Tour of Murcia Preview
By: Chris Brewer
It’s time for some of Team RadioShack’s stage racers to take to the main stage in southeast Spain at the 30th edition of the Tour of Murcia (or more formally, the Vuelta Ciclista a la Regiona de Murcia!). Lining up for The Shack will be a very strong 7-man contingent: Lance Armstrong, Daryl Impey, Andreas Klöden, Jason McCartney, Gregory Rast, Jose Luis “Chechu” Rubiera, and Haimar Zubeldia – with “Eki” Ekimov as Director.
While all eyes will be looking towards July and thus focusing on an Armstrong vs Brad Wiggins battle (Sky, and 4th at the Tour), that’s probably a bit premature in March. Certainly it’s a good gauge of fitness and time to show some of what you’ve got. On paper it looks like a race between whoever looks strongest for RadioShack, then Wiggins and most likely 2009 winner Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Transitions). Expect someone to probably steal a stage win, especially someone like Inigo Cuesta (Cervelo Test Team) as he looks to improve his reputation as a stage racer. And don’t forget there are eight Continental team looking to make a mark against their eight bigger brothers…
The race itself starts off with a bang, Stage 1 featuring five rated climbs over 166km/103mi, but there is probably enough distance (36km) for many of the sprinters to regroup with fresh legs. Stage 2 has two big climbs – basically the entire day is climb, descend, climb, descend to finish that will feature an exciting bomb to the line – and then Stage 3 will have an identical, only more harrowing descent to the finish following a very difficult ascent.
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Saturday’s Stage 4 Time Trial is table top flat and this is where many will look to see who’s really the strongest in Murcia against the clock. Again, Armstrong, Wiggins, Zabriskie, and Menchov will be the favorites but don’t rule out RadioShack’s Klöden at all. The final Stage 5 looks destined for the sprinters so it’s very conceivable the Stage 4 TT could decide the overall winner.
It’s time to get it on in Spain, and The Shack is coming locked and loaded for a great result…
Official website: http://www.regmurcia.com/servlet/s.Sl?sit=c,722
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