Start of the 2022 Vuelta in the Netherlands
The third grand tour of the country in 2022 will also start abroad. After the Giro d'Italia (in Hungary) and the Tour de France (in Denmark) the Vuelta starts in the Netherlands.
The start was actually planned for 2020 - but was postponed by two years due to the pandemic. The local team Jumbo-Visma wins the team time trial to kick things off - Dutchman Robert Gesink takes the first red jersey in Utrecht. His team-mates let him cross the finish line first.
Bennett is back
He's back at the top: Sam Bennett, 2020's best sprinter at the Tour de France and winner of the green jersey, is back with the team after a two-year break and a switch from Quick-Step Bora-Hansgrohe a three-week stage race again at the 2022 Vuelta.
The 31-year-old Irishman capitalises on his first opportunities - he is the fastest on the second and third stages. He is out of the race before the 10th stage - due to a positive corona test. A total of 24 participants were eliminated from this Vuelta after testing positive.
Two-tier society among the teams
After the first three stages of the 2022 Vuelta, the peloton moved from one cycling nation to the next: from the Netherlands to the Basque Country, where the cycling-mad population always insists on great autonomy within Spain. Many professional cyclists come from the green north of the Iberian peninsula - the Euskaltel-Euskadi team is regarded as a training centre.
After being relegated for a while, the racing team with the riders in the orange jerseys has been a professional team again since 2020. But while professional cyclists in orange used to win mountain stages at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, the men from Euskadi were just filler at this Vuelta. Like the other small Spanish teams Burgos-BH and Equipe Kern Pharma, they received a wildcard invitation from the organiser Unipublic.
However, these pro teams now largely have no chance against the world's top riders in the increasingly professionalised world of cycling - there is a huge gap between the first and second divisions in terms of finances and squads. Euskadi & Co. are allowed to fill breakaway groups with no chance and can at least place their sponsor logos on TV at the 2022 Vuelta.
The discovery of the 2022 Vuelta: Jay Vine
From the living room to the summit - this is how Jay Vine's rise to the top is being commented on in some media. Although the 26-year-old Australian had already raced in his home country, he only made his way into professional cycling when he won the Zwift Academy programme in 2020 and was signed to Team Alpecin as a result.
His breakthrough comes in his second year as a professional in Europe. He emerges from the fog on Pico Jano in first place and celebrates his first professional victory on stage 6 of the 2022 Vuelta. Two days later, he won the next mountain finish and also took the mountain jersey before being involved in a mass crash on stage 18 and having to abandon the race.
Maturity test for Evenepoel
He came, saw and won. That was the case with Remco Evenepoel in the juniors, where he won at will, regularly rode away from the peloton as a soloist and won the world titles in the road race and individual time trial. Patrick Lefevere, head of the Belgian racing team Quick-Step, secured the home-grown super talent - Evenepoel became the youngest professional cyclist to sign a contract in the World Tour at the age of 18.
As a professional, he continued straight away: victory at the Clasica San Sebastian, European champion and runner-up in the individual time trial - at just 19 years old. The crash followed in 2020: during the Tour of Lombardy on the descent from the Colma di Sormano, he misjudged a tight bend and fell several metres off a bridge - pelvic fracture, eight-month break from racing.
It could have been worse. His comeback was his first Grand Tour: at the Giro d'Italia 2021, he ran out of steam early on - gravel roads, Monte Zoncolan and Dolomite passes wore him down - eventually retiring after a crash. He returned to the 2022 Vuelta as "Remco Evenepoel 2.0" (team boss Lefevere) as a classification rider - a little heavier, but tougher and more mature. Despite not having an outstanding team, he ended up winning the Tour of Spain in commanding style - the first Belgian to do so since Freddy Maertens in 1977.
Belgium was upside down - after all, no compatriot had won any Grand Tour since 1978. Evenepoel, just 22 years old, strong in the individual time trial and on the climbs, is now seen as a future challenger to Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in the battle for overall victory at the Tour de France. A detailed portrait of the winner can be found in TOUR 10/2022.
Marco Brenner - Talent rehearsal at the premiere
First start in a three-week stage race: Marco Brenner is in several breakaway groups on his Grand Tour debut, finishing fifth in the Penas Blancas mountain finish (12th stage), just 34 seconds behind stage winner Richard Carapaz.
The performance was an exclamation mark. Roommate and DSM team-mate John Degenkolb is also teaching the youngster the basics of Grand Tour riding for three weeks. Behind third-placed Spaniard Juan Ayuso (born 20 days later), Brenner is the second youngest participant in the 2022 Vuelta (see interview in the print edition of TOUR 10/2022).
The fastest man at the 2022 Vuelta: Mads Pedersen
The 2019 world champion fills the vacuum left by Sam Bennett's withdrawal due to the coronavirus. Few other top sprinters are at the start - Tim Merlier and Pascal Ackermann lacked the maximum speed at this Vuelta to beat the Dane in the service of the Trek-Segafredo team. Pedersen won three stages (13th, 16th and 19th) and ultimately also the green jersey for the best points scorer - with a huge lead.
Fracture pilot: Primoz Roglic
In the past three years, nobody has been able to follow Primoz Roglic in Spain. The 32-year-old Slovenian won the Vuelta three times in a row and was also considered the top favourite this time. However, newcomer Remco Evenepoel got away from him early on on the climbs and also in the individual time trial. The Jumbo pro turned the tables on him in the difficult mountain finishes in the Sierra de la Pandera and the Sierra Nevada, gaining back time.
On the 16th stage of the Vuelta 2022, he also escaped his rival on the short climb towards the finish - but in the sprint of a group of five, he collided with Bahrain pro Fred Wright and hit the tarmac hard. Once again, Roglic has jeopardised his chances with a crash - he will not start the next stage. The way is finally clear for Evenepoel.
Freeclimber Richard Carapaz
Before the start of the Vuelta, the Olympic champion and winner of the 2019 Giro d'Italia is considered the top favourite for overall victory alongside Primoz Roglic. However, the 29-year-old Ecuadorian loses a lot of time on the first stages - before he has really warmed up: The professional from Team Ineos Grenadiers took advantage of the freedom granted to him by the peloton, winning three mountain stages from breakaway groups at the 2022 Vuelta and the blue dotted jersey for the best climber.
Juan Ayuso - Teenager on the podium of the 2022 Vuelta
The discovery of this Vuelta: Juan Ayuso was already regarded as an outstanding tour talent as a junior, which is why Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates secured the Spaniard's services early on. In the end, the Spaniard finished third overall behind compatriot Enric Mas, also benefiting from the crash of the better-placed Primoz Roglic.
But a teenager who always stays within sight of the best, strong on the climbs and sixth in the individual time trial? That has rarely been seen. The Catalan, born on 16 September 2002 in Barcelona, is precocious and is likely to give the Spanish fans a lot of pleasure.
For comparison: Tadej Pogacar was almost exactly one year older when he finished third in his first Grand Tour start in 2019. Who has ever been younger on the podium of a grand tour? Henri Cornet. The Frenchman won the Tour de France at almost the same age. That was in 1904.
Alejandro Valverde - last lap
He could be the father of Vuelta winner Evenepoel. Alejandro Valverde is now 42 years old - 20 years older than the Belgian. Now it's the end for the professional cyclist - at the end of the season, his days as a professional cyclist are numbered. After the final stage of the 2022 Vuelta in Madrid, the organisers honoured Spain's outstanding professional cyclist on the podium.
Valverde peels himself out of jerseys in front of the audience that bear witness to his incredibly successful career: Gold-coloured jersey for the 2009 Vuelta victory (back then, the overall leader wore gold instead of red), rainbow jersey for the 2018 World Championship victory. In Spain, it seems almost forgotten that Valverde was banned for two years due to his involvement in the Fuentes doping scandal.
Team-mate and Vuelta roommate Enric Mas gives a eulogy: "Everything I have learnt, I have learnt 90 per cent from Alejandro. He is a professional cyclist from head to toe. I can only recommend every young pro to spend a day with him."
Best woman: Annemiek van Vleuten
She is only a good two years younger than Alejandro Valverde. But Annemiek van Vleuten remains the benchmark in women's cycling. After the Giro d'Italia and the new edition of the Women's Tour de France it is also in the Women's race at the Vuelta in a class of its own.
Just a few weeks before her 40th birthday, the Dutchwoman from Team Movistar outsprints all her rivals on the topographically most difficult stage and wins by more than two minutes. In Madrid, she celebrates overall victory ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) and Demi Vollering (SD Worx).
What would be considered a historic triple victory for the men is certainly not comparable for the women. Instead of three weeks, the women's races of the major national tours last ten days (Giro), eight days (Tour) and in Spain only five days - and the high mountains were only crossed in the Giro.
Results of the Vuelta 2022
- Stage 1 | Winner: Jumbo-Visma | Red jersey: Robert Gesink | To the race report
- Stage 2 | Winner: Sam Bennett | Red jersey: Mike Teunissen | To the race report
- Stage 3 | Winner: Sam Bennett | Red jersey: Edoardo Affini | To the race report
- Stage 4 | Winner: Primoz Roglic | Red jersey: Primoz Roglic | To the race report
- Stage 5 | Winner: Marc Soler | Red jersey: Rudy Molard | To the race report
- Stage 6 | Winner: Jay Vine | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 7 | Winner: Jesus Herrada | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 8 | Winner: Jay Vine | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 9 | Winner: Louis Meintjes | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 10 | Winner: Remco Evenepoel | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 11 | Winner: Kaden Groves | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 12 | Winner: Richard Carapaz | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 13 | Winner: Mads Pedersen | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 14 | Winner: Richard Carapaz | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 15 | Winner: Thymen Arensman | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 16 | Winner: Mads Pedersen | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 17 | Winner: Rigoberto Uran | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 18 | Winner: Remco Evenepoel | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 19 | Winner: Mads Pedersen | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 20 | Winner: Richard Carapaz | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
- Stage 21 | Winner: Juan Sebastian Molano | Red jersey: Remco Evenepoel | To the race report
All results of the Vuelta 2022 can also be found here in detail in the overview.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
