Despite almost dropping five and a half minutes in the stage ten time trial at the Vuelta a España - three more minutes than he thought he would lose before the race - Katusha's Joaquím 'Purito' Rodríguez is still hopeful to mount a comeback. The former race leader is 3'23 back and names Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) as one of his biggest rivals.
It is not only the time gap that should worry Rodríguez, but also that on stage nine, he was dropped on a mountain and lost 50 seconds. He dismisses it as a one-off, though. "My failure at La Covatilla has been my only mistake so far," he insisted on the rest day. "I've failed but from now on, other favorites might fail as well. I don't think that my chances of winning the Vuelta are behind me. It's all open!"
The Spaniard is essentially looking to get time back when the road tilts upwards. His GC deficit makes this necessary. "There are three hard days to come with difficult courses and a bad weather forecast. At the end of the week, the uphill finishes at la Farrapona and the Angliru will be decisive."
He then hopes to draw from past experience. "After that, there will be Peña Cabarga where I won last year and the Basque Country where I love racing." That knowledge will boost his chances and so too the strong support from Katusha and especially teammate Daniel Moreno. "So far, my team has handled the responsibilities," he enthused. "I suppose that Sky, Leopard and Liquigas will play the game now. Nibali is the most dangerous of my adversaries. He's been the most consistent so far."
Nibali races consistently
The Italian agrees with Purito's assessment. "It's been an intense and tiring first half of the Vuelta and the most difficult part is yet to come," said Nibali. "I said since the start that consistency would be the key for winning; I'm even more convinced of that right now."
Nibali played it conservatively and now sits in fourth place, 41 seconds off the pace. "The uphill finishes of Valdepeñas de Jaén and El Escorial were the less suited to my characteristics, so I've played in defense." The reigning champion is happy how the race went for the first week. "Tactically, I've made the right choices to not lose my chances."
The Italian fondly remembers the time gained on the descent. "Uphill, I've expressed myself as I wanted and downhill, we've done a masterpiece at Córdoba," he said. Nibali also thinks that this week will see some decisive moves. "Now I can look at the second week with serenity. The Angliru will be the most important moment of the Vuelta."
The Italian names quite a few of his rivals who are still with a chance of winning the overall. "Wiggins, 'Purito' Rodríguez, Van den Broeck, Fuglsang and Mollema have proven themselves to be my main adversaries and Scarponi isn't out of contention," he said,speaking about those who wanted to take the red jersey he won last year.
There will be some intense battles in the days ahead and the tactics will play a major part in the equation as well. "It'll be an interesting week," he said, clearly psyched. "The time bonus will light up the race."