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2018 Ruta del Sol (14-18 Feb)

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Route:

As for the route, its difficulty comes in two very different parts. The organisers have placed the first big challenge on stage 2, but have then tried to ensure the uncertainty over the winner will endure to the very last moment of the race. Presumably, this is because the battle stopped midway last February. They had an electrifying first three stages, with a battle royale over the mountains of eastern Andalucia between Contador, Valverde and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), and a hotly disputed time trial. However, it subsided into a very dull finale in the final 48 hours, with one bunch sprint, a breakaway stage and a torrential downpour in Malaga making for a fairly humdrum, soggy, conclusion.

 

Stage 1 from Mijas to Granada takes the peloton up from the Mediterranean to city at the foot of Sierra Nevada, just like the opening stage of 2017. Whereas 2017's first stage concluded with the extremely difficult first category final climb of Monachil and a fast drop to Granada, there is a much more rolling finale in 2018. A last-minute attack or a small group sprint is the most likely conclusion.

 

Stage 2 is the toughest single mountain stage, with an ascent to the Allanadas summit finish following aconstantly undulating drive through Andalucia's inland sierras. Allanadas is not long, just 5.2 kilometres in total, but when combined with a painfully steep average gradient of around 12 per cent and with segments reaching 21 per cent, it can clearly do a lot of damage. Indeed, three years ago, after a thrilling battle with Contador on a day of miserable cold and rain, Froome's victory there effectively netted him the overall victory 48 hours later by a scant two seconds.

This time round, Allanadas will not be so decisive. After stage 3's likely bunch sprint at Herrera as the race heads westwards, a second, punchier uphill battle awaits on stage 4, with a 1.7-kilometre final ascent at Alcala de los Gazules.

 

The crunch day for the 2018 Vuelta a Andalucia, though, will likely prove to be the 14.2 kilometre individual time trial in the coastal town of Barbate. Whilst not too long and with very little climbing, the time trial's 5.5 kilometres of steadily rising rough trackway in the first half - or sterrato, as the organisers have decided to describe it - will call for expert bike handling and a fair dose of good luck to avoid punctures and mechanicals. The weather could also prove critical. The Atlantic coastline is just a few kilometres away at most and the riders will be racing on very, flat and exposed terrain throughout. This is one of the world's most popular areas for windsurfers, so there are no prizes for guessing what could be a critical factor on this last day of racing.

 

Whether or not Froome wins the race, the big story of the week will surely be about the Briton in any case, both in terms of the reception he gets from the fans and the other riders and teams. Let's not forget, this will be a first test of form for Froome's toughest racing season to date, no matter how the controversy over his salbutamol adverse analytical plays out. Other sub-plots, such as how Landa shows off his Movistar colours for the first time this year, shouldn't be ignored. But, in the bigger picture and for many fans, the Ruta del Sol will be about one rider.

 

 

Stages

 

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Stage 1 Results:

 

1 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie 5:21:39

2 Sacha Modolo (Ita) EF Education First-Drapac

3 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

4 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert

5 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal

6 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team

7 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice

8 Moreno Hofland (Ned) Lotto Soudal

9 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL-Jumbo

10 Jan Tratnik (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice

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