Thread by @InsidePeloton96

The third and final Grand Tour of the year is here, and you know what that means?

#PreviewTime is back!

Time for me to fill your Twitter feeds for the next three weeks with all of my #LaVuelta19 ramblings.

Let's get stuck in...

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I have a real soft spot for the Vuelta, as I'm sure you all do too.

Yes it might be the youngest of the Grand Tours, and yes it may - by some - be considered the least prestigious of the lot.

But for me it's always the one that, without exception, produces...

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...the most exciting racing year on year.

That's primarily down to two factors:

1. It's raced on a crazy and sometimes utterly barbaric route seemingly organised by the devil himself

2. Riders are much more willing to risk it all.

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So, with factor numero uno in mind, let's have a look at the 21 stages that make up this year's race!

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We kick things off with a pan flat TTT. It's super short and super simple, perfect for the powerhouses, not so perfect for the petit climbers.

We'll probably see a GC heirachy form early on here, with Jumbo no doubt topping the list!

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We then head north with two classic 'Vuelta sprint' stages.

Stage 2 looks like the hardest of the pair, with the tricky Alto de Puig Llorenca climb falling just 30km from the finish. This will rule out the majority of the sprinters.

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They should get their way on stage 3 however, only two relatively benign Cat 3 climbs stand in their way of a sprint finish in Alicante.

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Stage 4 will give the fast men yet another chance to snatch a victory. And snatch they must, sprint stages at the Vuelta are always hectic.

Expect to see a lot of argy bargy at the finish in El Puig.

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Stage 5 and we're already into GC territory. The Vuelta is renowned for chucking in early summit finishes, and this one to Alto de Javalambre is an absolute bruute!

I expect a cagey race however, not many will want to show all their cards this early.

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Despite a much tamer finish to stage 6, I suspect it'll see a bit more GC action than the previous day did.

The roads around here are narrow, steep and unforgiving. Perfect ground for an outsider to slip away and steal a large lead.

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The roads only continue to get steeper on stage 7. We've got four categorised climbs in the final 100km that are bound to shake up the GC.

Especially the climb to Mas de la Costa, there are ramps on this beast of 22%! I hope the riders have packed their crampons...

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We should see things die down a litte on stage 8, but not too much, remember, this is La Vuelta!

The roads from Valls to Igualada are rolling and perfect for another bunch sprint - as long as the sprinters can get over that Cat 2 hump...

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Stage 9 will see the GC boys out to play again, and this time on one of the most important stages of the entire race!

Who'd have thought the organisers would be ballsy enough to put their queen stage before the first rest day!?

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This incredibly short, 95km stage around Andorra has been concocted by the organisers for one reason, and one reason only - GC fireworks.

No one will win the Vuelta here, but at least half of the GC contenders will lose it.

Definitely one to mark in the diary.

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After this monster of a stage we finally have our first rest day of the race, and boy will the riders be ready for it!

But for us there's no time to dawdle here, time to dive into week two and the horrors that await in the Basque Country...

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What better way to test post-rest-day-legs than with a 36km individual time trial!

We're in Pau for this one, deja Vu anyone?

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The profile for this ITT does the stage no justice, it's actually a really tough route with some leg-breaking ramps and tricky technical sections.

There are some long straights ideal for the TT specialists however - expect Roglic to be all over this one.

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After a super tough first week and tricky ITT, there are going to be some big gaps between the GC guys going into stage 11.

Those far down on GC may just want to sneak into a breakaway here and try to claw back some time.

It does have breakaway written all over it

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Stage 12 is one of those days that most would glance over in the roadbook, but looking at the final trio of climbs it could be one of the most pivotal!

The climbs are short, but real punchy. The final 40km are going to be an absolute rollercoaster...

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From Bilbao we then head to the infamous Los Machucos.

Did you know Los Machucos locally translates to 'hell on earth?' Well, not quite, but it should do, this climb is enough to make even us sitting on the couch start sweating.

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We don't have a clear run up to the devilish climb either, there's six climbs to conquer before we even get in sight of it!

Legs are already going to be burning before we get to the foot of the climb, I wonder how they'll feel after the 28% ramps?

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Those riders that manage to survive the tortuous stage 13 will get a nice treat the following day, a long, relatively flat day to Oviedo.

Will it be one for the sprinters? Or will the breakaway mount a major coup?

I vote for option two!

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Any respite afforded on stage 14 will soon be snatched away on stage 15 where we're right back into GC territory!

The climbs here don't climb to any immense altitudes, but they don't need to, the steep ramps are enough to kill the legs and dreams of the GC riders.

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After stage 15's epic, we have yet another forray into the steep stuff - this time with three brutish ascents rather than four.

The final one, the Alto de La Cubilla, is a true test of endurance. This year's winner will be decided on its ramps.

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We leave the mountains behind on stage 16, stop for a quick rest day and then jump right back onto the road with this, super long, super boring-looking stage to Guadalajara.

Just saying the finishing town's name is more fun than previewing this one 👇🤨

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Stage 18 should make up for it however, with another big GC day through the Guadarrama mountains.

Whoever's in red here will have a tough time defending their jersey, this stage is built for those who love a do-or-die attack.

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For many this'll also be the final chance to boost their place in the GC - the next two stages don't really play into the hands of the top climbers.

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See what I mean?

Ain't really going to be any fireworks on stage 19 is there.

Perhaps a dress rehearsal for the final sprint in Madrid?

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We've then got this crazy looking day to draw a close to the GC battle.

There are some tough climbs thrown in here, but it doesn't look like a day for the out and out climbers.

This is set to be a day of big surprises. With it being the final 'racing' day...

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...a lot of riders are going to go deep into the red to try and get a result.

That goes for both GC men and breakaway opportunists.

There's hardly any flat roads across the 190km. If one teams gives it the beans, they could break the race into pieces.

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And to finish off this rather tame looking third week we have an epic 100km mountain TT....wait....what? Just the standard sprint into Madrid?

What a letdown, eh?

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Right, now all the stage are out of the way, onto the most important bit!

How will the race be won?

Well, as many of you Vuelta veterans will know, that's almost an impossible thing to predict.

This is the race where anything can happen, and I mean ANYTHING.

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If there's one thing you all know I love doing, it's trying to predict the impossible! After all, isn't that what the #PreviewTime is all about?

*Preparing myself for some 'haha he was way off' tweets coming my way in approx three weeks time...

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Looking at the nature of this year's route, it looks like a lot of GC groundwork is going to be laid down in week one, before one humongous explosion in week two as we head to the Basque Country.

Week three is all about defense, this is where a strong team will...

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...be absolutely vital.

With the GC battle happening a lot earlier in this race, riders are going to have to come flying out of the blocks early. Expect to see a lot hitting their top numbers in the first few days.

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An earlier GC battle also means that the GC boys are going to have to take their opportunities as soon as possible. With fewer big days in the final week to gradually make back time, you need to attack much earlier, and harder.

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We've got a lot of strong teams coming into this race - Movistar, Astana, INEOS and Jumbo lining up with a handful of GC men each in their lineups.

A lot of strong teams could neutralise the race. But not at the Vuelta.

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As I said at the start of the #PreviewTime, teams and riders are much more willing to risk it all in this race, try out tactics they haven't been confident in before, give the green light to their domestiques to attack, that sort of thing.

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You've also got to consider how many riders lining up for this race are without a contract for next year. Money is a massive motivation and it has driven many a fine performance at the Vuelta in recent years.

This, combined with the risk-it-all tactics and crazy...

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...unpredictable tactics could just result in a complete outsider taking the 2019 Vuelta title.

So, with that in mind, let's list my main favourites for the overall win!

Remember, my list, my thoughts. Keep it cool in the comments, yo.

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GC favourites

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Roglic
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Lopez, Pogacar
⭐️⭐️⭐️Kruijswijk, Valverde
⭐️⭐️Uran, Majka
⭐️Quintana, TGH, Chaves

And a rank outsider that may just spring a surprise...

Davide Formolo

One final swansong in BORA colours before he signs his life away to UAE.

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And of those GC favourites, I'm going to go for....

Primoz Roglic.

He's fresh, more than capable of sticking with the top dogs on the steepest climbs, has the best TT of the lot, and his team are built for a solid defense over the final week.

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Now I know there's a lot of you out there that aren't solely interested in the GC battle.

What about the sprints? The KOM competition?

Well, here are my thoughts on those...

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King of the sprints?

We have around 5-6 sprint stages, maybe less if the breakaway get their way (which they inevitably will).

Very few of these are 'simple' bunch finishes. They really suit a sprinter who has eggs in a few baskets - one that can...

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...climb well, jump from train to train, and finish it all off with an explosive acceleration.

With that in mind I can see one rider really dominating the flatter stages in this race:

Sam Bennett.

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He'll face some stiff competition from Jakobsen and Gaviria however, who come to this race with a small leadout train each.

There's also the in-form Luka Mezgec to worry about. He's going to be a very tough man to beat on the harder sprint finishes.

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But can any of these guys take the points classification from the grasps of Alejandro Valverde?

Nope. I don't think so. This year's points competition has the old dog's name written all over it.

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And finally, to draw this epic #PreviewTime to a close, my picks for the KOM competition!

Head, heart and soul all say Mikel Nieve for this one.

Mitchelton have enough men to protect Chaves, Nieve will be given the green light in week two to soak up...

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...a ton of points in his home Basque Country.

Here are some other names to throw into the mixer:

Edet
Teuns
Herrada
Carthy - ooo yeah, I like that one, I like it a lot!

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And that, my good friends, is me done!

Apologies if that got a bit lengthy near the end, you really do need to shout if I'm rambling 😉.

As some of you may know, I've set up a Paypal donation account for these #PreviewTime posts - if they've helped you at all...

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...or if you've just enjoyed listening to me ramble on for the past couple of hours, please consider donating!

All the money raised is going to
@MindCharity
- a fantastic cause very close to my heart ❤️

paypal.me/InsideThePelot…

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Oh, and if you've got any questions about this year's race just shoot them my way!

I'd be more than happy to have a chinwag with each any everyone one of you!

See you tomorrow for a fast and pan-flat preview of stage 1 😉

#PreviewTime #LaVuelta19