Volta ao Algarve Preview
by Chris Brewer
The second race of Team RadioShack’s 2010 campaign kicks off Wednesday in southern Portugal at the five stage Volta ao Algarve. In its 36th year Algarve is a frequent starting point for many riders who look to do well in the big stage races in May and July. This year is no different with the The Shack’s Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Klöden lining up against the likes of 2008 champ Stijn Devolder (Quick Step), Christian Vande Velde (Garmin), Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse D’Epargne), and defending champion Alberto Contador (Astana).
But the race also features some world class sprinters, too, and RadioShack’s Gert Steegmans, with 2nd and 4th place finishes at the Tour Down Under, will look to raise it up and get the team’s first ever stage win. He won’t have it easy though as he battles Pro Tour rivals Robbie McEwen (Katusha), Thor Hushovd (Cervelo), and André Griepel (HTC Columbia) who is in fine form coming off of his recent overall TDU victory.
And to add in some really unknown factors into the race, the 11 Pro Tour teams will line up against six Professional Continental and six Continental squads, guaranteeing a very nervous 184 rider peloton…
As for the race itself, it starts off with a bit of a lumpy beginning stage that should end up in a bunch sprint with a slightly uphill finish. Stage 2 features seven short but pretty nasty climbs that will see a pretty good selection before a blistering 20km descent to the line. Stage 3 will see the first real shake out occur as two tough climbs at the 120 km mark lead to a very uphill finish in the final 20km.
Stage 3 at the 2010 Volta ao Algrave
Stage 4 is demanding early on but I expect the sprinters to hang on and go for one more mass sprint before the final Time Trial on Sunday. At only 17.2km, about half the distance of last year’s TT, there won’t be a lot of road to either distance yourself from your rivals or play catch up. Contador put 30-60 seconds into his rivals in 2009, and there are some strong men against the clock such as Zabriskie and Millar (Garmin), and of course Levi and Andreas from Team RadioShack.
At the end of the day it’s hard to imagine a scenario that doesn’t see the cream rise to the top, so expect to see the big names of the sport battling it out for the overall as well as the mad dash to the line. But with over half of the field on teams looking to one day make it to the big show there will be some very aggressive break aways and if the field is caught napping a relative unknown could steal the day, possibly the entire race. It’s early season racing, as much about training as it is about victory, and we’ve only just begun!
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