After a power shift battle between the breakaways and the peloton, we will be entertained by a great day of racing at La Vuelta a Espana 2022 stage 8
La Vuelta a Espana 2022 stage 8 preview
The stage begins with the ascent of Alto de la Colladona, a category 2 climb of 6.4 km with average of 7%. While it will particularly please the sprinters, it is the perfect platform for pure climbers who have already lost a junk of time to get into the break-away of they day.
Mark Padun, Kenny Elissonde and Wouter Poels are around 5 minutes away from the Maillot Rojo at the start of La Vuelta a Espana 2022 stage 8 but love this type of stage and will love to be at the front of the race.
Mikel Landa, Santiago Buitrago, Vincenzo Nibali and Alexey Lutsenko were riders we were expecting to be part of the GC battle. They have however lost quite a lot of minutes and are now aiming for stage wins and this is the first of their many attempts.
Finally, Thibault Pinot, Juan Pedro Lopez and Marc Soler are excellent pure climbers and will definitely be at the front end of the race. Clement Champoussin and Bob Jungels could also join them provided they are are relieved from Ben O’Connor protection duty.
Prior to the final mountain top category one finish there are 19 points to be claimed across 5 climbs. Current Polka Dot Jersey wearer, Victor Langellotti will make sure to be fighting for the maximum amount of KOM points as will recent Jay Vine sitting 2 points below hiim.
Up until the final climb, Collau Fancuaya Yernes Y Tameza, the peloton is not expected to be going at a fast allure. Yes, there will be pace set by Quick Step Alpha Vinyl that will gradually thin down riders. The Belgian team as seen 2 days ago do not have the strongest team and will not be looking to burn down all their match sticks too fast.
Team Jumbo Visma and Ineos Grenadiers are aware of that and could decide to put the Maillot Rojo and his team under pressure earlier.
The final climb of the day is a monster gummy. 10. 1 km long it has an average gradient of 8%. The 3 km of the climb is hell. With gradient of up to 17%, we will be witnessing a great battle where a windy weather is expected.
La Vuelta a Espana 2022 stage 8 predictions
★☆☆☆☆ Primoz Roglic
He might no be at 100%, but he is wounded lion. His Jumbo Visma team will be hoping to put Remco Evenepoel under pressure. The above 10% steep gradient favours him!
★★☆☆☆ Juan Pedro Lopez
He looked rather sharp before crashing on the descent 2 days ago. He was fit enough to start a chase only to give up, to later focus on his main objective a stage win. El- Patrone is not far from his first big success. His best chance lies in getting into the breakaway and hoping for them to work together and stick to it.
★★★☆☆ Enric Mas
He was the only one to be able to follow Remco in his exploit. As a repeat of last year, despite a very poor season, he always somehow manage to peak at the Vuelta. He will most probably be the last one following the main man and this time will be hoping not to flatter in the last hundred metres.
★★★★☆ Thibaut Pinot
This is a stage designed for him. An uphill start to easily get away, lots of climbs and KOM points and a very steep finish. He will be hoping to bring a team mate or two with him to help keep the gap decent for him to do his thing on the last climbs.
★★★★★ Simon Yates
Should the main group catch the break away , he is the man to watch out for. He is in really good form. Arguably the greatest climber in the world on his good days, he will be hoping for it and put the hurt on everyone.
Watch the stage live (Pola de Laviana – Colláu Fancuaya- 153.4km) LIVE STREAM: Saturday, 27 August, starts at 13:00pm Central Europe, 07:00am U.S. Eastern
An exclusive post by A LeadOut for Cycling.today
