JUMBO-VISMA SUPERDUO ROGLIČ AND VINGEGAARD ​​REUNITED

At last year’s Itzulia Basque Country, Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingaard worked together to win an impressive 1-2 for Jumbo-Visma, handing Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) what remains his only loss in the tournament. a stage race since August 2020.

Roglič’s victory was no surprise (whose previous overall victory here in 2018 was the first of what are nine WorldTour stage race titles so far), but Vingaard’s second place finish was a revelation. The young Dane had shown a glimpse of what he was capable of earlier in the season, winning stages at the UAE Tour and Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali and finishing second overall in the latter, but it was the first time that he was competing for top honors. against the best opponents at WorldTour level.

Together they were able to work on Pogačar and outrun him, culminating in a rare and empowering victory over him which remains proof that the two-time Tour de France winner can be beaten.

Next week’s Itzulia Basque Country will be just the second time the duo have met in a stage race since then. The first time was at the Tour de France last year, and their partnership was severed when Roglič crashed, although Vingaard reached new heights when he managed to finish second overall in that which was only this second Grand Tour.

So it’s been a long time to see what they can do together and form what looks to be cycling’s toughest climbing duo.

In the absence of Pogačar, they are the big favorites to take the overall victory. A dominating performance here would be a major statement ahead of the Tour de France, where the luxury of having two stage riders of this quality could be what it takes for the team to finally win the yellow jersey.

ALAPHILIPPE AND EVENEPOEL TEAM UP FOR QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL

Roglič and Vingaard aren’t the only tantalizing quality duo to ride together on the Tour of the Basque Country, as Julian Alaphilippe and Remco Evenepoel are set to ride side by side for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.

Despite each rider’s star quality, they didn’t enjoy much success the last time they rode together at Tirreno-Adriatico, where Alaphilippe was limited to a servant role, and Evenepoel fell out. of the GC race.

But there are no climbs on this year’s course as tough as Monte Carpegna, where Evenepoel was dropped in Italy last month, while Alaphilippe is likely to have built up better form with his first main goals of the season, the Ardennes Classics, on the horizon.

It’s unclear which rider will lead the team this week, or if they’ll line up as co-leaders. Evenepoel was the leader at Tirreno-Adriatico and is generally more of a GC runner than Alaphilippe. But the hard-hitting terrain of the Basque Country certainly suits the Frenchman, and it’s really only the final finish at the top of Arrate that doesn’t benefit his strengths.

Either way, the course offers plenty of opportunities for Alaphilippe to add to his tally of three career stage wins here, while Evenepoel has a chance to claim the leader’s jersey in a counter-attack. the 7.5 km hilly opening timepiece.

WHO WILL COME FIRST FOR INEOS GRENADIERS?

Since Egan Bernal’s devastating accident in January, every major stage race this season has felt like an important moment in determining how Ineos Grenadiers will approach the Grand Tours.

The debate is set to continue in Itzulia Basque Country, where Adam Yates, Dani Martínez and Geraint Thomas are all expected to line up.

The team still doesn’t have a WorldTour stage race title this year, but Richard Carapaz came closer than anyone to giving them one at the Volta a Catalunya, where he edged out Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe) of just 16 seconds to finish second overall.

This performance undoubtedly reinforced the idea that the Ecuadorian could change his plans to participate in the Tour rather than the Giro d’Italia, but the three leaders of the GC who ride in Catalonia in the absence of Carapaz have a chance to claim the title of the team’s best candidate. for the leadership of the Tour de France

Yates, Martínez and Thomas are all part of Ineos Grenadiers’ provisional roster for the Tour de France, but none yet look like potential winners. Yates made a strong start to the season with second place overall behind Pogačar at the UAE Tour, but didn’t look as strong at Paris-Nice, where he finished fourth overall.

Instead, it was Colombian Martinez who impressed the most there, transcending his usual domestic status to put eventual winner Primož Roglič under serious pressure before finishing third overall. The main doubt around him is that he has never led a team at Grand Tour level, but winning the overall title at Catalunya would prove he is worth the try.

The doubts surrounding Geraint Thomas are of the opposite nature, in that he is a proven Grand Tour winner but has yet to show any form this season. The team hopes its veteran can rediscover himself this week.

THE BORA-HANSGROHE TRIO AMONG OTHER GC CONTAINERS

A team capable of mixing it with the powerhouses of Jumbo-Visma, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl and Ineos Grenadiers is Bora-Hansgrohe. The team’s transfer activity prior to this season indicated they aspired to become one of the best stage racing teams in the peloton, and Sergio Higuita handed them their first overall WorldTour victory of the season at the Volta. in Catalonia.

He will line up alongside another of the team’s key 2022 signings, Aleksandr Vlasov, and Emanuel Buchmann, who has a strong record in this race after finishing third and fourth overall.

The other top stage racing team, UAE Team Emirates, will be without its main stars in the Basque Country, but Rafał Majka, Marc Soler and George Bennett could flourish, freed from their usual domestic duties, and push for a high place on GC.

Neither Enric Mas (Movistar) nor David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) have such a strong team around them, but have the individual quality to push for GC podiums if they bring their best form.

National roads and an outstanding track record here which saw him win once in 2019 and finish on the podium on three other occasions mean that Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) is, as always, a favourite, although he would have preferred a counter -la-montre longer than the proposed 7.5 km stage.

Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) and Lucas Hamilton (BikeExchange-Jayco) are worth watching, as are the Bahrain-Victorious duo of Pello Bilbao and Gino Mader, while EF Education-EasyPost hopes Ukrainian Mark Padun can get his form of the Critérium du Dauphiné last year.

STAGES TO WIN IN THE ABSENCE OF THE BEST PUNCHERS AND SPRINTERS

It’s hard to say which riders will be in the running for stage wins this year in the Basque Country of Itzulia.

As is usually the case in this race, there is little to no chance for the pure sprinters to compete for a stage in the hilly terrain of the Basque Country, with only the second stage looking like it could be finished in a big peloton. Consequently, the sprinters are conspicuous by their absence on the starting list.

But this year’s race also differs from previous editions in lacking as many star punchers, who typically use this race to prepare for the Ardennes Classics. With Amstel Gold advanced a week to just a day after the Basque Country of Itzulia ended, former stage winners like Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Michael Matthews (BikeExchange) and Alex Aranburu (Movistar) are all absent as they prioritize the Dutch Race instead.

All of these absences mean that Alaphilippe will start as big favorite for many stages, especially the hard-hitting uphill finish of stage five. He will face competition from UAE Team Emirates, who have a choice of Italian punchers Diego Ulissi and Alessandro Covi, while Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) bucks the trend of Ardennes specialists by rolling here.

With few of the top specialists here, however, we’re likely to see plenty of opportunistic attacks from unlikely names and more unfamiliar faces, sensing a chance to win stages from breakaways. The course is also conducive to this type of racing, especially the consistently hilly terrain of stages three and four, where the lack of an uphill finish and no obvious attacking points should make the race open and unpredictable.

Nobody knows who could succeed in these stages, but Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Aurélien Paret-Paintre and Clément Champoussin (both Ag2r Citroën) are the kind of drivers who could excel in such circumstances.