Tour of Valencia 2024: GC Favourites

[Underneath text was written before the start of the Tour of Valencia and has not been updated]

The 1st stage is likely to create the first time gaps. The race features and alevation gain of 2,400 metres, while the finish is situated 17 kilometres after a climb of 8 kilometres at 5.2%. A sprint of a reduced peloton is a likely outcome. Which should suit the likes of Pello Bilbao.

Stages 2 and 3 is likely to come down tp a bunch sprint before the Queen Stage traverses five classified (and several unclassified) ascents before a punchy drag to the line decides on the stage winner. The finish climb is 1.9 kilometres long and comes with an average gradient of 7.4%. El Miserat is expected to do most of the damage though. The riders reach the summit of the 5 kilometres at 10.5% with 15 kilometres remaining. The first 1.6 kilometres of El Miserat are even more intimidating with an average gradient of 13.5%.

Stage 5 includes merely 1,100 metres of climbing, so one would expect it to come down to a sprint finish. Yet, last year the race exploded on the steep La Frontera climb, with still 50 kilometres to go. An elite group kept the chasers at bay before Rui Costat turned the GC upside down with a late attack from the lead group.

Only one former winner lines up in Valencia, namely Aleksandr Vlasov, who turned out on top in 2022. Other winners since the re-start in 2016 are Wout Poels, Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde, Ion Izagirre, Tadej Pogacar, Stefan Küng, and Rui Costa.

Favourites 2024 Tour of Valencia

*** Aleksandr Vlasov, Pello Bilbao, Lennard Kämna
** Santiago Buitrago, Brandon McNulty, Pavel Sivakov
* Jai Hindley, Sam Oomen, Einer Rubio, Eddie Dunbar