The Vuelta is on the way into the mountains this weekend with Saturday's ascent of the Alto de Naturlandia – La Rabassa, and the action is heating up. Here are my perspectives regarding the early going.
Boonen and Bennati battling it out after passing on the Tour de France is great to see. "Tornado" had an excellent time trial today, finishing top 15, which is rare for the big Belgian sprinter. Looks increasingly like Bettini has lost a step over the past season, and is thinking about coming back next year. Question is where? We'll have to wait and see.
Astana seem to be ready to dominate with Contador and Leipheimer both riding excellently. Contador is 47 seconds behind his American teammate (Leipheimer is the only American racing at the Vuelta) and we may have a captain's controversy on our hands. Levi is behaving thus far, claiming that he is there only to support Contador, but if the California native is climbing well in a few days, who is to say he can't stay wih Contador and hold his lead?
Valverde looks strong. The Spaniard tore up the time trial course, and lost only 10 seconds to Contador and 59 to Leipheimer. He is at least as good a climber as Leipheimer, so he'll be troublesome for the Astana two-some when the road tilts up. Valverde claims that he isn't here to win the overall, but it sure looks like he is right now.
Damiano Cunego looks doooone as a grand tour threat. He lost a whopping 3:54 to Leipheimer today and seems utterly lost when racing three wek events. He also lost time in stage four and lost 2:32. Looks as though Damiano should focus on one day races.
Robert Gesink is learning the ropes in his first grand tour, and he sits only 2:30 off the lead. If he can find his explosive climbing legs, he may be able to target a top five result. Either way though he'll contend in the Vuelta, as he lays the foundation for the rest of his career.
Carlos Sastre is 1:37 behind Leipheimer, which is a drop in the bucket on this weekend's steep climbs. He'll have top-notch support from Jurgen Van Goolen and Matti Breschel as he tries to take his home tour for the first time.
Yaroslav Popovych once again is suffering at a grand tour. He is 2:46 off pace as the Lotto-Silence team eader, and doesn't appear to be a contender in the Vuelta. He'll be luck to win a stage, and Greg Van Avermaet seems more likely to take a stage than his team leader.
Saturday's Alto de Naturlandia – La Rabassa will show us the definitive contenders in this year's Vuelta. Riders will look to conserve their energy on Thursday and Friday, before the onlsaught begins on Saturday. As it did last year, the Vuelta should be serve up some big helpings of drama over the next few days.
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