Giovanni Visconti was another high profile brought in at the end of season was a proven winner across Europe. The three time winner of the UCI Europe Tour had stints in top level teams but it was at the continental level of racing where he excelled. Also a three time winner of the Italian road race, he had shown they when needed, he can match it with the best in one day races. He joined the team this season as the Italian champion and it wasn’t long before he won his first race, Klasika Primavera in April. That he outfoxed his teammate Valverde was of little consequence to him as of the top five finishers, four where teammates. The puncheur had two wins for the season and will enjoy a prolonged off season with a three month suspension following an investigation into his links to the disgraced and banned Dr Michele Ferrari.
Valverde was grabbing all the headlines with his return and almost zero guilt of doping or admission of having done so, but their also more serious issues the team had to contend with. In 2011 the Belgian Wouter Weylandt died after a horrific crash on Stage 3 of the Giro. Just one year earlier he was celebrating victory in Stage 3. His death shook the peloton as questions regarding the safety of riders was questioned which would led to one the later stages in the race being adjusted after it was deemed a far too technical and risky high speed descent. Although this was a awful moment for not only the riders at the Giro but in the professional peloton such a incident is sadly not a novel experience. Xavier Tondo died later in May of 2011 in a freak accident involving his garage door. He was off for a training ride but didn't make it out of his drive way. For his teammates and friends I the peloton this was a tragic event and totally unforeseeable. Out of respect many of his teammate’s salutes over the finish line where tributes to their friend and recognition of a life that ended far too soon.
Mauricio Soler had exploded onto the scene at the 2007 Tour de France by winning the mountains classification. He had been tipped to go and even threaten general classifications at the Grand Tours but while descending at the Tour de Suisse in 2011 he crashed heavily. The Colombian unfortunately looks unlikely to reach the lofty heights of the Alps wearing the maillot pois again as he continues to recover from his injuries. While the team lost two of its key riders it also welcomed Jonathan Castroviejo from Euskaltel-Euskadi, Vladimir Karpets from Katusha for his second stint in Spain alongside Nairo Quintana and the Caja Rural duo Javier Moreno and José Herrada.
The team began its season in Australia and was within a second of the overall win at the Tour Down Under. Valverde made a triumphant return to racing as he nabbed the Stage 5 win on Old Willunga Hill on the line over Simon Gerrans. Valverde would finish second on GC with the same time as Gerrans besides the fact that of the two, he had one a stage. The classification was awarded to Gerrans on his cumulative stage placings were lower than the Spaniard’s and therefore won the race. However Valverde was not perturbed as he went on to almost clean sweep the Vuelta a Andalucía as he won a the overall, points and combination classifications and Stage 2. These exploits elevated Valverde into an early lead of the World Tour rankings for early season success far ahead of schedule.
It was not only individual success that ensured Movistar was the five ranked team in 2012 but the number of team classifications it won. Although not a classification the TTT win at the Vuelta epitomised the team spirit this season. In early at the Volta a Murcia they blitzed the field with Quintana taking Stage 1 and the overall while Castroviejo won the points and the two alongside their teammates shared the team classification win. It wasn’t till over a month later that the team repeated such a feat but there were several big wins before then. Valverde won Stage 3 of Paris-Nice and finished third overall; José Joaquin Rojas won the opening stage at the Tour of the Basque Country for another World Tour win and a few days later the Spanish road race champion Francisco Ventoso won Stage 4 of Circuit de la Sarthe. Javier Moreno didn't win a stage but took out the overall, points and combination classifications at the Vuelta a Castilla y León as the team also notched its second team classification victory in 2012.
The early season Europe Tour stage races were almost all subject to the onslaught of Movistar. To go with the two wins they already had under their belts they added the Vuelta a Asturias and Vuelta a la Communidad de Madrid classifications. At Asturias Beñat Intxausti won the overall and points classifications fort his first wins of 2012 and Jesús Herrada won his maiden race of the season crossing the line first on Stage 2a. A week later the team was at it again as Castroviejo justified his move from the Basque team by winning Stage 1 and securing his second points classification by March at his new team. Quintana added the young riders classification to his palmares with a sign of things to come from the young but old looking Colombian.
With the scene set the team looked like mounting a challenge for Grand Tour success across the classifications alongside stage wins. Grand Tours were a boom in 2012 with two Giro stages, one Tour stage and three at the Vuelta. The one day classics yielded no success with the clear emphasis upon stage races and with the depth of results this approach was justified. At the Giro Ventoso won a flat sprint on Stage 9 and just a few days later on Stage 14 Andrey Amador won his first Grand Tour stage. There was no challenge for classification jerseys but two stage wins made for a successful Italian May.
In June the team had success on three fronts. Firstly, there was the Critérium de Dauphiné Queen Stage 6 by Quintana over Wiggins on the road into Morzine. Quintana didn’t snatch the GC of Wiggins but the next week he started Route du Sud where he won the overall. The Colombian climber also won Stage 3 for his third overall victory and first in 2012. At the same time Quintana was winning in France, in neighbouring Switzerland Rui Costa won his first Tour de Suisse overall. Costa won Stage 2 which finished in Verbier which set up his win and held the lead in the GC till all the way into Sorenburg. With two overall stage victories and a stage win June made it two good months in a row which helped set up future successes in 2012.
July was barren compared the wins of the previous months but there was a standout result. Valverde made a winning return to the Tour as he won the final mountain stage into Peyragudes after a successful breakaway. The stage was a second ascent of the Col de Peyresourde after the previous day’s ascent with the stage finishing at the ski resort. The stage had been set for a GC battle but Valverde was of no interest to Nibali, Froome or Wiggins so was allowed to ride away for his fourth Tour stage winning by 19 seconds. The second win of the month was Visconti’s last win of the season at Circuito de Getxo in Spain.
August was a success month for the team with victory in the TTT at the Vuelta. At the Vuelta a Burgos there was also a team classification win to go with Sergio Pardilla’s mountains classification win. However it was the Vuelta de España where things were really going off. Valverde was seen as an outside chance for a high placing but his August reminded the cycling fraternity of his ability before his suspension. Castroviejo wore his first roja jersey after the TTT victory but only held the jersey for one day but the jersey remained with the team as Valverde took the jersey off his teammate for his 23 day in the leaders jersey. Valverde took the jersey as he had won the Stage 3 outsprinting Purito on the small climb to the finish line. El Bala also moved into the lead of the points and combination classifications but would also only hold these jerseys for one day. Valverde had a second win on Stage 8 on the roads in Andorra as he once again outsprinted Purito but there were no jerseys to accompany this win.
There were no more stage wins at the Vuelta after Stage 8 but there was still a successful end to the race. Valverde nabbed both the points and combination on the final day as Movistar also ensured its win in the team classification. Valverde won his first points classification by just six points after he finished ahead of Purito in Madrid and his combination classification was his third to match his wins in 2003 and 2009. He also finished in second place overall for his fourth podium finish including his 2009 win. The Vuelta was the most successful tour for the Spanish team in a very successful year at the Grand Tours. There was no spirited defence by Cobo as he changed tact and played a decisive role as a super domestique for Valverde, sacrificing his GC ambitions in doing so.
Fittingly it was Quintana who took the last win of the season for the team. At the Giro dell’Emilia Quintana soloed to the win ahead of Fredrik Kessiakoff and Franco Pellizotti to cap off a wonderful 2012 as his celebration across the line demonstrated his glee with another win.
Top Five Results
Giro Stage 14 Andrey Amador
Tour de Suisse overall Rui Costa
Vuelta de España teams classification
Giro D'Italia Stage 9 Francisco Ventoso
Tour de France Stage 17 Alejandro Valverde
Vuelta de España points & combination classifications Alejandro Valverde
Disappointing Riders: Cobo had a disappointing debut year at Movistar after his Vuelta win. Not a single win was disappointing with 30th at the Tour and 67th in the Vuelta not a true reflection of his abilities at Grand Tours and certainly something he will seek to rectify in 2013. Karpets has ceased to win anything or place within the top ten at stage races. He hasn’t won a race since 2007 and now only seems to ride domestique roles. Therefore his season was not particularly disappointing as he continued his ways of the last five years. David Lopez, Marzio Bruseghin, David Arroyo, Iván Gutiérrez and Rubén Plaza have all had various levels of success but there only wins in 2012 where due to team classification successes and never threatened for victory on their own regard.
Breakthrough: Quintana was undoubtedly the signing of the off-season and looks like he will only improve. He could be the next Grand Tour winner for the team with an opportunity to test his legs at the Giro and possibly the Vuelta. He showed that he can chase stage wins and challenge for the GC in week long stage races as well. His climbing prowess is now well known and there will be some very interesting eyes on him in 2013. Breakthrough wins by Amador and the Vuelta success of Castroviejo will boost their confidence as both riders will look to add to their Grand Tour stage win next season. Costa’s Tour de Suisse victory could be a turning point for the Portuguese rider who already has a Tour win to his name. The stage race win should see him given more support across the season and see if he can build upon the result.
2013? Alex Dowsett joins the team looking for more opportunities as Sky already has several riders of his mould. As the British TT champion he should contribute at least a few wins in that discipline but his role beyond that at the moment is unclear. Eros Capecchi also joins and with a Giro stage to his name he also should add a few wins to his palmares while at the Spanish team. His teammate Sylwester Szmyd also joins and will be a key domestique for Valverde, Costa and Cobo.
While there are several riders joining in 2013 there are also some key riders leaving. Out the door are the bigger names of David Arroyo, Marzio Bruseghin, Vasil Kiryienka, and Branislau Samoilau who are off to greener pastures. Visconti has been given a three month suspension for his dealing with Dr Ferrari but that won’t impact his season as the period of suspension takes place purely over the European winter.
It will be hard to replicate the Grand Tour success of this year but the team seems to have found a balanced approach to racing in its new carnation and although there was not the one day success the team has had in past seasons, the trade off for stage race wins and numerous classifications has been flourishing.
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