Date: Sunday, 24 August
Distance: 160km
Start location: Alba
Finish location: Limone Piemonte
Start time: 13:35 CEST
Finish time: 17:21 CEST
Like so much of Italy, Piemonte is celebrated for its gastronomical delights, albeit not of the kind riders managing their weight in anticipation of a Grand Tour can afford to indulge too much in. Today’s Vuelta a España second stage in Italy sets off from the town of Alba, which is home to the Ferrero family of chocolatiers. That’s the same Ferrero as Ferrero Rocher, the delicacy created and named after the son of the company’s founder Pietro Ferrero, Michele, in 1979, though their most popular product remains Nutella, the sugary hazelnut spread that’s been making sandwiches less healthy all across the world for decades. For something more healthy, a distinctive white truffle is also cultivated in the countryside surrounding Alba.
All these can be washed down with a glass of wine produced in the nearby vineyards. The hilly areas of Langhe-Roero and Monteferrato found to the east of Alba have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the quality of the wines made there, which make use of the Nebbiolo grape, named after the Italian word for fog, ‘nebbia’, that often covers this region. Some of the best reds to try are Barolo, one of the nation’s most celebrated for its tannins and earthy aromas of tar and roses; and Barbaresco, similar in taste but that can be drunk at a young age.
This stage will avoid the hilly landscape of the vineyards where these wines are grown, instead heading out from Alba in a westerly direction over flat terrain. But, sometime after changing direction to travel south, they will eventually encounter some climbing upon arriving at the Maritime Alps, with a sting in the tail in the form of a category two uphill finish to Limone Piemonte. It might not be comparable to the summit finishes that await the riders upon entry into Spain, but it’s still high enough for a ski resort to have been built there — one which, dating back to the nineteenth century, is among the oldest in Italy. The road the riders will ascend to its top is a gradual one, rising long before its official start 10km from the summit, and so although the gradient only averages 5%, it’s still going to be selective.
On a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2003, Stefano Garzelli won at its peak from a group of four that pulled away in the final 500 metres, with only 18 other riders finishing within 30 seconds of him — not among them Marco Pantani, who by this point in his career had been rocked by various drug scandals. It might only be the second day of the Vuelta, but this finish is hard enough to find out any GC candidates who have come into the race lacking form.
Contenders
Overall favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) could stamp his authority on the race at this early stage. UAE Team Emirates-XRG duo João Almeida and Juan Ayuso will be watching the Dane closely, with the latter the most likely to be able to win this kind of stage of the two UAE riders. Their teammate Jay Vine is a powerful climber, and former Vuelta stage winner himself and could be right up there.
Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) is well suited to this sort of finish. With a victory on stage two, the Italian could move into the maillot rojo in his home country. Likewise, Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) is the kind of punchy rider who could win on the climb to Limone Piemonte.
The climbers of the bunch who are more suited to steadier efforts like Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step), Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) and Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) will be up there with the top contenders, but will face a tough task competing with the punchier riders.
Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) have more of a kick and could make a decisive move if the top favourites were busy marking each other.
If a break managed to stay away the likes of Carlos Verona and Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), Pablo Castrillo (Movistar Team), Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana Team) and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) could claim the stage
Prediction
We think Giulio Ciccone will win on home soil and take the maillot rojo.
