Vuelta Stage 4 *Spoiler*
Comments
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What made you think this would be a good mountain stage? It's a finish climb with not more than a 1 or 2 % gradient in the last kms - it was always going to be a select group staying together after the damage was done in the first part of the climb. Good choice by the organizers - some action and selection, but not too much to be decisive for the GC too early on.Turfle wrote:FJS wrote:
:?: :?: :?:Turfle wrote:Very disappointing stage.
What more did you expect to happen on a climb like that? This was about as action packed as a 4th stage of a GT gets I'd say
Really?
A group of 20 coming in together is not a good mountain stage. Katusha did the Sky train tactic but forgot to put people into difficulty.
The echelons were the only exciting thing that happened, and even they put nobody important in trouble outside of the crash.0 -
Looks like he's made a great joke. The Sky team seem to be in hysterics.Richmond Racer wrote:Rouleur's just retweeted a photo of Piti have 'discussions' with the Sky boys over by the buses....0 -
afx237vi wrote:Lichtblick wrote:Why does it say LANDIS all over the road? Do they want Floyd back?
http://www.cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/ri ... erid=14319
THANK you for that, afx. Kind of you.
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FJS wrote:
What made you think this would be a good mountain stage? It's a finish climb with not more than a 1 or 2 % gradient in the last kms - it was always going to be a select group staying together after the damage was done in the first part of the climb. Good choice by the organizers - some action and selection, but not too much to be decisive for the GC too early on.Turfle wrote:FJS wrote:
:?: :?: :?:Turfle wrote:Very disappointing stage.
What more did you expect to happen on a climb like that? This was about as action packed as a 4th stage of a GT gets I'd say
Really?
A group of 20 coming in together is not a good mountain stage. Katusha did the Sky train tactic but forgot to put people into difficulty.
The echelons were the only exciting thing that happened, and even they put nobody important in trouble outside of the crash.
That really is my point. There was never going to be any action or any selection made on that finish. It was a big waste of time. As a week 2 breakaway stage it would have been fine.0 -
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Yet nobody will point out what great things I missed.
There was a crash, and a chase, and........0 -
I really don't understand. what's wrong with putting a 'week 2 breakaway stage' in week 1? More interesting than another completely flat stage as in the TdF. It can only be a disappointment if you saw it as more than it wasTurfle wrote:FJS wrote:
What made you think this would be a good mountain stage? It's a finish climb with not more than a 1 or 2 % gradient in the last kms - it was always going to be a select group staying together after the damage was done in the first part of the climb. Good choice by the organizers - some action and selection, but not too much to be decisive for the GC too early on.Turfle wrote:FJS wrote:
:?: :?: :?:Turfle wrote:Very disappointing stage.
What more did you expect to happen on a climb like that? This was about as action packed as a 4th stage of a GT gets I'd say
Really?
A group of 20 coming in together is not a good mountain stage. Katusha did the Sky train tactic but forgot to put people into difficulty.
The echelons were the only exciting thing that happened, and even they put nobody important in trouble outside of the crash.
That really is my point. There was never going to be any action or any selection made on that finish. It was a big waste of time. As a week 2 breakaway stage it would have been fine.0 -
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FJS wrote:
I really don't understand. what's wrong with putting a 'week 2 breakaway stage' in week 1? More interesting than another completely flat stage as in the TdF. It can only be a disappointment if you saw it as more than it wasTurfle wrote:FJS wrote:
What made you think this would be a good mountain stage? It's a finish climb with not more than a 1 or 2 % gradient in the last kms - it was always going to be a select group staying together after the damage was done in the first part of the climb. Good choice by the organizers - some action and selection, but not too much to be decisive for the GC too early on.Turfle wrote:FJS wrote:
:?: :?: :?:Turfle wrote:Very disappointing stage.
What more did you expect to happen on a climb like that? This was about as action packed as a 4th stage of a GT gets I'd say
Really?
A group of 20 coming in together is not a good mountain stage. Katusha did the Sky train tactic but forgot to put people into difficulty.
The echelons were the only exciting thing that happened, and even they put nobody important in trouble outside of the crash.
That really is my point. There was never going to be any action or any selection made on that finish. It was a big waste of time. As a week 2 breakaway stage it would have been fine.
The problem with a week 2 breakaway stage on stage 4 is that it's a waste of fresh legs. Make it a sprint stage, or a mountain stage. Not some pointless halfway house.
Let me try it this way, what was the point of that stage?0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:Turfle wrote:Yet nobody will point out what great things I missed.
There was a crash, and a chase, and........
What more do you want?
It's stage 4, not 20?
Some racing. More than 5 people trying to win.0 -
*facepalm*
Did you not see the echelons?
Did you not notice who was taking part in ripping the race apart?
Did you not see the peloton split up, with groups all over the climb?
And that's not even the breakaway.0 -
Have you ever watched something else than the TdF? Sorry if that sounds insulting, but the Giro and Vuelta, and many many one week races always have lots of what you call 'halfway house' races. It's more entertaining than a flat sprinters stage (well, most people think so :roll: ), and you can't make every single stage an epic mountain stage, right (well, the Giro sometimes tries...Turfle wrote:The problem with a week 2 breakaway stage on stage 4 is that it's a waste of fresh legs. Make it a sprint stage, or a mountain stage. Not some pointless halfway house.
Let me try it this way, what was the point of that stage?
)? I really don't know what you mean with 'a waste of fresh legs'. 0 -
FJS wrote:
Have you ever watched something else than the TdF? Sorry if that sounds insulting, but the Giro and Vuelta, and many many one week races always have lots of what you call 'halfway house' races. It's more entertaining than a flat sprinters stage (well, most people think so :roll: ), and you can't make every single stage an epic mountain stage, right (well, the Giro sometimes tries...Turfle wrote:The problem with a week 2 breakaway stage on stage 4 is that it's a waste of fresh legs. Make it a sprint stage, or a mountain stage. Not some pointless halfway house.
Let me try it this way, what was the point of that stage? )? I really don't know what you mean with 'a waste of fresh legs'.
I won't dignify your first comment with a response.
They don't have them on stage 4.
A waste of fresh legs meaning the GC riders and sprinters are fresh right now. Perfect opportunity to have them actually race.
Who said anything about an epic mountain stage? Either one for the sprinters, or a short punchy finish that would interest puncheurs, climbers, and force anyone who has GC intentions to ride as well.
As it was, it was an utterly pointless stage.0 -
So you think Roche, Froome and Contador just fancied a break from the bunch? And Ten Dam, Gerdemann and the rest weren't racing? And maybe Anton decided to give his rivals a few seconds just to make things more interesting for him?Turfle wrote:Who said anything about an epic mountain stage? Either one for the sprinters, or a short punchy finish that would interest puncheurs, climbers, and force anyone who has GC intentions to ride as well.
As it was, it was an utterly pointless stage.
Even without the echelons it was a good early stage with some time gaps created but nothing too decisive just yet.
The echelons made it awesome.0 -
DeadCalm wrote:
So you think Roche, Froome and Contador just fancied a break from the bunch? And Ten Dam, Gerdemann and the rest weren't racing? And maybe Anton decided to give his rivals a few seconds just to make things more interesting for him?Turfle wrote:Who said anything about an epic mountain stage? Either one for the sprinters, or a short punchy finish that would interest puncheurs, climbers, and force anyone who has GC intentions to ride as well.
As it was, it was an utterly pointless stage.
Even without the echelons it was a good early stage with some time gaps created but nothing too decisive just yet.
The echelons made it awesome.
Froome and Contador sat up. Roche etc managed to finish a whopping 7 seconds ahead of a group of 20+. The pointlessness of the mountain gave riders no chance of getting away.
If someone like Anton losing time was exciting, then you must have found every mountain stage in the Tour exciting too.
The echelons were the only good part of the stage, and they were wasted by being followed by the dullest, and most pointless climb of the year.0 -
Tell Roche that.eating parmos since 1981
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You think 'racing' requires an attack to succeed, a substantial time gain needs to be made? So you ignore the endeavour and the suspense and simply focus on the outcome. Frankly I find that bizarre.Turfle wrote:Froome and Contador sat up. Roche etc managed to finish a whopping 7 seconds ahead of a group of 20+. The pointlessness of the mountain gave riders no chance of getting away.
If someone like Anton losing time was exciting, then you must have found every mountain stage in the Tour exciting too.0 -
DeadCalm wrote:
You think 'racing' requires an attack to succeed, a substantial time gain needs to be made? So you ignore the endeavour and the suspense and simply focus on the outcome. Frankly I find that bizarre.Turfle wrote:Froome and Contador sat up. Roche etc managed to finish a whopping 7 seconds ahead of a group of 20+. The pointlessness of the mountain gave riders no chance of getting away.
If someone like Anton losing time was exciting, then you must have found every mountain stage in the Tour exciting too.
No. I think it's stage 4, and the riders want to race, so why provide a parcours that not only doesn't reward attacking riding, but discourages it?
If that was stage 15, and it had become clear who the GC riders are, when better riders are allowed in the breaks, and when tired legs need an easy stage, then fine. But this was day 4.
Waste. Waste. Waste.0 -
I too didn't think it was all that - would have preferred a sprint stage tbh..0
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Seems quite a few riders are blaming sky for the crash.
Something about they should put it in the gutter, rather than other riders...0 -
Rick, you got some quotes on that?
Turfle, good effort but I hope you have given up. I'd be happy watching that as a stand alone race, let alone in a 3 wk race - excellent race, so annoyed I couldn't watch properly. Deadcalm has it dead right that it is often about the process and racing rather than the outcome. And anyway, being 4days in legs are fresh, teams are inact, morale is high so the gaps will be smaller.Contador is the Greatest0 -
Stick to watching football, you clearly haven't got a grasp yet of pro tour road cycling if you think that was a boring uneventful stage. What do you expect? Have a look at the rear of the bunch going up those climbs if you think that they tottered up it. Was a brilliant spectacle watching the speed they went up that.0
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Who was really to blame? Movistar seem convinced that Sky did everything wrong.
Whatever the unwritten rulebook says, it sure is entertaining when there's a disagreement over it.Rick Chasey wrote:I missed the 4th place celebration?!?
Blowing kisses to the crowd, fist pumping and all of that. Maybe four is Garcia's lucky number.0 -
Movistar DS interview just been on itv4. Sticking it to sky big time.0
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Great stage, things being turned on their head... superb.
Perhaps a bit of Karma for Valverde.0 -
Although Valverde is hardly out of it, only 36 seconds back. Stage win and he's right back in it!
Good stage though, enjoyed that!0 -
Yellow Peril wrote:Great stage, things being turned on their head... superb.
Perhaps a bit of Karma for Valverde.
Hmm, I thought that. 2009 Sierra Nevada....don't remember him waiting for Evans...All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."0 -
Didnt movistar up the pace in paris nice when bottle crashed ?PTP winner 2015.0
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AndyRAC wrote:Yellow Peril wrote:Great stage, things being turned on their head... superb.
Perhaps a bit of Karma for Valverde.
Hmm, I thought that. 2009 Sierra Nevada....don't remember him waiting for Evans...
I don't recall Cadel even having the luxury of teammates.
I still don't know what happened today. Movistar said that Sky directly caused the crash and then looked to exploit it.0
