My favourite time of the year: in Scotland it rains less, the skies are blue, the air is fresh and leaves are so beautiful as they turn.

Valverde pulls on his winners jersey.

The Vuelta - a Grand Tour for Valverde, at last. And Operacion Puerto? It's all too long ago, there's too much water under the bridge - who cares? Most of the peloton was kitted up, if he was too, then it's no surprise. If a rider is daft enough - like Di Luca - then hammer them, but I fail to see the point of digging up the past - move on.

Valverde passed on the Giro and Tour [yes, we know, he had no choice] and that probably won him the Vuelta. As Dirty Harry says; "man's gotta know his limitations." Alejandro has proven he can win the Vuelta, but he could never win the Tour or Giro. But as a proud man and a winner, that's hard to accept - maybe he should thank them for digging the Puerto dirt, after all.

His team was brilliant, Adam Hansen said; "they had him bubble-wrapped," and that's how it should be - unless you come from Plano, of course.

The Tour of Britain - Viktor reckons it wasn't a hard race; Dan Fleeman and Ben Swift would argue with

Dan Fleeman rode a great Tour of Britain.

that. Some of my hardcore amigos - don't rate the race, but you have to start somewhere.

Entries were hugely over-subscribed; QuickStep were desperate to get in, but told where to go - Boonen's 'strike' a couple of years ago hasn't been forgotten. The safety issue has been resolved, the finales made good TV and it's up to eight stages - ideal preparation for the Worlds. If I was the organiser, I'd have much shorter daily transfers and one long one - start in the South, race North then one long transfer back to the "Big Smoke.

Great rides from Dan Fleeman and Ben Swift, I was lucky with my choice of guys to talk to during the race - pity I didn't bell Geraint too!

The Worlds - I'd love to have gone but Pez has Ale and Matt on the patch, so there's no point in shipping me out too.

I'm at Lombardy though; I can't wait, but you have to be careful because "civilian" life can become simply stretches of time you, "get through" in between races.

Dave Millar won the Time Trial in the Vuelta - just superb.

The TT course has only one 120 metre climb on the lap, which is covered three times. Rubens Bertogliati reckons it's made for Cancellara - it is promoted by the Swiss Federation, after all. I'd love to see David Millar follow up his Vuelta triumph with a Worlds medal.

Millar puts in the races, does his job and has appears to have matured into a good pro - no longer the diletante.

Wiggins? Call me old fashioned, but all this talk of "projects" makes me shake my head - if you're a pro then that's your job, for better or worse. You do your job, you get round, you don't decide that there are only three or four races each year which you can be bothered with - or maybe you do?

The road race isn't made for Fab though; Ben Swift sums it up thus; "up, down, up, down !" The lap is under 14 kilometres and they cover it 19 times - that's 38 climbs. As Rubens said; "a man who can climb but who still has a strong sprint at the end." Sounds like Valverde or Cunego to me.

And one last rant; much as I respect Roger Hammond, he's no climber -  Dan Fleeman is, so shouldn't it be Roge watching on TV and not Dan?

Nurse!  Where's my medication?

Was it a good Vuelta?

Yes, I think so. The start in Holland was a great success, personally I was wrong about the time trial on a closed circuit, it had a big crowd as did all the Dutch roads, and it was the same in Germany and Belgium.

Often correspondents watch La Vuelta on TV and they don’t see any spectators, then report that no one watches it and the Spanish people are not interested and the race is dying on its feet.

They couldn’t be further from the truth; there are large crowds on the mountains, in the villages and towns. The starts are overrun and trying to get near the finish is a battle, but then those correspondents wouldn’t know as they are sat at home watching Eurosport. So yes, the Vuelta was very popular this year.

Valverde is likely to win his first grand tour in Spain, whilst being banned in Italy and with an outstanding case with C.A.S. Guess we won't know if he's the actual winner for another month or two yet.

Was it too hard?

Yes, probably. It’s a long season and many of the riders have been racing since January (on and off).

If you look at the top six riders they hadn’t had full seasons for one reason or the other. As always there were rider who were only there to prepare for the World Champs and where never going to go to the finish in Madrid.

Did La Vuelta miss Alberto Contador?

I thought that maybe it would, if you look at the course it was designed with Bert in mind with all those summit finishes. If Contador had ridden then maybe it would have been a walk-over, he would have won the time trials and could have won all the mountain stages. Better he wasn’t here then?

Will it be a good win for Valverde?

Yes, he dominated and consolidated and didn’t have his usual bad day, it looked like he faltered on the stage to La Pandera, but back he came and took time from his closest rivals. The sign of a good champion?

The best thing about La Vuelta 2009?

Apart from the podium girls (and you can see my photos of them on Pez here), this Vuelta threw up some new young names:

Robert Gesink was having a great Vuelta until Friday when it all went wrong for him, possibly because of the bad crash he had the day before.

Andre Greipel (probably) taking the points jersey, we knew he could sprint, but to take the green all the way to Madrid is a feat.

Philip Deignan’s stage and top ten overall is good to see, as is the stage wins of Borut Bozic, Simon Gerrans and Ryder Hesjedal - all men for the future.

Andre Greipel.

Disappointments?

Cadel Evans again, he either has bad luck or bad form or a bad team or something, maybe Silence-Lotto is correct in having another option for GC. Tom Boonen? 2^nd on the first time trial and what else? Nothing.  As I have said before he should stick with the Classics.

So I think it was a good Vuelta, if it was at the same time as the Giro then it would get the riders when they were fresh, and if it was in the middle of the national summer holidays it would have the same crowds as the Tour.

Roll on next year in Sevilla!

Team mate Andrei Greipel had just taken his third win of the Vuelta – and Columbia’s 80th of the year.

Adam can't complain about how the Vuelta has gone so far.

A good day for Columbia, Adam; were you in the mix?

"We all were, there are only seven of us left and it got a bit messy with Liquigas and QuickStep in there; but Andrei managed to take it."

How many Grand Tours now, Adam?

"This is number five; the Vuelta used to be my favourite – until this one!

"Two years ago it was less stressful, the stages were shorter and there weren’t so many mountains.

"But this is a very hard race, the rest day after just four days hasn’t helped either – it makes for a very long, tough last week; after the second rest day we went straight into a block of three super hard days."

Are you happy with your Vuelta, so far?

"I can’t complain, I’ve had a fifth and a seventh; I’m still hoping for a break but if you’re in a sprinter’s team it’s very hard to get away because the other teams know that will help you control things.

"I was happy with my time trial too."

Adam completed a good TT in 19th place last week.

What’s been the toughest stage so far?

"The three back to back mountain stages out of the second rest day were very hard.

"My tactic is to try and get in the break, but if I don’t, then go with the gruppetto; I can climb half-good, so it’s not so tough for me in there."

A lot of the guys are saying that the race is too hard for September.

"I do think that, the season is long; a lot of guys go from the Vuelta to the Worlds, but it would be too hard to finish the Vuelta and do the road Worlds – I’m riding the Worlds; but time trial only.

"Two years ago, though, you could have ridden the full Vuelta and the Worlds."

We’ve been hearing a lot about the heat.

"It’s been overcast and cooler lately, so it’s not too bad – rain has been forecast on a lot of stages but we’ve had good luck."

Some of the roads are pretty gnarly.

"Yeah, we’ve had a lot of flat tyres; but Spain is a big country and some of the roads could be better."

Adam is looking for a top ten result in the second TT.

Is Valverde going to win?

"He looks comfortable and there’s no doubt that he has the strongest team – they have him bubble wrapped!

"I think he can pull it off but Sanchez always has a good third week."

Surprises?

"For me, Gesink – he’s always been good, but this race has been super hard and I’ve been impressed with how he’s ridden."

Are you sick of race food, yet?

"I’m actually lactose intolerant; I can’t eat bars, so all I’ve been eating in the stages is gels!

"There’s a joke in the team about hiding the gels when I’m around – I get through about 14 in a stage.

"PowerBar do good flavours, so I’m not sick of them – yet!"

Who ate all the gels?

What do you miss most about home?

"I miss my home in Czech, yeah; it’s beautiful, comfortable – I miss just doing my own thing, hanging out with my friends, cross training."

Can Greipel hang on to the points jersey, now?

"I hope so, but you know he was docked 25 points, don’t you?

"The gruppetto finished outside the time limit, but there were too many riders in it for them to eliminate everyone, so we were all docked 25 points.

"If the race finishes with a 25 K climb, the time limit could be 29 minutes – that means that to be outside of it you’re only losing a little over a minute per kilometre, and that’s not difficult.

"It’s not a UCI rule and it only affects the guys going for the points – that’s the sprinters and their teams.

"It means that we’ll have to do our usual work on the flat stages but then we’ll be under pressure on the mountain stages too – the other teams won’t do anything to help."

Will you be ‘full gas,’ in the last TT?

"I’m really looking forward to it, two years ago in this race was my first good time trial performance; I hope to crack the top ten, or even top eight.

"The only thing is that it comes after a super hard day."

Luise Keller, German Road Champ in 2008.

Do you keep abreast of the Tour of Britain?

"Yeah, the DS tells us what’s happening; it’s great to see Edvald doing well, we all love him – he’s such a nice guy.

"He’ll go right to the top; the classics, Grand Tours – Sky have made a good buy, there!"

And did you see your girlfriend on the second rest day?

"No, unfortunately not – she was racing!

"She's Luise Keller; she races for the Columbia ladies team – we’re having two days together in Milano after the Vuelta."

“UCI control; blood and urine!" boomed the voice in the background. Time to say ‘adios’ to Adam then; we’ll be talking to him again in Madrid.

The stages up there were not expected to affect the eventual overall out-come, but the next week in the area of Valencia were, and did!

It was good to see smaller team; Vacansoleil, with Borut Bozic, take a stage as they have been knocking on the door of success for some time.

If you have never seen André Greipel of Columbia in the flesh, he is frightening; a cross between a track sprinter, a weight lifter and a bare fist fighter!

Andre Greipel (with Elena Scorosanu). Image© David Hood of William Hill.

Talking of sprinters, what is wrong with Tom Boonen? I admire him for his wins in Roubaix and Flanders, but he can’t sprint any more. He just doesn’t have it in his legs or maybe his head; will he become a new Peter Van Petegem, with a month long season and nothing else?

John Anderson with some Belgian guy.

The stages I went to see in Alicante and Murcia were phenomenal, the crowds were great and the climbs in this area are long and steep, first we had Cadel Evans in Gold, then he lost the lead to Alejandro Valverde, running into the Spaniard's home land of Murcia.

The next ten days are very hard, over the weekend we could see some changes - remember we have the top six riders within 65 seconds of each other, so it’s all to play for, as football pundit might say.

I was talking to Ryder for Pez only last night – about his great ride on stage 9, when he was second to Simon Gerrans; then the next text came in; ‘Your man has won!’

When one of the riders that you have built up a relationship with has big win, it’s a nice feeling - not just another cyclist winning another race – something warm, close to the heart.

Nice one, Ryder, you deserve it – you made my day, dude.

Ryder Hesjedal wins big!

‘Sky fever’ – I’ve got it too and we’ll shortly have Scott Sunderland on the site telling us the inside story about the recruitment - as soon as all the names are out.

We’ve been hearing the rumours – and facts – for days now, but in the end we decided to keep quiet about them; we could have landed a few folk in hot water if we’d published them.

And since it’s been printed in the press; the big rumour is that Brad goes to Sky – but here’s the sweetener – Bert goes to Garmin.

But we didn’t tell you.

So, it's official. Or is it?

We knew most of the riders and the bike sponsor around ten days ago; we know honourable equipment sponsor too, but we’re not telling!

We don't like them negative waves either.

The Guardian ran a big piece yesterday on Team Sky, complete with a colour pic of Brad.

But here’s the thing – why so much coverage of Team Sky when the third biggest race on the planet is in full swing and hardly a word is said about it?

Ah yes, of course: it’s not the Tour, there hasn’t been a drugs scandal yet – let’s hope it stays that way – Lance isn’t riding it, and Team Sky isn’t riding it.

It was the Donald Sutherland character, 'Oddball',  in the movie Kelly’s Heroes who didn’t like; ‘them negative waves!”

But I have to say that I hope that this ‘Brad Mania’ is well founded – being fourth in a Grand Tour is one thing, getting on the podium is another, but winning is a different ballgame altogether.

Bert is THE man for the Grand Tours at the moment.

‘Now,’ is Contador’s time – no one can beat him in the Tour; and it’s damn certain that whichever team he goes to, he’ll have a band of dedicated Spaniards around him who won’t have any problems with divided loyalties.

He’s not at the top of his powers yet and he won the 2009 Tour with half a team and in a war zone; rather than the atmosphere of harmony and tranquillity that an athlete ideally needs to excel.

Laurent Dufaux, Christophe Rinero, Christophe Moreau, Santiago Botero; all of these riders have placed fourth in the Tour - Bobby Julich made the podium, but Tour winners...

Tim on TT duty.

VeloResults first met Kiwi Tim Gudsell (Française des Jeux) at Ghent Wevelgem, back in the spring; he was on the way back from a bad crash in the Tour Down Under – six months later he’s much further south, the hills are a lot bigger and it’s much warmer as we spoke to him after the Vuelta’s second mountain stage.

How’s the injury, Tim?

"I think the last time we spoke I had explained that a doctor near my home in Aix en Provence had got to the root of the problem – a  muscle injury which everyone else had missed.

"There’s no miracle cure for it, it will take time hard work to put it right; and now I’m back into a big work load for the team I just have to take it day by day." 

How has the programme been since Ghent-Wevelgem?

"I was told I was riding the Vuelta at short notice – during the Eneco Tour; I flew home after it then flew straight back to Holland for the start of the Vuelta.

"But despite the heat and the mountains, I’m happy to be back at work – after the first six months of the year where I hardly raced, I’m glad to be riding at this level again.

"In the last few weeks I’ve ridden Poland, Hamburg, Eneco and the Vuelta – none of those races are for the faint hearted!"

What’s your role in the race?

"I’m here as a team rider – on a day like today (stage 9) I must have taken at least 50 bidons up. Maybe one day I’ll get into a break – but I’m taking it day by day."

Tim will be riding for F des J in 2010.

And team goals?

"We’re pretty keen for a stage win; Wes Sulzberger is going well and so is Mikael Cherel – Sandy Casar has been a bit tired but he’s always a rider to try to do something.

"Sebastian Chavanel is probably our best bet, though."

You’ve ridden the Giro, how does the Vuelta compare?

"Different - it’s a lot more relaxed at the stage starts but there was a lot of stress in the bunch in Holland; those stages weren’t very nice at all!

"In the Giro you can’t ‘ride in’ – you have to be in good condition from day one, whilst in the Vuelta it’s easier to settle in.

"But in general the parcours are very tough; some riders are saying that it’s too tough for the time of year – 3,300 kilometres and six hill top finishes."

Tell us about the Northern stages.

"It was stressful from day one; we were on bike paths and all sorts – that’s usual for the Dutch and Belgian teams but the Spaniards aren’t used to it.

"Liege was carnage, with the roads, the rain, the GC guys trying to stay out of trouble and the sprinter's teams trying to set their guys up.

"The Dutch crowds were great but we were happy to get on that plane! The guys were saying; ‘now we can start the race, properly!’"

How was day one in the mountains?

"That was a really nasty day – we were on small roads all day, up and down all the time with 200 guys fighting for position.

"It’s the ‘elastic band effect’ – the leaders are over the top and dropping at 60 kph whilst if you’re at the back, you’re still climbing at 20 kph and the band is stretching!"

And day two?

"Silence-Lotto controlled it; maybe they rode a little faster than they had to, but it was on bigger roads and even though there were 4000 metres of climbing, it was a lot less stressful."

Lab testing is a necessity these days.

What do you like least about Grand Tours?

"Race food!

"We’re nine days in and it’s the same Power Bars and gels every stage – you have to get ‘em down, but it gets monotonous.

"Rice and pasta for breakfast is hard to get down, too!"

How are you filling your spare time?

"The stages start later here, usually at 1:00 pm so you don’t have as much time at night after the stage after your massage and the evening meal.

"I room with Wes and we’re usually on the internet, dealing with emails, having a laugh. I make time to talk to my girlfriend – to escape the ‘bubble’ - you have to add some reality, a Grand Tour takes over your life for a month, you’re cut off from the world and you have to take time to re-connect."

A good race for NZ with Greg Henderson’s stage win.

"Greg’s a good friend of mine; we were on the New Zealand track team together for years.

"I was stoked for him it’s taken him a couple of years to find his legs but he’s showing his class now - he’s had four or five wins this year.

"He was doing his job on that stage where he won, but things went his way and he jumped on the chance – it’s good for New Zealand cycling."

Enjoying some R&R from racing.

What comes after the Vuelta?

"I plan to race up to Lombardy; I did nothing ‘til August so I have catching up to do and I’d like to try to make the New Zealand team for the Worlds – it’s always nice to pull on the black jersey.

"I’ll be riding the Franco-Belge and Paris-Tours too."

And 2010?

"I’m out of contract at the year end – it’s not easy if you’re out for a big chunk of the year – but F des J have told me that I’ll be with them for another year."

Tim is enjoying his Vuelta, now that the sun's out.

And that’s good news for the likeable Kiwi – hopefully, we’ll be talking to him again during this Vuelta.

Christian Meier.

Christian Meier (Canada & Garmin) is a man for his stats. Monday’s mountain stage breaks down like this: 4,600 metre of climbing, 5,000 kilo joules expended, that’s the equivalent of 5,400 calories - that’s one hard day at the office. 
 
We caught up with the 2008 Canadian Elite road race champion the evening after Cunego had demonstrated that he’s in shape for the Worlds and Lombardy. 
 
How many Grand Tours, Christian?

"This is my first, it’s a new experience; other riders tell me that it’s ‘next step’ in my development as a rider."

What’s your role in the race?

"In week one, we were working for Tyler Farrar, the first six days were pretty much all sprinter days and I spent a lot of time on the front.

"Now Tom Danielson and Dan Martin are for the GC our job is to get Tom into as good a position as possible for the bottom of the last climb, protecting him through the stage before that.

"Then, when we’ve done all we can for him we shut it down and conserve energy, leaving him to do his thing."

How were these Northern stages?

"The roads were like those in the Amstel or the Fleche – very stressful with lots of traffic islands and little towns to negotiate.

"The Dutch and Belgian riders are used to that but not the guys from the smaller Spanish teams. The first four stages were very tense – you felt like you were on the brink of a crucial moment all the time.

"And whilst it’s hard work being at the front all the time, it’s certainly the best place to be for safety; the Liege stage with the rain and crashes was terrible – I think we were all pretty relieved when we were done, up there."

A lot is being said about the heat, this year.

"Myself and a few of the other Garmin guys live in Girona where it’s been 40 plus for most of the summer so we’re used to it.

"It’s been a shock to the system for the bigger riders and guys from the North, though. Today (Monday) it was a bit cooler, humid but comfortable, the sun wasn’t blazing – but it's Southern Spain in the summer, it’s always going to scorching!"

Christian rode the TT essentially to help the team.

How was your time trial?

"Interesting!

"The plan was to treat it as a rest day - I was beginning to feel all that work at the front – make the time cut, cruise round, but David Millar and Tom Danielson decided to come in the car behind me, with our DS, Matt White so they could see the course.

"With 10 K to go, I punctured, there were no spare wheels and no mechanic so they had to take my spare bike off the roof, Dave Millar did my wheel change – I’m not sure how many minutes I lost there!"

How was today?

"Pretty much what I anticipated – whilst this is my first season on a European programme after riding in the States, I’ve ridden the Dauphine and Catalonia so I knew what to expect.

"Our job was to get the guys in position with 22 K to go then try and save a little; I felt pretty good when we got the job done, but it s one of the hardest days I’ve ever ridden."

Management must be happy with Tom Danielson?

"Ecstatic; he’s been on the verge of good results for a while, now – the Tour of Burgos was the turning point for him this year.

"We just hope it keeps going like this; he had a couple of good years at Discovery but then he struggled – it’s good that he’s back to this kind of form."

A disappointing TT for Dan Martin.

"The weather changed constantly throughout the day and it’s pretty hard for the lighter guys to be riding in the wind and rain.

"Dan said he reckoned he was going OK on the straights but lost a lot of time in the corners in the wet.

"But he’s a very mature guy for his age and he’s looking forward to his day in the mountains, now."

What’s your remit for Tuesday?

"It’s another mountain top finish – well, there’s actually three K downhill off the top - but it’s to get Tom and Dan into position for that last climb."

How have the hotels and food been?

"Pretty good, so far; we stayed in some great little hotels up in Holland and the other day our hotel was on the beach at Salou – that was nice."

Christian is adapting to life in Europe.

Who are the favourites for the GC?

"The Spanish guys are always highly motivated for their home races – Valverde and Sanchez are looking good, so is Basso.

"It’s guys who can handle the heat now and also who have avoided the bad luck."

And are you happy with your season?

"Yeah, for sure!

"It’s my first full season in Europe, I’m here to gain experience but it’s been a lot of fun, too. I think my body is adapting to the European race work load well, though."

After the Vuelta?

"Canada has three places for the Worlds, so I think I’ll be selected; then after that it’s Paris–Tour, Piedmont and Lombardy – it’s been a long season, I started at the Tour Down Under, so it’ll be good to get a break."

Christian won the Canadian Elite RR Champs last year, and rode in the Champs colours in this year's Dauphine-Libere.

No doubt about that, Christian!  With thanks for talking to us and all the best for the hot road to Madrid.

The last one was my Vuelta gillet; only used abroad, somehow a Vuelta gillet doesn't work at Wallyford.

Bless you Al!

Anyway; it was a book, packed with stats on every Vuelta from the first one in 1935 up 'til last year - heaven!

Let's browse:

1971
The first year I was in a cycling club; Kirkcaldy and District.

Ferdi Bracke of Belgium won over 17 stages and 2,892 kilometres at a very respectable 39.169 kph.

Bracke was super cool; hour record holder, world pro pursuit champion with a perfect flat backed style. There were some huge names behind him - Ocana, Poulidor, Zoetemelk - but remember it was held in late April back then was often used as a 'tune up' race by the heads.

1977
I was an Archer-Cutty Sark man; a cool jersey at the time - it made us team mates with the likes of Maurice Burton.

Flanders born and bred, Freddy Maertens lead from start to finish through 2,785 kilometres and 19 stages - winning 13 of them in the process - an all time modern Grand Tour record.To take the shine off that just a little, only seven teams of ten rode; 70 riders - try eight x 22 this year.

1981
I was a Musselburgh man - Dave and Vik will remind me of that on my death bed!

Giovanni Battaglin won the first part of his brilliant - but largely unheralded - Vuelta/Giro double.

Again there were 19 stages and the distance was 3,513 kilometres with 90 starters.

1984
Ah ! G.S. Modena days, where did they go?

A notable win - Eric Caritoux of France by a slim six seconds after 3,616 kilometres and 19 stages. Why notable?

Caritoux was clean - even Willy Voet said so!

With 130 starters, the race was growing.

1985
It still hurts - up there with Culloden as bad days go for Auld Scotia.
Robert Millar was heading for certain victory in Salamanca -but with two days to go ...

Sorry, I can't talk about it!

Spain's Delgado "won" over 3,467 K and 19 etapas, and Robert was second.

It still hurts me; I can't imagine how Robert feels.

King Kelly in his KAS days.

1988
Kelly - 'The King' at last wins a Grand Tour; 21 stages, 3,428 K and 180 starters.  Sean Yates and Malc Elliott are on the "etapa ganadors" list.

1992
I was there!

Swiss chrono man Toni Rominger took the first of three successive Vueltas from 189 starters over 3,558 K and 21 stages.

I blagged my way in to the finish area and was right there to see Abdoujaparov scorch the final sprint.

1999
Ulrich "does a Lazarus" returns from the dead and salvages his season with a format now set at 189 corredores, 21 stages and around 3,500 K.  

Frank Vandenbroucke won two stages - just about the last we'd see of the Belgian at his very best.

2000
I was there again, on the Gran Via with my tapas and cerveza watching home boy Angel Casero fail to pull off the great time trial he needed to over through fellow Spaniard Roberto Heras - yes, him!

Casero won in the Vuelta in 2001 and that was the last of him.  And Vino won a stage - he'll win one this year too.

2006
Talking of Vino - he won it overall this year, taking three stages - those were the days; no linear testing, no chaperones, fresh pints in the fridges . .

2008
A long absence from the race for me; but Davie and I loved the Angliru stage.

"Bert" won there and overall; but it's his time - and will continue to be until he decides he's won enough Grand Tours.

What's that darling?  "Not another cycling reference book!?"

At 21.7km long with an average grade of 5.7 percent, the Aitana climb will give a first good indication of who's up to winning the race."

I couldn't have put it better me self; but that's what the Cervélo: press release had to say tonight.

I was supposed to have an interview with Tyler Farrar tonight but I didn't hear from him. He's a very reliable man to deal with but things happen - long drives to hotels, broken down buses, late meals . .

Ezequiel Mosquera is Ed's pick for today.

Or maybe he's in shock at the thought of the Aitana ?

The time trial went as expected, but a good ride from Millar to split Cancellara and Grabsch. The trouble with sprint and time trial stages is that there's the win - then nowhere.

However, if Cancellara decides to go for the road race at Mendrisio then Millar must fancy his chances for the world title against the watch.

Millar is far more flexible and acrobatic than Grabsch who is in the "pure strength" bracket of chrono men.

Ignatus Konovalovas (Cervélo), who won the final Rome TT at the Giro has done nothing since, producing another damp squib at Valencia.

That's me home from Ullapool, it's strange to be back among the traffic and the bustle.

I caught up with Evan Oliphant tonight, to talk about the Wanlockhead race - won by Gary Hand. 'Gaz' isn't a man for keeping the mobile on - I kinda respect that, I'm ruled by mine.

I was chatting with Dan Fleeman, today, he's riding the Tour of Britain and wants a full VeloResults interview - "sitting down with a coffee " looking forward to that.

The Aitana?  Mosquera!  Adios!

He turned pro in 2004 with Perutnina Ptuj (Ptuj being the capital of Slovenia) and took four wins that year – a stage in the Jadranska Magistrala in Croatia; two stages in the Tour of Slovenia and a stage in the Tour of Serbia.

Borut is more than a team rider - he's a winner.

In 2005 he took three wins; including one in the Tour de L’Avenir – the L’Avenir is one of the main events which the talent scouts for the big teams pay attention to.

In his third and final season with Perutnina in 2006 he took ten wins – DS’s like men that can win ten races in a season!

LPR snapped him up for 2007, and in his first year in the big league he took three wins, including the GC in the Tour de Wallonie and a stage in the Tour of Ireland.

Last year saw another three wins – for Collstrop – one of them being the Slovenian championship; he was also top ten at Kuurne.

Slovenian Champion last year.

This year, with new Dutch team, Vacansoleil, he’s won stages in the Tours of Belgium, Limousin and Poland – and today, la Vuelta.

Not a bad rider, then.

It’s been mixed fortunes for the guys I’ve been interviewing for Pez; Charly Wegelius is out – I’m not sure why, you don’t ring guys up and ask; ‘why did you chuck it?’

However, reading between the lines, three Grand Tours is too much for a rider like Charly, he’s no ‘bear’ like Tyler Farrar.

And Cadel, well, those negative noises he’s making about the team aren’t what you hear from a man that’s going to win.

Dominique Rollin is riding well; he got himself into the top ten yesterday.

We first noticed him back in the spring; he was battling it out with the best of them on the hard roads of Holland and Flanders.

He’s a big strong boy in the Farrar mode – you need to be study to be a good pro.

Martin Velits isn’t at the same level as his brother, but Pro Tour contracts don’t grow on trees; so he’s not a bad rider.

Martin and Peter move to Columbia next season.

Martin and the bruv move over to Columbia for 2010; I’ll have to ask him about that next time we talk.

Adam Hansen very kindly spoke to us at VR the other day, he’s another big, strong boy – his Team Columbia is on fire.

When Greipel won stage five yesterday that was 75 wins for them, year to date – wow!

Chrono tomorrow – ‘Bert Grabsch,’ I’m thinking, maybe – but it’s hard to see past Cancellara; and with only 18 seconds between the Swiss and gold, he could well take the jersey back. But only overnight – stage 8 finishes at the top of the Aitana!

Via con Dios!

Meanwhile we caught up with Columbia’s ex Aussie Elite TT champion and twice podium finisher in the Aussie Elite road race champs, Adam Hansen, to get the story so far as the Vuelta eventually returns home.

Adam missed the Tour, but is relishing the Vuelta.

You'll be happy the transfer is over, Adam?

"Yeah, what was good was that we flew on the same night as we raced; that gives you the whole rest day to yourself.

"The flight was delayed though and we sat on the run way for ages – my legs were a little stiff when we got off the plane, but not too bad. I’ve been involved in worse transfers in the Giro!"

Columbia’s goals for the race?

"Stage wins – we’ve had two already, but the more the merrier! It’s also a preparation race for the Worlds for Bert Grabsch – who won the time trial here two years ago – and Kim Kirchen."

And your job?

"I’m here to help; look after Greipel - like I did yesterday - and maybe get myself into a break."

The prologue?

"Cool, I was very excited about it; I have a new TT position which I was keen to test, but just as I was sitting on the start ramp massive rain started and the wind came up - I just had to laugh, the exact same thing happened to me in the TT a Dunkirk. The race wasn’t the same for everyone, but sometimes time trials are like that.

"The event was good – smooth tarmac, nice corners and a huge crowd giving a great atmosphere.

"On the autoroute on the way to the race, the team bus got held up in a huge traffic jam; we thought there had been an accident, but it was just the sheer volume of people going to the race – the queue was eight kilometres long."

Adam chats to VeloResults right after the '08 Tour de France Time Trial to Saint-Amand-Montrond.

Stage one?

"I was happy for Ciolek to win, he’s had a tough time lately I believe, and it was good to see him back on top.

"We set up a good train but we’re not familiar with riding with each other in that situation, yet - we had a lot of punctures that day too, which didn’t help."

Stage two, Columbia win.

"We were setting it up for Greipel but that was a very easy stage; there were a lot of trains trying to set up at the end and we ended up losing each other.

"Greipel couldn’t hold Greg’s wheel with all the corners and fighting and barging going on; with 800 to go there was an ‘S’ bend and Greipel was too far back - Brian (Holm) in the car said over the radio that Greg should go for it himself.

"Greg is incredible at holding a wheel in a situation like that, and he has all that track speed at the line."

Stage three – ‘same again, please!’ and you were there, too.

"I was lucky! It was up and down all day but Greipel climbs well - I was looking after him and he didn’t struggle too much on the hills that day.

"At the end I started the lead out early, I was thinking that it was a little bit too early, but if you leave it too late then you can get swamped – I didn’t want to risk that, so I just went!

"I was driving the train and we went through a roundabout [where the massive crash occurred] I heard a noise and glanced back but couldn’t see anything for the rider behind me and kept going.

"I did a maximum turn and swung off, when I looked back, there were just a couple of Columbias and QuickSteps, and behind them, open road with no one in sight I was thinking; ‘wow!’"

Snapped here in the Tour Down Under, Adam has been racing since early in the year.

Management must be happy?

"Very happy, especially because the wins are by different riders, it shows we have strength in depth – it’s good because the wins take the pressure off us."

Did the transfer scupper you your stage three champagne?

"Yeah, come to think of it, that’s right; we didn’t celebrate because of the transfer."

I believe the roads were a bit ‘hairy’ in Holland?

"Yeah, most of the riders here aren’t used to this type of road; it was a nightmare, with guys locking wheels, bumping into each other - I crashed on day two but I was lucky, it was nothing serious."

Tough conditions for the GC climbers.

"Especially in the cross winds, all the little guys were having to battle for position."

Prepping at the start of a stage.

Holland, overall, gimmick or good?

"Interesting! It breaks it the race up but the weather has been rough – we’re happy to be in Spain with the sunshine, now.

"The joke going round when we arrived on the race was that we’d landed at the wrong airport! When I told friends that I was riding the Vuelta, they were asking if I was flying in to Barcelona; I had to say; ‘no, Rotterdam!’"

The big transfer must be hard work for the team.

"The bus left two days ago with our suitcases, we’ve just had our back packs – there are no spare bikes, either because the truck had to leave to get down to Spain.

"There’s been a lot of organisation and additional staff involved."

You'd give him room in the bunch, wouldn't you?

The Vuelta starts properly on Thursday, then?

"Well, I guess we’d say that if we hadn’t won anything – but we’ve won half the stages so far! It’s good to here and into the nice weather, though."

How was your rest day?

"I was up early, had breakfast, went for a 90 minute ride then had massage – and now my lovely girlfriend has come to see me!"

We’ll leave you in peace, I’m sure she’s much more interesting than us! All the best for the next few days, Adam; we’ll talk to you, soon.

It's been quite a season for the US team, the wins started and have never stopped.

Griepel takes another stage.

That was what Adam Hansen cited as the main difference between the old T-Mobile and the new High Road-Columbia; "now, we win races!"

Not only Cav and Greipel but Boasson Hagen, Lovkvist, Grabsch - just about every rider in the team has scored a win.

Greipel's break through year was 2008; it looked like he'd trained like a beast all winter to pull of his four stages plus the GC in the Tour Down Under and that would be that.

I saw him quit the Tour of Flanders - with the Pro Tour leader's jersey on his back - he looked lost. 

"That's him for the year," thought me and Viktor, but he won stage 17 in the Giro and continued winning throughout the season, including September's Championship of Flanders.

He took 15 victories last year but he's surpassed that this year.

You have to feel that the team ain't big enough for both him and Cav, but between them they dominate the UCI winners table.
 
Tomorrow is the rest day, the riders fly tonight (Tuesday) but the team vehicles have to be driven all the way to Spain.

Charly might be having a beer tonight - alas, he packed the race today.

As Charly Wegelius said; "there'll be a lot of strong coffee drunk" - a few years ago, it would have been something a tad stronger.

The joke used to be that if they introduced drugs tests for mechanics and soigneurs, the riders would have been on their own.

That's two days running I've mentioned the 'D word' - sorry.

Stage 5 on Thursday isn't too brutal with a second and a third cat - it could well be one for the fastmen - maybe.

Those Spanish (what's the Castillano for 'baroudeurs,' Al ?) breakaway boys will be pumped for it, back on home soil and raring to go.

Predictions?

Nah ! I've given up, Ciolek, Henderson and Greipel - if I'd put a tenner on that, I'd be a millionaire !

I've been out here for the weekend, and I thought more people would have made the easy journey from the UK to Holland for a Grand Tour depart but so far the only ones we've bumped into are Neil and Maria Martin who are here for obvious reasons.

I had my doubts about the Assen TT before we arrived but it turned out to be a spectacular venue with at least half the course visible from the stands.

Holland welcomes La Vuelta. Sounds weird, we had our doubts, but it seems to have worked.

A huge area of the inside of the track was allocated to cycling related entertainment and loads for children and families. Everything except food and drink was free!

The weather could have been better and poor luck for David Millar, Dan Martin and about 20 or so other souls who got caught in not only a torrential downpour but a gale lashed torrential downpour. Dan even tasted the Assen tarmac but remained in good spirits.

Oh, of course - I forgot Cancellara wins a prologue; shock! 

The next days start in Assen was again greeted by huge crowds, unfortunately the timing of the rain again could not have been worse with another downpour 10 minutes before the start keeping the riders in their buses until the last few minutes.

The star of the show for me was Samuel Sánchez, who must have signed at least a hundred autographs from underneath an umbrella.

Samuel Sánchez takes the time to sign autographs.

The weather improved out on the course and on the four occasions we saw the race in the first 100k before going to the finish the crowds were easily on par with a good day on the TdF. Ciolek and Milram finally win something of note!

The weather improved dramatically for stage three and whilst the race was uninspiring (except for Greg Henderson who is finally getting his due rewards as a class act) the crowds at the finish were phenomenal, the atmosphere in the beautiful finish town of Venlo was as good as any bike race I've been to. Kiddies racing round the streets, oompah bands and plenty of beer made for a classic day out at a bike race.

I'm off to Venlo now for start of stage four to Liege and if today matches the last three then I will say that the Vuelta has made a huge impact on the low countries. 

Okay, having spoken to many riders, I didn't have to contend with the weather and the street furniture, and I don't have to make the transfer back into Spain, but I would conclude that as a spectator event it has given my favourite Flemish week a run for its money. 
 
Just a pity more people didn't take advantage of a long weekend in Holland.

Greg Henderson, another Columbia boy made good - how many wins is that, now? 70-odd!

He was working for Greipel, looked back saw he wasn't there, looked up, saw the line, sprinted - and won his first Grand Tour stage; simple as that.

I can't think of any other New Zealand Grand Tour stage winner.

At last, a big win on the road. Greg was the 2002 Commonwealth Games Points Race winner and 2004 World Scratch Champion.

Charly Wegelius was saying that the road conditions were grim on stage one - multiple crashes, which thankfully he stayed clear of.

Today's stage had more of the same with a chicane at the end which caught the top boys on the hop; but which the Vacansoleil train knew about and used to their advantage - albeit Henderson and his track speed spoiled the party.

I hope you've been enjoying Al's pieces - thought provoking stuff. He mentions that there are DS's on the race with "iffy" histories - one very well known DS, back when he was a rider, in the 80's, contrived to get himself banned for life for drugs offences.

That was quite a feat when your first offence back then netted you a time penalty and a suspended sentence. So how come he still gets a licence, gentlemen of the UCI ?

But I guess I was right about something; it's getting very hard to predict those sprint winners, not that we'll have to worry about that for a while - it's "Mini Liege-Bastogne-Liege" time, tomorrow.

A sprint is most unlikely!

I hope so, but let’s look at the facts:

It's not new for teams to 'expect' wins, but is the pressure unhealthy?

The Spanish sports papers quote Oscar Freire; “Rabobank want a stage win in Holland” and I’m sure all the other teams want the same, but the Dutch bank have spent a lot of money bringing La Vuelta a España to Holland for the race start.

After the Rasmussen debacle I’m sure Rabobank are clean, but is this the kind of pressure a sponsor should put on its riders?

Does this put temptation in their way, or just spur them on to more efforts?

What about the riders on the start line in Assen?

There are a few dubious characters; the obvious ones must be Alexander Vinocourov and Ivan Basso, both just back from suspension and wanting to prove something, Frank Schleck visited Dr. Fuentes and handed over money, the admitted EPO user David Millar, cocaine abuser Tom Boonen, and the banned-in-Italy and waiting UCI judgement Alejandro Valverde. Have I missed anyone? Probably!

Behind the scenes there are a few Team Directors with dubious pasts which I’m sure you all remember; whilst even on TV we have Perico Delgado who won the Tour de France whilst taking a masking agent (probenicid) which was banned by the IOC (but not by the UCI at that time).

I hope all that is behind us and the scandals are over for the sake of the sport we all love!

Iñigo Cuesta has been around quite a while.

Just to see the prologue result in print; there might even be a paragraph or two, but no - "nada."

As far as the press goes, there's the Tour and the Olympics - and drugs, of course.

There was a cool piece of info tucked away in yesterday's Cervélo press release; "The prologue held special significance for Cervélo's veteran Spanish rider Iñigo Cuesta, who started a record 16th Vuelta," - wow !

Zoetemelk finished 15 Tours, I don't know if Cuesta has finished all 16 of those Vueltas - if he has, I think that must be a Grand Tour record.

But being the saddo that I am - I had to check it, didn't I ?

I make it 11 finishes - well, practically anyone could finish 11 Vueltas.

Ciolek the stage win - I wouldn't have bet on that one, but it's like Charly Wegelius said; "Cav has eclipsed everyone this season."

In 2005 at the age of 18, 'Gerry' beat Zabel to win the German elite road race - it caused a sensation at the time.

I was at Salzburg when he won the Under 23 Worlds as a Wiesenhof pro in 2006.

A good contract was inevitable after that and he signed with T-Mobile for 2007, he took 10 wins for them, all in Germany or Austria, including three in the Deutschland Tour.

Last year he was a victim of Cav's success - part of the Manxman's High Road train; despite that he took seven wins - again, all in Germany.

This year should have seen him blossom, freed of his responsibilities to Cav and a protected rider with home team, Milram.

But up until Sunday, he'd only lifted one bouquet and that was way back at the Trofeo Calvia in Palmanova.

Third at the Hamburg Classic (despite poor positioning on the run-in) showed that the form was coming.

Watch for him at Paris - Tours.

Ciolek, Sabatini and Hammond - you'd have got long odds on that top three.

Greipel fourth, Tyler fifth and Tom eighth - it's getting hard to predict them sprints.

Unless Cav's there, of course !

So, La Vuelta a España started on Saturday in the Dutch town of Assen, joining in with the other Grand Tour by starting outside its borders. The Spanish Tour has done this once before, but it was still on the Iberian Peninsula; Lisbon in Portugal.

Anyway, here are my (rhetorical) questions: Why did it start in Assen? And why have an opening TT on the motor racing circuit?

After the motos (MotoGP bikes).

OK, I understand that money had a lot to do with it as I’m sure Assen paid well for the privilege of having the world press converge on this northern Dutch town, giving it the opportunity express its existence.

But in this time of crisis would the good Burgers of Assen maybe have been better to give hand-out to the poor, unemployed and other wise disenfranchised people, or does Assen not have any?

Yes, La Vuelta will bring in money to the hotels, shops and other services and it will put Assen on the map for a couple of days, the money could have gone more directly to where it could be used differently.

This brings me to my second question; why the Moto GP circuit? If Assen wanted to improve its tourism trade would it not have been a good idea to have the TT round it’s (probably, I don’t know) quaint, flower lined streets?

Think about it; The Tour de France decides to start in Edinburgh, the prologue could be along Princes Street and up The Mound, or from the Parliament up the Royal Mile to finish at the Castle, or Arthur’s Seat, the list is enormous. But Edinburgh council decides to have it out at Ingliston!

That is basically what it was like in Assen, I guess it was easy as there would be no road closures, policing and parking would be simple and they may have charges the 50,000 spectators entrance, but it’s not the same as a town centre course.

Now we have three flat stages in Holland, Germany and Belgium, at least Viktor will be happy till next week!

Tom Boonen in second was a surprise; it's good to see him back.

I like Boonen, I don't condone his cocaine use - he's meant to be a roll model - but he's young, full of fun and human.

When he quit the Tour, it was no surprise to us: we'd tried to get a few words with him, before the stage at Colmar.  He was dour and unsmiling - usually he's a very easy man to talk to and it wasn't hard to see that the "real" Tom Boonen wasn't at le Tour.

Daniele Bennati.

He announced his return with a stage win at the Eneco Tour; I'd love to see him take the jersey, here.

Jens Mouris was fourth, he was a DFL team mate of Evan Oliphant's back in 2007; last year he was with Mitsubishi and this year the new Dutch team Vacansoleil.

We first saw them at Het Volk - a well presented outfit; and the word is that they want to go all the way to Pro Tour.

Mouris is the classic pursuiter, tall, strong and classy - good to see a fresh name in among the stars.

Bennati in fifth was a surprise; his form hasn't been the best this year and I lost a lot of respect for him after the abuse he gave 'Nico' Roche for not working in the break during the Ivanov Tour stage.

Roche was defending for team mate Nocentini and was simply doing his job.  I remember seeing a big feature in one of the mags about how pious 'The Panther' is - he must have spent a lot of time in the confession box after that stage.

Bennati and Boonen would have pulled out all the stops to keep in touch, thinking that a sprint win bonus today (Sunday) could net them the jersey.

It's most likely to be between Boonen and Farrar, though.

Up and coming Roman Kreuziger was sixth but benefited from early dry roads.

Vino - seventh, that's a ride at this level, coming off a two year ban; the UCI testers will be all over him like a rash.

Basso and Valverde eighth and ninth - a good one from Ivan, less so from Alejandro who's meant to be a short chrono winner.

I'm up in Ullapool for a wee break and got my Vuelta results via text - SMS as we trendies say - by way of my "Markinch special envoy" Dave Chapman.

It's a fun way to get the results; like listening to a football game on the radio, it's often better than actually seeing it because you paint the pictures in your mind.

Well, that's the Vuelta off and running - and my comeback underway, time for my pedal along the Loch.

I'm talking to Charly Wegelius tonight, always a good experience - I'll let you know how it goes.

Via con Dios.

But Al Hamilton has put me right;  "Spain has five languages registered at the EU; Castillano, Basque, Galician, Catalan and Valenciano."

It reminded me of what they say about Belgium; "there's no such place as Belgium."

It's a conundrum, that diversity is what makes Spain the country it is.

Free all political prisoners.

Davie Henderson and I travelled northern Spain a few years ago - you only think you're politically aware until you visit the Basque country.

Flags and graffiti proliferate; we were in Vittoria and witnessed a political demonstration about the Madrid government's decision to scatter 'political' prisoners in jails throughout Spain. Thus preventing cliques or power bases from building up in Basque jails. But it's not handy if you live in Bermeo and your son is imprisoned in Cadiz.

In the UK we don't even scratch the surface of political involvement - maybe if we'd lived under Franco for nearly 40 years we'd have a different mindset?

The prologue - Al thinks it's too short for Cancellara, I don't.  But Tyler Farrar is worth watching, he won the prologue in the Delta Tour, was second in the Eneco prologue then won three stage in the same race - he's 'hot!'

I'm not a huge fan of Grand Tours starting outside of their own borders; I know that the Tour has been a huge success - in terms of numbers of folks roadside - when it has started in England, but there's just something in my mind that says; "publicity stunt and money."

I know that the big races are business ventures and have to turn a profit, I guess I'm just old fashioned.

The Guardian really gets behind the Vuelta - bear in mind that Philip Deignan, Roger Hammond, David Millar and Charly Wegelius all start - "Armstrong confident of taking fight to Contador for eighth Tour title."

I suppose it's like tabloids and reality TV - "we're just giving the public what they want."

Cancellara to win, Tyler up there.

Ciao, ciao.

Luis Ocaña.

Nowadays the first big shuffle of the pack leaves most happy with their hand and the race becomes a procession with most of the top ten happy to 'hold.'
 
This has been the norm recently - Di Luca apart, but we won't dwell on that though ! - but that wasn't the way the Spaniards did it.

Merckx might have terrified most of his rivals, but not the Spaniards - Ocaña was proud and impulsive.

As a rabid young Merckx fan I didn't like the Spaniard - I didn't like any rider who challenged Eddy.

Ezequiel Mosquera is a battler.

It wasn't until I was a little older that I realised what a classy rider he really was, elegant and cool - a consumate climber and chrono man.  
 
Fuente was no 'tester' but had the heart of a lion - a mountain lion that is - he and Ocaña were bitter rivals but united in a common goal - to send Merckx home to Belgium with his tail between his legs.

They never quite managed it, but Eddy was given many a hard time by the Fuente and his Kas companeros.
 
Maybe that's why I like Mosquera, last year he was battling Alberto, Levi and Carlos Sastre; far from being over awed he battled hard against the Pro Tour guys.
 
Ocaña and Fuente would have approved; a place on the the podium for the Galician ?
 
I hope so.