Schlagwort-Archive: La Vuelta 21

The heroes of La Vuelta (3/6) : Richard Carapaz

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Photo by HERBERT MOOS
Photo by HERBERT MOOS

Six currently active riders took place on the final podium of the three Grand Tours: Alejandro Valverde, Vincenzo Nibali, Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana, Primoz Roglic and Richard Carapaz. If we extend the statistics to cycling in the 21st century, Carlos Sastre, Denis Menchov, Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans and Joaquim „Purito“ Rodriguez join them. But only one athlete, in the entire history of cycling, has achieved this treble and won the Olympic gold medal in the road race: Richard Carapaz, winner of the Giro 2019, 2nd in La Vuelta 20 and 3rd in the Tour 2021.

Richard Carapaz only returned to competition this year in the Volta a Catalunya (21st) at the end of March and was just as discreet at the Itzulia Pays Basque (19th), for the double reason that his 2020 season was ended late (November 8 with La Vuelta) and that he had big ambitions for this summer. In fact, he has perfectly managed his form: winner of the Tour de Suisse in mid-June, 3rd in the Tour de France and Olympic champion in July. It would have been more than enough to return and enjoy his glory at home. Before him, only one Ecuadorian athlete had won Olympic gold: Jefferson Pérez in racewalking in 1996, and a week after Carapaz, Neisi Dajomes did the same in weightlifting. But he has a still unfulfilled task that is close to his heart: to win La Vuelta.

Last year, instead of expressing any bitterness about the narrowly missed victory (2nd with a gap of 24“ to Primoz Roglic), he left the event by declaring: „I’m leaving very happy because I lived the end of the race with a lot of hope, and throughout the course, I saw a lot of Ecuadorian flags, it was beautiful. I felt special support. These were really great times!“ For the record, this was an autumnal Vuelta with a small number of spectators present. Richard Carapaz’s emotions are therefore likely to be increased tenfold with the support of the „responsible public“ (masked and concerned about social distancing) expected this summer, if he gets back „La Roja“, the red leader’s jersey he wore five days in 2020 before giving it a second time to Primoz Roglic at Mirador de Ézaro (in the ITT). He placed one last banderilla, sharp and sustained, on the final ascent of La Vuelta 20, the Alto de la Covatilla. „I finished this race with the same smile I had when I arrived because I gave everything, it was a beautiful La Vuelta, I had a lot of fun there“, he concluded at the end of this third participation in the Spanish Grand Tour.

Richard Carapaz was a bit late in becoming a hero of La Vuelta unlike the Giro d’Italia where he won (stage 8, Montevergine di Mercogliano), wore the white jersey and finished 4th overall in his first participation in 2018, before bringing the pink jersey all the way to Verona the following year. But it was La Vuelta that served as his first Grand Tour, in 2017, undoubtedly the edition that least favored Movistar, his team at the time (no stage victory, Dani Moreno the best ranked in the final, 18th). For his debut, Richard Carapaz attacked several times without success (his best result: 11th on the Angliru, the day Alberto Contador came out in style on the eve of his end of career). In 2018, despite his record of service at the Giro, he resolved to act as a teammate, in favour of Alejandro Valverde (5th overall after having occupied the podium for a long time) and Nairo Quintana (designated leader at the start, 8th at the finish).
He was still due to participate in La Vuelta 19, but he left the squad at the last moment following a crash in a criterium he rode in the Netherlands the previous Sunday. He was on the way out from Movistar, the team that had accompanied him in his professional debut following his apprenticeship at Lizarte. He often reiterates, citing his former amateur team in Navarre, that he owes the launch of his professional cycling career to Spain. Last year, he was equally grateful to Chris Froome, his Ineos teammate who had helped him despite the difficulties encountered in his physical reconstruction following his terrible accident in 2019, but he did not have the strongest armada to support him.

This time, the British team are lining up particularly impressive names on paper: Egan Bernal, Richard Carapaz, Adam Yates, Pavel Sivakov, Tom Pidcock, Jhonathan Narvaez, Salvatore Puccio and Dylan van Baarle! Carapaz is therefore not the only Olympic champion freshly covered with gold in this squad since Pidcock, 22, cyclo-cross prodigy and already protagonist of the great classics, won the MTB event in Tokyo.
„It is a great honour for us, the organisers, that Team Ineos has fielded such a selection of champions“, said Javier Guillén, General Manager of La Vuelta. „It says a lot about their ambitions. Bernal and Carapaz are the two current leaders in South American cycling and it is a continent that is dear to us. Both have the capacity to win the event like two Colombians did before them [Luis Herrera in 1987 and Nairo Quintana in 2016]. Carapaz is now an icon with its Olympic title. The mastery with which he won the road race has thrilled aficionados all over the world, I think. We also appreciate his kindness and his smile. He has everything to be a hero of La Vuelta.“

THE HEROES OF LA VUELTA (2/6) FABIO ARU

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Photo by Plomi

Of the three La Vuelta winners who have announced their participation this year, Fabio Aru is one of the two, along with Primoz Roglic, to have worn the leader’s jersey of the three Grand Tours. The third, Alejandro Valverde only participated once in the Giro d’Italia where he won a stage and finished on the podium (3rd in 2016) but without donning the pink tunic. The Italian’s second place in the Tour de Burgos is a sign of his return to the forefront, at the age of 31.
La Vuelta 2015 is remembered for its turnaround on the eve of the finish. An edition marked by a duel of two athletes with opposing physique – the great roller Tom Dumoulin, six days with La Roja, against the little beetle Esteban Chaves – who eventually saw the main prize snatched away from them by Fabio Aru, predestined champion whose trajectory recalled Vincenzo Nibali: “Il Cavaliere dei 4 mori” (the knight of the 4 Moors) is from an island, Sardinia, as “the shark” got his nickname from the Strait of Messina, between his native Sicily and mainland Italy, and, above all, the two men registered La Vuelta as the first Grand Tour in their winning records (Nibali five years before Aru).

Wearing the pink Giro jersey in 2015 (one day), Aru, winner of a 2017 Tour de France stage at La Planche des Belles Filles like Nibali in 2014, remains the only one to have dispossessed the great Chris Froome and his untouchable Team Sky of the yellow jersey, if only for two days. It also happened in 2017, thanks to a steep finale towards Peyragudes. Aru loves the Pyrenees. He has a soft spot for Spain and its identity. He is a man of letters, who studied in classical high school. He knows the history and the Mediterranean culture that connects Sardinia to Catalonia. The Catalan-inspired flag still flies in Alghero, in the northwest of the island.

The start of his history with La Vuelta dates back to a stage victory on September 3, 2014, in San Miguel de Aralar (stage 11). He put on the ropes the leader of the event, Alberto Contador, and the impressive parterre of favorites then composed of Chris Froome, Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim „Purito“ Rodriguez, but no longer Nairo Quintana, forced to retire on that day, a stone’s throw away from his European home in Pamplona (winner of the Giro that year, he was racing at Movistar). In the commentary, Pedro Delgado had let out a cry of surprise tinged with compliments when the young Italian, 24 years old at the time, revealed to the general public three months earlier by his stage victory at Plan di Montecampione on the Giro, had accelerated 2 km from the top of the steep Navarre ascent. He made his first real attack 1.5 km from the goal, still with Contador on the lookout, and with 400 m of climbing to go, he soared on his own to take his first victory outside of Italy.

„Did you see who I beat?“ Fabio Aru marvelled as he got off his bike. Indeed, the standings behind him were full of stars: 2nd Alejandro Valverde, 3rd Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez, 4th Alberto Contador, 5th Chris Froome, 6th Rigoberto Uran, 7th Samuel Sanchez and 8th Dan Martin! „Aru reminds me of myself when I was young“, Alberto Contador said as he was about to win his third and final La Vuelta. „He has the same pedal stroke and the same way of riding. The same change of pace on the hill as well. And he’s a brave one! He will be the star of the next few years.“ Four days earlier, Contador had turned to Aru within the peloton: „How are you? “ The Italian believed the Madrileño was speaking to their mutual friend Paolo Tiralongo. „Can you imagine, Paolo, he was talking to me!“, Aru marvelled.

This victory would be followed with more success a week later, when Aru won again, at Monte Castrove in Meis (stage 18), before completing the Spanish Grand Tour in fifth position in the final standings established at… Santiago de Compostela – a sign of fate for his return to La Vuelta 21, also finishing in the emblematic Galician city? After his triumph in 2015, Fabio Aru finished 13th in La Vuelta 17, a race he had approached tired after his very fine Tour de France, then 23rd in 2018. We saw him cry at a stage start in 2019 before his abandonment (13th stage) because he could not express his talents. He suffered from back pain and experienced various health concerns.
„It’s a pleasure to see him come back to form just before La Vuelta“, general manager Javier Guillén rejoices, „because Fabio Aru has left us fond memories when he was one of the great protagonists. As Alberto Contador said, he is a brave man. In full possession of his means, he offers spectacular cycling. He is completely in the spirit of La Vuelta.“

The heroes of La Vuelta (1/6) : Alejandro Valverde

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Alejandro Valverde’s name naturally emerges among the heroes of La Vuelta as an example of longevity, at 41 years old, eighteen years after his first stage victory!


Photo by Plomi

When the Tour de France made a stopover in the Principality of Andorra last month, the race was still to cross the border, through the Port d’Envalira, when the chroniclers already recalled it was the place where Alejandro Valverde had won his first stage on a Grand Tour: La Vuelta. The event took place on September 14th, 2003, at the end of a stage that started from Vielha. The Murcian emerged from a ten rider group at the last minute, including overall leader Isidro Nozal. It was his second participation in La Vuelta, in his second pro season, with Kelme-Costa Blanca. Before abandoning the first, contested at the age of 22, during the 15th stage leading to the Alto de l’Angliru, he had obtained his first result in Cordoba (stage 9), where La Vuelta 21 returns (stage 12). He was 4th on the occasion, outsprinting Erik Zabel behind three breakaway riders. The winner of the day, Pablo Lastras, is now one of his sports directors at Movistar.

The Port of Envalira allowed him to show his ability to display such speed at high altitude as well. His declarations on the spot offer a view on how far he’s come eighteen years later: “Winning here in La Vuelta is the best thing that has happened to me so far in my career” he said. “I am really happy. I dedicate it to all those who support me, to the team […]. Now I have made it happen. The rest is a bonus. I cried because I didn’t expect to win such a stage. I don’t know my limits yet.“ The emergence of a new generation? „That is true. Here we are, Isidro Nozal, Joaquim Rodriguez and myself. It’s good for cycling that there is a succession.“

Other successes since then have brought tears to Spain’s greatest cyclist of all time – at least through the eclecticism of his record. We saw him in a trance in a tent in Innsbruck before speaking in a flash interview after his victory at the 2018 World Championship. He was still moved at Mas de la Costa for his last victory at La Vuelta, to date, wearing the rainbow jersey when he had just defeated Primoz Roglic, Miguel Angel Lopez and Nairo Quintana (stage 7 in 2019).
Put in numbers, the relationship between Alejandro Valverde and La Vuelta weighs: 14 participations, a final victory (2009), 7 times on the final podium, 4 victories in the points classification (2012, 2013, 2015, 2018), 12 stage wins, 27 days wearing the leader’s jersey, only one abandon (as a rookie). For Javier Guillén, director of La Vuelta, the champion is an essential figure, “not only in cycling, but for sport in general. Valverde surpasses his winning record, which is already unrivaled in itself. It’s a constant smile, the embodiment of effort, the loyalty to a team and a race, his involvement for the fans… Alejandro is one of the most important figures in Spanish sport in the 21st century.”
His second place on the Tour de France in Andorra, behind the American Sepp Kuss, on July 11th, indicates that his harvest on the Spanish round is not necessarily over, but whatever happens between Burgos and Saint-Jacques -de-Compostela, his mark will forever remain in the history of the event.

CERATIZIT CHALLENGE BY LA VUELTA 21 TEAMS SELECTION

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The organizers of the CERATIZIT Challenge by La Vuelta 21 have chosen the teams that will take part in the 7th edition of the women’s race which will be held from the 2nd to the 5th of September for the first time in Galicia. The most important Spanish race in the women’s World Tour clalendar continues to grow and will feature four stages in total: two mid-mountain stages, a mountain time trial and an epic sprint finale in Santiago de Compostela.

The following 9 UCI WorldTeams are automatically invited to the race:

Ale’ BTC Ljubljana (ITA)
Canyon//SRAM Racing (GER)
FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope (FRA)
Liv Racing (NED)
Movistar Team Women (ESP)
Team BikeExchange (AUS)
Team DSM (GER)
Team SD Worx (NED)
Trek-Segafredo (USA)

In addition to these 9 teams, the organizers have awarded the following wildcards:

Bepink (ITA)
Bizkaia – Durango (ESP)
CERATIZIT – WNT Pro Cycling Team (GER)
Eneicat – RBH Global – Martin Villa (ESP)
Team Coop – Hitec Products (NOR)
Instafund Racing (CAN)
Jumbo-Visma Women Cycling Team (NED)
Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi (ESP)
Massi – Tactic Women Team (ESP)
Rio Miera – Cantabria Deporte (ESP)
Sopela Women’s Team (ESP)
Team Farto – BTC (ESP)
Team Tibco – Silicon Valley Bank (USA)
Valcar – Travel & Service (ITA)
Women Cycling Sport (ESP)

More information about the CERATIZIT Challenge by La Vuelta: www.challengebylavuelta.com

La Vuelta 21: teams selection

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The organizers of La Vuelta have chosen the teams that will take part in the 76th edition of the Spanish Grand Tour. La Vuelta 21 will start on Saturday the 14th of August and finish on Sunday the 5th of September, from Burgos to Santiago de Compostela.

In accordance with UCI rules, the following 19 UCI WorldTeams are automatically invited to the race:
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AG2R Citroen Team (FRA)
Astana – Premier Tech (KAZ)
Bahrain Victorius (BHR)
Bora – Hansgrohe (GER)
Cofidis (FRA)
Deceuninck – Quick – Step (BEL)
EF Education-Nippo (USA)
Groupama – FDJ (FRA)
Ineos Grenadiers (GBR)
Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux (BEL)
Israel Start-Up Nation (ISR)
Jumbo-Visma (NED)
Lotto Soudal (BEL)
Movistar Team (ESP)
Team BikeExchange (AUS)
Team DSM (GER)
Team Qhubeka Assos (RSA)
Trek – Segafredo (USA)
UAE Team Emirates (UAE)

Furthermore, Alpecin-Fenix (BEL), leader in the 2020 classification of UCI ProTeams will take part by right in La Vuelta 21.

In addition to these 20 teams, the organizers have awarded the following wildcards:

Burgos – BH (ESP)
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA (ESP)
Euskaltel – Euskadi (ESP)

More information about La Vuelta : www.lavuelta.com
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La Vuelta 21 will start from inside the Burgos Cathedral to celebrate its 800th anniversary

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La Vuelta 21 will start from an unusual place: inside the Burgos Cathedral. „It will be the first time a cycling race starts from inside a cathedral“, announced the general manager of La Vuelta, Javier Guillén, during the official presentation of the start of La Vuelta 21, one of the main event organized by the Fundación VIII Centenario de la Catedral. Burgos 2021 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the church, in July.
Javier Guillén announced La Vuelta 21 will start on August 14th 2021 with an individual time-trial from inside the Burgos Cathedral. The riders will go through the main entrance ahead of a „urban circuit“ set to illustrate the „monumental character of the city“. They will go past the castle before they return to the Cathedral, where the finish will also be set.
WORLDWIDE SHOWCASE
The start of La Vuelta 21 follows the innovative path that Unipublic has defended in the recent years, turning the Spanish Grand Tour into “a showcase capable of bringing the excellence of our country to the rest of the world”, highlighted Javier Guillén, who has made a simile between a stage race and a pilgrimage. It will be even more acute in 2021, the Jacobean Year, since the Burgos Cathedral is one of the landmarks of the Camino de Santiago.
To present this first stage of La Vuelta 21, a first view of the time-trial has been recreated, under the watch of the famous automaton Papamoscas and with the rider Ángel Fuentes (Burgos BH), who was wearing a jersey designed for the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the Burgos Cathedral.

AN EXAMPLE OF COLLABORATION BETWEEN INSTITUTIONS
If something has become clear in this morning’s event, it is the good harmony between institutions which have collaborated to make the commitment that was signed almost a year ago, on December 18, 2019, a reality.
Today’s event was attended by the mayor of Burgos, Daniel de la Rosa; the counsellor of the Presidency of the Junta de Castilla y León, Ángel Ibáñez; the vice president of the Burgos Provincial Council, Lorenzo Rodríguez; the general director of Sports of the Junta de Castilla y León, María Perrino; the president and vice president of the Fundación VIII Centenario de la Catedral. Burgos 2021, Fidel Herráez and Antonio Miguel Méndez Pozo; and the dean of the Cathedral, Pablo González Cámara.

The participants have received commemorative statuettes of the departure of La Vuelta 21 made by the sculptor from Burgos Cristino Díez. This sporting event will be added to the commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the Burgos Cathedral and other milestones that will come together in Burgos such as the year of Jubilee granted by the Vatican, the Jacobean Year, the 800th anniversary of the death of Santo Domingo de Guzmán and the exhibition Las Edades del Hombre, as Antonio Miguel Méndez Pozo, vice president of the Fundación VIII Centenario de la Catedral. Burgos 2021 recalled.
Daniel de la Rosa, Mayor of Burgos, said it is a „true luxury“ and something „exceptional“ to see the Cathedral welcome the start of one of the three Grand Tours of the international cycling calendar, and that it does so from „a living monument, which is being renewed”, as Lorenzo Rodríguez, vice president of the Burgos Provincial Council, has underlined.
Thus, the 800th anniversary and La Vuelta 21 will remain “united”, in the words of Fidel Herráez, President of the Fundación VIII Centenario de la Catedral. Burgos 2021, and will keep demonstrating „the firm commitment of the Fundación for Castilla y León“, as highlighted by Ángel Ibáñez, counselor of the presidency of the Junta de Castilla y León.