Key points:
• La Vuelta 21 is about to start with Pelayo Sánchez set to be the first rider tackling the opening time-trial in Burgos, at 5:44 pm.
• “It’s a really really tricky first week”, according to the two-time defending champion Primoz Roglic, who will be the last on the road.
• Local champions such as the Movistar leaders and Mikel Landa also expressed strong ambitions on the eve of stage 1.
FROM SANCHEZ TO ROGLIČ, THE 184 PARTICIPANTS ARE READY TO GO
La Vuelta 21 starts this Saturday with an individual time trial around Burgos-Catedral VIII Centenario (7.1km) that will crown the first wearer of La Roja, the leader’s red jersey. The very young Asturian Pelayo Sánchez, from the local team Burgos-BH, will be the first rider to start, at 5:44, from the Plaza de Santa María. Among the big GC contenders, Adam Yates will go early, at 18:05. The last three champions to ride through the streets of Burgos will be Enric Mas, Egan Bernal and finally the two-time defending champion Primož Roglič at 8:47 p.m.
ROGLIČ: “A BIG FIGHT ALL THE WAY UNTIL THE END”
After a rollercoaster of a Summer, with the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo’s ITT following his withdrawal from the Tour de France, Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) expressed his delight to return to La Vuelta: “First I celebrated, tried to realise and enjoy what we achieved. In the last days, I tried to train as well as possible ahead of La Vuelta. I always enjoy being here. I have special memories about this race, and about Spain. These victories are proof of the hard and good work we do, myself, and also my teammates and all the people involved in these successes.” The road to a historical third win starts early: “We’ll see after a couple of days if I’m ready. It’s a really really tricky first week. The second is more manageable and the last one is among the hardest I’ve ever seen.” Asked about his rivals, the Slovenian highlighted the depth of the opposition and shifted the focus onto what he and his team will do: “What I worry about is that we do our best. Egan [Bernal] is a super strong guy for sure, and it’s not only him, so it will be a big fight all the way until the end.”
“MOVISTAR ALWAYS COME FOR THE WIN”
Participating in La Vuelta for the 42nd year in a row, since Eusebio Unzué’s team was born under the patronage of Reynolds in 1980, Movistar Team aim to add to their success tally in the Spanish Grand Tour, with notably 4 overall victories and 64 stage wins. “I’m very excited to be here for a new La Vuelta, the race I love the most. And I’m excited with the team we have”, said Alejandro Valverde ahead of his 15th participation (overall winner in 2009, 12 stage wins). “It would be great to have Enric Mas or Miguel Angel Lopez on the podium and a stage win for myself.” Mas already finished on the podium in 2018 and he dreams of making it onto the top step in Santiago de Compostela: “Movistar always come for the win. Then we have to see what happens in the race but we’re convinced we can win, and if not be on the podium.” La Vuelta is also the Grand Tour Lopez rode most often (4 times since 2016): “It’s a beautiful race I’ve always loved. I have good memories here, from 2017, 2018, and it’s even sweeter to be here with Movistar, ready to give it a go from the start.”
LANDA: „MY GOAL IS TO RETURN ON THE PODIUM OF A GRAND TOUR“
Absent since 2015, when he won a stage in Cortals d’Encamp and achieved his best result (25th) in the general classification, Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) returns to La Vuelta with “a lot of desire. We must compensate for the lack of form with enthusiasm and a super powerful team like the one we bring”, with Poels, Caruso, Padun, Haig or Mäder to support the Spaniard. The champion from Murgia says he is not yet feeling at his best after crashing out of the Giro: „That is obvious, but I hope to reach that level during La Vuelta and I trust not to waste time at the beginning to be able to be in the fight when it happens“, since he has a clear objective, „to return on the podium of a Grande. In these years I have been very close in the Tour and in the Giro, but sometimes I have lacked a bit of luck or form.“ These setbacks have served to „learn to have a little patience; cycling is not only about winning, attitude also counts, and you have to keep fighting for your dreams or your goals“, argued Landa, who also highlighted his links with Burgos: „It is a city to which I am very fond of him and it is like starting at home. I am very motivated.“
PURITO: „BOTH MAS AND LANDA WILL SURELY FIGHT FOR THE PODIUM“
Caser Seguros, sponsor and official insurer of La Vuelta, organised a meeting between the accredited media, the general director of the race, Javier Guillén, and Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodríguez, ambassador of the company. The former rider expects “a very hot La Vuelta with a great route” and pointed out that, despite the presence of Roglič or Bernal, there are Spanish options to win: “Both Enric Mas and Mikel Landa are coming with a great form and they will surely fight for victory or at least for the podium. They also ride with strong teams.” Guillén is committed to having „a safe La Vuelta. The situation is radically different from 2020, although the pandemic is still among us.” He added: “If there are infections, the race may be compromised“, so he asked everyone “to pay attention and to comply with sanitary measures”.
FOLLOW LA VUELTA WITH TWITCH AND THE OFFICIAL PODCAST
La Vuelta pursues its efforts to reach new audiences and this year it will also be possible to follow the event through new and thriving digital communication platforms: a Twitch channel (making it the first Grand Tour with a presence on this leading streaming platform) and the official Podcast. The Twitch channel, hosted by David García, is developed in partnership with RTVE after the success achieved in the recent Tokyo Olympic Games and will allow fans to enjoy live presentations after the stages with an analysis of what happened. As for the Podcast, which was already active in La Vuelta 20 and throughout this year every two weeks, it will run throughout the race with a daily edition available on the main platforms (Spotify, Ivoox, Apple and Google) with José Covián and Alberto Marcos.
LA VUELTA KEY FIGURES
STARTING ORDER | STAGE 1