68th Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay starts...

We know there are some big races on tap in Europe this weekend, but today also marks the beginning of  this eleven stage national tour. While the field looks to be dominated by Uruguayan teams, our own California-based Wonderful Pistachio Cycling Team will be giving it their best effort. You can check out information on the race here. There is a "follow it live" link on the page, but it did not seem to be working for me. Two years ago American Scott Zwizanski, while riding with the Kelly Benefit Strategies Team, became the first American to win the General Classification title. 

Can the Pistachio's match the overall win? It won't be easy to overcome the knowledge of the local teams, so only time will tell.   *Just an update on the day: Iggy Silva will be starting the second stage for the WP team wearing the Best Young Riders jersey after winning it today.


In case you may have missed the proceedings, this years Vuelta was marred by a mass disqualification during the stage 6b race from Salto to Pasayundo - 66 of 96 racers still in the competition were disqualified. Included in that number were all the riders from the Wonderful Pistachio team. WP team member Menso de Jong presented his account of the events leading up to the disqualification which can be read at Cyclingnews. Certainly disappointing, since the Pistachio's had several riders highly placed within the general classification, as well as in the Under 23 special classification.