Velogames Preview – Spain 2020

This is going to be a weird race to try and predict. Right in the middle of Autumn and overlapping another grand tour. A lot of teams are keeping their race ambitions under wraps and many are deploying a ‘wait and see’ strategy, with their expectations manifesting during the early stages. There are many young squads going as well so we can expect a lot of surprises and potential new faces showing themselves on the world stage. Stay tuned for an announcement at the end about our own league as well so you can test yourselves against fellow readers. So without any more delay, here’s your helping hand for your final fantasy cycling tilt of the year.

The Route

The climber’s grand tour gets underway with a series of stages that will set the scene for the general classification. There are six summit finishes in a slightly shortened race of 18 stages instead of the usual 21, and three of them are the hardest category the race has to offer. The first offering for the sprinters pops up on stage 4 and by my reckoning, there are three guaranteed sprints with the possibility of two or three more depending on how those stages are raced of course. The smattering of medium mountains stages in between will offer multiple opportunities for the breakaway and the only time trial of the race comes after the second rest day. This time trial is a 33.7km individual time trial, but it ends on a category 3, 1.8km climb with an average of 14.8%. So it’s a hard race and it has to be when it’s missing three stages, but when is the Vuelta not hard? Here are the stages to look out for

Stage 1: Really difficult final 25km and chance for the first red jersey.
Stage 6: A finish atop the Tourmalet.
Stage 8: Classic Vuelta finish, steep and challenging final few kilometers.
Stage 11: Start of a double header of tough mountain stages.
Stage 12: Famous Alto de l’Angliru finish.
Stage 13: The potentially decisive time trial.
Stage 17: Penultimate stage and last chance to claim victory.

Velogames Category Guide

So here it is, and with three teams yet to confirm their rosters this section will be updated and as I said at the start, many teams and riders objectives here are unknown. So this might just be a great opportunity to pick your fantasy squad with your gut or your heart instead of your head and just try to enjoy the race. Anyway, here’s what I know about form and about certain objectives, the rest will be a fan’s opinion.

All Rounders

Primož Roglič, 26 Credits: After his performances in his last four grand tours, and points hauls in Velogames competitions, his value has risen to 26 credits. Jumbo-Visma is going to decide on on who to ride for during the race, but he has to be considered a favourite.
Tom Dumoulin, 22 Credits: The second half of Jumbo’s attack. Can he stay with his teammate in the mountains? Is a double podium from Jumbo-Visma a possibility?
Thibaut Pinot, 18 Credits: FDJ haven’t confirmed their team yet, but if he’s there, he might be trying to make amends for his unlucky Tour de France. His last appearance here was 2018 when he finished 6th with two stage wins.
Enric Mas, 18 Credits: Returns to racing after an impressive Tour de France and has good memories of La Vuelta. Part one of the new Movistar trident and looks an interesting prospect for a top five.
Chris Froome, 16 Credits: Now then, Froome’s last race at Ineos, but in all honesty I don’t think we should expect too much of him here. Froome loves this race and I’d love it if he had a great race! We just haven’t seen him at the pointy end of a race since his accident last year. He’d be a gamble and worth a pick if you’re the sentimental type.
Alejandro Valverde, 16 Credits: It’s Valverde and it’s La Vuelta, nearly always a match made in heaven. 8th at the recent world championships so he’s got some good form, is it good enough though?
Daniel Felipe Martínez, 12 Credits: EF’s roster is unconfirmed so watch this space. Won a stage at the Tour and has ticked over nicely at one-day races since then.

For the bargain hunters amongst you, there are some cheaper options here if you’re looking to save budget. Wout Poels, is 10 credits and the team have said he’s giving the GC a go. A top 10 isn’t out of the question. I doubt Astana will be riding for just one person so Ion Izagirre is another interesting prospect at only 10 credits as well. The other three riders in this section are Marc Soler, 12; David de la Cruz, 10; and Gorka Izagirre, 8.

Climbers

As this is the climbers grand tour, this is an important section and there are lot of interesting cheaper riders to look at, much like we’re seeing at the Giro. I can’t comment on everyone here so I’ll stick to who look good to me. Send me a tweet if you fancy discussing someone I’ll potentially neglect here and we can continue the debate on Twitter.

Richard Carapaz, 20 Credits: Superb performance at the Tour after Bernal faltered and you’d imagine he’d be the one to step up if Froome isn’t on form. I think he’s one of the strongest men starting this race and it’s been two years since he’s raced La Vuelta.
Aleksandr Vlasov, 16 Credits: Take two for the young Russian who had to abandon the Giro after only a day and a half with stomach issues. Could still be risky at 16 credits though, but I hope we see a good race from him.
Esteban Chaves, 12 Credits: Mitchelton-Scott say he’s going for GC. I’d love it if that were the case and if you’re picking with your heart then there’s hardly a more likeable bloke in the pro peloton today. He hasn’t been competitive in a grand tour since 2016 so there may be better picks out there, but he’ll be one for the sentimental fantasy director sportif.
Michael Woods, 10 Credits: One of the finest punchy mountain racers of the last couple of years. If EF are hunting stages then he’s a good bet for a couple, and if he’s going for GC, then a top 10 is very achievable.
Andrea Bagioli, 8 Credits: An interesting prospect after his exploits this year and at only 21 he may be looking to follow in Almeida’s debut grand tour footsteps at the Giro.
Dan Martin, 8 Credits: I’ve got to mention Dan Martin. Israel Start-Up Nation are another team yet to confirm their roster, but he finished the Tour after an unfortunate Dauphiné and has had a couple of decent results since. He doesn’t always have the greatest time at La Vuelta, but you never know.
Davide Formolo, 8 Credits: He has no team leader to rider for (depending on whether he’s on better form than de la Cruz) and he’s potentially due a good grand tour performance. UAE are going to let him try for the GC and I’m very interested to see how well he’ll do.

There’s seven names to consider, but there are always others. Sepp Kuss is one after winning a stage last year, but he might be expensive at 16 credits and he has two team leaders to ride for. Unless Jumbo is pulling the wool over all our eyes and he’s secretly the leader. I just made that up now, but the more I think about it the more credible it sounds. Carthy, Nieve, Peters, and Madrazo will all be gunning for the breaks in all likelihood and could be good gambles if the rest don’t appeal. All manner of combinations are possible here.

Sprinters

The few sprints there are will probably be contested by Sam Bennett, 12 credits and Pascal Ackermann, 10 credits, but don’t count out Jasper Philipsen at only 8 credits either. These are your main players who are all on good form and the way they’re valued is probably the way they’d be expected to finish in a bunch sprint. There are four other riders I’d be tempted to pick if budget was really tight. Smith, Aberasturi, Cort, and Moschetti are all 6 credits and should all feature in the bunch sprints. Your best bet though is probably Bennett if he’s not too tired from the Tour.

Unclassed

With so much uncertainty surrounding this race and many young squads looking to prove themselves, this category is full of hidden gems and budding potential. Undoubtedly some of you will have your own secrets, but I’ll give you a few hints as to those who might go quite well here. The four pointer group especially has a lot of potential talent.

8 Credits
Alex Aranburu: Two second places in this race last year, will probably be expecting more of the same if not better this time around.
Luis León Sánchez: Home grand tour in his national champions jersey.
Tim Wellens: Hasn’t shown great form recently and hasn’t race a grand tour since the 2019 Tour.
Rui Costa: If Formolo is serious then Costa will be supporting him. Otherwise expect him in the breakaways.

6 Credits
Matej Mohorič: Fancies a couple of stage wins here.
Felix Großschartner: Is this his chance to prove himself in a grand tour?
Jonathan Lastra: Caja Rural’s man for the mountains, 2nd in a stage last year.
Jannik Steimle: Could also do quite well for Quick Step.
Tejay van Garderen: I would love it if this guy had a good race, it’s not too likely, but it would be brilliant.
José Joaquín Rojas: Always a fairly safe bet in this race.
Niklas Eg: Part of Trek’s youthful line-up to attack in the mountains.
Juan Pedro López: Grand tour debut for the 23 year old Spaniard riding for Trek.

4 Credits
Alexandre Geniez: He’s won three Vuelta stages before.
Georg Zimmermann: Might be sprinting for CCC on his grand tour debut.
Gino Mäder: Another who might come of age in this race.
Max Kanter: Sunweb’s probable sprinter.
Ilan Van Wilder: 20 year old who’s generating quite a bit of hype in Belgium.

So there you go, make of that what you will and feel free to get involved in the discussion on Twitter. I know I’ll be tearing my hair out over the next couple of days trying to find the best team. Lastly, I’ve set up a league on Velogames for those who want to test themselves against fellow readers. Use this code – 494476017 to sign up. The ultimate goal here is to have the overall winner come from this league. I’ll keep it going next year as well. So no pressure then.