A LEADOUT

Velogames Spain 2023 route:

• 1 Team Trial (stage 1)
• 1 Individual Time trial (stage 10)
• 6 sprints days: definite (7, 12, 19, 21), possible reduced (stage 4, 5)
• 9 mountain top finishes / high mountain days ( stage 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18)
• 4 Puncheurs/ breakaways stages (stage 2, 15, 16, 20)

Velogames preview

All-rounder:

• Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 28: His 28 credits will deter a lot of players. Rightly, they are for the Danish was not in the best possible team for the Tour de France. His co-leadership with Roglic raises eyebrows. It is extremely unlikely that he will take an offensive role from the first week, decreasing his tally of points. As the race progresses, he will take a sitting approach as Team Jumbo-Visma will maximise Roglic chances. Only will he go on the attack when the Red Jersey will seem to escape the Slovenian and beware: a 90% fit Vingegaard will have absolutely no match. Choosing him will depend on the tactics of the Velogames player. The more ambitious you are, the less likely you will select him.
• Primož Roglič  (Jumbo-Visma)  24: He is in far better condition than in the Giro and has the most impressive team ever assembled around. Team Jumbo Visma will control the race and this will fit Roglic. He possesses one of the most devastating uphill sprints in the peloton if not the best. This plays into his advantage in terms of velogames selection as he will maximise stage finishes points. Yet, this is Roglic, one of the most unluckiest rider in terms of crashes and mechanical.
• Remco Evenepoel       (Soudal – Quick Step)  22: Any doubts about his sprint was cast aside in San Sebastian when he beat Bilbao one of the best punchy sprinters. The route suited him less compared to last year. The climbs are longer and steeper but he should have worked on it. Yet, the Vuelta was not his main ambition of this year and he would be very satisfied finishing on the podium. Selecting him would mean leaving out either of the Jumbo Visma leader.
• Juan Ayuso  (UAE Team Emirates)  18: Impressive 3rd last year, he had his eyes on this race the whole season. Although he finished second in the Tour de Suisse, his knee injury is of concern for me. He could be fully healed and that would make him the most serious challenger to Vingegaard and Roglic or he could still be suffering making a bad day that would ruin all his chances very likely.
• Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers)     16: No one is as reliable as him. He will be competitive and his experience is unmatched in this field of super talents. At 16 credits, he is a real safe bet as he will be the one to beat for a final podium spot.
• João Almeida  (UAE Team Emirates)  14: Just like Geraint Thomas, he is a real safe bet with a very affordable price tag. We know he never gives up and I have never seen him have bad day. At 14, he is going to be the wildcard of many and probably the most picked rider.
• Thymen Arensman     (INEOS Grenadiers)     10: His job is to keep a high standing as long as possible, but given his price and the value of other rider, he is not the best 10 points choice.
• Egan Bernal     (INEOS Grenadiers)     8: On the right way back but too far to be considered for GC. A stage win in this Vuelta is with in his current abilities though.
• Wilco Kelderman        (Jumbo-Visma)    8 : TTT points and some assists and that pretty much should be it from him.
• Bauke Mollema           (Lidl – Trek)      8: Not a GC as such anymore. Probably his last classification as an All Rounder in Velogames as well. This year’s Vuelta with plenty of breakaways will see him feature lot but it is not the wisest thing to do to use an all-rounder spot on a breakaway hopeful
• Marc Soler      (UAE Team Emirates)  8: There is no Pogacar to protect and he is not going to ride his heart out fOr Ayuso or Almeida to finish 3rd. He will aiming for stage wins of his own

Climbers:

• Enric Mas        (Movistar Team)          16: We have no idea how he is going as we did not get a chance to see him at Vuelta Burgos. But that is usually not good sign as he is recovering from that fractured collarbone. Even if his end of season form has been impressive in the last year, he did not have the ideal preparation. He could prove us wrong but that is better than using 16 credits on him and him not being competitive.
• Aleksandr Vlasov        (BORA – hansgrohe)    14: Third in San Sebastián and second best to Roglic in Vuelta Burgos, his shape is very good. He will probably be the highest ranked rider in GC among the climbers in this category. Yet, the main GC group chase the breakaways less often than in the Tour de France, making those stage placings points less abundant.
• Lenny Martinez           (Groupama – FDJ)        12: He might be the new chouchou du peloton but 12 credits might be a little be too much considering the nature of the race for the Vuelta and more importantly, this is his first grand Tour.
• Jay Vine           (UAE Team Emirates)  12: He will stick to domestique duty. He will have GC aspirations of his own and of course stage wins as well.
• Damiano Caruso         (Bahrain – Victorious)  10: His consistency brought him a 4th place in the Giro. At 10, he is a pretty good option, probably the best as well.
• Mikel Landa    (Bahrain – Victorious)  10: 19th at the Tour, on his way to become Remco’s lieutenant, I would not bet much on him. Always a poor choice in terms of velogames.
• Sergio Higuita  (BORA – hansgrohe)    10: He alternates good and bad days. Not a great choice unless you would bet on his break away chances.
• Cian Uijtdebroeks       (BORA – hansgrohe)    10: Considering he is 2 credits less than Lenny Martinez and has also shown very solid performances in terms of GC this year, he is a nice touch for those willing to have a nice edge.
• Hugh Carthy    (EF Education-EasyPost)          10: Not great at the Giro. Crashed 3 weeks ago. A big no for GC but definitely to be considered for stage wins.
• Sepp Kuss        (Jumbo-Visma)            10: The man with 3 GC this year. He will be climbing with the best, finishing with 15 places from the best placed GC rider. There are plenty of assist points to garner from him as well. He will come into his own as from stage 13.
• Romain Bardet            (Team dsm – firmenich)           10: He has his fans and they are rarely disappointed with him in Velogames unless he crashes or fall sick.
• Eddie Dunbar  (Team Jayco AlUla)  10: Said top 10 for his first grand tour as Gc is not bad. His 7th place in Poland shows that the form is here and choosing him will be rewarded.
• Emanuel Buchmann    (BORA – hansgrohe)    8: He is going to work for Vlasov but will be slipping in some breakaways.
• Lennard Kämna           (BORA – hansgrohe)    8: His first outing as a GC in the giro was successful as he finished 9th. Will he be repeating the experiment or is he going back to stage hunting. Either way, he is going to be a safe choice.
• Einer Augusto Rubio   (Movistar Team)   8: Proper stage hunter. One of Movistar best chances of stage wins on home ground with Lazkano.
• Max Poole       (Team dsm – firmenich)   8: Young rider who will has climbed with elite this year in Romandie. He should finish with in the top 15.
• Pierre Latour   (TotalEnergies) 8: Stage hunter.
• Vadim Pronskiy           (Astana Qazaqstan Team)       6: Will first try to hold on to the best for GC before trying to get into breakaway.
• Santiago Buitrago       (Bahrain – Victorious)  6: Grand Tour stage winner. Given the route for this Vuelta and his ability in mountain, he will win one if not more stages win. Serious mistake to miss out on him at 6 credits.
• Wout Poels      (Bahrain – Victorious)  6 : Stage winner at the Tour, but there are better 6 credits climber to consider.
• Jesús Herrada (Cofidis)           6: Solid in the races in France in the past month. It is hard for him to deceive with only 6 credits.
• Jonathan Klever Caicedo        (EF Education-EasyPost)          6: Reliable breakaway stage hunter
• Diego Andrés Camargo           (EF Education-EasyPost)          6: Not even the best EF climber to consider
• Michael Storer (Groupama – FDJ)        6: His transfer to FDJ haș not really worked out so far. Yet, he has shown some superb by winning `Tour de l’Ain, He will be an excellent choice at 6 credits if he goes stage hunting rather than GC.
• Rein Taaramäe (Intermarché – Circus – Wanty)           6: Not in great shape this year.
• Kenny Elissonde          (Lidl – Trek)      6: King Kenny is back at the Vuelta and his form at Tour de L’Ain and Tour du Limousin suggest his form is more than satisfactory. He always goes well in the Vuelta ad the km of Altitudes suits him well. He will be getting into breakaways again and again. Another reliable 6 credits choice..
• Ruben Guerreiro , Carlos Verona  (Movistar Team)          6: Will both go stage hunting but not the best 6 credit choices.
• Jan Hirt            (Soudal – Quick Step)  6: Will work and stick to Remco. No freedom.
• Steff Cras         (TotalEnergies) 6: He was looking decent at the Start of the Tour de France in Bilbao before he crashed but not worth the risk here.

Sprinters:

• Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 12: His late addition might provoke a panic buy in my opinion. Very likely to pass the mountain on stage 4 and 5 compared to the pure sprinters. But breakaways will also have their say. And will he bring 1200 points? Very unlikely
• Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) 12: Cofidis are hoping he brings his Tour de France form here. He can climbs well but is at his best with punchy finishes. He was great value the Tour but he cost only 6 credits and there were more than the maximum number of 6 predicted sprints finishes. ( 8 in the Tour)
• Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché – Circus – Wanty) 10: Based on pure top speed, probably the fasted here but he climbs less well and could be dropped on stage 4 and5 and contend 2 less than the likes of Groves, Coquard.
• Juan Sebastián Molano           (UAE Team Emirates)  10: Has grown back into shape this season and has a rather decent team to support him for sprints.
• Marijn Van Den Berg   (EF Education-EasyPost) 8: Another favourite for stage 4 and 5. He has the additional bonus that he climbs better than the average rider. Expect him to also try his luck in breakaways or punchy stages.
• Milan Menten (Lotto Dstny)   8: The only rider with a proper designated role. from Lotto Dstny but not the best 8 credits sprinter

• Iván García Cortina     (Movistar Team)          8 : He will be doing bunch sprints and will also get into breakaways. His climbing abilities might not be enough to reach the 800 points target
• Hugo Hofstetter          (Team Arkéa Samsic)   8: unlikely to reach the targeted 800 points
• Alberto Dainese          (Team dsm – firmenich)  8: The best 8 credit sprinter who is fast enough to actually win one of the 4 flat stage sprints. Has already won twice in the Giro
• Andrea Vendrame       (AG2R Citroën Team)  6: While it is very unlikely to see him win the bunch sprints, he could top 10 all 6 of them. He also has the sense of of catching the right breakaways who make it to the end. These could be enough to get him slightly above the 600 points target.
• Maurice Ballerstedt and  Robbe Ghys:   Will be working for Groves
• Orluis Aular     (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA)      6: Good sprinter but not the best 6 credit choice.
• Edward Theuns           (Lidl – Trek)      6: He is the sole sprinter of Lidl-Trek. Last time, it happened was in the Velogames Italy 2022 when he brought back 509 points from 5 sprints
• Felix Engelhardt          (Team Jayco AlUla)      6: He handles climbs pretty well but can he sprint with the best here? I think yes
• Dries Van Gestel          (TotalEnergies) 6: More of a puncheur rather than a sprinter

Unclassed:

• Romain Grégoire         (Groupama – FDJ)        8: He haș a lot of fans and he could well deliver and bring his fair value of points. It is his first grand tour though and I would place my 8 credits different options for differentials as he will be a very well picked rider.
• Filippo Ganna  (INEOS Grenadiers)     8: He does not do a grand tour just for figuration or a single Time-trial. He has the ambition of stage win and could even sprint. Nevertheless he cost 8 credits.
• Attila Valter     (Jumbo-Visma)            8: too much for a designated domestique
• Andrea Bagioli (Soudal – Quick Step)  8: Highly doubt he will have freedom
• Kévin Vauquelin          (Team Arkéa Samsic)   8: Excellent puncheur but 8 credits might prove too much for the 21 years old
• Geoffrey Bouchard     (AG2R Citroën Team)  6: Knows how to get into mountain breakaways. Serious candidate for the KOM jersey
• Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain – Victorious)  6: Still not yet back to the level he was at before leaving his former team which was Top 20 GC
• Laurens De Plus          (INEOS Grenadiers)     6: Food for thought for a rider who just finished 10th of the Giro and brought 716 velogames points.
• Kim Heiduk     (INEOS Grenadiers)     6 : This is the risk of the game if you want to have an edge of most riders. He was the team designated sprinter in Down Under, UAE tour and Austria. I am not 100% but he might be team Ineos-Grenadiers designated sprinter for the Vuelta 2023.
• Kobe Goossens           (Intermarché – Circus – Wanty)           6 : Break away rider.
• Rune Herregodts         (Intermarché – Circus – Wanty)           6: Solid puncheur and time-tribalist.
• Hugo Page (Intermarché – Circus – Wanty) 6: And he is suddenly the man to have. With Thijssen out with Covid, he will be the main sprinter. He was excellent at the start of the season. He is before suffering from illness. He is now back to his form as stated when he took his first win Tour du Limousin. Also goes very on punchy terrain
• Jan Tratnik       (Jumbo-Visma)            6 : His TT abilities make him the best 6 credit Jumbo Visma Assist rider choice
• Thomas De Gendt       (Lotto Dstny)   6: Never ever count him out particularly if he has no sprinter to protect.
• Andreas Kron  (Lotto Dstny)   6 : Very surprised to see him lying anonymously here but truth being said he is not a great velogames choice. Brought 277 points in velogame 2022.
• Sylvain Moniquet        (Lotto Dstny)   6: puncheur
• Lennert Van Eetvelt    (Lotto Dstny)   6: Has his fans and a lots of prospect. Go for him if you trust him.
• Oier Lazkano   (Movistar Team)          6: Has entered the velogames team of many after his performances in the Vuelta Burgos. Should win a stage and could have a Felix Gall grand Tour performance.
• Cristián Rodríguez       (Team Arkéa Samsic)   6: Pure climber who strives on climbs
• Oscar Onley    (Team dsm – firmenich)           6 : More of puncheur than a climber
• Welay Berhe   (Team Jayco AlUla)      6: At 21 years old, it takes a lot to finish 16th of the Tour de Suisse. He would have been a great pick for 4 credits rather than 6.
• Filippo Zana    (Team Jayco AlUla)      6: He brought 578 points from Italy 2023. This is around the maximum we could expect from him if he repeats his performance
• Nico Denz (Bora- Hansgrohe) 6: 2 breakaways and 2 wins for a total of 574 points in the Giro. He might be. little too expensive this time.
• Lewis Askey (Groupama- FDJ): All credits to Dan Deakins for this one! A sprinter hiding in the unclassed list. Not surprising though as he always work for Paul Penhoet. This time however he is on his own to lead the sprinting line for his team but he is more of a puncheur and could instead be leading out Sam Watson for flat sprints.
• Sam Watson (Groupama- FDJ): The other hidden sprinter in the unclassed list. Also from the same team as Lewis Askey which could prove to be a conundrum as they alternate role accordinf to the finish
• Jason Osborne (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4: 16 th in san Sebastian and Top 5 in Austria but he has not real precedence on long climbs which make him a decent candidate for stage wins.
• Javier Romo    (Astana Qazaqstan Team)       4: Decent performance in Burgos which brought him a final 7th GC
• Matevž Govekar          (Bahrain – Victorious)  4: No Bauhaus, No Milan means he is the team designated sprinter and he can pass climbs well as seen by his 5th place on the 3rd stage of the Dauphiné.
• Julien Bernard (Lidl – Trek)      4: He won the KOM jersey in Romandie , rode out of his skin for the French Nationals and looked to keep his from in Tour de L’Ain. Looked in the shape of his life as he seeks a contract renewal.
• Juan Pedro López        (Lidl – Trek)      4: A pure climber whose real ambition is unknown. He could be very happy chasing a Top 10 -15 GC ruling him out of potential breakaway action.
• Élie Gesbert    (Team Arkéa Samsic)   4 : Pure climber who could win from breakaways.
• Callum Scotson           (Team Jayco AlUla)      4 : Good time trialist and goes well on long climbs.

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