The time of a Grand Tour regains its rights.
After the Giro and the Tour de France, it's the Vuelta's turn to make cycling enthusiasts dream.
The riders will start from Utrecht (Netherlands) this Friday to reach the capital Madrid three weeks later.
Despite a course that was still a little disappointing (a third week without any real big stages and a course that was not very mountainous as a whole in particular), most of the flagship teams decided to field their big teams.
The point on the favorites for the final victory, and on the French chances.
Favorites :
Primoz Roglic, to go down in history
The Slovenian arrives in Spain with great ambitions after his retirement from the Tour de France (at the start of the 15th stage).
The Slovenian has the opportunity to win his fourth Vuelta in a row and go a little further into the history of cycling by becoming joint record holder of the event with Roberto Heras.
Nevertheless, Roglic will not benefit from the best workforce of this 2022 edition to surround him … The Jumbo-Visma has decided to align Edoardo Affini, Rohan Dennis, Robert Gesink, Chris Harper, Sepp Kuss, Sam Oomen, Mike Teunissen at its ratings.
Apart from the American Sepp Kuss, this collective seems quite weak as a whole, which could destabilize Primoz Roglic in the event of major maneuvers by his rivals.
Jay Hindley for the double
The winner of the last Giro (Tour of Italy) will also try to win the Tour of Spain.
The 26-year-old Australian has shown he can handle a three-week race perfectly, and the course could suit him.
He will be able to take advantage of a very large team aligned by Bora-Hansgrohe.
The Dutch team will be half dedicated to the general classification with in particular Sergio Higuita and Wilco Kelderman who will work for Hindley.
The other half was thought out to take Sam Benett and try to win stages in the sprint.
Ineos and its multiple possibilities
Another great Tour for the general, and again the same strategy for the British formation.
On this Vuelta 2022, Ineos will play several cards to try to play for the final win.
The inevitable Richard Carapaz will probably be the most anticipated, but Tao Geoghegan Hart (winner of the Giro 2020) and why not the Frenchman Pavel Sivakov (recent winner of the Tour de Burgos) will also have a card to play.
On the Tour de France, the British managed to get on the podium with Geraint Thomas (3rd) by playing this strategy, so why not go for victory this time in a much more open race?
Remco Evenepoel, the passion of youth
At 22, the Belgian is turning into the leader of the Quick-Step for this Vuelta 2022. The winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Classic Saint-Sébastien will this time try to shake up the World Tour hierarchy by seeking his first big result in a three-week race.
Remco Evenepoel is a fiery runner who often senses the right moves.
He is able to follow the best and attack far from the finish.
This panache could nevertheless harm it, when we know the importance of pedal strokes on the Grand Tours.
At his side, the French Julian Alaphilippe will be his main support, he who will seek stage victories.
UAE relies on Joao Almeida
No Tadej Pogacar on this Tour of Spain 2022, which ended up giving up the Tour de France-Vuelta sequence.
Not really disturbing for the UAE formation which will be able to count on the Portuguese Joao Almeida.
At 24, he is already a safe bet for the Emirati team.
An excellent runner, he finished 4th in the Giro 2020 and was also off to a good start in the 2022 edition before having to give up because of the Covid.
The French to follow:
Julian Alaphilippe wants to heal his return
Injured, the darling of the French public had to give up the Tour de France this year... The world champion, who will defend his title in a few weeks, has therefore postponed his ambitions on this Vuelta 2022, where he will act as a free electron .
He should support Remco Evenepoel for the general, and why not play his personal card.
Nevertheless, the main objective will be to find sensations and aim for stage victories.
Groupama-FDJ is still counting on Pinot
No success for the tricolor formation on the Grande Boucle despite the panache of its riders.
In Spain, the men of Groupama-FDJ will be tasked with seeking a stage victory.
To do this, Thibaut Pinot will be the trump card, he who doubles after a jagged Tour de France.
The official composition of Marc Madiot's team:
Bruno Armirail, Fabian Lienhard, Rudy Molard, Quentin Pacher, Thibaut Pinot, Sébastien Reichenbach, Miles Scotson, Jake Stewart.
The other tricolor chances
In addition to Alaphilippe and Pinot, other French people will be keen to shine.
Sprinter Bryan Coquart (Cofidis) will notably try to win in a massive sprint, he who has just competed in the road race at the European Championships with the French team (2nd place for Arnaud Démare).
Arkéa-Samsic will also play its card for a stage victory.
For its first participation in the Vuelta, the Breton team will notably rely on the French Anthony Delaplace, Élie Gesbert and Clément Russo to raise their arms.
With the recent announcement of the disqualification of Nairo Quintana from the Tour de France (where he finished 6th), it is not sure that the team can play the general with the small Colombian climber.
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