely to be a largely Spanish affair. The organizers have attracted another three ProContinental teams but as Drapac, Stölting and ONE all belong to the bottom part of that category, the race is far from being the big event it once was. The rest of the field is made up of continental teams, mostly from Spain and Portugal.

 

Despite its status as a mainly national event, the race had a foreign star as its winner in 2015. Europcar was the only foreign top team in attendance and they beat all the Spanish stars as Pierre Rolland rode to a rare stage race win by winning the queen stage. Movistar were the big favourites but had to settle for second with Benat Intxausti and third with Igor Anton while Caja Rural took fourth with Pello Bilbao.

 

The course

When it was still held over five days, the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon was like a mini grand tour that tested the riders in every discipline. The race had big mountain stages, flat stages on the exposed, windy plains in the region and a time trial but nowadays there is no time trial. Instead, the race usually has a flat stage where wind can play a big role, a hilly stage with a flat finish and a big mountaintop finish and this will again be the format for 2016 even though the flat stage is a bit tougher than it has been in past years.

 

Stage 1

The flat stage has often come on the first day and that will again be the case for the 2016 edition of the event. However, this year’s stage is a bit harder than usual as it includes a late climb and an uphill finish which means that it is more for puncheurs and classics riders than for sprinters.

 

The 166.3km opening stage will bring the riders from Alcanices to the Portuguese city of Braganca. The first part is made up of a big 101km circuit on the northeastern outskirts of the starting city that includes the category 3 Alto de Carmona (3km, 5.3%) after 39.8km of racing on an otherwise flat route. From there, the riders will head to the finishing city, crossing the border into Portugal with 46.2km to go and going up the category 3 Alto de Braganca (2.1km, 5.7%) 21.2km from the finish.

 

The riders will cross the finish line after 152.6km of racing and then they will end the stage by doing one lap of a 13.7km circuit. It features the category 3 Alto do Castillo (3.5km, 5.1%) whose summit comes just 7.6km from the line. From there, it is slightly downhill until the riders get to the flamme rouge where a flat road leads to the final 3km that are slightly uphill in a technical finale that includes a late turn just 300m from the line.

 

The wind can often play a role on the exposed roads in Castilla y Leon and this can make this stage dangerous. At the same time, it is the best chance for the fast finishers and so it is likely to come down to a sprint finish. However, the late climb and the uphill finish mean that there will be no room for pure sprinters on a day that seems tailor-made for puncheurs and strong sprinters.

 

 

 

 

Stage 2

The terrain gets slightly hillier on the second stage which will see the riders travel over 1706km from the Portuguese city of Braganca to Fermoselle. The first part is the toughest as the riders travel through lumoy terrain in a southeasterly direction, going up the category 3 climbs of the Alto de Rossas (3km, 5.3% Alto de Hantulhao (8.7km, 3.2%) and Alto de Vimioso (5.9km, 4.7%) at the 17.1km, 54.5km and 67.3km marks respectively. After 98.2km of racing, they will be back on Spanish soil and from here the terrain gets significantly flatter. However, the stage has a nasty sting in its tail as the category 2 Alto de Fermoselle (4.5km, 6.3%) features in the finale. The summit is located just 3.1km from the finish and after a very short descent, it is a gradually rising road that leads to the line. The road is winding in the finale but there are no sharp turns.

 

This stage may not be a real mountaintop finish but with just a very short descent after the KOM sprint, the final 8km are almost all uphill. This means that it a pretty tough stage that is way too hard for the sprinters. Instead, it will offer the first small chance for the GC riders to show their cards and the stage will probably be decided in an uphill sprint from a select group of climbers.

 

 

 

 

Stage 3

The Castilla y Leon region is mountainous and so it always offers a big mountain stage that usually decides the race. As it is often the case, the queen stage will again come on the final day when the riders will travel over 151.4km from the big city of Salamanca to a mountaintop finish on Alto de Candelario.

 

The first part of the stage is flat as the riders head south along the flat plateau around the starting city before they get into the mountains. The climbing starts when they get to the bottom of the category 2 Alto de San Miguel de Valero (5.8km, 6.4%) which is followed by the category 3 climbs of Alto de Cristobal (5.2km, 3.1%) and Alto de Beni (2.8km, 5.7%). Then the riders will do one lap of a lumpy circuit with the uncategorized Alto de Los Pollos before they will descend to the bottom of the category 1 Alto de Candelario. It averages 6.5% over 10.1km but is much steeper in the final part as the final 6.2km average 7.7%.

 

This is the big day for the GC that will go a long way in determining the winner of the race. Alto de Candelario is a real mountain that can create huge differences, especially in a field like this. It’s a stage for the real climbers and there is a very big chance that the winner of this stage will also claim the overall honours after a big battle in the Castilla y Leon mountains.

 

 

 

 

The favourites

In the past, the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon was like a mini grand tour that required climbing and time trialling skills. As there is no longer a time trial in the race, it’s a race that is all about climbing. The first two stages are hard but are likely to come down to uphill sprints and if you are not up there in those stages, you will be nowhere in the queen stage. Hence, it is very likely to all come down to the final stage. However, one should notice that there are 10-6-4 bonus seconds at the finish and they can come into play if a few riders are evenly matched in the queen stage.

 

The only aspect that can really change things in the first two stages is the wind. Castilla y Leon is often marred by windy conditions on the plains. However, while rain is forecasted for the first two stages but it won’t be windy. The wind will pick up a bit on Saturday afternoon but it is unlikely to play much of a role, especially in a race like this where there are only a few strong teams so there should be plenty of room for the best riders in the first echelon if things split up. Some of the captains from the continental teams may be unfortunate to lose ground but for the big favourites, it will all be decided in the queen stage, with the bonus seconds in the first two stages possibly coming into play as well.

 

It’s a shame to look at the start list for a race that has had so many great battles in the past. This year’s race could very well be a pretty dull affair as one team seems to be far stronger than the rest. Movistar don’t go into this race with their strongest line-up but as the team will be led by Alejandro Valverde in what is his final test before the Ardennes Classics and the Giro d’Italia, the team can be expected to dominate proceedings completely.

 

Last Sunday’s Klasika Primavera showed what happens when Movistar go into the race as the dominant figure. The team crushed the opposition on the final climb and had Giovanni Visconti, Gorka Izagirre and Valverde in the four-rider group that decided the race. Sergio Pardilla could hang onto their pace but he had no chance in the difficult position against three teammates who were all faster than him.

 

In that race, Valverde worked for his teammates before rolling across the line in fourth but we expect things to be different in Castilla y Leon. Apart from Winner Anacona, none of his teammates are able to win a race on this kind of mountainous course and so Valverde can be expected to be the sole leaders. If Valverde and Anacona turn out to be the two strongest riders, the Colombian is likely to be given the win but otherwise Valverde would love to boost his confidence as he goes into the biggest objectives of the race.

 

Valverde is the most consistent rider in the peloton. The Spaniard is always competitive and even though he has just finished a huge training block, he will be very strong in Castilla y Leon. He already showed his good condition last Sunday and in this race he will find a course that suits him down to the ground. As he is clearly the best climber, he will be the favourite for the queen stage and also for the uphill sprint on stage 2. He may even be the fastest on stage 1 if he decides to go for the sprint there. Valverde is in a class of his own and unless he gets the chance to give the win to Anacona, he should win this race easily.

 

That also means that his biggest rival will be his teammate Winner Anacona. On paper, the Colombian is the second best climber in this race – just recall how strong he was in the final part of last year’s Tour. However, he is extremely inconsistent. He was strong in Catalonia where he rode to 11th in the queen stage but he rode poorly in Pais Vasco. If he is as strong as he was in Catalonia, he may be given the chance to win this race. Otherwise, he will play the role of luxury domestique.

 

The big rival for the Movistar team will be Pello Bilbao. The Spaniard has always been a huge talent but this year he has clearly stepped up his level. After his victory in a tough stage at last year’s Tour of Turkey, he took another step at this year’s Vuelta al Pais Vasco where he surprised himself by being able to go for GC. Unfortunately, he had one bad day but his performance in the uphill finish on stage 2 and his 10th place in the very tough time trial prove his form. Last year he was fourth in this race and he would love to be able to challenge Valverde here. He is fast in a sprint so he could possible pick up some bonus seconds in the first two stages and then it will be all about trying to stay with Valverde in the queen stage.

 

Bilbao is not the only Caja Rural card. Jaime Roson is a local rider who is hugely motivated for his home race. He is a neo-pro but he has the potential to become a great climber. Riding as a stagiaire, he was 12th at the USA Pro Challenge in 2015 and it would have been much better if it hadn’t been for the time trial. This race is all about climbing and this means that it could be the scene of a big breakthrough.

 

Veteran David Arroyo is no longer the rider he once was. However, he is still a solid climb and less than 12 months ago he was 12th overall at the Vuelta a Espana. He has not been at his best in 2016 but he showed signs of progress in Catalonia. He is likely to have improved for this race. He no longer climbs well enough to win but he will be a contender.

 

This race must be one of the big goals for Rinaldo Nocentini who wants to prove that Ag2r were wrong when they refused to offer him a new contract. With no time trial, this race suits him pretty well even if he is more of an Ardennes specialist than a climber. His 8th place at Coppi e Bartali proved that his form is good so he should be one of the strongest here.

 

Drapac go into the race with a two-pronged attack of Lachlan Norris and Gavin Mannion. Both have achieved top results in the mountainous American races and have the potential to do really well here. However, both have been far from their best in 2016 and especially Mannion has been riding pretty poorly. Both have the potential to do well here but as Norris has been the strongest until now, he is probably the best card. He has only done one race recently as he abandoned Brabantse Pijl so there is a solid chance that he has improved significantly since his last races.

 

We are curious to see what youngster Bernardo Suaza can do. The Colombian is an excellent climb who did very well in some of the most mountainous U23 races in 2014. Since then he has failed to reach the same level and he has not been riding well in 2016 either. However, he looms as a solid outsider.

 

Nocentini’s teammate David De La Fuente has already achieved some good results in the Portuguese races. However, he has never really been able to compete for the win in a mountainous race like this. On the other hand, he should be one of the best in this field.

 

Euskadi are led by Garikoitz Bravo who is aiming for a return to the WorldTour. Last year he decided to ride aggressively and so won the mountains jersey but in other mountainous races he was up there in the GC, most notably in the Volta a Asturias and the Tour de Gevaudan. He has shown good form and should find the mountainous course to his liking.

 

Boyaca are here with Diego Ochoa who recently rode to second in the Dominican Republic and he could deliver a surprise. The team aslo has Heiner Parra and Miguel Florez as second options.

 

Finally, the field is loaded with some of the best Portuguese climbers who usually dominate the Volta a Portugal. However, they are usually all far from their best form at this time of the year and nothing suggests that it is any different this time. Joni Brandao is probably the best option when it comes to delivering a surprise.

 

***** Alejandro Valverde

**** Pello Bilbao, Winner Anacona

*** Jaime Roson, David Arroyo, Rinaldo Nocentini, Lachlan Norris

** David De La Fuente, Garikoitz Bravo, Bernado Suaza, Gavin Mannion, Diego Ochoa

* Federico Figueiredo, Jose Goncalves, Karol Domagalski, Heiner Parra, Miguel Florez, Joni Brandao, Rui Sousa, David Rodrigues, Rafael Silva