Vuelta What do we think so far?

Vino'sGhost
Vino'sGhost Posts: 4,129
edited August 2017 in Pro race
For me the outstanding performance is Contador. For a man supposedly a long way from his peak ability he seems like the only person who is a credible threat to Froome in this mountainous version.

The racing has been good with unexpected attacks and sprint stages which in the TDF are frequently 5 hours of tedium with ten mins of excitement with a pimple at the end are few and far between. The whole race still has a much less commercial feel and to me feels and looks like real racing.

Thumbs up from me.
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Comments

  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    It's not easy to get coverage but from what I've seen the course is so so, though the steep ramps at least guarantee a few minutes of excitement.
    Contador may be off his peak generally but he said he was on super form before the race. He's great value. Woods has been the revelation, hopefully he gets a stage especially given the team troubles. Chavez looks good but will get spanked in the TT. The Yates twins never really excite me unfortunately
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • specialgueststar
    specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
    Good Liked the start and the fact that we've got to the first rest day with all sorts of happenings to report on

    Froome Contador Nibali Aru Bardet Yates x 2 Chaves TJVG Zakarin Kelderman Kruijswick all giving it a go ...what's not to like!

    some first rest days seem to be the day before the race starts proper !
  • lettingthedaysgoby
    lettingthedaysgoby Posts: 1,732
    A thumbs up from me so far.
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725
    It's been good so far. I'm not always a fan of big GC stages very early in the race but it's worked out well.
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • hypster
    hypster Posts: 1,229
    Generally quite good so far, better than the Tour which is front-end loaded with far too many sprint stages. At least the Vuelta gives a breakaway a half chance probably because it is so lumpy that the sprinters haven't even bothred to turn up. You then tend to get two races for the price of one - the stage and GC.

    The only downer I would say is that the televeision coverage is a bit poor in my opinion. The director concentrates on some of the lower placed breakaway finishers with the GC battle still going on down the road. Also, way too many helicopter shots of castles and churches, held for too long. OK maybe in the middle of a stage with nothing much going on but there have been times in the final few kilometres where they switched to a landmark for what seems like an interminable time with some sort of battle raging on the road.
  • Bo Duke
    Bo Duke Posts: 1,058
    Lovin' it and sure they'll be lots of excitement to come.
    'Performance analysis and Froome not being clean was a media driven story. I haven’t heard one guy in the peloton say a negative thing about Froome, and I haven’t heard a single person in the peloton suggest Froome isn’t clean.' TSP
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,444
    Yeah it's been good. Just watched stages 8 and 9 highlights, 9 was a bit of a dud but 8 was very good.
  • lincolndave
    lincolndave Posts: 9,441
    Definitely better than the tdf at the moment.
  • hypster
    hypster Posts: 1,229
    Deleted.
  • Vino'sGhost
    Vino'sGhost Posts: 4,129
    I'm hoping for a Froome waning and contador chipping away before a glorious swan song victory :)
  • specialgueststar
    specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
    Vino'sGhost wrote:
    I'm hoping for a Froome waning and contador chipping away before a glorious swan song victory :)

    I think we all are really
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,486
    Contador is finished. His attacks are TV attacks.
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • hypster
    hypster Posts: 1,229
    SpecialGuestStar wrote:
    Vino'sGhost wrote:
    I'm hoping for a Froome waning and contador chipping away before a glorious swan song victory :)

    I think we all are really

    Speak for yourself, I'm hoping for Froome to crush all possible opposition on the major climbs, take two minutes at least out of his nearest rival in the ITT and win six stages. I think my fantasy is more likely than yours. :D
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,444
    I'm not really hoping for a surprise Contador win. I wouldn't mind a Chaves win!

    A Froome win will be good for my PTP...
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,730
    SpecialGuestStar wrote:
    Vino'sGhost wrote:
    I'm hoping for a Froome waning and contador chipping away before a glorious swan song victory :)

    I think we all are really

    Not really.
    His legion of insufferable, bitter, whining fans don't deserve the pleasure.
    A pity for him as he's OK.

    I can't comment on the Vuelta so far as I have only seen stages 1, 8 and 9 live, plus bits of the rest.
    Caught up with the Andorra stage today.
    Very good, but on the subject of Contador again, he was truly awful: a jours sans and a half.
    He's been much, much better (from what I have seen) since the race got into Spain and the climbs became short and steep.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • specialgueststar
    specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
    hypster wrote:
    SpecialGuestStar wrote:
    Vino'sGhost wrote:
    I'm hoping for a Froome waning and contador chipping away before a glorious swan song victory :)

    I think we all are really

    Speak for yourself, I'm hoping for Froome to crush all possible opposition on the major climbs, take two minutes at least out of his nearest rival in the ITT and win six stages. I think my fantasy is more likely than yours. :D

    Fantasy willy waving !

    anyroadup I'm right behind my man Kelderman who I'm hoping keeps his leegs and starts climbing the top 10 (always feel there is a bad day coming though ....
  • mamil314
    mamil314 Posts: 1,103
    Hardly a single full page per stage of an allegedly better race compared to TDF, i wonder if we are fake cycling fans and are not giving credit where it's due? Or just giving in into manufactured hype, like Monies - McGregor 'fight' ?
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,444
    mamil314 wrote:
    Hardly a single full page per stage of an allegedly better race compared to TDF, i wonder if we are fake cycling fans and are not giving credit where it's due? Or just giving in into manufactured hype, like Monies - McGregor 'fight' ?

    Well not been too much major controversy yet, if Froomigal happens again for example I reckon there will be a longer thread.

    Seems to be a lot of people on holiday - PTP has more people choosing multiple stages at once than usual. Also we're missing the July fans who only turn up for le tour.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,262
    mamil314 wrote:
    Hardly a single full page per stage of an allegedly better race compared to TDF, i wonder if we are fake cycling fans and are not giving credit where it's due? Or just giving in into manufactured hype, like Monies - McGregor 'fight' ?
    Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm on holiday. Might go and have a look at stage 12 which is nearby.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • mrfpb
    mrfpb Posts: 4,569
    I've not been posting on the Vuelta pages because I cant watch/listen to live coverage, and I don't want the spoilers. By the time I've watched the highlights there is little left to say.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Coming so soon after the Tour, I have not had a chance to rebuild my TV capital, and thus have not been able to watch any of it.
    _
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,692
    I'm not on holiday, I'm at work. Doesn't really lend itself to posting cheap gags on the spoiler threads while looking out for cows on the TV.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,444
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    I'm not on holiday, I'm at work. Doesn't really lend itself to posting cheap gags on the spoiler threads while looking out for cows on the TV.
    What?? I do much more posting when I'm at work!
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Sheesh watching Froome skipping through the highlights.

    He loves this race doesn't he?

    Beaming all over the place. Very relaxed.
    _
  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,317
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Sheesh watching Froome skipping through the highlights.

    He loves this race doesn't he?

    Beaming all over the place. Very relaxed.

    I suppose it was where he discovered - for real - that he was actually in the league of winning a GT. If it wasn't for a profoundly suspicious performance from Cobo (if I could find the emoji for "c'mon now! Of all the GT winning performances that haven't been busted since 2000, this must ring the dodgy klaxon the loudest?", then I'd put that here), he'd have had it in the bag already by the time Sky were considering who to pick as leader for the 2012 Tour... And how might that have changed the last 5 years for British cycling?
    Besides which, he's somehow managed to take the Tour without being at his best and come to the Vuelta with pinging form, so no wonder he's "beaming". Surely it was a risky tactic - which in itself is so unlike the control-freakery that Team Sky gets slated for?
  • Richmond Racer 2
    Richmond Racer 2 Posts: 4,698
    pinging
  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,647
    Richmond Racer 2 wrote:
    pinging

    :D:wink:
  • Alex99
    Alex99 Posts: 1,407
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Sheesh watching Froome skipping through the highlights.

    He loves this race doesn't he?

    Beaming all over the place. Very relaxed.

    I've never seen him looking so relaxed, and at the same time buzzing. Much lower pressure than the tour, fewer jeering partisan spectators. Oh, and smashing the race.
  • Vino'sGhost
    Vino'sGhost Posts: 4,129
    i hardly think hes smashing it....
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,228
    In the lead, with a 40km time trial to come, a stage win and no one looking like they have it in them to beat him. So far.

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