All engines ready to rip in Tuesday's time trial at Tour of Spain's 10th stage
By Andrew Hood

With the opening stages out of the way, the 1996 Vuelta a España can now begin.

For nine days, field sprints and time bonuses were the focus of the 22-stage Tour of Spain. For nine days, the favorites were largely inconspicuous while the likes of Baldato, Minali, Blijleven sprinted for glory.

For nine days, it didn't really matter, unless you're Fernando Escartin (Kelme) or Tony Rominger (Mapei), who lost seven minutes and any chance of winning the Vuelta's disastrous third stage.

Now all that is over and the real race begins.

Tuesday's 46.5-kilometer (29-mile) time trial will be the litmus test for Miguel Indurain (Banesto), Laurent Dufaux (Festina-Lotus), ONCE teammates Alex Zulle, Melchor Mauri, and Laurent Jalabert, and others bucking to win the third most important stage race behind the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia.

The favorite among dozens of journalists still working hard on the Vuelta's lone rest day is Indurain. The five-time Tour de France champion weighed in Sunday at 177 pounds with 5.6-percent body fat, his bulk at the beginning of the Tour.

The 32-year-old has never won the Vuelta and seems ready to make a charge in the Spanish tour, where he last competed in 1991 and finished second behind ONCE's Mauri.

"I am at the best I can be, but I'm not at my maximum because there haven't been any tough stages where I can see how I am," said Indurain, who won the Olympic time-trial gold medal in Atlanta in August.

Indurain was out with his Banesto squad Monday afternoon to inspect the time trial course which includes a steep, Category 2 climb halfway through the stage.

"I want to ride the course because some people say it's easy, others say it's not," Indurain said Sunday. "If I don't see it, I won't know until the race."

As it wound its way over the steep hills, Indurain's troupe was followed by the entire Spanish press contingent, as well as scores of well-wishers, just in case something happened to "el rey." (Nothing did.)

The course starts flat for the first 10 kilometers in El Tiemblo at 690 meters (2,277 feet) and winds along steep canyon roads before a 17-kilometer climb, topping out at Puerto de la Paramera at 1,400 meters (4,620 feet). A quick descent over 19 kilometers brings the riders to Avila, called the world's largest walled city.

Historic Avila sits high on a hill at 1,120 meters (3,696 feet) and is completely surrounded by perfectly restored 16th century walls. The once impenetrable fortress is now packed with trendy coffee shops and expensive restaurants.

Most of the remaining 166 riders in the peloton were out on their bikes Monday, riding alone or in groups of teammates. A strong tailwind carried the riders swiftly over the course.

If strong winds prevail Tuesday, the strongest riders will surely top the 42 kilometers per hour projected speed and expected finish time of just over one hour. Riders will head out in one-minute intervals, except the final 40, who will go out every two minutes.

The time trial is the ultimate test of strength. Riders that draft others are penalized--the discipline truly is a race of man against the clock.

Throughout his career, Indurain has mastered the time trial. His long legs and incredible lung capacity let him get his pulse rate in the neighborhood of 190 beats per minute during a strong ride.

He said during this year's Tour de France his rate never got over 160 beats per minute during the fateful climbing stages when he lost his bid to become the first racer to win six Tours de France. Only in the final time trial at Bordeaux did Indurain say his pulse rate went up, and the result was predictable. He finished second behind an obsessed Jan Ullrich (Telekom).

Defending Vuelta champion Jalabert will be looking to cut his losses Tuesday. The Frenchman isn't the strongest of time trialists and used the opening stage's time bonuses to build an edge over Indurain.

Jalabert sits in third overall, just over one minute ahead of Indurain. Teammate Zulle, eighth overall just 40 seconds ahead of Indurain, is a much stronger time trialist and could move ahead of Jalabert in the overall.

Others to watch include Dufaux, Saeco's Francesco Casagrande, and Polti's Georg Tostching, and Davide Rebellin.

The dark horse? None other than three-time Vuelta champion Rominger, who's in 64th place overall at 8:59 behind overall leader Fabio Baldato (MG), a sprinter sure to lose the leader's yellow jersey.

"I feel great and I have nothing to lose," said Rominger, who wants to salvage a few stage wins in this year's Vuelta after what's been a disappointing season for the veteran.

ONCE's strategy Tuesday is to keep Indurain out of the lead. If Zulle can beat Indurain and keep the Spaniard out of the top riders, ONCE can defend the lead instead of chasing the strong Banesto squad.

"For us, what's most important is for Zulle to beat Indurain in the time trial. This would be a big lift for our team and the rest of the race will be very different," said Manolo Saiz, director of the ONCE team.

Indeed, whoever has the lead going into the final two weeks will have a big advantage. Six stages out of the remaining 12 feature Category 1 or beyond-category climbs.

It all starts Tuesday when the first rider heads out at 12:33 p.m. local time.

Andrew Hood is in Spain covering the Vuelta for Outside Online.