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Vuelta a España, Spain

Stage 1, Granada - Granada TT, 7.0K

27 August

The Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
Menchov the Man?

Stages and Maps, The Dust Devil's Daily Wrap

Last year, Paco from BiciRace.com was on assignment in the Illes Balears team car at the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, where he sat and listened to Eusebio Unzúe (team DS) explain how he believed Denis Menchov was a future grand tour winner. He (Menchov) has since moved from Illes Balears to Rabobank, a team that is not exactly world renowned for grand tour success. In their tenth year of existence, they are just beginning to show some prowess for the 3 week long races. Michael Rasmussen won the KOM prize in this year's Tour de France and they took a few stages along the way.

So perhaps the winds are changing for the Dutch squad. (Well, that's not even totally accurate any more. Quite a few of their most high-profile riders are foreigners.) But winning the opening stage of a grand tour, and finishing the last stage with the leader's jersey are very different things.

 

Personally I'm not quite sure I believe that Menchov has the pedigree for an overall victory like the Vuelta a España. I think that Roberto Heras has to be the big favorite. He's looking to become the first four time winner of la Vuelta. Liberty Seguros-Würth is to the Vuelta what Discovery Channel is to the Tour de France. Riding at the front controlling the race, and then turning the screw until riders drop like flies ... Liberty has the fire power to crush the opposition. Their leader, the pocket sized Heras, is completely at home in the baking hot climbs of Spain.

The Vuelta is Liberty's race, it's that simple.

It was an interesting TT, with a climb in the middle, but now it should be interesting to see who the jersey will go to next when the obligatory changing of hands takes place............

Stay tuned to BiciRace.com for details.
- The Dust Devil