“It’s the hottest day in Barcelona’s history, for as long as there’s been data the average hasn’t dropped below 38.8 degrees,” said the local media. Little could be done about the high temperatures in Barcelona, which fortunately eased during the day and made the situation more bearable from 20:00 when the team presentation started. For this reason, the Plaza del Mar was full of people to see the 176 participants of the 78th edition the return that starts this saturday and thatIn addition, there will be a drop in temperature and even rain. summer stuff.
Music to invigorate with Pedro Delgado and Carlos de Andrés as masters of ceremonies. So the 22 teams demonstrated, beginning with the Caja Rural and ending after 9:00 p.m. with the Soudal Quick-Step by Remco Evenpoel. He’s the defending champion… but the list of rivals he’ll have might not have been imaginable a few months ago. For the race director himself, a happy Javier Guillén, “It’s the best participation in history.” The presentation was tough, because even the Estopa went on stage. His song this year is the song of the Vuelta, Corazón sin salida, and being from Cornellá, very close to Barcelona, there could not be better representatives.
Night began to fall in Barceloneta The stars began to appear in the sky… and also on the stage, with a fearsome jumbo. Roglic, winner of the Giro this year and of three Vueltas (2019, 2020 and 2021) and Jonas Vingegaard, double winner of the Tour de France (2021 and 2022), the last one a month ago. As for leading the team, both throw balls out. “It is important that the jumbo wins. We don’t have to define who the leader is yet. We will help each other,” said Roglic, who has won all his races this year (Tirreno, Volta, Giro and Vuelta a Burgos). Vingegaard is feeling “very good” and the other strong teams in the peloton see him as a favourite. The road will tell.
The United Arab Emirates with Ayuso and Almeida, the Ineos by Geraint Thomas and a highly acclaimed Egan Bernal, the Movistar with a motivated Enric Mas and with a last minute change as Carlos Verona was dropped from the list due to ‘physical issues’ and replaced by Imanol Erviti… Over time, smiles turn into tired faces, and legs become thinner. Barcelona, the starting point for a colossal Vuelta with the mask in the fourth year, in squad