PREVIEW | Vuelta a Espana 2023 stage 10 - Filippo Ganna big favourite for flat time-trial; Evenepoel and Jumbo-Visma enter direct clash for red jersey

Preview. Stage 10 of the Vuelta a Espana will be a very important day for the overall classification. Whilst so far the climbers have been similarly matched in the mountains, the only individual time-trial of the race will be a very hard day for a few of the overall classification contenders.

The riders head into the second week of racing with the only individual time-trial of the race taking place. This will be in the city of Valladolid where the 25 kilometers against the clock will be a key challenge for those eyeing the red jersey.

This is an interesting time-trial when looking at the map. Profile wise it's virtually pan-flat, it does feature a small 500-meter long ramp early on but it's not what will be changing the outcome of the stage. When looking at the map you realize that the whole time-trial is within the city, all 25 kilometers of it, as the organizers drew a route which in it's first third rides around the same spot virtually but back and forth through some roads.

This won't make a change in the type of rider who can fight for the victory, but is an interesting aspect. The second half is almost completely an out-and-back time-trial, using the same avenue but in different directions. The riders will get the sense that they're racing around the same location throughout the whole time-trial but the distance allows for there to be meaningful gaps at the finish.

The good weather should be back, a southern breeze which shouldn't affect the day, but nice warm and sunny weather in Valladolid.

Pure time-trialists - The day may be taken by one. Filippo Ganna has been saving his legs throughout the mountain stages and could arrive a little fresher to the stage. It's only stage 10 and after a rest day however so this advantage may not be felt in reality. Nevertheless a pan-flat time-trial without wind exposure will suit him, and he may be able to contest with Remco Evenepoel this time around, he will need every second however. Nelson Oliveira and Stefan Bissegger could also fight for a strong result on the day if they find their best legs, whilst riders such as Mattia Cattaneo and Jonathan Castroviejo could also feature among the best.

Vuelta victory fight - The thing is, all of the main contenders for the Vuelta victory are great time-trialists. Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard, Juan Ayuso and João Almeida... All are great against the clock, it is a must nowadays. I expect Evenepoel to put on a very strong time, but the gains won't surely be dramatic. Enric Mas would be the outsider, but starting the Vuelta it was already known that he will lose significant time here and will be on the back foot against Evenepoel and two teams with several cards each.

Can Sepp Kuss keep the red jersey? - Sepp Kuss finished 14th in the Tour de France ITT, a mountain one however he defended himself. He will lose time, but I think 2:24 minutes is still a lot of time for Evenepoel to recover. Kuss is far from a good rider in this discipline however, it is likely that the advantage will be cut to just a few seconds. Lenny Martínez and Mikel Landa who are still among the best will also shed a few minutes and into the back of the Top10. Marc Soler can defend himself but in the last year and a half he hasn't had a single reference against the clock, I doubt he'll take red but he can gain time on Kuss and still be ahead of the main favourites.

*** Remco Evenepoel, Filippo Ganna
** Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard
* João Almeida, Mattia Cattaneo, Geraint Thomas, Stefan Bissegger, Nelson Oliveira, Jonathan Castroviejo

Pick: Filippo Ganna