Igor Anton goes into tonight's team time trial as one of the favorites for overall success at the Vuelta, but he believes the top threat for general classification success in Spain in September will be Italy's Vincenzo Nibali, Anton calls him the "number one" to win his home tour.
Anton, in typical Grand Tour contender fashion, doesn't show too many cards and points favorite status at three usual suspects: Schleck, Menchov, and Nibali.
"Frank Schleck, despite his crash in the Tour, Menchov is going well and already has won two Vuetas, but the number one, after making the podium at the Giro, is Nibali."
The 27 year old from the Basque Country has enjoyed a great season so far with two stage wins, one at the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon and the other at the Tour de Romandie, along with a slew of top placings including 4th at La Fleche Wallonne, 6th at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, 2nd overall at the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon behind Alberto Contador, and most recently, a 9th overall finish at the Vuelta a Burgos.
"It's my fifth Grand Tour, and I always look forward to the race I know best. I have prepared very well for it. Let's see what I can do, and if I can stay focused because there are many factors that influence a run at the general classification."
Anton finished a sterling 8th overall in the 2007 Vuelta a Espana at 24 years old, but has not been able to put together a big GC result in a Grand Tour since then. This year, however, the talented Basque has focused all of his efforts on the year's final Grand Tour, and it seems likely that a solid result is waiting, barring accident or injury.
"I did not participate in the Tour de France, because I only want to focus on the Vuelta. This is the right decision, because the Vuelta is more mountainous than it has been in year, and I have to be fresh."
Anton feels that the hard days in Asturia could be paramount to overall success, namely Stage 16's visit to the Alto de Cotobello.
"For me, the Cotobello will be the Queen Stage, although there will be other difficult stages, including Andorra, which will be tough."
Anton as well as teammates at the Vuelta, Benat Intxausti and Mikel Nieve, recently scouted the final week's grueling menu. Stage 16 includes two category one ascents plus the HC climb of the Cotobello to finish the day. Two days previous could also see a major shakedown on GC with the grueling ascent of the Cabarga Pena, something Euskaltel DS, Gorka Gerrikagoitia, feels "will be crucial to determine the winner of the Vuelta." The climb of Cabarga Pena howls upward to the tune of 540m in less than six kilometers.
While Igor Anton is not terribly keen on placing the captain's hat on his own head, his teammate, Egoi Martinez doesn't have any problems with it.
"Now we have powerful captains for the big stage races. We no longer race just for the breaks. We did a fantastic job for Sanchez in the Tour, and we will be 100% ready to do the same for Anton in the Vuelta."