Vuelta a España race director Javier Guillén has rejected any suggestions that the race could be cut in length, adding that the organisers were satisfied with the slight change in date for the 2011 edition.
“I really was more in favour of it returning to April, but it is not possible. We have moved forward a week and that is sufficient,” he told El Diario de Navarra. “The Tour, the Giro and the Vuelta are three weeks long and will remain so.”
The latter comment is in response to a quote by Pat McQuaid in December. The UCI president told l’Equipe then that he considered two of the three Grand Tours were too long.
“I think we can reduce the duration of the Giro and Vuelta [a España],” he said. “The Tour is untouchable, it’s the biggest race in the World; it’s our showcase.”
The UCI calendar has become more crowded and also has an increasing emphasis on globalization. McQuaid’s suggestion to shorten the Giro and the Vuelta is likely linked in part to the strain that a heavy race programme puts on teams, but it would also affect the prestige of the Italian and Spanish races if they had a full week lopped off their duration.
For this reason, the organisers of both races are likely to resist any change. The Vuelta a España’s organiser Unipublic is part-owned by Tour de France organisers ASO and the latter adds weight to the Spanish race’s clout. It remains to be seen if the UCI will try to push through such a reduction.
Big demand for places:
Guillén confirmed that the 2011 edition of the Vuelta has attracted a lot of interest from Pro Continental teams, with many applying for the handful of wildcard places on offer. UCI rules relating to World Tour events mean that the 18 ProTeams get an automatic invite; several others will also be available, and will be decided in the weeks ahead.
“The Vuelta will decide in May who it will invite. We have to decide if we will have 22 teams, I think we will, or if we will have one more,” he said.
There are several likely contenders for those places, including the Geox TMC team of 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and double Vuelta champion Denis Menchov. The Spanish team was passed over for both a ProTeam licence and a wildcard place for the Tour de France, but has gained admission to the Giro. It is also keen to ride the Vuelta.
The Colombian squad Colombia es Passion and Caja Rural are also tipped as being contenders, and have a clear Latin connection. However Guillén sought to play down the suggestion that the Spanish Grand Tour will automatically show preference towards teams from its country, as has been the case this year with the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia.
“What the Giro and the Tour do is not a pattern of behaviour [that the Vuelta must follow],” he said. “Each race is looking after its interests. We have four invitations [to hand out], many applications, and the decision will not be easy to take. But if a team is not invited one year, we will tell them the same…that you have to improve the next [year] to be in the race.”
He said that there were several factors which would be taken into consideration. “The first, ethics and to not have problems with doping. Then there are administrative, economic, and of course sporting aspects,” he stated.
Last year’s Vuelta was won by the young Italian Vincenzo Nibali. His Liquigas team will return in 2011, although it is uncertain if he will take part as he is likely to target the Giro and possibly the Tour.
The 2011 Vuelta will run from August 20th until September 11th, starting and finishing one week earlier than in 2010. It will begin in Benidorm and end in Madrid. Route details are here.