Volta a Catalunya *spoilers*

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  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,104
    itboffin wrote:
    Well im confused how did the split get so big?

    I'm guessing not enough riders with an interest in pulling it back - for a lot of them so long as they made the cut that was probably enough - to be fair to Froome he has never been one to bother too much about his B races - he'll take a win if it's there but he is probably right in approaching training races as training whereas your Contadors, Valverdes etc can't help but race them for the win.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • onyourright
    onyourright Posts: 509
    Why did Landa abandon? Usual sources don’t say.
  • Richmond Racer 2
    Richmond Racer 2 Posts: 4,698
    Missed update stage, only just catching up here

    Sky= lolworthy

    Landa climbed off you say? Colour me surprised
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    Sky’s DS Nico Portal conceded: “We made a big mistake. I’m not going to try and make an excuse, there is no excuse.

    “The guys have been brilliant up until today. It looks like it was a positioning issue. The guys weren’t in the top positions on the first descent and this is what can happen.”

    So, it was just Formigal v2.0, which makes it all the worse in my book.
    A lesson that cost a GT, yet it's not been learned.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Good though.

    Chuffing dull otherwise.

    Nice that a weakness of the strongest team means having to kick off the racing hard and fast.
    _
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,548
    OnYourRight wrote:
    Why did Landa abandon? Usual sources don’t say.

    Both he and Thomas rode Tirreno and then Catalunya, with a 6 day break in between. Presumably to give them a training overload that they can recover from before they head to a pre-Giro altitude camp. So he's probably knackered.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    The quality of spoiler threads on here is terrible at times. From reading this the only thing I know is Impey won,through various cryptic comments I'm assuming Sky's whole team got dropped early again and lost a load of time but no more than that. At least when Frenchie was posting you'd have a full report of what was happening even if it was laced with digs at certain riders / teams.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    Pross wrote:
    The quality of spoiler threads on here is terrible at times. From reading this the only thing I know is Impey won,through various cryptic comments I'm assuming Sky's whole team got dropped early again and lost a load of time but no more than that. At least when Frenchie was posting you'd have a full report of what was happening even if it was laced with digs at certain riders / teams.

    Go back a page and the BB gives a blow by blow account of the decisive kms, plus the top few finishers as it happened.
    I posted a link to the full results, with the hors delay riders, as soon as I found it.
    At the time, nobody knew how Sky had got dropped, so it wasn't possible to report on it, other than by using the Daily Mail method.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    It looks like they've relaid the hockey pitches since I went there.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    So put your money on Flèche Wallone for Valverde right now.

    Plenty of attacks, including a solo from Froome. Reduced peloton came back together at 4km and st 3km Martin marks a big attack which sticks and guess who is the only one who can follow? Valverde.

    Chasing bunches catches them at 50m to go but Valverde outsepints everyone.
    _
  • slim_boy_fat
    slim_boy_fat Posts: 1,810
    I know I shouldn't but I can't help liking Valverde.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Slim Boy Fat wrote:
    I know I shouldn't but I can't help liking Valverde.

    Wiggins gets all the plaudits for his rather stiff constipated position but you won't see anyone classier and more natural than Valverde on a bike.

    Pedals a decent sized gear too which helps.
    _
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    Meh. The Valverde show again.
    3 (or 4 depending on how you feel about the TTT) stage wins and a second place.
    Pantano in 2nd today and Vichot in 3rd.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    My man reacting appropriately for being 2nd.

    Good lad.
    _
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Martin complaining that the dangerous decent they split the field was too dangerous on twatter.

    Bardet replies that he disagrees. :)
    _
  • Vino'sGhost
    Vino'sGhost Posts: 4,129
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    Sky’s DS Nico Portal conceded: “We made a big mistake. I’m not going to try and make an excuse, there is no excuse.

    “The guys have been brilliant up until today. It looks like it was a positioning issue. The guys weren’t in the top positions on the first descent and this is what can happen.”

    So, it was just Formigal v2.0, which makes it all the worse in my book.
    A lesson that cost a GT, yet it's not been learned.

    Yep brilliant eh :)
  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,317
    Vino'sGhost wrote:
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    Sky’s DS Nico Portal conceded: “We made a big mistake. I’m not going to try and make an excuse, there is no excuse.

    “The guys have been brilliant up until today. It looks like it was a positioning issue. The guys weren’t in the top positions on the first descent and this is what can happen.”

    So, it was just Formigal v2.0, which makes it all the worse in my book.
    A lesson that cost a GT, yet it's not been learned.

    Yep brilliant eh :)

    Sloppy.
    But here's how this one will play out: Sky will get their own back down the line but everyone will wang on about what bastards they are.
  • wombly_knees
    wombly_knees Posts: 657
    Well they are, aren't they.
  • Richmond Racer 2
    Richmond Racer 2 Posts: 4,698
    wombly knees wrote:
    Well they are, aren't they.


    Are they? You met the riders? You stood for hours at races and talked to Ellingworth and the DSs? You ridden out on rides with the riders and the back room staff and management team members? You sat with any of them on cafe stopis mid ride? You had a beer with any of them? You had dinner with them? You gained an opinion at first hand rather than take a view based on how Cyclingnews or Cyclingtips portrays them?

    Genuinely interested.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,548
    Goodness gracious, has dennisn hacked Richmond Racer's account?
  • Richmond Racer 2
    Richmond Racer 2 Posts: 4,698
    andyp wrote:
    Goodness gracious, has dennisn hacked Richmond Racer's account?


    Bwahahahaha

    Fact is that though I truly despise the Murdochs, I know that the vast majority of the riders and support staff are decent folk. This 'bastards' trope is lazy and wrong-headed
  • wombly_knees
    wombly_knees Posts: 657
    No, just a tongue in cheek post. Evidently not very good...

    Don't really bother about the team more than any other. Although, I have taken a bit of a liking to Froome for his racing and shenanigans in the tour last year.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,548
    Richmond Racer 2 wrote:
    Fact is that though I truly despise the Murdochs, I know that the vast majority of the riders and support staff are decent folk. This 'bastards' trope is lazy and wrong-headed

    I was going to say that, sadly, it's the reality of being an English speaking team in the post-USPS era, but for some reason Orica-Scott don't get anywhere near as much scrutiny, despite having some genuinely dodgy staff (Neil Stephens - the only person directly involved in both the Festina and Puerto scandals) and riders (oh hai Roman) on the team. They even have two doping cases where the excuses given make Sky's recent shenanighans look like choirboys on a school day trip.
  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,317
    wombly knees wrote:
    No, just a tongue in cheek post. Evidently not very good...

    Don't really bother about the team more than any other. Although, I have taken a bit of a liking to Froome for his racing and shenanigans in the tour last year.

    Well, it made me laugh, wombly.
    As did RR2/dennisn's response.


    Notice how virtually everyone who makes vaguely positive comments on Team Sky now has to add a negative proviso to show they are in no way supporters/fans?
  • Richmond Racer 2
    Richmond Racer 2 Posts: 4,698
    wombly knees wrote:
    No, just a tongue in cheek post. Evidently not very good...

    Don't really bother about the team more than any other. Although, I have taken a bit of a liking to Froome for his racing and shenanigans in the tour last year.


    I'm starting the week all fighty

    Its going to be a loooong week
  • Richmond Racer 2
    Richmond Racer 2 Posts: 4,698
    edited March 2017
    andyp wrote:
    Richmond Racer 2 wrote:
    Fact is that though I truly despise the Murdochs, I know that the vast majority of the riders and support staff are decent folk. This 'bastards' trope is lazy and wrong-headed

    I was going to say that, sadly, it's the reality of being an English speaking team in the post-USPS era, but for some reason Orica-Scott don't get anywhere near as much scrutiny, despite having some genuinely dodgy staff (Neil Stephens - the only person directly involved in both the Festina and Puerto scandals) and riders (oh hai Roman) on the team. They even have two doping cases where the excuses given make Sky's recent shenanighans look like choirboys on a school day trip.


    They also have a set-up whereby Matt White threatens the cycling press with being locked out of any future interviews with riders if they write anything remotely negative (i.e. less than effusive) about the team.

    True story.

    EDIT: slightly edited the last sentence to make it a tad clearer
  • gweeds
    gweeds Posts: 2,613
    Richmond Racer 2 wrote:
    andyp wrote:
    Richmond Racer 2 wrote:
    Fact is that though I truly despise the Murdochs, I know that the vast majority of the riders and support staff are decent folk. This 'bastards' trope is lazy and wrong-headed

    I was going to say that, sadly, it's the reality of being an English speaking team in the post-USPS era, but for some reason Orica-Scott don't get anywhere near as much scrutiny, despite having some genuinely dodgy staff (Neil Stephens - the only person directly involved in both the Festina and Puerto scandals) and riders (oh hai Roman) on the team. They even have two doping cases where the excuses given make Sky's recent shenanighans look like choirboys on a school day trip.


    They also have a set-up whereby Matt White threatens the cycling press with being locked out of any future interviews with riders if they write anything critical about the team.

    True story.

    Classy
    Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Richmond Racer 2 wrote:
    andyp wrote:
    Richmond Racer 2 wrote:
    Fact is that though I truly despise the Murdochs, I know that the vast majority of the riders and support staff are decent folk. This 'bastards' trope is lazy and wrong-headed

    I was going to say that, sadly, it's the reality of being an English speaking team in the post-USPS era, but for some reason Orica-Scott don't get anywhere near as much scrutiny, despite having some genuinely dodgy staff (Neil Stephens - the only person directly involved in both the Festina and Puerto scandals) and riders (oh hai Roman) on the team. They even have two doping cases where the excuses given make Sky's recent shenanighans look like choirboys on a school day trip.


    They also have a set-up whereby Matt White threatens the cycling press with being locked out of any future interviews with riders if they write anything critical about the team.

    True story.

    Wonder where he learned that?

    matt_white_armstrong.jpg
    _
  • Richmond Racer 2
    Richmond Racer 2 Posts: 4,698
    Quite so.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Whilst on that subject, how come Orica get an easy ride on the mud throwing side of things?

    Former doper as DS, 2 riders tested positive.

    giphy.gif
    _

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