Kaixo, lagunak!

Welcome, friends!

Some races like to start off with a nice and easy sprint stage - not La Vuelta. The riders are send off to race in an individual time trial through the centre of Málaga. At eight kilometres, it won't be the making of the general classification, but it might be an early sledgehammer to some of it's hopefulls. 

The starting ramp is situated facing seawards on Málaga's coast, and the riders are launched onto a long pier before making a u-turn and following the beach for much of the first halve of the race. Winds could be fierce, and if it's a headwind it would mean a big advantage to the ITT specialists. The predictions however are a tailwind for much of the morning, with a change to side wind when the riders hit the tarmac. After this, it's wide streets in Málaga's inner city until the riders hit the Paseo del Parque, a traffic road smack through a city park. One last ninety degrees right corner, and the finish is in sight. 

As said, the time differences will be small. When the Giro d'Italia started in Jerusalem, the difference between best placed and last placed GC hopefulls where about a minute, but that course was four kilometres longer and very hilly and technical. A gentle rise in the Málaga course can't prevent this from being a race of seconds, but that doesn't mean some hopes won't be dashed: a prologue is a nervous affair at the best of times, and one risky corner might be the difference between glory and a trip to the hospital. You can ask...

Euskara to watch: The king of Basque time trialling is Ion Izagirre. The cruelty of a prologue was embodied by Ion's 2017 Tour de France: transferring to the newly formed Bahrain Merida team gave Ion the chance to lead a team as a GC contender, but the slippery roads of Dusseldorf spelled doom: one crash, and Ion's tour was over. This year, Ion is back in his role as domestique. This Vuelta specifically, Ion rides in service of his older brother Gorka Izagirre. At least, that's what the team announced, until they changed their tune to announce Ion was their leader this week. In all likelihood, the road will decide who leads. Could tomorrow be the first step in making this decision? For the opening stage, Ion is the one to watch. Will he break his prologue bad luck? 

Race map @ Vuelta a Espagna, Photo of Dusseldorf @ Cyclingnews