Wout Poels' crushing victory in the Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana has catapulted him into the limelight of the early season of 2016, and could make him one of the top riders to beat in the five-day Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista del Sol this week.
The 28-year-old Dutchman, who won overall in Valencia thanks to wins in the time trial and main mountain stages, tells Cyclingnews he will be aiming for a repeat performance in Andalucía, which also features a similar lengthy time trial (albeit with more climbing) on stage 4, and a 14-kilometre summit finish on Sunday at Alto de Peñas Blancas near Estepona.
“I feel good and Valencia was only a little while ago, so hopefully I’ll be able to do something similar here,” Poels said at the start of stage 2 on Thursday.
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“The time trial is more technical here, but that’s better for me because I’m not like a power rider on the flat, so I think it’s a good TT for the general classification for me.
“Today [Thursday] has a difficult downhill section into Córdoba. It’s not a day you can win the race but it’s certainly one where you can lose. Stage 3 [on Friday] is also tough; there are lots of little climbs and that suits me, because it makes everybody more tired.”
Asked about the differences between the principal climb in Valencia, Xorret de Cati, where he won, and Sunday’s final mountain top finish at Alto de Peñas Blancas, Poels pointed out that, “Xorret de Cati was really steep and I hope it’s a hard finish, too, on Sunday - that’s better for me.”
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