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Tom Cary Cycling Correspondent 18 August 2017 4:48pm BST Nearly 40 years have passed since a rider last won the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana in the same season. Bernard Hinault’s

victory in 1978, by just over three minutes from the 1976 champion José Pesarrodona, was only the second time in history that that particular double had been managed after another legend of

the sport, Jacques Anquetil, first did it back in 1963. If those two statistics, and the illustrious names behind them, do not underline the enormity of the task facing Chris Froome over the

next three weeks, the fact that no one has achieved a Tour-Vuelta double since the Spanish race was moved from its late April slot 22 years ago should ram the point home: Froome may well

start as the bookmakers favourite for this Vuelta, but the 32 year-old is far from a shoo-in. Froome’s fourth Tour victory, achieved last month, ultimately appeared comfortable enough. After

his wobble on Péyragudes, when he surrendered the yellow jersey to Astana’s Fabio Aru, both he and Team Sky came back impressively. They looked increasingly assured in a final week that saw

Aru’s challenge fade away, Rigoberto Uran [Cannondale-Drapac] apparently happy to ride for second, and Romain Bardet [AG2R] badly  let down by his time trialling. But the fact that Froome

cracked at all, and did not generally look as dominant in the mountains as he has in recent years, will have encouraged his rivals. As will the fact that the Briton will not have his two

most influential domestiques from last month’s Tour by his side in the coming weeks. Mikel Landa has since signed for Movistar while Michal Kwiatkowski sits this race out. Froome’s rivals

should not be getting too comfortable though. Froome has finished runner-up three times at the Vuelta and in terms of motivation neither he nor Team Sky will be found wanting. Froome knows

his CV would be greatly enhanced by winning a grand tour other than the Tour de France, while Sky are desperate to prove they are not one-trick ponies in terms of grand tours. In terms of

rivals, it is difficult to see who is going to stop him. Most of the big names rode the Tour with him – Romain Bardet, Fabio Aru, Simon Yates, Louis Meintjes, Alberto Contador and Warren

Barguil - and will therefore be similarly fatigued. Of the rest, Vincenzo Nibali, Ilnur Zakarin and Adam Yates pose the biggest threats, but there is no out-and-out dangerman. Froome knows

this race. He likes this race. He might well have won in 2011 when he was sacrificed for Bradley Wiggins, while last year he was only let down by a bit of sloppy team work on the road to

Formigal. This year, both he and Sky can scent victory, with a flat 40km individual time trial midway through the race very much in their favour. “I believe this Vuelta can be a defining

moment for Team Sky and for Chris Froome,” team principal Sir Dave Brailsford said this week. One thing is sure, whoever wins is going to have to climb well. In total there are nine summit

finishes while, of the 21 stages, 13 are mountainous. So mountainous, in fact, that Froome is favourite for the green points jersey as well as the red leader’s one. Vuelta a España 

contenders “The Vuelta is a race I love doing but it’s relentless,” said Froome, who would also become the first Briton to triumph in Spain’s national tour if he was to win. “The course is

always a lot more mountainous than the Tour de France and the conditions are tougher. Being mid-August in Spain, it’s quite common to have temperatures up in the mid 40s – it’s brutal.

Absolutely brutal.”