Mountains to climb

Casero facing struggle to defend Spanish crown

Roberto Heras (front) and Joseba Beloki have set their sights on the Tour of Spain. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

MADRID (Reuters) -- Spain's Angel Casero faces an uphill task as he attempts to defend his crown in the 57th edition of the Tour of Spain which begins in his home city of Valencia on Saturday.

A string of specialist climbers including fellow Spaniards Joseba Beloki, Roberto Heras and Oscar Sevilla as well as 2001 Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni of Italy are all out to dethrone the 29-year-old time trial expert in the hills.

But the climbers are not the only threat to the Team Coast rider.

Colombian rider Santiago Botero and Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano of Spain, whose fourth and fifth places in this year's Tour de France are testament to their all-round abilities, are also to be likely pretenders to the throne.

Casero's preparation for the race has been far from ideal. An early season knee injury ruled him out of the Giro and his recovery from surgery meant that he did not make his competitive debut until August.

He will have the advantage of fresh legs but may not have the kilometers under his belt to survive the gruelling three-week race.

Nevertheless Casero, who finished second in the race back in 2000, remains upbeat about his chances of defending his title.

"I need to win the Vuelta for the second year running because I have had such a disastrous season thanks to the injury," he said recently.

"I believe I can win again as there are two long time trials and I am optimistic about staying with the climbers in the mountains."

On paper, Beloki, who joined Lance Armstrong on the Tour de France podium for the third year in succession, is Casero's main threat but it remains to be seen if the Basque rider can remain competitive in two major tours in one season.

Last year he was forced to abandon the Vuelta with a viral problem after leading the race after the 10th stage and he is anxious to set the record straight this time.

Although his natural territory is the mountains he can hold his own against the clock and with the backing of the powerful ONCE outfit, who won the team prize in this year's Tour, he certainly has the ability to win the race.

Dangerous challenger

But Heras, who looked to be back to his best as he helped to shepherd Lance Armstrong through the mountains in France, may turn out to be the most dangerous challenger.

The 28-year-old Heras has now found his feet at U.S. Postal and will be one of the few riders glad to see the return of the brutal climb to the top of Alto d'L'Angliru in the Vuelta itinerary.

His explosive climbing up the 20 percent gradients demoralized his rivals two years ago and assured him of victory in the 2000 race.

Baby-faced Kelme rider Oscar Sevilla, now 25, is looking to confirm his promise with a major race victory.

His final-day defeat in last year's race and his disappointment at having to withdraw from this year's Tour through illness will have made him even more determined to claim the leader's gold jersey.

Sevilla's teammate Botero, a former Tour King of the Mountains, has become a formidable time triallist too. His two stage victories in the Tour, will have given him added confidence.

Leading the Italian challenge is Simoni, who was unable to take part in the Tour because of a doping accusation for which he was later cleared.

The brilliant climber, who won the L'Angliru stage two years ago, will be keener than ever to finish the season on a high.

He will be joined by fellow countrymen Paolo Savoldelli, who won this year's Giro, and the experienced Francesco Casagrande.

Of the other contenders, young Spaniard Francisco Mancebo confirmed the promise shown by his impressive seventh place in this year's Tour by winning the Tour of Burgos last month and could be a good outside bet for the podium.

Britain's David Millar could also figure in the top 10 as he attempts to provide further evidence that he is more than just a specialist against the clock.

Sprint excitement

Although they will not challenge for the overall lead the sprinters promise to provide extra excitement as they dice it out for stage victories.

"Lion King" Mario Cipollini appears to have recovered his appetite for racing after withdrawing his retirement pledge and his Acqua-Sapone team will be doing their utmost to help him to add to his massive tally of stage victories.

The return of the 35-year-old Italian sets up a mouth-watering three-way shootout involving six-time winner of the Tour green jersey Erik Zabel and Spanish world champion Oscar Freire.

The 21-stage race gets underway with a 30-km team time trial in Valencia before heading south towards Andalucia where riders will have their first contact with the mountains in the Sierra Nevada.

As well as a climb to 2,500 metres, the riders will be tested on the previously unclimbed Sierra de La Pandera, a tough 24-km ascent with gradients of up to 18 percent.

That stage should provide the first real indication of who is capable of donning the winner's gold jersey when the race ends in Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium on September 29.

 

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