Adversary fears Covid
Tour giant Vingegaard plunges into the Vuelta
08/26/2023, 11:05 am
Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, Giro champion Primoz Roglic, defending champion Remco Evenepoel – the only thing missing for the final spectacle on the Tour of Spain is Tadej Pogacar. Jumbo-Visma wants the tour hat-trick and old star Gerraint Thomas the big sensation.
At the official photo shoot of the Tour of Spain, Jonas Vingegaard practiced the jubilation. When the winner of the Tour de France rolls off the starting ramp at the 78th Vuelta a España today, he doesn’t just want to end the season. “I will try everything to win this Vuelta,” Vingegaard said last Thursday. The day before he had landed in Barcelona with a large, yellow suitcase. However, he has to change his color in the next three weeks. The leader’s jersey is not yellow like on the tour, but red.
For the first time, Vingegaard is driving two major national tours in one year. In the past few weeks, he has been preparing intensively in Switzerland. And because it’s new territory, Jumbo-Visma is starting with two Radstars. Alongside Vingegaard, Giro winner Primoz Roglic is the co-captain. The Slovenian has already won the Vuelta three times – and overall victory is the team’s main goal. “We conquered Italy and France. Now we want Spain too,” said Jumbo.
Kämna is concentrating on a stage win
Biggest adversary might be Remco Evenepoel. The ex-world champion won the Vuelta last year. This year, the child prodigy actually wanted to triumph at the Giro d’Italia, but a positive corona test stopped him from being in the lead. That still annoys him. “The biggest goal is not to get Covid,” said the Belgian, grinning. So now the Vuelta – and in a way this is an endurance test for the coming year if he wants to ride the Tour. In the mountains of Spain he can compete with Vingegaard. So is he stacked low? Evenepoel’s goal: “One stage and a place on the podium at the end. A lot can happen on a Grand Tour.”
In any case, only two-time tour winner Tadej Pogacar is missing to make the Vuelta an annual meeting of the world’s best tour drivers. Geraint Thomas features the 2018 Tour winner, who finished second at the Giro that year. “The podium would be nice, but I want to win. That’s what you race for,” said the 37-year-old. Bora captain Alexander Vlasow is also at the start with the goal of overall victory. Lennard Kämna will focus on a stage win.
The Vuelta starts today with a team time trial in Barcelona. Anything other than a Jumbo-Visma win would be a surprise. The first mountain finish is already on the third day in Andorra. The arrival on the Tourmalet on September 8th should be a spectacle, four days later the dreaded Angliru has to be climbed. The final stage takes place around Madrid on September 17th.