In Madrid, with Matteo Trentin's fourth victory, a Vuelta closed yesterday to be archived among the most exciting stage races of recent years. He will be remembered not only for the one-two achieved by Chris Froome who wins it after triumphing in his fourth Tour in July, a Froome who appeared much stronger than what was seen in the yellow jersey on French roads: two stage wins, in addition to the red jersey, also the green one in the points classification – defended by making the final sprint in Madrid, finishing 11th – and the white one in the combined.
The Briton confirmed to be the strongest and having hit the Vuelta and the Tour in the same year as Anquetil and Hinault – but the first rider since the Spanish competition takes place no longer in April but in August, less than a month before the end of the Grande Boucle – has already instilled in him the idea hitherto considered impossible to even attempt the hat-trick next year: Giro, Tour and Vuelta. Froome at the 2018 Giro is a candidate that already tickles the imagination. For the leader of Team Sky, who has made two anonymous appearances at the Giro by now, there would also be a further motivation: to become the seventh rider to win the three major stage races, an exploit so far only six great cyclists have achieved: Merckx, Anquetil , Hinault, Indurain, Contador and Nibali.
But this year's Vuelta will go down in history not only for Froome's record but also for the feat of Alberto Contador who, taming Angliru, ended his career as best he could, as an absolute champion, the last standard bearer of that romantic cycling that smells like business. It doesn't matter if the unfortunate third stage in Andorra effectively put him out of contention for the final victory, indeed the legend of a champion began on that day who has always gone on the attack ever since, never winning but never giving up until to the triumphal ride on the mythical mountain of the Vuelta.
It doesn't matter if he didn't win his last Vuelta also finishing on the podium, it doesn't matter if in the last stage due to a hole in the final sprint he slipped from fourth to fifth place overtaken by Wilco Kelderman, Madrid paid him an infinite triumphal tribute to his champion who, waving the Spanish flag, pedaled at the end of the stage completing another lap of the street circuit. Seven podiums in his career, always on the top step, in the three grand tours: three Vueltas, two Tours and two Giros, a champion of which will be long missed.
With second place behind Froome, Nibali also extends his collection of podiums to 10. The Shark, victorious in the Andorra stage, exits the Spanish race with honors, having been the main anti-Froome. Still in the heat of the race, he also managed to pull away from his British rival on a few occasions. But on the Angliru he was unable to subvert the course of the Vuelta as he already did in 2013 when he was defeated by Chris Horner. He has confirmed himself as one of the great protagonists of the three-week stage races, certainly the strongest Italian rider also considering the complicated Vuelta di Aru.
Thanks to his victory and Trentin's four-of-a-kind, the tricolor pedal has finally made a good haul of stages, after fasting in the Tour and the only success in the Giro again thanks to the Shark in the double Stelvio stage. Without forgetting Davide Villella who takes home the white jersey with blue polka dots as leader of the climbers classification ahead of grimpeurs of the caliber of Angel Miguel Lopez, thanks to the methodical accumulation of points stage after stage.
