The Vuelta a España's first summit finish on Wednesday has seen Miguel Angel Lopez and his Astana team regain the upper hand in the GC battle, but it is far too soon and his lead is far too precarious for the Colombian to be called the definitive favourite.
So much has happened since the Vuelta a España kicked off that it feels far longer than five days since the riders rolled down the opening team time trial ramp in Torrevieja's salt mountains last Saturday.
But in fact, there are still seven of the race's eight summit finishes left to come, plus a major time trial. And even on rolling stages like Sunday's stage 2, which could have – maybe – ended in a reduced-bunch sprint, there was far more GC action than anticipated.
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After five stages and a rasping attack on the race's summit finish of Javalambre, Lopez holds the red jersey by a slender margin of 14 seconds over Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).
Perhaps more importantly, his margin of 12 seconds on Roglic and Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) gained in four kilometres on Javalambre was, by his admission, "not much" – particularly for an out-and-out climber like the Colombian on what was, in theory, very favourable terrain.
The GC pendulum could, in other words, swing back easily in favour of Roglic or the other overall contenders, and even if Thursday's grinding final third-category ascent to Ares de Maestrat hardly looks like an opportunity to ambush Lopez, the relentlessly difficult terrain through the sierras of Teruel and Valencia that precedes it could see some serious challenges or ambushes emerge.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/plenty-of-questions-and-few-answers-in-vueltas-first-setpiece-gc-battle
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