For the riders, it’s the heat, the wind, the Netherlands (WTF?), the mountains and the bleached scenery. For me it’s trying to find an angle to write about the damned thing. Well, I managed it in the end:
Read “Has the Vuelta lost its way?” on BBC Sport
That journalistic trick of asking a question then not entirely answering it in several hundred words once again proves its worth and allows me to mention most of the important information that I could knock together off the top of my head in a couple of hours.
I am going to be watching, I’m just not sure how excited I can get about it.
Andy Schleck is, on paper, the odds on favourite based on recent Grand Tour performance but I’m intrigued by an article on Velonews in which Sean Yates says Chris Horner will get a crack at the GC:
Read Yates: ‘Horner will get his chance at Vuelta’ on velonews.com
Like everyone else I had assumed that Vinokourov had got his Astana bat and ball back and he would decide who gets to play with it.
My lucky girlfriend is going to be in Spain when it passes through the Valencia/Alicante/Murcia stretch so might (if I can figure out before she goes away) get to watch some of it roadside.
From what I remember of the last time I was in Spain when it was on, it’s also wall-to-wall on Spanish telly throughout the afternoon when it’s otherwise a bit too warm for being outside. But for me it’s Eurosport live in the office when I can and highlights in the evening when I can’t.