Cycling: Am Sunday the Vuelta a Espana in Madrid has come to an end. So the cycling fans have to wait until May again before they can get excited about the next Grand Tour. But we can console ourselves, because the Vuelta a Espana 2016 showed everything that characterizes this sport: Exciting ratings, no serial winners and a gripping fight for the podium with many tactical finesse. In our Vuelta a Espana review, we look at the past three weeks and come to some interesting conclusions.
Young drivers draw attention to themselves
In hardly any sport do young professionals find it so difficult to catch up with the world elite as in cycling. The main reason is clear, because the physical requirements and experience are decisive for these achievements. Nevertheless, many young professionals were able to convince in the past three weeks. With Lilian Calmejane (23), Simon Yates (24), Valerio Conti (23), Pierre Latour (22) and twice Magnus Cort Nielsen (23) six stage victories could be celebrated. With Nairo Quintana and Stephen Chaves there were not only two Colombians on the podium, but also two only 26-year-olds. The winner of the mountain classification Omar friar and the best point Fabio Fellina are also only 26. So in our Vuelta a Espana review, we can say that we've already had the privilege of admiring the future of cycling - or rather, the present. No matter how much criticism there is of the route, this hilly profile has its advantages.
Tragic heroes and disappointing performances
In addition to many happy drivers, we also discover a few disappointed professionals in our Vuelta a Espana review. Certainly is Alberto counter to mention, who had a lead of more than a minute before the final stage Stephen Chaves was third in the overall standings and ended up only fourth. Luis Leon Sanchez missed his longed-for stage win as well as Samy Sanchez, who had to give up after his fall in the time trial and was certainly the most tragic figure of this tour. Also Michele Scarponi may not be completely satisfied with the outcome of the race. After the time trial, the Italian was still seventh in the overall standings before he was pushed out of the top 10 by the last mountain stage. We mustn't forget his teammates either Miguel Angel Lopez, who is probably the only Colombian to be sad. He was considered a hot candidate for the podium but had to retire from the Vuelta due to injury.
Exciting decisions in the ratings
It is inevitable that there will always be winners and losers in a competition, but a sport thrives on excitement. The salt in the soup when it comes to cycling are above all the tight and tight decisions that we get to the bottom of in our Vuelta a Espana review. Unlike most other tours, we didn't know until the end who would ultimately be able to take the classification jerseys home. In the points classification triumphed with Fabio Fellina a hill-proof sprinter. Nothing special really, but if we look at where he scored the crucial points, then this man deserves the utmost respect. He finished in the points on two mountain stages. Particularly impressive was his performance as a breakaway on the 20th stage. He also hoarded seven points in the time trial. In the end he had three points more than quintana, seven more than Valverde and eight more than froome It was just as exciting in the fight for the mountain jersey between Omar friar and Kenny Elissonde. The two dueled on several stages and in the end the Spaniard got one point more. Here, too, the decision was only made on the last mountain stage.
The duel Nairo Quintana vs. Chris Froome
Of course, despite all the ratings, the fight for overall victory attracts the most attention. Here, too, there was an exciting and close decision. Nairo Quintana cheered in the end over 83 seconds ahead Chris Froome The Brit tried everything on the last mountain stage but he just couldn't get rid of the Colombian. With that turned Quintana turned the tables, because at the Tour de France he was always at a disadvantage. The decisive factor for his success was certainly that 15th stage, in which he together with Counter inflicted a painful defeat on the Sky and Orica-BikeExchange teams. Lost a total of 2:37 minutes Froome on this day. In the time trial on the 19st stage he couldn't make up for this deficit. Accordingly, this overall victory can especially be described as a success for the Movistar team. While Froome was clearly the stronger of the two classification riders in the time trial, they didn't take too much in the mountains. Quintana made the overall fresher impression, but Froome also impressed with his inimitable catch-up races. He was behind several times, but he always fought his way back and was able to close the gap. In the end, carelessness on the 15th stage.
Tactical refinements prove the team sport
But tactical decisions did not only play a major role on this section from Sabiñánigo to Sallent de Gállego. In general, this tour was characterized by many tactical finesse. The Orica-BikeExchange team, which was on the 15st stage was one of the suffering teams. A day earlier on the 14st stage brought them Stephen Chaves and Simon yates in an excellent position. This masterpiece was finally completed on the 20th stage, than one with Chaves early attack and Counter could still push off the podium. Both times helpers were sent into the lead group to act as relay stations. The whole project worked out wonderfully, because they were able to support their captains over many kilometers. Orica-BikeExchange has now also proven itself as a team for round riders. This can certainly cause astonishment, because so far people have been more attracted to themselves with stage hunters. Nevertheless, they were able to win no fewer than four stages.
Spanish cycling is in crisis
An interesting topic should be addressed after this season at the latest: In 2016, only three Spanish stage victories could be clinched at Grand Tours. In our Vuelta a Espana review, we note that no Spaniard made it onto the podium. This was last in 1996, when three Swiss stood on the podium. At least three Spaniards ended up in the top 8, but in this cycling-mad country people are used to better results. There doesn't seem to be any hope of an improvement in the near future, either, because young talents are few and far between. Although Spain is currently in third place in the national ranking, the points were scored almost exclusively by the older people. Alone Valverde and Counter are responsible for half of the points. But these two are approaching the end of their careers. There are seven Spaniards in the top 100 of the UCI World Ranking, except for Jon Izaguirre are all at least 32 years old.
The Vuelta a Espana is better than its reputation
The Vuelta a Espana has always found it difficult to step out of the shadow of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. In part, the organizers certainly have themselves to blame for this bad reputation, but by starting less than two months after the end of the tour, you don't have a perfect place in the schedule of the top riders either. Incidents like on the 5th stage, as Steven Kruijswijk, another tragic hero of this entire season, down to an unsecured post don't exactly help with a better reputation. In addition, the wavy profile has not invited top sprinters for years. Still, we have to admit that we've witnessed most of the epic stages at the Vuelta a Espana in recent years. Cycling just as it lives and breathes. So all cycling fans are already looking forward to the next Grand Tour - even if it still takes a while ...