Stage 8: Villalpando › La Camperona – 181.5km
Finally, the Vuelta serves up a real mountain stage. Unfortunately, the first 170 kilometers are featureless, with the Cat. 1 finale the only climb on the menu.
In other words, don’t expect much action until the final half hour of the day. At least the Alto de la Camperona is an interesting climb. Overall, it’s 8.5km at 7.4%, but the difficulty really ratchets up after 3.5km. There’s a 25% section leading into the fourth kilometer of the ascent, followed by a brief flat stretch, and then it’s about 3.5km of mostly double digit gradients all the way to the top, with several sections over 20%.
Stage 8 will be a crucial GC day for sure, though whether the stage win comes down the red jersey hopefuls or the breakers is harder to say. All things considered I’d give the GC men a slight advantage on the first real GC day of the race, but it’ll be close.
If it is the overall contenders leading the way at the finish, there are four names I see as worthy of favorite status: Chris Froome, Alejandro Valverde, Esteban Chaves, and Nairo Quintana—in that order.
Froome has a tendency to look for opportunities to get ahead early, and this certainly is one. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him fall out of the GC group somewhere midway up the climb and then storm back to the lead near the top. In peak form, he’s head and shoulders above the competition, and even in Vuelta form he’s dangerous.
So is Alejandro Valverde, who has been winning the early stages of the battle among the top contenders so far in the race. This stage will be a real test of form, but he’s shown plenty up to this point, enough that I favor him over Quintana among the Movistar riders. Quintana has the talent, but he has been quiet thus far in the Vuelta. Esteban Chaves has been the more impressive Colombian through the first week.
Alberto Contador is obviously one to watch as well, but the nasty fall he took in Stage 7 makes him a bit less likely as a favorite in my eyes. Darwin Atapuma, Andrew Talansky, Samuel Sánchez, Leopold König, and Simon Yates are all candidates for success as well, though it’d be a surprise if they can outmuscle the likes of Froome and Valverde.
Among the potential long-range protagonists, José Goncalves, Thomas De Gendt, Alexandre Geniez, Rubén Fernández, and Igor Anton all stand out, though it’s anyone’s guess who actually makes it up the road on a stage like this.
VeloHuman Stage 8 Favorites
1. Chris Froome | 2. Alejandro Valverde | 3. Esteban Chaves