Stage 2 Report and Stage 3 Preview 2013 Vuelta a España

The son of a champ is champ for a day

Stage 2 of the 2013 Vuelta a España featured the first summit finish of the race, the category-1 Monte da Groba. The three-man break was caught on the early slopes of the 11-k climb to the finish, and the GC hopefuls showed their form as they tested their legs on the first serious climb of the race.

Four riders got clear of the bunch in the final kilometers and battled for the stage win. Leopold Konig of Team Netapp-Endura put in a promising attack, but was reeled in by Ag2R’s Domenico Pozzovivo, Team Saxo Tinkoff’s Nicolas Roche, and Daniel Moreno of Katusha. In the end it was Roche who took the win, showing his best form of the season, and netting his first win in two years. Before the race Roche stated that he was going for a top-5 spot on the general classification.

The bigger story may be the unexpected suffering of some of the race favorites on the final climb. Sergio Henao, Team Sky’s proclaimed leader, lost contact with the peloton and finished 60^th, 2:41 behind Roche’s winning time. It looks now like Sky will pin their GC hopes on Henao’s fellow Colombian, Rigoberto Uran, who finished 10^th today.

Sammy Sanchez, leader of the moribund Euskaltel Team, was dropped on the climb and lost significant time. As of this writing, his name does not appear in today’s stage results. His teammates Igor Anton, Gorka Verdugo and Egoi Martinez all lost 2:41, so the Basque team only has Mikel Nieve remaining in a competitive position, currently 29^th, 1:14 off the lead. **UPDATE: They finally added Sanchez's name to the stage results: he finished with his teammates who had waited for him, 2:41 back.

Beñat Intxausti of Team Movistar was another casualty of the clock, losing more than two minutes. His team is of course counting on Alejandro Valverde for overall success, but Intxausti’s help will be vital in the big mountains to come.

First red jersey wearer, Janez Brajkovic of Astana, finished 40^th, :51 off the pace, but more importantly, his leader, Vincenzo Nibali, took over the race lead with his solid performance on stage 2.

Stage 3 route

Stage 3 Profile

Stage 3 continues in Galicia, taking the peloton 185 mostly flat kilometers, from Vigo to Mirador de Lobeira. The circuitous route follows much of the local coastline, and should offer some very nice views. The only categorized climb on the route is the cat-3 finishing hill. It is about a 3k steep ramp that will favor the puncheurs.

The stage 3 climb to the finish

 

My pick to win stage 2, Rafal Majka finished 12^th, with the main group of GC favorites, :14 behind the winner—Majka’s teammate, Nicolas Roche.

My pick for stage 3: I would say Pozzovivo, Gilbert and Purito are good bets, but I am going to pick Roman Kreuziger to give Saxo two consecutive wins.

For a long shot I’ll pick Bartosz Huzarski of Team Netapp to notch his first win of the season.

Stage 2 Preview 2013 Vuelta a España

Race leader Janez Brajkovic

The stage 1 team time trial saw Vincenzo Nibali’s Astana Team surprise the favorites and take the first win of the race. Janez Brajkovic crossed the line first for the Kazakh squad and will wear the race leader’s red jersey on stage 2. That is especially good news for the 29-year-old Slovenian who is shopping around for a new team contract.

Stage 2 on the map

Stage 2 continues in Galicia, and takes the riders 177.7k from Pontevedra to the first mountaintop finish in Baiona. The stage is mostly flat, with two distinguishing features: a 10k category-3 climb at about km 52, and—more importantly—the 11k cat-1 climb to the finish. 

Stage 2 Profile

The Alto do Monte da Groba is an undulating 11k climb, with an overall average gradient of 5.6% and a max around 10%. The Vuelta is establishing GC positions right from the get-go. Stage 2 results will illustrate who is in good form, and who is not quite ready to battle.

Astana may do what they can to keep the yellow jersey on Sunday, but the key for most GC contenders will either be limiting losses, or trying to regain some of the time that Nibali and his team took on stage 1. There are time bonuses for the first three at the line, so finishing positions are important.

Here is a short list of the times that some of the GC favorites lost to Nibali and his mates after the TTT:

Chris Horner lost :10 to Nibali, et al

Sergio Henao and Rigoberto Uran +:22

Alejandro Valverde +:29

Rooman Kreuziger, Rafal Majka and Nicolas Roche +:32

Bauke Mollema +:49

Michele Scarponi +:56

Joaquim “Purito” Rodriguez +:59

Sammy Sanchez +1:14

Thibaut Pinot +1:25

Ivan Basso +1:26

Dan Martin +1:41

Domenico Pozzovivo +1:41

Carlos Betancur +1:59

Igor Anton +2:43

So, a lot of guys have their work cut out for them.

MY PICK to win stage 2:  Rafal Majka (TST)

Stage 2 Report and Results 2013 Tour de France

156k from Bastia to Ajaccio

medium mountains; flat finish

Weather: sunny, dry, with temps in the mid to upper 70’s f. (mid 20’s c); very light wind;

Birthdays: Sylvain Chavanel (34) and Marcus Burghardt (30).

15 riders required medical attention from stage one crashes, but all 198 riders made the start today, including Omega Pharma’s time trial master, Tony Martin, who endured a concussion, a bruised lung, and bruises and abrasions to his hip, knee, shoulder and back.

Kristoff in green, Lobato in polka dots and Kittel in yellow for stage 2

Soon after the start, 4 riders escape: Lars Boom (BEL-also in break yesterday), Blel Kadri (ALM), David Veilleux (EUC), and Ruben Perez (EUS);

followed soon by Julien Simon (SOJ), who tries to bridge the gap to the leaders who are quickly 2:00 up the road;

Simon gives up the chase and is picked up by the peloton; Click "read more" to...um, read more.