{"id":190632,"date":"2022-09-12T13:11:36","date_gmt":"2022-09-12T13:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=190632"},"modified":"2022-09-12T13:11:36","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T13:11:36","slug":"a-few-takeaways-from-the-2022-vuelta-a-espana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/09\/12\/a-few-takeaways-from-the-2022-vuelta-a-espana\/","title":{"rendered":"A Few Takeaways from the 2022 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think it\u2019s fair to describe the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a as a theater of the unexpected, and this year\u2019s race was more dramatic than usual. But not from a suspense point of view; the green jersey race was all but over after stage 9 and Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) had the GC competition well in hand even before Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d (Jumbo-Visma) crashed out at the finish of stage 16 (and more about that later). Too much of the Vuelta\u2019s drama this year was, unfortunately, due to withdrawals from the race.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A total of 49 riders dropped out of the Vuelta, a staggering 26.6% of the riders that started the race. And more than half, 25 riders, withdrew because of Covid. That\u2019s a lot \u2013 and many of the withdrawals had an impact on the outcome. For example, Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) tested positive before the start of stage 10, when he was trailing eventual \u0160koda Green Jersey winner Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) by just five points. Rogli\u010d withdrew after his crash, as he appeared to be gaining on Evenepoel. The Slovenian\u2019s top support rider, Sepp Kuss, one of the best climbers in the world, abandoned because of fever before stage 9, which was a serious blow to Rogli\u010d\u2019s GC ambitions. And Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) left the race after crashing early in stage 18, when he was leading the King of the Mountains competition, won by Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers).<\/p>\n

More important from a big-picture point of view was Evenepoel\u2019s self-assured performance and GC victory. Even when Rogli\u010d was gaining on him late in the race, he never seemed to be on the point of breaking. He was strong enough in the mountains and far superior to anyone else in the ITT, which is a tried-and-true formula for winning Grand Tour races. His win was the first Belgian GC victory in a Grand Tour in 44 years. More important, however, is the fact that Evenepoel is only 22 years old. Coupled with the retirements of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), at age 42, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Quazaqstan), at 37, Richie Porte (Ineos Grenadiers), 37, and Philippe Gilbert (Lotto Soudal), 40, the change of generations is complete. As of now, the best Grand Tour GC cyclists in the world are all 25 or younger: Tadej Poga\u010dar\u00a0is 23 and Jonas Vingegaard is 25. The kings are dead, long live the kings.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udcf8 FOTO DEL D\u00cdA | PIC OF THE DAY \ud83d\ude0d <\/p>\n

Powered by Plenitude #LaVuelta22<\/a> – \ud83d\udcf8 @charlylopezph<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/K18TqBqODP<\/a><\/p>\n

— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) September 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n