BARCELONA, Spain – Chris Froome’s decision not to defend his Spanish Vuelta title and fitness concerns for other top cyclists leaves Nairo Quintana in position to claim the Grand Tour for a second time. For Durango’s Sepp Kuss, it will be his first ride in a Grand Tour.
Quintana beat Froome to win the Vuelta in 2016, but the Colombian climber has struggled to carry that and other successes over to the Tour de France.
Last month, Quintana finished the Tour in a disappointing 10th place. He was knocked out of contention on the first day of the race after he broke both his wheels and lost a significant amount of time.
But fortune permitting, the 73rd edition of the Vuelta, which starts on Saturday, should be Quintana’s for the taking.
Quintana did win one mountain stage at the Tour but he will need to avoid mechanical mishaps and hold his own on the Vuelta’s two individual time trials to take the overall victory.
“We need to do well because we had prepared well for the Tour and yet due to one thing or another, it didn’t go our way,” Quintana said on Thursday. “Whenever they say we are favorites ... we have to show that we are on the road.”
The 28-year-old Quintana also won the Giro d’Italia in 2014.
His Movistar squad includes 2009 Vuelta winner Alejandro Valverde, who could still be an option to lead the team at the age of 38 if Quintana falters.
Here is a look at the riders and the course for the 2018 Vuelta:
Fresh off three stage wins and the overall title at the Tour of Utah two weeks ago, Durango’s Kuss earned a spot on the Team LottoNL-Jumbo roster for the Vuelta. When he signed with the World Tour team last winter, Kuss said he hoped to ride in a Vuelta within two years.
A strong showing at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June paired with his dominant climbing performances in Utah landed the 23-year-old his first opportunity to ride in a Grand Tour.
Kuss will serve largely as a support rider for George Bennett of New Zealand. He finished 10th overall at the 2016 Vuelta and was eighth at this year’s Giro d’Italia.
“I definitely am excited for it,” Kuss said of the Vuelta nomination after his win in Utah. “When I found out that it was kind of in the cards a few months ago, it gave me a lot of motivation. It’s going to be super hard. I’ve never done anything like it. I’ll just take it week by week and see how I feel. Obviously, George is riding super well. When you go there with a guy who could really perform in the race, you can bring it up another level. It will be exciting to go there to help him out. Definitely, a lot of confidence after this race to give it my all for George.”
After winning the last four Grand Tours, Froome’s Team Sky appears ready to let its rivals fight for victory at the Vuelta, which will start in the southern city of Malaga.
Froome and current Tour champion Geraint Thomas are not on the Sky squad for the Spanish race and instead will participate in the eight-stage Tour of Britain starting on Sept. 2.
In place of Froome and Thomas, Sky will be led by Michal Kwiatkowski and David de la Cruz.
Top riders Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida), Richie Porte (BMC) and Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First) are all racing in Spain after being forced to withdraw from the Tour because of crashes.
Porte broke his collarbone on Stage 9, then Uran sustained injuries to his left arm and leg that eventually led to him withdrawing on Stage 12. Nibali also had to quit on Stage 12 after he fractured a vertebra while climbing the Alpe d’Huez.
A top-notch climber and expert in descending, Nibali’s first Grand Tour victory came at the Vuelta in 2010. He went on to win the Giro twice and the Tour.
But given Nibali’s bruised back, Bahrain Merida has named Ion Izagirre as its leader.
“I have been training for about only a couple of weeks and for this reason I think it will be very difficult to aim for the general classification,” Nibali said. “I will see day by day and I hope to be able to do well in some mountain stages anyway.”
Other riders to watch are UAE Emirates pair Fabio Aru, who won the Vuelta in 2015, and Dan Martin.
An outside challenger could be Steven Kruijswijk, a Dutch rider for LottoNL-Jumbo who finished fifth at the Tour.
This year’s race will feature two individual time trials, a short 4.9-mile time trial on Stage 1 and a 20-mile ride from Santillana de Mar to Torrelavega on the northern coast on Stage 16.
But the real focus will be on the mountains, with nine stages concluding in summit finishes. That plays into Kuss’ strengths
The Vuelta organizers saved the most demanding route for the race’s 20th and penultimate day, when the peloton will face a short but explosive 60½-mile ride in the Pyrenees. The stage in Andorra features six categorized climbs culminating in the beyond-category Coll de la Gallina summit.
