Vuelta Stage 20 *Spoiler*

knedlicky

After 20 km, a big group of 32 riders formed. By about 50 km they were about 4-30 clear of the rest of the peloton, and over the first mountain (Edet took the points to increase his lead in the mountain jersey).

By 65 km, Grivko, Arroyo, Piedra and Kiryienka had gone about 20 secs ahead of the other 28, and the peloton was 5-40 behind.

Some good riders in the group, so potentially it could stay away until the climb just before the Angliru, where I’d guess it will probably loose riders or split into smaller groups. The hardiest might only be caught on the Angliru itself.

That Astana has 3 riders up front looks like a plan.
Nobody there from Garmin, Orica-GE, RadioShack, or Saxo.
Best-placed is Arroyo at 15-55, 14th in GC.

The 32 riders: Erviti, Intxausti (MOV), Betancur, Nocentini (AG2R), Fr�hlinger (ARG), Fuglsang, Grivko, Tiralongo (AST), Mollema, Garate (BEL), Nerz, Santaromita (BMC), Arroyo, Cardoso, Piedra (CAJ), Paterski (CANN), Coppel, Edet (COF), Azanza, Oroz (EUS), Elissonde (FDJ), Kozontchuk, Vicioso (KAT), Ulissi (LAM), de Greef (LOT), Barta, Mendes (NET), Pauwels (OMPQ), Cataldo, Kiryienka (SKY), Flecha, Valls (VAC)

frenchfighter

Ha, you got it up 3mins before me.

frenchfighter wrote:

General Classification after Stage 19
USA 1 HORNER, Christopher (RADIOSHACK LEOPARD) 77:56:05
ITA 2 NIBALI, Vincenzo (ASTANA PRO TEAM) + 3
ESP 3 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR TEAM) + 1:06
ESP 4 RODRIGUEZ OLIVER, Joaquin (KATUSHA) + 1:57
IRL 5 ROCHE, Nicolas (SAXO-TINKOFF) + 3:49
ITA 6 POZZOVIVO, Domenico (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 6:00
CZE 7 KONIG, Leopold (NETAPP - ENDURA) + 6:38
FRA 8 PINOT, Thibaut (FDJ) + 7:02
ESP 9 SANCHEZ GONZALEZ, Samuel (EUSKALTEL EUSKADI) + 7:45
ESP 10 MORENO FERNANDEZ, Daniel (KATUSHA) + 11:05
EST 11 KANGERT, Tanel (ASTANA PRO TEAM) + 11:18
ITA 12 SCARPONI, Michele (LAMPRE-MERIDA) + 12:13
ESP 13 HERRADA LOPEZ, José (MOVISTAR TEAM) + 12:53
ESP 14 ARROYO DURAN, David (CAJA RURAL - SEGUROS RGA) + 15:55
GER 15 NERZ, Dominik (BMC RACING) + 18:52
CRO 16 KISERLOVSKI, Robert (RADIOSHACK LEOPARD) + 20:11
DEN 17 SÖRENSEN, Chris Anker (SAXO-TINKOFF) + 21:33
POR 18 CARDOSO, Andre (CAJA RURAL - SEGUROS RGA) + 24:29
ITA 19 CAPECCHI, Eros (MOVISTAR TEAM) + 25:06
FRA 20 BAGOT, Yohan (COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS) + 28:46

Huge break out:
Jose Joao Mendes (NetApp-Enudra), David Arroyo (Movistar), Andriy Grivko (Astana), Vasil Kiryienka (Sky), Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Jacob Fuglsang (Astana), Juan Jose Oroz (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Serge Pauwels (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Jan Barta (NetApp-Enudra), Bauke Mollema (Belkin), Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM), Rafael Valls Ferri (Vacansoleil-DCM), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Antonio Piedra (Caja Rural), Maciej Paterski (Cannondale), Carlos Alberto Betancur (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Dominik Nerz (BMC), Francis De Greef (Lotto Belisol), Juan Manuel Garate (Belkin), Jerome Coppel (Cofidis), Kenny Elissonde (FDJ), Johannes Frohlinger (Argos-Shimano), Ivan Santaromita (BMC), Dmitry Kozontchuk (Katusha), Angel Vicioso (Katusha), Benat Intxausti (Movistar), Dario Cataldo (Sky), Paolo Tiralongo (Astana), Imanol Erviti (Movistar), Andre Cardoso (Caja Rural) and Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida).

Recently the following have got a small lead on top:
Vasil Kiryienka (Sky), David Arroyo (Movistar), Andriy Grivko (Astana), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) and Antonio Piedra (Caja Rural)

Note that Tiralongo and Fugslang are there. Two strongest domestiques for Nibali sent out ahead. Talk of attacking before the final climb.

75ks with a lead of about 5mins.

TheBigBean

Anyone know what time they will start climbing Angliru? There's quite a lot of sport on today.

frenchfighter

Vincenzo Nibali's much hoped-for rainfall does not look likely to materialise, by the way. The word from the top of the Angliru is that conditions are currently dry and clear. Nibali told Gazzetta dello Sport yesterday that he was hoping for rain because the resultant slippery roads would force Horner to climb in the saddle like everyone else on the steepest slopes of the Angliru.

Speaking of Nibali and the rain, noted amateur weather forecasting enthusiast (I am honestly not making that up) Domenico Pozzovivo reckons that the weather has not been on Nibali's side at this Vuelta. "He’s also not as strong as he was in the Giro where he found the conditions he loves for racing," said Pozzovivo, who harbours ambitions of following in Gilberto Simoni's wheeltracks as the second Italian to triumph atop the Angliru.
"The Angliru is something I only know in TV. I’ve been told that it’s not as hard as Punto Veleno where I won last year at the Giro del Trentino," Pozzovivo said.

Victory on the Naranco yesterday has given Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) hope that he can climb onto the podium - or perhaps even into the red jersey - on the Angliru today. "If cycling was just ‘two plus two equals four’ then Horner would win and we might as well all go home now,” Rodriguez said. “But it’s not. Tomorrow’s the Angliru, and anything can happen. The time differences will be much bigger and I’m going to do something there.”

knedlicky

TheBigBean wrote:

Anyone know what time they will start climbing Angliru? There's quite a lot of sport on today.

The projected schedule shows between 17:26 - 17:54 local time for the start of the Angliru. At the moment they are about 2 mins behind the quickest schedule, which suggests the Angliru will start about 17.30.

Meanwhile, Edet has joined the front few, and Piedra has fallen back a little, so he’s between the front 4 and the rest of the break group.
Edet took the points at the next mountain, consolodating his lead for the mountain jersey even more.
The following 27 apparently lost a few riders on the climb, so is now more like 20-22 strong.
The peloton is now 7 mins back, Movistar doing the lead work.

tailwindhome

ES2 just gone live

45.3k to go. 5.39 the gap

jouxplan

Can't remember the last time I was so excited about a stage in a GT. This should be epic today

Crampeur

27.6km to go, 5;39 the gap. Break will stay away.

Crampeur

Tiralongo attacks from the break

Crampeur

Peleton now of the Alto del Cordal

TheBigBean

knedlicky wrote:

TheBigBean wrote:

Anyone know what time they will start climbing Angliru? There's quite a lot of sport on today.

The projected schedule shows between 17:26 - 17:54 local time for the start of the Angliru. At the moment they are about 2 mins behind the quickest schedule, which suggests the Angliru will start about 17.30.

Cheers.

cesco

Alejandro Valverde 36/29
Vicenzo Nibali 34/29
Samuel Sánchez 34/32...
Nicolas Roche 36/32
Chris Horner 34/32
Joaquín Rodríguez 36/28

cesco

Alejandro Valverde 36/29
Vicenzo Nibali 34/29
Samuel Sánchez 34/32...
Nicolas Roche 36/32
Chris Horner 34/32
Joaquín Rodríguez 36/28

Crampeur

Henao and Roche off the back

frenchfighter

Elissonde caught up to Tiralongo and both are on the descent. Euskaltel and Katusha leading the peloton up the slopes pretty fast and Horner is looking nervous and right at the head of things.

jouxplan

cesco wrote:

Alejandro Valverde 36/29
Vicenzo Nibali 34/29
Samuel Sánchez 34/32...
Nicolas Roche 36/32
Chris Horner 34/32
Joaquín Rodríguez 36/28

34/32 !!!! Wow!

They are talking about rain near the summit of the Angliru, before end of race. Do you think this will effect Horner much, given his preference for being out the saddle and the steepness? Seems to be what Nibali is hoping for

Give me more

It would be truly fantastic to see Nibs try attack on the descent.

frenchfighter

Give me more wrote:

It would be truly fantastic to see Nibs try attack on the descent.

Just what Samu is doing know. Distanced them too while at the same time eating a gel...pure descending talent.

Crampeur

Sammy S going very well on the descent Gel in one hand, bars in the other at 65+ kmh

knedlicky

TheBigBean wrote:

knedlicky wrote:

TheBigBean wrote:

Anyone know what time they will start climbing Angliru? There's quite a lot of sport on today.

The projected schedule shows between 17:26 - 17:54 local time for the start of the Angliru. At the moment they are about 2 mins behind the quickest schedule, which suggests the Angliru will start about 17.30.

Cheers.

Hope you are still connected - I think I quoted the expected arrival times at the crest, a little short of the finish line, not the expected times at the foot of the climb! :oops:
Sorry!

alan_a

And he overtook the camera bike 1 handed while doing so. Lovely Samu.

11k to go for the break now at the start of the climb.

knedlicky

frenchfighter wrote:

Elissonde caught up to Tiralongo and both are on the descent. Euskaltel and Katusha leading the peloton up the slopes pretty fast and Horner is looking nervous and right at the head of things.

Elissonde is another of the upcoming young French riders – it would be good to see him also get a good result today.

Crampeur

YES NIBALI

Give me more

Nibali attacking from a long way out!

Now to see if Astana sticking riders up the road can help!

Crampeur

Elissonde out in front

Crampeur

Valverde blows up

adr82

Horner and Rodriguez are going to catch Nibali, never had more than 10s

richa

All kicked off. What's Nibbles lead? Looks just a few seconds.

Crampeur

Nibali pretty much caught

Mikey23

This is good stuff

richa

Why did he go so early? He only needed 3 seconds.