La Vuelta, Stage 3, *Spoilers*


A bit like yesterday, the final climb doesn't look very steep but it will be unlikely that the sprinters will be contending for the win today. If the are then we might see Meersman, Gilbert or EBH.
It will also be interesting to see if Samuel Sanchez and Henao put down some sort of statement to show that their GC hopes aren't already over.
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EBH looking poor too, been dropped badly in each stage so far.
Interesting thing is the bookies also seem to have completely written off Ten Dam, he is 9/1 for a top 10 finish which looks pretty good to me.
Wonder if Pinot may be in with a shout today.
Why not just make it a sprint stage? The last 10km of a sprint stage a hell of lot more thrilling (even with the poor show up of decent sprinters but you can't hardly blame them for staying home..) than 3km of slight uphill. If they wanted this kind of finish then let them race over some hills before it and make it somewhat unpredictable and classic-esque.
It is what it is. A 10 minutes race - just like 70% of last year's Vuelta and it's a worrying direction for the sport - especially since it was hailed as being 'fantastic' by most. No wonder they stay away from the 'Tour way of doing it' and show half of the stages in full..
So far today there has been a tail wind up the climb to the finish, so maybe someone like Meersman could be a good shout. OPQS doing some work at the head of the peloton too today.
Thanks.
Belkin having to drop back to pull him back to the peloton since he'd fallen almost 30s off.
Well, that's a shame..
USA 1 HORNER, Christopher (RADIOSHACK LEOPARD) 4:30:18
ESP 2 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR TEAM) + 3
ESP 3 RODRIGUEZ OLIVER, Joaquin (KATUSHA)
COL 4 URAN URAN, Rigoberto (SKY PROCYCLING)
IRL 5 MARTIN, Daniel (GARMIN SHARP)
NED 6 MOLLEMA, Bauke (BELKIN PRO CYCLING)
General Classification after Stage 3
USA 1 HORNER, Christopher (RADIOSHACK LEOPARD) 9:37:40
ITA 2 NIBALI, Vincenzo (ASTANA PRO TEAM) + 8
IRL 3 ROCHE, Nicolas (SAXO-TINKOFF) + 14
ESP 4 ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, Haimar (RADIOSHACK LEOPARD) + 16
CRO 5 KISERLOVSKI, Robert (RADIOSHACK LEOPARD) + 23
ESP 6 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR TEAM) + 24
Why's that then?
Worst thing Horner ever did was rightly sh!t on Hincapies parade ... Horner was never paid the 'Lance Bonus' and has kids to support ... Of course he was gonna make a point when it affects his future as an American rider ...
I liked the mechanic pushing the bike without Mollema on it - "What the censored are you doing?!"
Horner first on GC? Yak!
but at least he's my PTP GC pick
Strava is not Zen.
I thought it was an impressive win, certainly for a man of his age.
DD.
Not sure about Santaromita's helmet.
and this: http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/exc ... ro-cycling
www.dotcycling.com
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And put all of those quotes into the context of his name being redacted from Leipheimer's statement to USADA - according to Leipheimer, Horner allegedly told him in 08 that he'd taken EPO before the 05 Tour de Suisse
Horner's also the oldest rider to have ever worn the leader's jersey in a GT. Previous 'record-holder' was Andrea Noè who was 38 years old when he took the leader jersey in the 2007 Giro.