The hill that forged Alberto Contador

Willunga, the Australian point where the Tour Down Under has finished with an unexpected debutante victory, saw a Spanish champion reborn 15 years ago. Today a new high level competition: the Tour of San Juan.

The austral summer has crowned the Australian Richie Porte on Sunday as the winner of the first WorldTour race of 2020, the Tour Down Under that he had already won in 2017 and in which he had finished second four times. The first round he wins after an unfortunate 2019. The leader of Trek-Segafredo regained the throne of the race, but could not extend his domain at Willunga Hill, where he had uninterruptedly won since 2014, six consecutive victories. This time the final hand held a 26-year-old Lotto Soudal runner, with no references to this level (until last year he ran in a British Continental team): Matthew Holmes. Which leads us to remember the feat of a Spaniard who triumphed at 24 years and then built a world legend in world cycling.

Alberto Contador won at Willunga Hill in 2005, nine months after his cerebral short circuit, a stroke, in Asturias and the subsequent operation of the cavernoma that had caused it. The most important victory of his life, without a doubt, the one that forged what will come next. It was an apotic demonstration of Liberty Seguros, which cop the first four positions with Pinto, Luis Len Snchez, Allan Davis and Javier Ramrez Abeja.

The hill collected other Spanish firms later. In 2010 it was Luis Len, already with Caisse d'Epargne, who dominated Willunga. And there it continues: 15 years after entering hand in hand with Alberto Contador, this Sunday the Australian repechn has risen again. As Fran Ventoso, who won all with the Movistar Team in 2011 and is still active now, at 37, and has participated in the TDU with the colors of the CCC Team. In 2012, it was Alejandro Valverde's turn, which closed the cycle of Spanish victories on that hill. A triumph of Simon Gerrans in 2013 gave way to Porte's monologue, six years in a row raising his arms at Willunga. And today he has hit this unexpected Matthew Holmes hard.

FROM ALBA TO MIDNIGHT

After the Australian round, the southern summer takes the cycling competition to Argentina, where the 38th Vuelta a San Juan, its third edition with international rank, which premieres the ProSeries category, the second stage of the UCI circuit, is being held.

As in the Down Under, the massive sprints will be greater in the seven days, with greyhounds of maximum competition, such as Colombians Fernando Garviria (UAE Emirates) and lvaro Hodeg (Deceuninck-Quick Step), the Slovak Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) or the French Christophe Laporte (Cofidis).

But the stars abound in the Deceunick, with the French Julian Alaphilippe and the Belgian Remco Evenepoel – yesterday turned 20 years – as candidates for the final general. In front of them, the Movistar Team opposes the Colombian Carlos Betancur or the Argentine Edu Seplveda. And the Medelln team continues to rely on the 43-year-old 'puppy' that continues to fill the bag of victories: Scar Sevilla. The attention can also be fixed on the French Guillaume Martin (Cofidis).

The general classification will be defined in the individual time trial of 15 kilometers on Tuesday (in Punta Negra, where last year won a stage in the Alaphilippe line) and in the great ascent to the Colorado, finish at 2,500 meters of altitude.

If the stages of the Tour Down Under ended at dawn, those of the Tour of San Juan close after midnight in most cases. The television coverage is broader, since in addition to the Global Cycling Network, the official site of the race offers live streaming and Eurosport start its dense road cycling campaign with this great American test.