This weekend will be the perfect end to three thrilling grand tours

What a way to close the Grand Tour season.

The expansion of the thrilling Grand Tour Racing is coming to its end just as things have been going on for the past few months. Just as they had two stages to go at the Tour de France and at the Giro de Italia, things were very tough at the Vulta e Espana for the last two days of the racing loom.

Saturday Phase 17 is decisive, with an end designed to fit the GC action. The second category of riders will go 38 kilometers on the Alto de la Garganta. After a short descent, a very short but steep round ascent in the run-in, they hit the challenge Special category Alto de la Covatilla, with its 7.1% gradient and particularly brutal median, where the gradient jumps into double digits. For the team of GC competitors who have given us the closest showdown so far it seemed worthwhile to devote some time to keeping the appropriate battlefield-very close, in fact, very great GC battles in context this year. They are.

As of Friday night in Spain, Richard Carapaz was just 45 seconds behind Primoz Roglik in the lead and Hugh Carty was also 53 seconds behind. With two seconds left to go in the race from 2015 when Tom Dumoulin took a six-second lead (he loses), the 45-second margin between first and second in the Vulta is now close. Fabio aruku. Only the 2013 Vulta, driven by Chris Horner and Vincenzo Nibali for three seconds with two stages, is close to this decade.

However you can feel about that 2013 result, from a heck-gc-war perspective, 2013 and 2015 are pretty much the company for this year’s vulta.

But wait, there is still a lot!

The Battle of Roglick-Karapaz-Karti was the third threAmazing GC battles of the year. How awesome are the Grand Tours this year? Glad you asked!

Absolutely things Feel They are very close on all three grand tours, and the numbers really back up. With two stages on this year’s spectacular Tour de France, you will remember Tadez Pogakar sitting 57 seconds behind Roglik. With two steps to go to this year’s fantastic Giro di Italia, you may remember that Jai Hindley is just 12 seconds behind Wilco Kelderman and ultimately winner Tao Geogegan Hart is just three seconds behind.

All in all, how about this statistic for you: The GC margin combined between the first and second with two stages to go on three grand tours this year is at just 1:54 grand total. That number will be as strong as it has been in a decade and you will go a long way than working around at least a few names, the results of which will eventually be deducted.

The margin between first and second with two stages on three grand tours was tough from a live viewer’s point of view in 2010, but in the end things played out a little differently. With two stages on the 2010 tour, Andy Schleck was eight seconds behind Alberto Contador and was eliminated after his victory. Girolo David Arroyo was ultimately 51 seconds behind Ivan Basso (that victory did not stand the least), but Ezequiel Mosquera, who later removed his runner-up result, was 50 seconds behind Vincenzo Nibali at the Volta.

In other words, this year’s Grand Tour season has at least seen the toughest battles you can call the current era of pro road racing.

If you look at how things are looking for the status of this year’s Grand Tours a few months ago, it was pretty awesome.

This is an absurd, up-and-down season for the world of bike racing. For a while there, it seemed the 2020 season might not take off again after racing stopped in March.

Instead, we have the opportunity to watch three amazing GC battles, not one, not two, ending this weekend’s showdown in Volta.

Anyway, this is by far the real treat, and the most welcome in a year where the sport is exceptionally challenging.