What the Vuelta a España might lack in Grand Tour status it is surely making up for in difficulty this year, ensuring that this three weeks is no late-season phone-in for riders looking to tune up for the Road World Championships.
What amounts to very nearly the first half of the race has thrown up some fine days of racing as the breakaways attempt to capitalise on the hilly stages and the sprinters go all-out where they can. Even the GC race, slow-burning at first, has yielded its first surprises and big battles.
