Often derided as the lesser of the three Grand Tours, the Vuelta a España could be set for another memorable edition with a mouthwatering line-up in prospect.
While the Tour is, as they say, the Tour, and the Giro has become the three-week race of preference for the discerning, the Vuelta has acquired a reputation as the least significant Grand Tour.
But it seems to have bucked that trend in recent years, with some of the highest-quality fields and most dramatic racing seen all season. Indeed, last year the battle for the red jersey went right down to the penultimate day, while the Chris Froome-Alberto Contador duel was arguably the closest and most entertaining tussle of the 2014 Grand Tours.
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With Froome, Contador, and Nairo Quintana all set to line-up in Orense in three weeks’ time, we could be in for another memorable edition.
2014 highlighted a trump card the Vuelta holds over the Giro; while most of those serious about targeting the Tour de France won’t consider harming their plans by riding the Giro, the Vuelta represents an ideal second opportunity for those who didn’t get all they might have wanted out of July.
The 2014 Tour should have been the best line-up of the year, with three of the four best stage racers in the world in Froome, Contador, and Vincenzo Nibali. When Froome and Contador both crashed out early on it was very much the Tour’s loss – as Nibali cantered unchallenged to victory – and the Vuelta’s gain.
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