Schlagwort-Archive: Unipublic

La Vuelta 21 – Etappe 2

Caleruega – Burgos 167km

1 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 3:58:57
2 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-QuickStep
3 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team BikeExchange
4 Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides (Col) UAE Team Emirates
5 Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
6 Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
7 Martin Laas (Est) Bora-Hansgrohe
8 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
9 Florian Vermeersch (Bel) Lotto Soudal
10 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Cofidis

Gesamt:
1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma 4:07:29
2 Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:00:04
3 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:00:10
4 Josef Cerny (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers 0:00:11
6 Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:12
7 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana-Premier Tech 0:00:14
8 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:15
9 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
10 Chad Haga (USA) Team DSM 0:00:17

Sturzpech für BORA – hansgrohe auf der zweiten Etappe der Vuelta a España

Von Caleruega ging es gen Süden ehe das Peloton nach 167 km im Sattel über die Ziellinie in Burgos Gamonal rollte. Auf der flachen Etappe gab es nur einen kleinen Anstieg 5 km vor dem Ziel, der aber den Sprintern nicht im Wege stehen sollte. Allerdings waren die Fahrer erneut hohen Temperaturen ausgesetzt und mussten zudem auch mit Windkanten rechnen, so dass das Rennen auch für eine Überraschung sorgen konnte. Die Bemühungen des frühen Ausreißertrios zahlten sich heute nicht aus, denn 20 km vor dem Ziel wurden die Flüchtlinge wieder eingefangen und das Team aus Raubling, wie alle Teams mit einem endschnellen Fahrer, richtete ihr Augenmerk auf einen Etappensieg. Leider kam es anders als erwartet, denn weniger als 5 km vor dem Ziel wurden Sprinter Jordi Meeus, sowie Maximilian Schachmann und Patrick Gamper in einen Sturz verwickelt. Lead-Out Fahrer Martin Laas, zu diesem Zeitpunkt ohne Teamkollegen im Finale, nützte seine Chancen im Sprint und belegte letztendlich den 7. Platz in Burgos. Max und Jordi scheinen keine Verletzungen davongetragen zu haben. Patrick, der eine Schnittwunde hat, befindet sich mit dem Teamarzt im Krankenhaus zu weiteren Untersuchungen.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Leider sind drei unserer Fahrer zu Boden gegangen, unter ihnen auch unser Sprinter Jordi Meeus, und so musste ich es alleine im Sprint versuchen. Auf dem letzten 2 km war ich ohne Unterstützung und habe versucht, ein gutes Hinterrad zu finden. Am Ende war ich einfach zu weit hinten, um ein top Resultat einzufahren.“ – Martin Laas
„Das war wirklich Pech heute. Wir waren für den Sprint in Burgos voll motiviert, aber mit ungefähr 4,5 km bis zum Ziel gingen einige Fahrer vor mir zu Boden und ich konnte den Sturz letztendlich nicht vermeiden. Ich fühle mich zur Zeit ok, und ehrlich gesagt, bin ich erleichtert, dass zumindest der Sturz nicht schlimmer ausging.“ – Jordi Meeus
„Unglücklich, mehr kann man da nicht sagen. Wir wollten auf den Sprint fahren, und waren mit Jordi und Martin als letzte Lead-Out Fahrer bereit, aber dann ereignete sich dieser Sturz. Direkt vor Patrick stürzte ein Fahrer, er fiel zusammen mit Jordi und auch Max konnte nicht mehr bremsen. Unglücklicher konnte es nicht kommen, so kurz vor dem Ziel. Wir versuchen jetzt die Moral im Team beizubehalten, denn solche Sachen kann man nicht ändern, so ist Sport eben mal.“ – Steffen Radochla, Sportlicher Leiter

La Vuelta 21 – Etappe 1

Burgos – Burgos (ITT) 7,1km

1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma 0:08:32
2 Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:00:06
3 Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain Victorious 0:00:08
4 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education-Nippo 0:00:10
5 Josef Cerny (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep
6 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers 0:00:11
7 Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:12
8 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education-Nippo 0:00:13
9 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:00:14
10 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana-Premier Tech

Solide Leistung von Felix Großschartner beim Auftaktzeitfahren der Vuelta a España

Zum Auftakt der Vuelta stand ein kurzes 7,1 km langes Einzelzeitfahren mit Start und Ziel an der Kathedrale von Burgos auf dem Programm. Die Strecke beinhaltete auf den ersten 3 km steigende Passagen bis hin zum Alto del Castillo einem 1,2 km langen und rund 7 Prozent steilen Anstieg. 38 Grad Hitze und böiger Südwestwind machten den Fahrer auf der Stecke ebenfalls zu schaffen. Der erste Fahrer rollte kurz vor 18:00 Uhr von der Startrampe und setzte die erste Richtmarke mit einer Zeit von 9:30. Patrick Gamper eröffnete das Rennen gegen die Uhr für den Raublinger Rennstall, während Felix Großschartner einer der letzten war, der die Strecke in Angriff nahm. Mit 8:52 Minuten fuhr Felix ein solides Rennen und am Ende reichte dies beim Sieg von P. Roglič für den 18. Platz, das beste Ergebnis des Teams heute. Maximilian Schachmann erreichte die Ziellinie in 8:54 Minuten und platzierte sich damit auf dem 25. Rang.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Das Gefühl war ja grundsätzlich ganz gut heute und es war ein ziemlich solider Start. Es war wichtig, gut durchzukommen, und keine zu große Risiken einzugehen, um nicht irgendwo zu stürzen. Aber im Großen und Ganzen bin ich gut durchgekommen und so freue ich mich auf die nächsten Tage.“ – Felix Großschartner
„Wir sind froh, dass die Vuelta losgeht. Wir sind auf das Rennen gut vorbereitet und haben eine sehr junge Mannschaft hier am Start. Beim heutigen Zeitfahren war unser voller Fokus auf Felix Großschartner, der den 18. Platz belegte und gegenüber den Hauptkonkurrenten wenig Zeit einbüßte. Maximilian Schachmann ist auch noch zu nennen, mit dem 25. Platz nach dem kurzen und technischen Auftaktzeitfahren in Burgos.“ – Jens Zemke, Sportlicher Leiter

CELEBRATING FABIO ARU

Team Qhubeka NextHash’s Italian star rider Fabio Aru has confirmed on the eve of the Vuelta a Espana that he will retire from professional cycling at the conclusion of the 2021 edition of the race.


Photo by Plomi

Aru, fittingly, has chosen the Vuelta to conclude his professional career, an event that he won in 2015. It’s a decision that he has spent significant time considering and one which ultimately will see him focus on spending time with his young family.
The 31-year-old joined the team at the start of the 2021 season and says that he rediscovered his love for the racing his bike with Team Qhubeka NextHash, which culminated with him placing second overall at the recently concluded Vuelta a Burgos.

His stellar palmares includes:

• Overall victory at the Vuelta a Espana (2015) as well as finishing 5th in 2014.
• Twice finishing on the podium at the Giro d’Italia – 2nd (2015) and 3rd (2014).
• Six Grand Tour stages: 3 x Giro d’Italia, 2 x Vuelta a Espana and 1 x Tour de France (2017)
• 5th overall at the Tour de France (2017)
• Italian road race champion (2017)

Fabio Aru
Reaching this decision has not been easy but it is something that I’ve been thinking about and discussing with my family for some time. I’ve been racing my bike for 16 years and for more than a decade as a professional, but the time has come now to prioritise other things in my life, my family.

During my career, as any bike rider will tell you, a significant time is spent away from home and for me this is now the right time to give back to them.
I’ve been fortunate to realise my talent on the biggest stage of all, and together with my teammates celebrate incredible successes.
I hope that I have been able to demonstrate the true values of sportsmanship over my career, and in doing so made people proud.
I also want to express a deep sense of gratitude to all of my former teammates and staff at my former teams – Astana and UAE – who elevated me throughout my career. We shared some incredible moments which I’ll forever be grateful for.
Finally, I want to pay a special tribute to Team Qhubeka NextHash. Within our organisation we speak about the spirit of Ubuntu – I am because we are – and this sense of togetherness, at a time when the world needs it most, has been amazing for me to be a part of.

I must admit that when I joined the team I was aware that it was special, different but had no real understanding of what it would truly be like. This team, without doubt is completely unique not just in cycling but across all sport, I am incredibly proud to race here and honoured to end my time as a professional with them.
After a tough few years, in 2021 I was able to race my bike again and ride at a level that I knew I was capable of, while smiling on the bike. That is a victory in itself, and something that I will forever be grateful for.
I want to express my sincerest thanks to Douglas Ryder, Lars Michaelsen, Gabriele Missaglia, Mattia Michelusi and all the team’s staff and my fellow riders, it’s an honour to be your teammate.
In our team we speak about hope, opportunity and platform in order to be able to change lives with the bicycle. Having played my part in this will be something that I hold dear for the rest of my life, and I will forever be a supporter.
I will continue to ride my bike because it is what I love to do but for now I’m focused on riding the Vuelta a Espana to the best of my ability with my Team Qhubeka NextHash teammates; and it’s fitting that my journey will end here in Spain, a place and a race where I have incredible memories.

La Vuelta 21 | Info with 1 day to go

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

THE HEROES OF LA VUELTA (5/6) EGAN BERNAL


Photo by Plomi

Egan Bernal was a hero of La Vuelta before he even participated in it. Three years ago, he envisioned the Spanish Grand Tour as the ideal terrain for his debut in a three-week race, but circumstances bring him there for the first time in 2021 with the prospect of becoming the youngest winner of the three Grand Tours!
In 85 years, since La Vuelta joined the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia to form the three Grand Tours, seven riders have registered their names in the winning records of each of them: Jacques Anquetil (at 29 years old), Felice Gimondi (25), Eddy Merckx (27), Bernard Hinault (25), Alberto Contador (25), Vincenzo Nibali (29) and Chris Froome (33). Looking more closely, the one who achieved the treble at the youngest age is Bernard Hinault, who was 25 years, 6 months and 24 days old when the Giro arrived in Milan on June 7, 1980. Since January 13, Egan Bernal is 24 years old. If he climbs on the top step of the podium on September 5 in Obradoiro Square in Santiago de Compostela, he will therefore beat – largely – a new precocity record after having dethroned Felice Gimondi as youngest Yellow Jersey of the Tour de France in Paris in 2019 (at 22) before being himself debunked by Tadej Pogacar (21).

In the months following his triumph (to be the first Colombian to win the Tour was huge in the legend of global cycling and national sport), Egan Bernal repeated his dearest wish as an athlete: “I want to win all three Grand Tours, it would be great to be part of cycling history like that.“ Claiming the three was therefore a priority, in his mind, before even thinking of winning the Tour de France a second time, a goal his employer, Team Ineos, set for him in 2020, but without success since back pain forced him to retire and prematurely end his season. He has patiently rebuilt since then, and won the Giro in May.
It is curious to note that in the end, nothing went as planned in the already extraordinary career of the climber of Zipaquira. He turned pro at 18, at an age usually dedicated to learning in the U23 ranks, on the road after being trained as a mountain biker, and in Italy, in a team, Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, who, logically, should have entered the Giro d’Italia. But during the two years he spent in Gianni Savio’s team (2016 and 2017), they were not invited to the Corsa Rosa! The Colombian took the opportunity to win the 2017 Tour de l’Avenir, like his compatriots Nairo Quintana, Esteban Chaves and Miguel Ángel López shortly before him, and he was sold to Team Sky. When he joined the British powerhouse, he was not guaranteed to compete in a three-week race in the first year, but he hoped La Vuelta 18 would be his first Grand Tour, to discover this big world at 21 years old. Circumstances precipitated things: 2nd in the Tour de Romandie behind Primoz Roglic (and these two are ready for more this Summer!) and winner of the Tour of California in May, he appeared ready to make his debut on the main stage sooner than expected, while Chris Froome, the indisputable leader of Team Sky at the time, was battling hard at the Giro d’Italia, turning the situation to his advantage at the very end. The Briton needed reinforcement in the mountains, and so instead of waiting for La Vuelta, Egan Bernal was called up for the Tour de France where he was exemplary in the service of Geraint Thomas, who finally dominated the situation, while Froome climbed on the third step of the podium.

The Colombian was not yet supposed to assume leadership on the 2019 Tour. Froome’s terrible fall at the Critérium du Dauphiné put him higher in the hierarchy. He was still behind Thomas at the exit of the Pyrenees but two stages in the Alps propelled him to the top. His career was turned upside down, his personal life too. The 2020 Tour brought him back to the great difficulties of the profession, and, finally, allowed him to return to his initial dream: to shine on the three Grand Tours, which he watched, as a child, on TV, with as much passion for the three. As soon as the victory was assured in the Giro last May, he was asked about the possibility of a follow-up to the Tour de France and the prospect of becoming Olympic champion. “No”, he replied. „My priority now is to win La Vuelta as well.“

„The presence of Egan Bernal is a very important appeal for La Vuelta 21,“ said general manager Javier Guillén. „I want to say, like my fellow Giro organisers this year, that he is finally coming to the start of our race, but we must not forget that he is still very young. Of course, if he won La Vuelta from his first participation, after the Tour and the Giro, that would be historic, but we must not lose sight of the fact that the level of competition is such that it is not won in advance. As he is a very smart boy who keeps his feet on the ground, he knows it won’t be easy. We are obviously delighted to count him among the main protagonists.“

The heroes of La Vuelta (4/6) : Mikel Landa


Photo by Plomi

Mikel Landa is not strictly speaking a La Vuelta hero, but now is the year or never to become one! He has not appeared in the Spanish Grand Tour since 2015 but in the wake of his victory last week at the Tour de Burgos, his name and his unique history have shaped the hope of local aficionados to see a Spaniard rise on the top step of the podium.

Of the 75 editions of La Vuelta already contested, 32 ultimately went to a Spanish rider. In the table of victories by country, France (9), Belgium (7), Italy (6) and Switzerland (5) follow. In the winning records, a maximum of six editions separates two Spanish winners (between Melchor Mauri in 1991 and Abraham Olano in 1998, the Swiss Tony Rominger won three times, his compatriot Alex Zülle twice, and the Frenchman Laurent Jalabert once). The last six champions crowned in Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles were foreigners: the Italian Fabio Aru (2015), the Colombian Nairo Quintana (2016), the Brits Chris Froome (2017) and Simon Yates (2018) as well as the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (2019, 2020). It turns out that Alberto Contador took his third and final overall victory in Santiago de Compostela, where La Vuelta 21 will end on September 5th. Is this a harbinger of the end of this current drought over six editions?

Spanish cycling had a golden era in which Alberto Contador was far from ruling alone in his kingdom, as Carlos Sastre, Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim „Purito“ Rodriguez and Samuel Sánchez also took center stage. The intensity has dropped but the local protagonists have not failed since. From 2014, half the editions of La Vuelta ended with one of theirs on the second step: “Purito” in 2015, Enric Mas in 2018 and Alejandro Valverde in 2019. The succession of the Madrilenian seemed to have to be assured, at first, by Mikel Landa. Forced into exile with the closure of the team of his beginnings, Euskaltel-Euskadi, after his first two participations in La Vuelta (2012, 2013), he found refuge in global teams where he could not always choose his goals, nor focus primarily on the Spanish Grand Tour. Falls have also marked his course – they still have this year, but he seems to have recovered well from his injuries at the beginning of the Giro d’Italia. The laws of the market have pushed him to change employers every two years, and riders on the move don’t necessarily enjoy a smooth exit…

Still, he took part in La Vuelta during his two years at Astana (2014, 2015), but not with Team Sky (2016, 2017), nor Movistar (2018, 2019), nor Bahrain-McLaren last year. In four participations, his best final place is 25th in 2015, while he has six top 10s at the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, and his greatest feat remains his only stage victory, on day 11 of the same edition. It was presented as “the hardest stage of all time” because riders had to face 5,300 m of elevation over 138 km in the principality of Andorra. Landa had slipped into the morning breakaway in defiance of Astana’s directives and he refused to wait for his leader, Fabio Aru, but the affair did not make much noise, in the end, because the Kazakh formation scored on both levels: the stage win for Landa and La Roja for Aru, second in Cortals d’Encamp, 1’22“ later, and, above all, 1’37“ before Tom Dumoulin, who was wearing the leader’s red jersey until then.

Mikel Landa is now 31 years old and has eleven pro seasons behind him. He also won three stages at the Giro where he stood on the podium, 3rd in 2015, and won the mountain classification in 2017, two Vuelta a Burgos, a Giro del Trentino… His “landismo” personifies a champion with a huge potential promised to win a three-week races, according to the fans, when, finally, he will have been spared by crashes and the instructions of his team contrary to his individual ambitions.

„That day may come with La Vuelta 21“, observes the general manager of the event Javier Guillén. „We wish him that luck is finally on his side. He is a very followed and loved rider with a lot of fans. For the popular impact of La Vuelta, it is always interesting that Spaniards are among the big protagonists in the general classification. Mikel’s generosity to the cycling community makes him deserving to shine in our event and we are delighted to welcome him back after too long an absence.“
Murgia, his hometown, in the Basque province of Alava, is a one hour drive from Burgos, where La Vuelta 21 will start on Saturday. He will therefore immediately have many supporters, who do not forget his contribution to the relaunch at continental level of the Euskadi foundation, of which he took the presidency at the end of 2017 until last March. With the Euskaltel-Euskadi rising to Pro Continental and returning to the peloton of La Vuelta this year, „my role could lead to incompatibilities that nobody wanted“, he explained. „But my emotional connection with the Euskadi foundation will remain the same and my heart is and will be orange for life.“
Landa is also approaching La Vuelta 21 as a cyclist within an impressive Bahrain Victorious team, especially for the mountains, since his teammates are Damiano Caruso (2nd in the Giro this year), Jack Haig, Mark Padun, Wout Poels, Jan Tratnik, Gino Mäder and Yukiya Arashiro. They look able to compete with the powerhouses Ineos Grenadiers and Jumbo-Visma.

The heroes of La Vuelta : www.lavuelta.com

Team Qhubeka NextHash set for Vuelta a Espana

Team Qhubeka NextHash has selected its team for the final grand tour of the season, La Vuelta a Espana. The Spanish grand tour will get underway on Saturday 14 August, from Padron, and will cover over 3400km before finishing in Santiago di Compostela, on Sunday 5 September.

Team Qhubeka NextHash was dealt a tough blow last week as our intended Vuelta a Espana race leader, Domenico Pozzovivo crashed at the Vuelta a Burgos and fractured his knee. Emil Vinjebo also crashed at the same race, fracturing his collarbone, forcing our team to make two late replacements to our La Vuelta lineup.

Fabio Aru and Sergio Henao will now share responsibility in leading Team Qhubeka NextHash at La Vuelta a Espana. Aru has shown an impressive return to form in recent weeks, and as a previous winner of the Vuelta a Espana, we are proud to have the Sardinian lead our team at La Vuelta.
Henao makes a return to racing after a strong showing at the Tour de France this year, where he infiltrated numerous mountain stage breakaways and was set to ride into the top 20 overall before fracturing his arm in a crash, which slowed the Colombian climber though he did complete the race in Paris.
With Aru and Henao targeting the mountain stages, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg will be our man for the sprint stages. With three top-10 placings in sprints at last year’s edition of the race, the South African will be hoping to edge closer to the top of the results sheet with numerous sprint opportunities at this year’s edition of La Vuelta.

Dimitri Claeys and Dylan Sunderland, the two late replacement riders, will both be starting their first ever La Vuelta’s although the duo do have grand tour experience at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, respectively. Their strength and ‚diesel engine‘ characteristics will be key in supporting roles but also on stages for the opportunists.
Bert-Jan Lindeman and Sander Armee, both two former La Vuelta stage winners, will be leaned upon throughout the race as their experience and selfless team support will be invaluable in every race scenario.

Finally, it is a great pleasure for our team to have Connor Brown starting his debut grand tour. A graduate from our continental feeder team last season, the 23-year-old who has dual South African and Kiwi citizenship completes our lineup for La Vuelta a Espana.
Continuing with our team’s theme of getting fans, partners and supporters to announce our team lineup’s this year, for the Vuelta a Espana, our u23 Qhubeka continental feeder team riders have revealed our La Vuelta roster with a short video clip. We look forward to seeing these future stars at the start of La Vuelta one day too.

Fabio Aru
This will be my 6th time at Vuelta a Espana and I have really good memories here. My first Vuelta was in 2014 and I won two stages and finished in top five GC. I was fighting with great champions like Contador, Froome, Purito and Valverde, and that was a great experience for me. In 2015 I won the Vuelta and this was amazing, it really changed my life.
As a country, I really love Spain. I love the passion the people from Spain have for cycling. I think they also love me, my characteristics as a rider and my way of racing. When I have the legs I always try to attack and I think they really appreciate this way of racing. The parcour in general, all the stages and big climbs in Spain I always enjoy a lot.
So I can’t wait to be back, at a grand tour again, because as we know the last three years have been really hard for me. This year, I have had a new start with a new team, which has a great Ubuntu spirit which I am part of, and new goals. This has allowed me to get that good feeling back on the bike, from GP Lugano until Burgos, which I am very happy about.
I will give my 100% at La Vuelta, actually even more than 100% for this team. We were unfortunate to lose two very strong riders before Vuelta, Pozzovivo and Vinjebo, in crashes at Vuelta Burgos. So as a team we will also be racing for them every day.

Reinardt Janse van Rensburg
We are looking forward to getting the Vuelta a Espana started. A few of us have really focused our season around the Vuelta, and prepared well to be in top shape for the Vuelta. We had a good showing at the Vuelta a Burgos, our last preparation race, with some very good results, despite losing some guys to crashes.
We look forward to building on the momentum of Burgos and hope to make our supporters proud during La Vuelta.

Connor Brown
I was always one of those kids who was completely obsessed with cycling, whenever there was a grand tour on I was glued to the TV. Now to be racing one is an absolute dream come true! Maybe there will be a kid watching just as I used to, and they will be inspired to ride because of it. That is a cool thought. I want to thank the team for believing in me and giving me this amazing opportunity.

La Vuelta: Alle Etappen der Spanien-Rundfahrt live bei Eurosport und bei GCN

10. August 2021 – Über 3.336 Kilometer führt die Vuelta a España 2021 das Peloton von Burgos nach Santiago de Compostela. Eurosport überträgt die dritte große Landesrundfahrt des Jahres vom 14. August bis 5. September auf allen Plattformen. 19 der 21 Etappen sind bei Eurosport 1 im Free-TV zu sehen. Alle Etappen im Kampf um das Rote Trikot sind werbefrei bei Eurosport mit Joyn PLUS+ sowie über das Global Cycling Network (GCN) via GCN+ und die GCN-App zu erleben.
Am Mikrofon begleiten Kommentator Gerhard Leinauer und die Experten Jens Voigt und Robert Bengsch die Teams über die iberische Halbinsel.
Die Strecke sollte auch in diesem Jahr den Bergspezialisten in die Karten spielen. Auf sieben Bergetappen und vier Tagesabschnitten im Mittelgebirge bekommen die Kletterer ihre Chancen, die Konkurrenz in die Schranken zu weisen. Selbst das lange Zeitfahren auf der letzten Etappe zum Zielort Santiago de Compostela weist ein eher hügeliges Profil auf.
Eurosport-Experte Jens Voigt sieht einen Fahrer ganz klar vor allen anderen. “Favorit ist für mich ganz klar Primoz Roglic. Er alleine bekommt bei mir fünf von fünf möglichen Sternen. Warum? Bei Paris-Nizza und der Tour de France hat er durch Stürze alle Chancen verloren. Er möchte nach der Baskenland-Rundfahrt noch ein Podium bei einer großen Rundfahrt und als Zeitfahr-Olympiasieger ist die Form da.” Hinter dem Slowenen vergibt Voigt dreimal vier Sterne für Egan Bernal und Richard Carapaz. “Als Sieger beim Giro d’Italia und Goldmedaillengewinner bei Olympia muss man die beiden für das Klassement einplanen. Auch Mikel Landa ist ein nach seinem Sieg in Burgos bereit für das Podium – und er bringt eine starke Mannschaft mit”, sagt Voigt, der zudem noch einer Hand voll weiterer Fahrer Außenseiterchancen auf die ersten drei Plätze im Gesamtklassement einräumt, darunter Romain Bardet, Felix Großschartner und Alejandro Valverde.
“Kurz gesagt: Primoz Roglic wird gewinnen, und um die Plätze zwei und drei werden sich Mikel Landa und Egan Bernal streiten. Seit Bernals Toursieg 2019 konnte das Team Ineos Grenadiers Roglic im direkten Vergleich nicht mehr schlagen und das wird auch hier so sein”, zieht Voigt sein Fazit zu den Favoriten.

Für deutschen und deutschsprachigen Fahrer sieht Voigt eher Chancen auf Etappenerfolge. “Mit fünf Fahrern stellt Deutschland nur ein kleines Kontingent. Aber mit Max Schachmann können wir auf einen Etappensieg setzen. Alle anderen deutschen Fahrer werden sich sicher mehr in der Helferrolle wiederfinden und bekommen nur dann eine Chance, wenn sie eine glückliche Ausreißergruppe erwischen”, sagt Voigt, der neben Schachmann auch dem einzigen Schweizer im Feld einen Tagessieg zutraut. “Gino Mäder ist – wie man aufgrund des Saisonverlaufs sieht – immer für einen Etappensieg gut”, sagt Voigt. “Die beiden Luxemburger und das Trio aus Österreich werden ihre Chancen in Fluchtgruppen suchen müssen. Da sehe ich keinen, der im Hochgebirge bei den Favoriten mitfahren oder im Sprint Caleb Ewan schlagen kann. Bei elf deutschsprachigen Fahrern bin ich aber sehr optimistisch, dass mindestens einer davon einen Etappensieg einfahren wird.”

Einen schnellen Blick wirft der Eurosport-Experte auch noch auf die Sprinter. “Bei den Sprintern gibt es den großen Zweikampf zwischen den beiden Australiern Caleb Ewan und Michael Matthews. Ich sehe mehr Sprintsiege für den Lotto-Soudal-Fahrer Ewan, aber einen deutlichen Vorteil auf das Sprinttrikot für den bergfesten Matthews vom Team BikeExchange.”
Zusätzlich zu den Rennübertragungen bieten Eurosport und GCN als “Home of Cycling” den Fans digitale Highlights zu den Etappen an. Auf eurosport.de können sich die Radsport-Fans umfassend über die Vuelta informieren. Streckenpläne und -profile, Renn- und Hintergrundberichte sowie die Höhepunkte aller Etappen im Video ergänzen die TV-Berichterstattung.

Vuelta a España 2021:

Sendezeiten bei Eurosport (Stand: 10. August 2021)

Donnerstag, 12. August Teampräsentation 19:00

Samstag, 14. August 1. Etappe: Burgos – Catedral (8 km, EZF) 17:50

Sonntag, 15. August 2. Etappe: 2. Etappe: Caleruega – Burgos (169 km) 14:50

Montag, 16. August 3. Etappe: Santo Domingo de Silos-Picón Blanco (203 km) 14:50

Dienstag, 17. August 4. Etappe: El Burgo de Osma-Molina de Aragón (163.6 km) 14:50

Mittwoch, 18. August 5. Etappe: Tarancón-Albacete (184.4 km) 14:50

Donnerstag, 19. August 6. Etappe: Requena-Alto de la Montaña de Cullera (159 km) 14:50

Freitag, 20. August 7. Etappe: Gandía-Balcón de Alicante (152 km) 13:05

Samstag, 21. August 8. Etappe: Santa Pola-La Manga del mar Menor (163.3 km) 14:50*

Sonntag, 22. August 9. Etappe: Puerto Lumbreras-Alto de Velefique (187.8 km) 14:50*

Sonntag, 22. August 9. Etappe: Puerto Lumbreras-Alto de Velefique (187.8 km) 16:30

Montag, 23. August Ruhetag

Dienstag, 24. August 10. Etappe: Roquetas de Mar – Rincón de la Victoria (190.2 km) 14:50

Mittwoch, 25. August 11. Etappe: Antequera – Valdepeñas de Jaén (131.6 km) 14:50

Donnerstag, 26. August 12. Etappe: Jaén – Córdoba (166.7 km) 14:50

Freitag, 27. August 13: Etappe: Belmez – Villanueva de la Serena (197.2 km) 14:50

Samstag, 28. August 14. Etappe: Don Benito – Pico Villuercas (159.7 km) 14:50

Sonntag, 29. August 15. Etappe: Navalmoral de la Mata – El Barraco (193.4 km) 13:15

Montag, 30. August Ruhetag

Dienstag, 31. August 16. Etappe: Laredo – Santa Cruz de Bezana (170.8 km) 15:00

Mittwoch, 1. September 17. Etappe: Unquera – Lagos de Covadonga (181.6 km) 11:50

Donnerstag, 2. September 18. Etappe: Salas – Altu d’El Gamoniteiru (159.2 km) 12:35

Freitag, 3. September 19. Etappe: Tapia – Monforte de Lemos (187.8 km) 15:00

Samstag, 4. September 20. Etappe: Sanxenxo – Mos. Castor de Herville (173.6 km) 15:00

Sonntag, 5. September 21. Etappe: Padrón – Santiago de Compostela (33.7 km, EZF) 17:50

*Übertragung bei Eurosport 2 / Alle anderen Übertragungen im Free-TV bei Eurosport 1

Eurosport ist seit Jahren für alle Radsportfans die erste Adresse, wenn es um Live-Radsport geht. Mit dem Zusammenschluss der Streamingplattform GCN hat der Sender seine Position als „Home of Cycling“ weiter gefestigt und bietet so das größte Angebot an Premium-Radsport. Im letzten Jahr hat Eurosport die TV-Rechte für die Tour de France und La Vuelta bis 2025 verlängert und zeigt zudem Radsportklassiker der Frauen. Zusätzlich hat Discovery im Februar 2021 sich die weltweiten Exklusivrechte für die Übertragung des Giro d’Italia bis mindestens 2025 gesichert. Die Rechtevereinbarung mit RCS Sport beinhaltet u.a. eine Reihe weiterer italienischer Eintages-Klassiker und UCI World Tour-Events, darunter die Strade Bianche der Männer und Frauen, Tirreno-Adriatico, Mailand-Turin, Gran Piemonte, der Giro di Sicilia, Mailand-Sanremo und die Lombardei-Rundfahrt.

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

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


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

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.