Capitals like Berlin and London play host to big one-day classics but only one European capital has its own stage race. Every year in May, the Madrid region welcomes the professional peloton for a weekend of tough racing in the hilly terrain around the Spanish capital and even though the race is a minor event doesn’t have the long history as many other Spanish races, it is a coveted and important event for all the local teams.

 

While Italy once had a very rich one-day calendar, Spain has always been the hotbed of stage racing. The country once had a large number of one-week races and many regions had their own tour where they welcomed some of the best stage racers in the world.

 

While most of the Italian classics have disappeared from the calendar, many of the historic Spanish races have either 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 Castilla y Leon and Vuelta Asturias and held over just three days and the list of races that have disappeared completely is long.

 

While some of the historic races have disappeared, one of the minor stage races is still on the calendar. Held in the relatively small region around Madrid, the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid doesn’t have the long history or the long format of the famous races in the country and due to difficult dates on the calendar where it has always been held at the same time as grand tours, it has mostly been a local Spanish affair. Nonetheless, it has survived the tough economic times and offers the Spanish teams a rare chance to race in the month of May where there aren’t many opportunities to do major event on the Iberian Peninsula.

 

The race was first held in 1983 and was an amateur event until the organizers opened it to professional riders in 2004. Two years later it was added to the UCI calendar as a 2.2 race but since 2008 it has been open for WorldTour teams as a 2.1 event. As it was held in July, however, it never had a strong field and so it was moved to may in 2011. However, that hasn’t had much impact on the field and it remains an event mostly for Spanish teams, with Movistar often using it as an opportunity for their domestiques to chase some glory.

 

The number of stages has varied a lot. It was one a 5-day race but in recent years it has mostly been held as a kind of mini Criterium International with three stages – a time trial, a mountain stage and a flat stage – over a weekend. Like most other races, however, it has been hit hard by the tough economic climate. In 2013 it was just a one-day race and it was cancelled in 2014. However, it is now back to a two-day format even though there is no longer a time trial and so it is a two-day, two-stage race.

 

While the race had a relatively fixed format a few years ago, that is no longer the case. Due to the financial troubles, the organizers have had to be more flexible in their approach. Last year’s race had a flat stage and a mountain stage and in general the tough mountains in close proximity to Madrid mean that the race has been dominated by climbers. In 2016, however, there won’t be any major climbs on the menu and it seems to be a race for sprinters.

 

That wasn’t the case in 2015 when Evgeny Shalunov confirmed his huge potential by winning the mountain stage on the first day and he would defend the lead on the final day to take the biggest win of his career, thus denying big favourites Movistar the expected win on home soil.

 

The course

As said, the course has been changed considerably compared to last year. For the first time in a long time, the race won’t head into the mountains. Instead, the organizers have designed a lumpy first stage and a short criterium for Sunday. With a flat finish on the opening day, the race seems to suit strong sprinters who will have a rare chance to go for overall victory in a major stage race.

 

Stage 1

The race will kick off with a 174.3km stage around the city of Las Rozas, a Madrid suburb which is located just south of the major mountains. However, the race won’t head into the big climbs and instead it will travel west to tackle a tough circuit in the lumpy terrain. After the flat start, the climbing will start with the Alto de Almenara (4km, 4.1%) at the 55.6km mark which is followed by the key climb of Alto de El Mojon (2.6km, 6.7%). 

 

From there, they will do two laps of the 31.3km circuit that includes the climbs of Alto de la Cruz Verde (6.8km, 4%) and Alto de El Mojon. They will be back at the top of El Mojon after 128.5km of racing and from there, they will follow the same road back to Las Rozas for the final 45.8km. The first part is descending and the second part is slightly uphill. The final 3km are almost flat and offer no technical challenges as the final turn comes more than one kilometre from the finish.

 

With a total of six climbs on the menu, this is definitely not a flat stage. However, there’s a long way from the final climb to the finish and unless it’s windy, it will be hard for a small group to stay away. Some sprinters may have been dropped along the way but it looks like we will get a sprint finish in Las Rozas.

 

 

Stage 2

Last year the organizers introduced the idea of having a short criterium on the final day. Apparently, they liked it as a longer version of the same stage will be back on the menu for the 2016 season.

 

The stage takes place in the Madrid suburb of Barrio del Pilar and is a very straightforward one. It is held on a 5.05km circuit that the riders will cover 19 times for an overall distance of 95.95km. It’s a very simple circuit held on a mostly straight road where the riders will travel back and forth with U-turns at both ends. The first part is uphill and there’s a category 3 climb (1km, 2.4%) after 1.65km of racing. Then it’s slightly downhill until the turning point and the flamme rouge. The final kilometre is again slightly uphill.

 

The circuit is not completely flat but it remains an affair for the sprinters. Last year Carlos Barbero beat Enrique Sanz in an uphill sprint and we can again expect a bunch kick to be decide the final stage of the race.

 

 

The favourites

As said, the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid has always been a mostly Spanish affair. In recent years, that has been the case for most of the historic Spanish stage races too so it would have been a bit of a surprise if the smallest 2.1 race in the country could buck the trend. Hence, Movistar will again be the only WorldTour team at the start but the organizers have done a good work to attract to foreign pro continental teams. Androni and Delko Marseille will both be at the start alongside local team Caja Rural, meaning that there will be a total of four pro teams at the start. They will be joined by the usual field of continental teams that are doing most of the 2.1 races in Spain.

 

Stage races in Spain are usually all about climbing and the Madrid race has usually not been any different. However, the course has undergone a massive change and this year it is a race for sprinters. As Movistar are here with Juan Jose Lobato, they will be aiming for bunch sprints on both days and they are probably strong enough to control the race. The only real danger is the wind but even though very bad and rainy weather is forecasted, it will be relatively calm. Hence, we can expect the race to be decided by two sprints but you need a good pair of climbing legs to survive the climbs on the first stage.

 

There won’t be any bonus seconds in the race so if both stages are decided in sprints, the race will be decided on the sum of stage placings. That means that the race will reward consistency more than wins so it will be of utmost importance not to miss out in any of the sprints.

 

It’s an interesting fact that most of the Spanish and Portuguese teams don’t have sprinter and so most of the team don’t really have a chance to win the race. Caja Rural who are clearly the second strongest team here are in the same position so they need to try to blow the first stage to pieces on the climbs. With great climbers like Hugh Carthy, David Arroyo and Sergio Pardilla, they have the firepower to do so and they may get rid of Lobato. However, they don’t have a rider to finish it off and as Movistar have faster climbers, it will be very hard to win the race.

 

Movistar’s safest bet is clearly Lobato so they won’t contribute if Caja Rural splits the field. With a long run back to the finish, we expect Lobato to be there at the end of both stages. On paper, he is by far the fastest here but he usually positions himself poorly. That’s a big disadvantage in a race that rewards consistency. However, the sprints won’t be very crowded and this will make it easier for Lobato to come to the fore. He has a strong team to position him, with Francisco Ventoso as final lead-out man, and as the fastest sprinter, he is the clear favourite to win the race.

 

His biggest rival will probably be Daniele Ratto. The Italian likes these reduced sprints and should find the uphill sprint on stage 2 to his liking. He has had a slow start to the year but is now back on rack as he climbed very well in Croatia. He is climbing better than Lobato and more consistent in the sprints so it is definitely not impossible for him to win here, especially as he can count on Davide Vigano for the lead-out.

 

Lokosphinx won last year’s race with Evegeny Shalunov and they have a solid chance to make it two in a row. Sergey Shilov has proved that he can win sprints at his level and he is clearly one of the fastest here. He has been sprinting well this year, most notably in Rioja where he was second behind Matthews. He showed great form in Asturias last week so he is climbing better than Lobato which will give him opportunities.

 

Androni have two cards to play. If Ratto is not up for the challenge, they will go for Davide Vigano who is also tailor-made for this race as he excels in reduced bunch sprints. He will probably do the lead-out but may get his chance.

 

If Caja Rural blow the race to pieces, Movistar will play the Jesus Herrada card. The Spaniard is an excellent climber and so he will never get into any kind of trouble. Furthermore, he has won reduced bunch sprints in the past so if the race becomes very selective, he will be one of the fastest.

 

As said, Caja Rural don’t have a sprinter but their best card is Fabricio Ferrari.  The Uruguayan is in great form as he was second behind Betancur on stage 2 in Asturias and he will have a chance in a sprint from a small group. Diego Rubio is a second option

 

Francisco Ventoso rarely gets a chance to sprint nowadays but he is still a fast rider. If Lobato is dropped and he is still there, Ventoso will take his chance in the sprint for Movistar.

 

Louletano are here with Vicente Garcia who is both a good climber and a fast sprinter while Delko will play the card of an in-form Quentin Pacher even though he is probably not fast enough to win.

 

Joaquin Sobrino and Luca Pacioni are both real sprinters but we doubt that they will survive in stage 1. Finally, the race suits Asbjørn Kragh Andersen really well but it’s his first race since February so his form is probably not good enough.

 

***** Juan Jose Lobato

**** Daniele Ratto, Sergey Shilov

*** Davide Vigano, Jesus Herrada, Fabricio Ferrari

** Francisco Ventoso, Vicente Garcia, Quentin Pacher, Diego Rubio

* Joaquin Sobrino, Luca Pacioni, Asnjørn Kragh Andersen, Gorka Izagirre, Ruben Fernandez, Garikoitz Bravo, Jesus Del Pino, Alexander Vdovin