Back by ‘popular demand’ – we are gluttons for punishment – top tipster Cycling Mole will be pitting his wits against the combined might of the Rouleur editorial staff the day before every stage of the Vuelta a España in a game we call, aptly, Top Mañana.
See what we did there?
If last year is anything to go by, we are on a hiding to nothing, as Moley kicked us into touch, picking six out of 21 stage winners – nae bad.
Disclaimer: Last year Rouleur staff had to choose different riders each day, so whoever got first pick was very much in the driving seat, especially on time-trials and sprint stages. We tipped nine stage winners between us, but needed five pundits to take on just the one Mole – the kind of odds we like.
This year, like a casino kicking out a card counter, we’ve taken away the Mole’s edge – if our panelists want to choose the same rider as each other they can. Will that mean they cancel each other out, or will it invite risk-taking and longshot bets – especially as the race closes in on Madrid?
Here’s last year’s picks. How did you do? If you had Oscar Rodriguez of Euskadi down for stage 13, then you had us all beat.
Stage 1 – 8km TT
Rouleur: Rohan Dennis, Victor Campenaerts, Michal Kwiatkowski, Jonathan Castroviejo, José Goncalves
Cycling Mole: Rohan Dennis
Winner: Rohan Dennis (BMC)
Stage 2 – 163.9km hilly
Rouleur: Omar Fraile, Alejandro Valverde, Nicolas Roche, Dan Martin, Peter Sagan
Cycling Mole: Michal Kwiatkowski
Winner: Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)
Stage 3 – 182.5km – hilly
Rouleur: Nacer Bouhanni, Peter Sagan, Elia Viviani, Max Walsheid, Alexis Gougeard
Cycling Mole: Elia Viviani
Winner: Elia Viviani (Quick Step)
Stage 4 – 162km mountains
Rouleur: Matteo Trentin, Tiesj Benoot, Peter Sagan, Daniel Moreno, Eduard Prades
Cycling Mole: Alejandro Valverde
Winner: Ben King (Dimension Data)
Stage 5 – 188km intermediate
Rouleur: Pierre Roland, Gorka Izagirre, Peter Sagan, Elia Viviani, Omar Fraile
Cycling Mole: Alessandro De Marchi
Winner: Simon Clarke (EF Education First)
Stage 6 – 153km flat
Rouleur: Nacer Bouhanni, Max Walscheid, Giacomo Nizzolo, Danny van Poppel
Cycling Mole: Elia Viviani
Winner: Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis)
Stage 7 – 182km hilly
Rouleur: Matteo Trentin, Tiesj Benoot, Peter Sagan, Daniel Moreno, Eduard Prades
Cycling Mole: Alejandro Valverde
Winner: Tony Gallopin (Ag2R La Mondiale)
Stage 8 – 195.5km hilly
Rouleur: Elia Viviani, Nacer Bouhanni, Steve Cummings, Pello Bilbao, Matteo Trentin
Cycling Mole: Elia Viviani
Winner: Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)
Stage 9 – 195km mountains
Rouleur: Thibaut Pinot, Simon Yates, Nairo Quintana, Pierre Roland,
Cycling Mole: Bauke Mollema
Winner: Ben King (Dimension Data)
Stage 10 – 172.5km flat
Rouleur: Elia Viviani, Peter Sagan, Danny van Poppel, Nacer Bouhanni, Eduard Prades
Cycling Mole: Elia Viviani
Winner: Elia Viviani (Quick Step)
Stage 11 – 282.8km intermediate
Rouleur: Wilco Kelderman, Velerio Conti, Alessandro De Marchi, Enric Mas, Steven Kruijswijk
Cycling Mole: Steve Cummings
Winner: Alessandro De Marchi (BMC)
Stage 12 – 177.5km hilly
Rouleur: Elia Viviani, Giacomo Nizzolo, Peter Sagan, Lars Boom, Danny Van Poppel
Cycling Mole: Danny Van Poppel
Winner: Alexandre Geniez (Ag2R La Mondiale)
16 July 2017 : Cycling – Tour de France Stage 15:mollema (bauke) – (hol) –
Stage 13 – 175.5km mountains
Rouleur: Wilco Kelderman, Bauke Mollema, Nairo Quintana, Merhawi Kudus, Miguel Ángel López
Cycling Mole: Miguel Ángel López
Winner: Oscar Rodriguez (Euskadi)
Stage 14 – 167km mountains
Rouleur: Dylan Teuns, Rafal Majka, Michael Woods, David de la Cruz, Enric Mas
Cycling Mole: Nairo Quintana
Winner: Simon Yates (Mitchelton Scott)
Stage 15 – 185.5km mountains
Rouleur: Miguel Ángel López, George Bennett, Rigoberto Uran, Simon Yates
Cycling Mole: Bauke Mollema
Winner: Thibaut Pinot (Groupama FDJ)
Stage 16 – 32.7km TT
Rouleur: Rohan Dennis, Jonathan Castroviejo, Victor Campenaerts, Wilco Kelderman, Nelson Oliviera
Cycling Mole: Rohan Dennis
Winner: Rohan Dennis (BMC)
Stage 17 – 166.4km intermediate
Rouleur: Ion Izagirre, Eduard Prades, Bauke Mollema, Dylan Teuns, Igor Anton
Cycling Mole: Michal Kwiatkowski
Winner: Michael Woods (EF Education First)
Stage 18 – 180.5km flat
Rouleur: Peter Sagan, Elia Viviani, Giacomo Nizzolo, Mark Padun, Danny van Poppel
Cycling Mole: Elia Viviani
Winner: Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal)
Stage 19 – 157km mountains
Rouleur: Rafal Majka, Miguel ÁngelLopez, Simon Yates, Michal Kwiatkowski, Enric Mas
Cycling Mole: Alejandro Valverde
Winner: Thibaut Pinot (Groupama FDJ)
Stage 20 – 105.8km mountains
Rouleur: Alejandro Valverde, Simon Yates, Steven Kruijswijk, Nairo Quintana, Tao Geoghegan-Hart
Cycling Mole: Enric Mas
Winner: Enric Mas (Quick Step)
Stage 21 – 112.3km flat
Rouleur: Elia Viviani, Peter Sagan, Alessandro de Marchi, Giacomo Nizzolo, Ivan Garcia
Cycling Mole: Elia Viviani
Winner: Elia Viviani (Quick Step)
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