The 2012 Vuelta A Espana hasn’t failed to disappoint so far
and yesterday’s explosive finish was a terrific spectacle which put one of our
joint fancies – Joaquin Rodriguez - in
pole position for the race, while our second best Chris Froome lost 22 seconds
going up the incredible steeply but punchy and sharp Cat.3 finish. Purito has a
great chance of preventing a dream return to form for Alberto Contador in
Madrid later and while Froome was disappointing today, it may be that he likes
a far harder climb where a more gradual tempo is steadily raised – like La
Planche in the Tour De France – which exposes fatigued legs far more. The three
HC finishes should suit him better than yesterday, although it may be that
after a long, hard and extremely successful year, he’s just feeling the pinch a
bit.
Today’s stage has a few lumps and bumps but it’s a flat
finish which gives John Degenkolb a great chance at a glorious fifth stage win
of this Vuelta. The young German hotshot hasn’t been beaten in a bunch sprint
so far this year and is fast building a reputation for himself as a top class
sprinter here which may well only be emboldened
after today’s finish. There’s always the chance of a break staying away
but Argos Shimano are sure to try their best to pull it back and Radioshack,
Orica Greenedge and even Sky may lend a hand towards catching any escapees – as
has happened on the majority of stages so far.
Competition behind Degenkolb has been fierce but if Nacer
Bouhanni isn’t too badly affected by yesterday’s crash then the French Road
Racing Champion may well be best of the rest once again. He’s taken some time
to get upto speed on this tour but a couple of fourths and a second suggest he’s
in really good heart and is steadily learning the trade. His continental wins
suggest that he is a richly talented sprinter who will take a grand tour stage
in a matter of time and he’s already expressed his desire to take a stage win,
claiming that “he came here with the goal of winning a stage,”, so the 8/1
looks to be a solid each/way wager.
Bennati, Viviani, Swift, Meersman and Davies are all valid
contenders, although they’ve been regularly beaten by Degenkolb and seem to
take turns being the main challenger, while Bohanni is rapidly progressive, all
of this without a leadout train.
Advice
5 pts John Degenkolb (13/10 Pinnacle)
1 pt each/way Nacer Bouhanni (8/1 general)
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