Espainiako Itzulia Stage 3 recap & stage 4 preview
August 28, 2018
Kaixo, lagunak!
Welcome, friends!
It's stage three of the Vuelta á Espagna, a grand tour which might lack the history of the Tour de France nor the tifosi of the Giro d'Italia, but there's one thing the Queen of the Indian summer has over the others: the Basques. That's why Badger Baroudeur presents to you a daily stage preview with a special focus on the Cycling Carrots, regardless of which team they ride for. Let's get to it!
Recap: Stage 3
Apologies for the lateness and brevity of today's piece: Our editor has been felled by a migraine and screens have been a big 'no' since yestersday's finish. A sprinters' stage without much surprises, despite a brave attempt by Victor Campaneart, Jelle Wallays and Gougeard to bridge to the break in the final 30km. Gougeard included, we've got four protagonists of yesterday's break on the attack today: Rolland & Maté fighting it out for the polkadot jersey, and Hector Saez who becomes our Basque of the day for the second day running.
At the finish line, Eduard Prades just outsprinted his teamleader Jon Aberasturi (18th) to a 16th place. Ion Izagirre is still the best placed Basque overall!
At the finish line, Eduard Prades just outsprinted his teamleader Jon Aberasturi (18th) to a 16th place. Ion Izagirre is still the best placed Basque overall!
Best placed (stage): Hector Saez (16th)
Best placed (GC): Ion Izagirre (5th)
Eguneko Euskara: Hector Saez
Best placed (GC): Ion Izagirre (5th)
Eguneko Euskara: Hector Saez
Stage 4: Vélez-Málaga – Alfacar
We start on the flats surrounding Vélez, hitting the first climbs after fifty kilometres. This is something that should worry the breakaway: the first climb they get at is one of the big ones. Alto de la Cabra Montés counts 16 kilometres at 5.9%, with a couple venomous ramps of 8.5%. It’s a relatively steady grind, but not an easy one. A breakaway consisting of rouleurs should have quite a buffer before starting this climb or risk being overtaken. More likely, the stronger climbers in the breakaway will drop quite a few companions already and fight their way up to the KOM points on top.
The finale
is made by the Alfacar, finishing on the Sierra de la Alfaguerra. On first
sight, it’s another gradual grinder like the climbs we’ve seen so far. At
twelve and a half kilometre on 5.4%, it looks a bit easier than the Cabra
Montés, but that’s far from telling the whole story. At 9km from the summit,
the climb flattens significantly before turning back into the rhythm, but then
at around 6km to go, there’s a steep wall. There’s bound to be attacks here,
but by whom? If it’s an adventurer looking for the day’s glory, it’s almost
bound to fail. The remaining climb is too long of a grind to stay away from the
GC favourites without a big buffer. Now, if a GC candidate attacks at this
point of the climb, he won’t stay away to the end either – but attacks here
will blow up the peloton and might just isolate competitors from their
domestiques - and in a one-on-one scenario, anything could happen.
Basque to Watch: For the second time this Vuelta, Ion Izagirre is the rider to watch. Look out for the likes of Mikel Iturria, Garigoitz Bravo and Mikel Bizkara in the break, but the finish will be contended between the GC riders. For Ion, this day will be the proof as to what role he'll play in this grand tour: a main protagonist or a side character for the top 10?
Basque to Watch: For the second time this Vuelta, Ion Izagirre is the rider to watch. Look out for the likes of Mikel Iturria, Garigoitz Bravo and Mikel Bizkara in the break, but the finish will be contended between the GC riders. For Ion, this day will be the proof as to what role he'll play in this grand tour: a main protagonist or a side character for the top 10?
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