{"id":180012,"date":"2020-10-20T13:19:34","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T13:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=180012"},"modified":"2020-10-20T13:19:34","modified_gmt":"2020-10-20T13:19:34","slug":"who-will-win-the-2020-la-vuelta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2020\/10\/20\/who-will-win-the-2020-la-vuelta\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Will Win The 2020 La Vuelta?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There will be two races in this year\u2019s Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, man against man and man against the virus. What happened in the Giro, in which two teams dropped out as a result of COVID-19 infections and some riders and teams asked for the race to be halted, should make everyone aware of the risks, especially as the general coronavirus situations was much better in Italy than it currently is in Spain. Hopefully, lessons have been learned and proper precautions will be taken to ensure that the 2020 La Vuelta is run safely and to its scheduled conclusion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The other race \u2013 which has been shortened to 18 stages \u2013 will certainly be won by the best climber, given the many difficult mountain stages. There is an individual time trial at the start of the third week but time lost there could be made up on the difficult climb to the finish line atop La Cotavilla on the 17th stage.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CGkMfnBD_b1\/<\/p>\n

A lot of attention will be focused on Chris Froome and his Ineos Grenadiers team. Ineos had apparently tried to win all of this year\u2019s Grand Tours, and have suffered a little embarrassment from their failures at the Tour de France and the Giro. So, they will be doubly motivated and are putting all their eggs in Froome\u2019s basket.<\/p>\n

Or are they? I agree with Philippe Gilbert and Sean Kelly, both of whom told Eurosport that Froome does not have the form to win such a challenging race. \u201cI don\u2019t think Froome is ready for the GC,\u201d Gilbert said. \u201cI think people forget the crash<\/a> he had 18 months or so ago. I still believe it\u2019s a miracle he\u2019s already racing. It\u2019s going to be hard for him to challenge the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

“He is not going to have enough time or enough racing,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cIf he had been racing all year, Froome might have been in the form to win the Vuelta but I don’t see it this time around.”<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Ineos have Richard Carapaz in the Vuelta lineup too. The 27-year-old Bolivian won the Giro in 2018 and looked very strong at the end of the Tour de France. I think it will be Froome helping Carapaz up the mountains as a farewell thank-you to the team that enabled him to win seven Grand Tours, including the Vuelta twice. Froome will leave Ineos and race for Israel Start-Up Nation in 2021.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CGiNQNKpld-\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link<\/p>\n

Carapaz will have a formidable rival in the hard-luck Slovenian Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d who came within a stage of winning this year\u2019s Tour de France. He will be super-motivated to prove himself and erase the bitter memory of struggling to the finish line in the Tour\u2019s 20th stage, an individual time trial, well beaten to the big prize by compatriot Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n

Rogli\u010d will again have the excellent Tom Dumoulin at his side. He will be essential to his leader\u2019s hopes on the climbs but if the Slovenian falters, Dumoulin would be a strong candidate for the GC win. However, the impressive Wout van Aert who was so important to Rogli\u010d\u2019s Tour run is not in the Vuelta.<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/a>
Rogli\u010d will have Doumulin at his side. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These are the favourites to win the 2020 La Vuelta. The outsiders include two French riders, Thibaut Pinot and Guillaume Martin. Like Rogli\u010d but for very different reasons, Pinot has something to prove \u2013 again. At 30 and with his now famously fragile body, this may be his last chance to win a Grand Tour. He almost certainly won\u2019t, but he could make the podium if he doesn\u2019t crash or lose heart.<\/p>\n

Martin was in the thick of the GC fight for much of the Tour but faded badly in the latter stages to finish 11th. That was Team Cofidis\u2019s best showing in a Grand Tour since 2013, which doesn\u2019t bode well for Martin\u2019s chances but suggests that the team will be hungry to finally make its mark again.<\/p>\n

Other credible outsiders include Enric Mas and Alejandro Valverde, two Spanish Movistar riders at opposite ends of the age scale: Mas is 25, Valverde is 40. The latter won the Vuelta GC in 2009 and the points classification title in 2018 (at age 38!) while his young teammate finished second in the 2018 Vuelta (at age 23!) and fifth in this year\u2019s Tour. Barring accident or illness, Mas should be close to the lead \u2013 if not wearing the maillot rojo \u2013 when the race reaches the locked-down Madrid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There will be two races in this year\u2019s Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, man against man and man against the virus. What […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":180019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[4506,425,4505,479,956,1221,3065,717,3415,829],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-180012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-2020-la-vuelta","tag-chris-froome","tag-eurosport","tag-la-vuelta","tag-philippe-gilbert","tag-primoz-roglic","tag-richard-carapaz","tag-sean-kelly","tag-tadej-pogacar","tag-tom-dumoulin","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\n2020 La Vuelta: Who Will Win the Race? \u2013 We Love Cycling Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There will be two races in this year\u2019s Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, man against man and man against the virus. 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