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GP Miguel Indurain - 2 April 2016

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Arredondo

Arredondo

Aug 16, 2013
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Forget about Flanders, which is on sunday. The real race will be on saturday!! A real classic on its own, but also an important final test for País Vasco. Of course i'm talking about the Gran Premio Miguel Indurain, named after one of the best cyclists of the entire history. Big Mig: 5-time winner of the Tour, 2 time winner of the Giro, multiple Dauphinés, Paris-Nice, Catalunya's and World and Olympic champion ITT. But he also won this race, in 1987, back then known as the GP Navarra.

In the past, other big riders won this race: José Perez Frances (1961 and 1963), Miguel Maria Lasa (1971, 1974 and 1978), Domingo Perurena (1973), Perico Delgado (1988 and 1990), Alex Zulle (1996), Paco Mancebo (1998) and Stefano Garzelli (1999).

If we look at the big 4 (yes, Samu too) of current Spanish cycling, Purito (2010), Sammy Sanchez (2011) and Valverde (2014) won this race. However, a fellow countrymen and current cyclist, who will also compete this year, has won it even more often. Angel Vicioso won it 3 times during his career: in 2001, 2002 and last year. He will try to be sole leader with 4 victories. At the moment, he keeps the record with Hortensio Vidaurreta, who won the first three editions in 1951, 1952 and 1953.

Winners of this race from 2010

2010: Joaquim Rodriguez
2011: Samuel Sanchez
2012: Dani Moreno
2013: Simon Spilak
2014: Alejandro Valverde
2015: Angel Vicioso

Route

Like all the previous years, the race will (likely) be decided on the final climb of Basilica de Puy. It's a short, steep climb which perfectly suits the puncheurs.

Recorrido-Gran-Premio-Miguel-Indurain.png


Favorites

Katusha: Purito, Vicioso, Spilak
Movistar: Quintana, Dani Moreno, Ion Izagirre
Cannondale: Slagter, Moser
Sky: Sergio Henao, Landa (you never know)
Orica: Adam Yates, Txurukka
Caja Rural: Jose Goncalves, Madrazo, Bilbao
Novo Nordisk: Megias
One Pro Cycling: Dion Smith
Euskadi: Estevez, Bravo
Burgos-BH: Torres
Spain: Christian Rodriguez, Amezqueta
W52: Veloso, Mestre
Radio Popular: Sousa
Inteja: Diego Milan

Share your thoughts and likely winners!
 

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Arredondo

Arredondo

Aug 16, 2013
7,620
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If you ask me, i'm thinking something like this:

**** Sergio Henao
*** Adam Yates, Purito
** Nairo Quintana, TJ Slagter, Dani Moreno
* Ion Izagirre, Vicioso, José Goncalves, Madrazo
 
Arredondo

Arredondo

Aug 16, 2013
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Re:

Velolover2 said:
How long and steep is the final climb? It's doesn't look that hard. Maybe 1k at 7%?
Click to expand...

I looked at some profiles of the climb, but i could not find any.

I will look more in detail.
 
Taxus4a

Taxus4a

Aug 12, 2012
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I like this race. I am not going to be there this year, but it is a good race to see live becouse you can be at the start, 3 times in Ibarra and the finish climb, witha good environment.

Landa was second once, but he was in great shape that week, now he is no so strong.
 
Gigs_98

Gigs_98

Feb 18, 2015
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I have never watched this race but it actually looks pretty easy to me. If the numbers of Eraul are right its nothing more than the Poggio and the other climbs also don't look much harder than any ascents in Milan San Remo. It surprises me that riders like Purito, Sanchez and Valverde have won it in the last few years.
 
Arredondo

Arredondo

Aug 16, 2013
7,620
2
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Gigs_98 said:
I have never watched this race but it actually looks pretty easy to me. If the numbers of Eraul are right its nothing more than the Poggio and the other climbs also don't look much harder than any ascents in Milan San Remo. It surprises me that riders like Purito, Sanchez and Valverde have won it in the last few years.
Click to expand...

The profile does not show how hard it is in reality. Puy itself is quite a hard climb, and most of the time it goes uphill.
 
Squire

Squire

Dec 28, 2010
3,767
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Gigs_98 said:
I have never watched this race but it actually looks pretty easy to me. If the numbers of Eraul are right its nothing more than the Poggio and the other climbs also don't look much harder than any ascents in Milan San Remo. It surprises me that riders like Purito, Sanchez and Valverde have won it in the last few years.
Click to expand...

There's hardly a meter of flat in the latter half, so it's more like an Amstel Gold Race than a Milano Sanremo. Also, the weaker fields have obviously made it easier for Purito & co to make the difference on the climbs. And I seem to remember the final climb is properly brutally steep. There has usually been some significant time gaps.
 
Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

Feb 20, 2010
32,218
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Basilica del Puy is not that much of a climb but it's quite irregular (Look, Ángel Vicioso got to the end at the front). That's the main thing with a lot of these smaller and mid-sized climbs in the Cantabria-País Vasco-Navarra area, which means meagre stats don't always give it away.

That said, describing this as more Amstel Gold than Lombardia is definitely accurate. We aren't talking your classic traditional Murito. I will add, though, it's not always been settled on the Puy, Valverde's win in 2014 was a long distance solo.
 
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