Between the finale of Tokyo 2020 and the start of La Vuelta Ciclista a España 2021, there are more than 10,000km, but only a few days. And although the Spanish Grand Tour has built part of its reputation on the surprises it brings, exploring new roads year after year, the 2021 edition will offer familiar sights with the participation of the two Olympic Champions on the roads of Japan: Jumbo-Visma’s Primož Roglič (winner of the individual time trial for Slovenia) and Ineos Grenadiers’ Richard Carapaz (who brought gold to Ecuador in the road race).
Their recent titles naturally highlight them as two of the main stars in a start-list full of contenders. For Roglič and Carapaz, this is also an opportunity to reignite their Spanish battles. A little less than a year ago, they provided a great duel in the autumnal edition of La Vuelta 2020, a race that eventually saw them take the first two positions on the overall podium in Madrid.
The first Ecuadorian and Slovenian Grand Tour winners, two pioneers, are expected at the forefront again as the 2021 edition of the Spanish three-week race runs from Burgos (14 August) to Santiago de Compostela (9 September). The overall winner in 2019 and 2020, Roglič could become the third rider in the race’s history to triumph for a third successive year. But the Slovenian star is set to face a reinvigorated competition, notably from within the ranks of Ineos Grenadiers.
When he rode La Vuelta 2020, Carapaz was not wearing the number 1 bib of the British squad – an honour reserved for seven-time Grand Tour winner Chris Froome – but it was clear from the start he was the Grenadiers’ main option to try and overthrow Roglič from his Spanish throne. The Ecuadorian climber did wear the leader’s red jersey for five days, and cut his GC losses to 24’’ in the end, with a fierce attempt on the final slopes up La Covatilla, but Primoz still reigned in Spain.
In 2021, Carapaz once again comes to La Vuelta alongside another Grand Tour winner, but one who, after a 2020 season hampered by health issues, has returned as one of the greatest talents to watch for years to come. At 24 years old, Egan Bernal has bounced back to victory in the Giro d’Italia, two years after becoming the first Colombian winner of the Tour de France, and if he stays healthy, in Spain he could become the youngest rider with victories in the three Grand Tours.
Coming from the province of El Carchi, in the northern mountains of Ecuador, Carapaz notoriously crossed the border with Colombia to grow as a Panamerican talent before he stormed Europe. In La Vuelta, he will also race with a compatriot who quickly showed his talents on an international scale, Jhonatan Narvaez. Great Britain’s Adam Yates and Tom Pidcock (also a gold medallist in Tokyo 2020, in the mountain bike event) come from very different backgrounds but only add to the Ineos Grenadiers firepower in a stellar line-up.
The Ineos Grenadiers are set to look for opportunities to isolate and drop Roglič on demanding terrains. Half of the 21
The Ineos Grenadiers are set to look for opportunities to isolate and drop Roglič on demanding terrains. Half of the 21 stages of La Vuelta 2021 offer ground for GC battles, including six proper high summit finishes. There are mighty classics, like Alto de Velefique (stage 9) and Lagos de Covadonga (stage 17), and scary novelties such as the unprecedented Altu d’El Gamoniteiru (stage 18): 14.6km with an average gradient of 9.8%.
The route also includes two individual time trials, and Roglič won the last two ITTs of La Vuelta, in 2019 and 2020, on his way to winning overall. This weekend, the Slovenian champion will be able to strike on day 1, with Saturday’s 7.1km effort around the Burgos cathedral. Then the first week will soon reveal how well Roglič is feeling after a rollercoaster of a summer, with an abandon in the Tour de France due to an early crash before he bounced back to glory at the Olympic Games.
Among his most loyal companions, Sepp Kuss described the first challenges to overcome. “It’s a pretty hard race right from the beginning, the third stage already is a summit finish so I think things will quickly become apparent what our strategy is,” Kuss said in an interview with VeloNews, also highlighting the potential echelons that could turn the race upside down: “I think the big thing is all the potential windy stages in the first week – we have to be ready for that because anything could happen. We want to keep all of us safe and up there through that, and we’ll see how the race works out from there.”
The second time trial of La Vuelta 2021 awaits the riders on the very last day, with a 33.8km battle to reach the finish in Santiago de Compostela. Roglič’s road to Galicia will be full of traps, and there are many riders willing to overthrow him, not just with the Ineos Grenadiers, but also the Movistar Team trio of Miguel Ángel Lopez, Enric Mas and Alejandro Valverde, EF Education-Nippo’s Rigoberto Uran and Hugh Carthy, Astana-Premier Tech’s Aleksandr Vlasov, and Bahrain-Victorious’ Mikel Landa… it’s time to light Spanish fireworks!