(mellow jazz music)
- GC contenders, stage hunters, young guns, and sprinters,
here are 10 riders that we think will shape
and define the 72nd Vuelta a Espana.
First up, a couple of young guns and Marc Soler of Movistar.
Now, with the imminent retirement of Alberto Contador
and an injured Alejandro Valverde
well into the autumn of his career,
Spanish hopes of grand tour success in the future rest
on the shoulders of the 23-year-old winner
of the 2015 edition of the tour La Venere.
Now, he's a solid all-rounder,
whose progress has really accelerated in 2017,
with a seventh place overall in the Tour of Switzerland
and a third place overall in the Tour of the Basque Country,
real indicators of this rider's talent,
and he could well be the protected GC rider
for Movistar at this year's Vuelta.
The former Under-23 Spanish Road Race champion
is a climber of really fantastic potential,
so much so, in fact, that he's been snapped up by Movistar
for the next two seasons, following a really fine victory
on the Queen Stage of the Tour of Croatia,
where he bested none other than Vincenzo Nibali,
on route to a fine second place overall.
Add to the mix, as well, really consistent placings
in some of Spain's hillier stage races, the Vuelta a Burgos
and the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, and you can see
why he is really a hot property.
And without a shadow of a doubt,
he's gonna be Caja Rural's best hope
of a stage win in their Home Tour.
Now, for a few stage hunters/comeback men.
Last year's Tour of Switzerland winner
has only actually raced 19 days so far this year
after breaking his tibia in November 2016.
So, he will actually be one of
the freshest riders in the field.
Now, despite that nasty injury setback,
he's in very, very good form indeed.
He was third overall in the Tour of Austria,
picked up a stage there, as well,
and also won a stage at the Tour of Burgos,
which really points him being an important component part
in the armoury of Astana as they look to deliver
Fabio Aru to another Vuelta victory.
And if Aru falters, Superman, as he's known,
could be given his chance to shine.
Another rider on the comeback trail
whose season has been blighted by injury,
is Esteban Chaves of Columbia.
Now, his progression back to form
has been a steady and measured one, with his last two races
being the Dauphine and the Tour de France.
Now since then, he's been honing his form
ahead of a race in which he was third overall
in 2016 and of course won two stages in back in 2015.
Now, with no defined leader as yet,
the prospect of Orica Scott lighting up the Vuelta
with a triple-header of Chaves and the Yates twins
is an absolutely thrilling one.
This list does seem to be filled
with riders on the comeback trail,
but that is the wonderful thing about the Vuelta.
It's a kind of last-chance cycling
saloon for riders to shine.
Now, one rider who would definitely look to shine
at this year's Vuelta is Julian Alaphilippe,
who was ruled out of this year's Tour de France
by a knee injury that he picked up
in the Tour of the Basque Country way back in April.
Now, the versatile 25-year-old does look to be in good form
at the moment, as shown by two third places on stage
at the Tour of Burgos, a very hilly race in Spain.
Now, expect him to go on the offensive in the hunt
for stage wins at this year's Vuelta,
whilst also assisting Bob Jungels,
who will be more focused on the overall.
Now, with slim pickings on offer
at this year's Vuelta a Espana, it's no real surprise
there's a real lack of sprinters in the field,
but one rider, without a shadow of a doubt,
has the capacity to take one of the few stages on offer
for the fast men is Sacha Modolo of Italy.
Now, he's a former winner of two stages in bunch kicks
at the Giro d'Italia, but more recently won
a big bunch sprint at the Tour of Poland,
indicating that he definitely has the condition to deliver.
The 2015 winner of both Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo
has had a very challenging time getting back
to the same level he was at prior
to that awful training accident back in 2016.
Yet the Vuelta is a place where Degenkolb has really shone
in the past, and he's amassed an amazing 10 stage wins.
Now, with his last win being back in Abu Dhabi in February,
his main focus will be to get a morale-boosting
stage win at this year's Vuelta.
And, he has trusted lead-out man Koen de Kort to assist him.
Whatever the outcome of this year's race,
one thing is for certain, Alberto Contador will get
a rapturous reception virtually every kilometre of the way.
Now, he's a three-times winner of the Vuelta
and has decided to end his career at his home tour,
close to the fans that adore him
and fittingly, the race finishes in Madrid,
close to the place, or the town, of Pinto where he was born.
Expect explosive, long-range attacks,
against-the-grain tactics, panache,
and even, perhaps, a stage win.
Now, El Pistolero will definitely want to end his career
on a high after an agonising seven second places this year.
And the GC podium?
Well, that certainly isn't out of the question
because the punchy, shorter stages
definitely suit his style of late.
It's been a strange season so far for the Sicilian winner
of all three Grand Tours as so far
this year he's only actually won two races,
the overall at the Tour of Croatia and a stage
of the Giro d'Italia, in which he was also third overall.
Now, many may see that as actually underperforming,
which may be true, but write off the Shark of Messina
at your peril, as he has an uncanny ability
to bounce back when least expected.
Take the penultimate stage of last
year's Giro d'Italia, for example.
This is the first time that the four times
a Tour de France winner has openly stated that he's going
for the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana double.
Now, despite the fact that his win
in this year's Tour de France wasn't anywhere near
as dominant that it has been in the past,
you could actually speculate that the reason for that
was because he wanted to be far fresher
for the Vuelta, in which he's actually faded
in the final week quite often in the past.
Add to that, that he has, without a shadow of a doubt,
the strongest team in the race,
meaning he's gonna be very, very hard to beat.
Of course, there's always gonna be riders that we miss
when we do a top-10 so another few notable mentions
in relation to the GC include Fabio Aru,
Romain Bardet, who's actually riding
his first-ever Vuelta a Espana,
Steven Kruijswijk, Ilnur Zakarin, to name but a few.
And Lloydie, in fact, is on the ground
for us at the Vuelta a Espana,
so let us know what kind of content
you'd like him to do in the comments section down below.
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