THERE’S no denying the opening stage of the Vuelta a España looked, on paper, like it would be an entertaining spectacle but as a sporting contest it was little more than an exhibition event once the decision not to put the results towards the overall standings had been made.
The 7.4km team time trial course from Puerto Banus to Marbella, right in the heart of the Costa del Sol, attracted criticism from the moment the riders saw what was in store for them. It was not until the teams began arriving in southern Spain in the middle of the week that they realised the team time trial was to be held on narrow bike paths, some covered with sand blown up from the beaches, and that there was even a wooden footbridge on the course.
Re-routing the stage through Marbella in the height of the summer holiday season was not possible so, after consultation with the race organisers and officials from the UCI, the world governing body, it was decided that the opening stage would not count towards the overall classification.
Although some of the riders were quick to take to social media to question the wisdom of a course that fell into the category labelled wacky races, some kept their sense of humour. The American Joe Dombrowski is riding his first Grand Tour, with the Cannondale-Garmin team. He posted a picture on Twitter of a text message his dad had sent him: it was a picture of some flip-flops with the caption “I got your shoes ready for Stage 1.”
The opening stage was not just for show, though. The first red jersey was still up for grabs to the rider who led the winning team over the finish line. That honour went to Peter Velits, a Slovakian, who led the BMC Racing team home by a hundredth of a second from Tinkoff-Saxo.
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Team Sky finished 20th out of 22 teams, prioritising safety for Chris Froome, inset, over anything else.
The Vuelta gets under way for real with the second stage today — a 158.7km leg from Alhaurin de la Torre to Carminito del Rey, a lumpy ride with an uphill finish that will force the overall contenders to the fore. Froome, who won the Tour de France last month, will no doubt figure but it remains to be seen how he has recovered. The Colombian Nairo Quintana, runner-up to Froome, appeared to finish the race in better condition than the Sky rider so he starts the event as a narrow favourite.
Then there is the strength in depth of the Astana team with Vincenzo Nibali, the 2010 Vuelta winner, Fabio Aru, runner-up at the Giro d’Italia earlier this year, and Mikel Landa, the revelation of that Giro after two mountain stage wins, in their line-up.