(Update: “It's 3, not 2, US cyclists in the 2006 Vuelta”)
The Vuelta a Espana begins Saturday with a 4 1/2-mile team time trial around the city of Malaga. The final three-week European classic bike race of the year ends September 17 in Madrid.
The race features 21 teams and 209 cyclists, including just two Americans. Chris Horner is riding for Davitamon Lotto, and Tom Danielson competes as the team leader for the Discovery Channel team.
Why so few Americans? The US Pro Cycling Championships in Greenville, South Carolina, are scheduled for September 1-3, in the midst of this year's Vuelta.
Discovery's Danielson and team manager Johan Bruyneel were questioned about the Vuelta at a press conference picked up by The Paceline website (free subscription).
Bruyneel heaped praise on Danielson, who finished 7th in last year's Vuelta:
“… His season has been as good as, if not exceeded, my expectations. He almost won Tour de Georgia, he did some really good work for (Paolo) Savoldelli at the Giro d'Italia, and then after a break won the Tour of Austria, so he's already made a big step as compared to last year. He's shown he can win races over here in Europe as well and that he can take on the role of a leader. And then seeing how the Tour of Spain is composed with the number of mountain finishes and the time trials, he's the logical leader of the team for me.”
Top contenders
Although he leads the Discovery team, Danielson isn't a top contender this year. Among those who are:
Russian Denis Menchov of Rabobank. He won in 2005 after Roberto Heras of Libery Seguros was disqualified because of blood doping;
Alejandro Valverde, who crashed out of the Tour de France. He was an outside favorite at the Tour and comes in as team leader of Illes Balears;
Oscar Pereira, another Illes Balears cyclist, who stands to win the 2006 Tour de France if and when American Floyd Landis is disqualified. Apparently Illes Balears considers Valverde the stronger rider.
Other top contenders include Carlos Sastre of Team CSC, Iban Mayo of Euskaltel-Euskadi and Alexandre Vinokourov of Astana, the Kazakhstan national team formed in the rubble of Liberty Seguros.
As for the sprinters, the Vuelta sees the return of Italy's Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) from injuries lined up against Australia's fiery Robbie McEwen (Davitamon Lotto) and Italian Paolo Bettini (Quick-Step).
Landis' old team, Phonak, will compete in its death throes before it disbands at the end of the year. The team owner couldn't find a new sponsor after the doping controversies.
The full roster of Vuelta a Espana cyclists is posted at CyclingNews.
Following the Vuelta
Where to watch the Vuelta a Espana? I checked OLN's schedule and could find nothing but bull-fighting, survivors, and bear hunting until Sept. 17. OLN's Sunday Cyclysm will broadcast the Vuelta from 5 to 7 p.m. (ET) on that date.
Daily live broadcasts of the Vuelta are available (for a subscription fee) at Cycling.TV. Also running updates of the Vuelta will be reported at CyclingNews, VeloNews, and Eurosport.
Also see the English version of the Vuelta a Espana website.
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