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Remco Evenepoel, Egan Bernal and Miguel Ángel López generated the headlines ahead of the Vuelta a San Juan and they continued to lead the billing throughout the week as the race made its return to the calendar after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Although he was unable to emulate his 2020 victory, Evenepoel was still a factor on every stage, including an unexpected cameo in the closing circuit stage. Bernal marked the anniversary of his career-threatening crash with encouraging climbing displays in Argentina, only to leave the race with a knee injury. López, dismissed by Astana last month, claimed victory for his Medellín-EPM squad.
Elsewhere, Quinn Simmons won on stage 3 and caught the eye across the week, Peter Sagan outlined his intention to retire from WorldTour road racing at year’s end, and the race’s bunch sprints were of a quality rarely seen outside the Grand Tours.
Cyclingnews looks at five of the talking points from this year’s race.
López’s win unlikely to open WorldTour doors
An extended podium ceremony that incorporated a fireworks display meant darkness had long since fallen by the time Miguel Ángel López made his way to the press conference tent on the final evening of the Vuelta a San Juan.
His pyrotechnics on the summit finish at Alto Colorado on stage 5 had secured overall victory, and the Colombian’s hope is that his performance in Argentina will spark interest from WorldTour teams after his dismissal from Astana last month.
But is it really likely?
“Why not? You never know what could happen. The future is unwritten,” López said. “Two or three weeks ago, it all looked closed for me, but today I see it in a different way. It could all change at any moment.”
He must know that is a rather optimistic assessment. It was questions of probity rather than performance that saw López cut loose in the first place, after all. His dominance on the Alto Colorado secured the Vuelta a San Juan, but it does nothing to change perceptions of his credibility.
López was fired by Astana for his links to Dr Marcos Maynar, currently at the centre of a doping inquiry in Spain, and with no suitor forthcoming in the WorldTour, he dropped down to Continental level for 2023 with Medellín-EPM. The fact that Óscar Sevilla, banished from the top flight after Operación Puerto, is among his teammates is hardly an encouraging omen.
Were this twelve…
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