Vuelta Stage 14 *spoiler*

blazing_saddles

Moray Gub wrote:

Another excellent ride by Cunego at least Harmon and Kelly are now recognising his obvious talent for stage bagging and one day races and desisting from the snidey comments from earlier in the race. That said i find it a bit strange they made a big deal him losing time yesterday to allow him leeway to go in the break today, riders have been doing that for donkeys years it aint a new thing

Have to agree, MG. It was pretty obvious from yesterday, when he was dropped after Sanchez, yet lost half an hour.
With the forthcoming worlds, he was never going to ride into the red, so, he was either getting ready to pack his bags, or, as I suspected, going for the break.
Actual racing and tactics may be the chink in Harmon's armour. Surprised Kelly took so long to put him straight.

IF, this race had been his solitary, end of season goal, I reckon, now, he'd be well in the mix for the podium, with parcours right up his street, this week.

The emu

Gutsy effort from Cadel today, could have easily have thrown in the towel but is giving it all to prove a point, if not to Joe Public at least to Valverde.

iainf72

afx237vi wrote:

Joking? Sounds pretty much nail-on-head to me. When Szmyd pulled over and Basso attacked, it looked as if his speed barely increased.

It did though - The gaps stretched a bit when he got on the front. I think it shows just how amazing Szmyd is at that kind of thing.

If Basso manages to haul himself into the top 3 he'll be the 11'th (I think) person to have been on the podium of all 3 GT's.

If you compare him to his ET days, he looks a bit ordinary, but he's right up there.

frenchfighter

Shame I wasn't able to watch this stage. Nice job by Cunego by the sounds of things.

jerry3571

Was it the change in gradient that caused Valverde to get dropped and then recover as the gradient lessened or did his Red Bull kick in? Not sure what happened there?
Cunego again, beating all the other potential drug taking bike riders, he's a natural talent for sure! :twisted:
I do like Cunego as a rider but he's sometimes very very very good. Hmmm...
Danielson looking as though his natural Testosterone is on the wain as he weakens in the last weak. A good sign of a clean rider; Wiggins faded in the last week too. Can Garmin be a clean Team?
I hate getting my hopes up as they always get dashed.
Cheers Jerry

frenchfighter

Just watched the last couple of km which were great. Valverde and Gesink have very good legs although I find Gesink's style offputting...

One for the Basso fans...thank goodness he got rid of those horrendous black Sidis.
Sirotti

takethehighroad

jerry3571 wrote:

Danielson looking as though his natural Testosterone is on the wain as he weakens in the last weak. A good sign of a clean rider

He's had a dicky tummy. Said on Twitter today he was glad he didn't see his lunch on his handlebars at one point. And historicallly he always got stronger in the third week, that's why he's a Grand Tour rider, regardless of what I said about him before the race.

The emu

jerry3571 wrote:

Was it the change in gradient that caused Valverde to get dropped and then recover as the gradient lessened or did his Red Bull kick in? Not sure what happened there?
Cunego again, beating all the other potential drug taking bike riders, he's a natural talent for sure! :twisted:
I do like Cunego as a rider but he's sometimes very very very good. Hmmm...
Danielson looking as though his natural Testosterone is on the wain as he weakens in the last weak. A good sign of a clean rider; Wiggins faded in the last week too. Can Garmin be a clean Team?
I hate getting my hopes up as they always get dashed.
Cheers Jerry

A bit of both, although when he was in struggle town he got a few helpful pushes from the locals along the way (and they're just the ones they broadcasted).

Art Vandelay

TakeTheHighRoad wrote:

jerry3571 wrote:

Danielson looking as though his natural Testosterone is on the wain as he weakens in the last weak. A good sign of a clean rider

He's had a dicky tummy. Said on Twitter today he was glad he didn't see his lunch on his handlebars at one point. And historicallly he always got stronger in the third week, that's why he's a Grand Tour rider, regardless of what I said about him before the race.

Danielson and David Millar were struck with a bout of food poisoning.
Another non-Spaniard challenger taken out the competition.

bipedal

the spectre of a convicted doper winning a grand tour while serving a suspension is rotten / bizarre / laughable / depressing.

bipedal

Sorry for stating the bleeding obvious BTW but it is so frustrating

jerry3571

I think Danielson should stick to shorter races. Great Tour riders seem to be bulletproof. Whether Danielson's fault or not he never seems to get the job done. I used to read his column in Procycling and seems a nice chap but he's certainly not going to be a dominating force in the future. Not sure about the food being dodgy but it could be a small bug where his immune system is breaking down with the stress or even the minerals in the drinking water and ALSO the bottled mineral water. My sister got sick on the mineral water when we went to Almeria for a week. She drunk the bottled water and I drunk the tap water and she was the one with the dicky tummy. Within 24 hours of reaching home she was fine. I think it's got something to do with Sulphates or something.
A casing point about being a great Tour rider is Armstrong. Since his Cancer, he hasn't retired from a race with sickness. I'm afraid he is the archetypal Tour rider for better or for worse. He avoids many crashes, stays near the front so not getting caught out in cross winds, stays healthy, knows his limits and also is the strongest rider who is the most prepared. He also has the biggest engine which means his body is under less stress when riding at race pace so he doesn't get so fatigued and hence is less vulnerable to infection. I find it amazing that a rider can win 7 Tours without crashing badly or get sick, have a puncture at a bad moment or anything that would stop hom winning. Bonkers!
Cheers Jerry

jerry3571

Weather looks pants today in Spain.
http://www2.aemet.es/web/infmet/radar/radarre.html
-Jerry

Art Vandelay

Cancellara has pulled out.

victorponf

Vuelta is still alive

Avila stage is quite good, the Mediano pass is very similar to Xorret de Catí and is in a strategic position (if you have a teamate ahead)

Navacerrada Stage is the tipycal where Valverde loss the Vuelta (in the final week, when he is tired)

dave milne

frenchfighter wrote:

Just watched the last couple of km which were great. Valverde and Gesink have very good legs although I find Gesink's style offputting...

One for the Basso fans...thank goodness he got rid of those horrendous black Sidis.
Sirotti

Basso definitely has the best race face

jerry3571

Sorry lads and lasses. Got that forecast a bit wrong. Stick to my day job sat at home with my broken arm.
Lars Boom was very good today. How good will he be? Another tall skinny chap from the
Rolf Sørensen school of Cycling (Rabobank); no Prisoners taken! Good stuff!
-Jerry