The Spanish cycling calendar is no longer what it once was but there is still one big block of races in early April. For the next ten days, there will be races in the country every day, with the Vuelta al Pais Vasco being the big highlight. Before the WorldTour race kicks off, the riders will get a chance to warm up their legs in two one-day races and after today’s race for the climbers at GP Miguel Indurain, the sprinters will get their chance to test themselves in Sunday’s Vuelta a la Rioja.

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.

Unsurprisingly, most of the surviving races are held in the cycling-mad region of the Basque Country which has a series of one-day races in the late summer, culminating with the Clasica San Sebastian. However, the biggest event is the Vuelta al Pais Vasco in April as the regional tour is both one of the most important WorldTour stage races in the spring and the most important event in the biggest racing block on the Spanish calendar.

The stage race features prominently in the middle of the block before Klasika Amorebieta will end things next Sunday. This weekend it will kick it off with a pair of one-day races that offer both the fast finishers and the climbers a chance to test their form before the big race next week. While climbers and puncheurs battled it out in Saturday’s GP Miguel Indurain, the fast finishers will get a chance to warm up their legs in the Vuelta a la Rioja on Sunday.

Spain has always been all about stage racing and there aren’t many one-day races on the calendar. Most of the regions have had their one stage race and the Vuelta a la Rioja was originally the local tour. First hel din 1957, it was held in September close to a major festival in Logrono but in 1996 it was moved to April to avoid overlapping with the Vuelta a Espana.

Unfortunately, the economic crisis has also hit the Vuelta a la Rioja hard and in 2009 the organizers faced the risk of cancellation. Unlike many others, they managed to save the race but like the Vuelta a Murcia, they had to change it to a one-day race. Since then, it has been held over just a single day, with a course mostly suited to the sprinters. The first editions were relatively hilly but now it has found its format as a race for fast finishers and the last three editions have all been decided in bunch sprints. After Francesco Lasca won the race in 2012, Orica-GreenEDGE have dominated affair, delivering Michael Matthews an Caleb Ewan to victory in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

The course

The 2016 edition of Vuelta a la Riojas is held over a 157.4km distance around the city of Logrono. It consists of a big circuit on the western outskirts of the city. The terrain is rolling and there are two categorized climbs but the amount of climbing isn’t much.

After just 2.2km, the riders will contest the first intermediate sprint as they head to the west and with the second and final sprint coming already at the 36.4km mark, there’s an incentive to go on the attack early. Most of the first half of the race is slightly uphill and culminates at the top of the category3 Alto de la de Gollada (2.8km, 3.6%) at the 89km mark. It comes close to the westernmost point of the race and from there it is mainly descending as the riders turn around and head back towards the finish, with a small climb (600m, 4%) coming 41.9km from the finish. The climbing ends a few kilometres later and then a descent leads to the finale which is almost completely flat.

In the finale, there are two roundabouts inside the final 2km and then it’s a straight until a late left-hadn turn just 100m from the line.

The weather

The riders are fortunate that the race will be held around noon as rain is forecasted in the afternoon. It will be a sunny morning but gradually more clouds will appear and the rain may even start before the race has ended. The maximum temperature will be 15 degrees. There will only be a light wind from a southerly direction which means that it will mostly be a crosswind. After the final climb, it be a cross-headwind and in the finale it will be a crosswind leading to a headwind on the 100m finishing straight.

The favourites

In the past, Vuelta a la Rioja has been a much hillier race but nowadays it is a race for sprinters. The three most recent editions have all been decided in bunch sprints and it is hard to imagine that it will be any different in 2016. The terrain is not very hard and the fast finishers in this race are all pretty good climbers so they should be able to handle the challenges. The only real danger is the wind but as Sunday will be a calm day, it won’t be possible to split the field.

Orica-GreenEDGE have won this race in the last two years and they want to make it three in a row. The GP Miguel Indurain ended as a huge disappointment so they will be keen to make amends. In the last two years, they have controlled the race entirely and they will take the responsibility again today.

Movistar is the second WorldTour team in the race and they don’t have a real sprinter on their roster. They always try to ride aggressively in this race but they know that it is difficult to change the script. They mainly use the event to gear up for the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and usually accept that it is hard for them to get a result here.

For the continental teams, it is important to have a rider in the break so we can expect a fast start. When the break has been formed Orica-GreenEDGE will control things and if Caja Rural don’t have a rider in the break, they will probably lend them a hand. We may see some late attacks but the strong Orica-GrenEDGE team should be strong enough to control things.

It is hard to look beyond Michael Matthews as the man to beat. He won this race two years ago and after skipping the event in 2015, he wants to boost his confidence again after two disappointments on Saturday at Milan-Sanremo. Matthews is not a pure sprinter but there aren’t any real sprinters here. On paper, he is the fastest and he has actually been sprinting really well this year, even matching Bouhanni at Paris-Nice.

With a late turn, much will depend on lead-outs and Matthews doesn’t have a strong train. However, no one really so the support of Albasini and Hayman may actually make Orica the best train in the race. As they also have the fastest finisher, Matthews will be the man to beat.

His big rival will be Carlos Barbero. He skipped today’s race to be fresh for Rioja where he has been on the podium in the past. Like Matthews, he is not a pure sprinter but h is one of the fastest her. He doesn’t have a big train but Lluis Mas is a capable lead-out man. He sprinted really well in Catalonia so he is the rider who has the biggest chance to go up against Matthews.

The Russian national team are here with Sergey Shilov who has won sprints at this level in the past. Last year he won a stage in the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon and on that day he proved that he can beat Barbero. He won’t have much support from his teammates but he has showed that he can handle the sprints without a real train.

Movistar are here without any sprinter so they will probably try to make the race as hard as possible. For the sprint, they have Jesus Herrada who has won reduced bunch kicks in the past. However, he is more of a versatile GC rider and a fast finisher than a real sprinter and he usually needs a very tough race and a pretty small group to win. However, he will be supported by one of the best teams and with Giovanni Visconti for the lead-out, the in-form Spaniard may create a surprise.

ONE are here with two fast finishers. Yanto Barker is a real sprinter while Dion Smith is a fast finisher who can also climb well. On paper, Barker is the fastest of the pair but it remains to be seen how fresh he is at the finish as he has limited experience at this level. If he is not fresh enough, Smith will be given his chance. Otherwise Barker will have the Kiwi for the lead-out.

Novo Nordisk are here with Martij Verschoor and Andrea Peron who form a pretty strong duo. They are unlikely to win the race but they could definitely give the team a welcome top 10 result. Verschoor has seemed to be slightly faster than his Italian teammate in recent races.

Joaquin Sobrino was once regarded as a big sprinting talent but he has had to settle for a career at the continental level. He has won sprints at this level in the past but unfortunately those winds are more than five years old. Sebastian Molano is a talented sprinter who was part of the Colombia team last year and it is also a good idea to keep an eye on Samuel Caldeira and Vicente Garcia who can do well in sprints at this level.

It’s hard to imagine that it won’t be a sprint but riders like Giovanni Visconti and Lluis Mas could create a surprise.

***** Michael Matthews

**** Carlos Barbero, Sergey Shilov

*** Jesus Herrada, Yanto Barker, Dion Smith

** Martijn Verschoor, Andrea Peron, Sebastian Molano, Samuel Caldeira

* Vicenta Garcia de Mateos, Joaquin Sobrino, Giovanni Visconti, Lluis Mas