La Vuelta 2023: Stage 1: Barcelona to Barcelona - 14.8km, Team time trial ***Spoilers***
blazing_saddles
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Stage 1: Barcelona to Barcelona - 14.8km
Saturday 26 August.
Start Time 17-05 BST.
The famous roads of Barcelona will host the start of the Vuelta. For the second year in a row and the third time in five years, the Vuelta a España will kick off with a team time trial. Last year’s TTT was won by Jumbo-Visma in front of their roaring home crowds in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
The teams start near Barcelona’s Olympic Port and take on a succession of largely right-angle bends on a rather technical circuit before finishing on the Avenida de la Reina Maria Cristina at the base of Montjuïc, the iconic mountain overlooking the city.
The intermediate times will be taken at kilometre 9.6 on this predominantly flat course. At the top of the standings, expect the top teams to be separated by mere seconds as the first red jersey of the race is awarded.
Final Kms.
What to Expect:
It's a team time trial so expect the teams who have brought specialists to come out on top.
Barcelona
Barcelona has hosted 50 La Vuelta stage departures.
1,636,732 inhabitants.
Barcelona is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. It is located on the coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range. Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination.
Bicycles have a privileged place in Barcelona, and its many green areas invite you to discover them through their bike lanes. La Ronda Verde acts as a cycling vertebral axis consisting of 70 kilometres of bike lanes that connect Barcelona’s metropolitan area and extend through such natural areas as the Barcelona coastline, the Besòs River Park or Montjuïc Mountain, which is hugely emblematic in the world of cycling.
Montjuïc
Montjuïc, meaning "Jewish Mountain" in medieval Latin and Catalan, is a broad, shallow hill. The hill has a medieval Jewish cemetery, declared an area of Cultural Asset of National Interest in 2007. Montjuïc has been the site of various fortifications, including the Castle of Montjuïc dating back to the 17th century. The area was also associated with political imprisonments and executions, and held significance during the Spanish Civil War.
In the last 350 years Montjuïc Castle has played a decisive role in the history of Barcelona, becoming a symbol after the Catalan defeat to Spain in 1714. The castle is infamous in Catalan history books because of its role in the civil war from 1936 to 1939, when both sides of the conflict imprisoned, tortured and shot political prisoners at Montjuïc.
Pa amb tomàquet.
The classic Catalan invention known as pa amb tomàquet consists of toasted slices of bread that are sprinkled with salt, rubbed with tomatoes, and drizzled with olive oil (purists insist on rubbing both sides of the bread with tomatoes).
The first recipe for this dish dates back to 1884, when stale bread was rubbed with tomatoes in order to soften it. It is recommended to use a rustic sourdough called pa de pagès and tomatoes on the vine, since they have a unique, intense flavor.
The dish is usually consumed for breakfast or served before a big meal, as a tapa.
Canelons
Adopted by the people here, cannelloni is considered a typical Barcelona dish. It tends to have stewed meat inside the tubes rather than the Italian minced meat. That is why it is traditional to eat them on December 26th using the leftovers from Christmas dinner. The cannelloni is always also topped with a béchamel sauce (very little, if any, tomato sauce is used).
Saturday 26 August.
Start Time 17-05 BST.
The famous roads of Barcelona will host the start of the Vuelta. For the second year in a row and the third time in five years, the Vuelta a España will kick off with a team time trial. Last year’s TTT was won by Jumbo-Visma in front of their roaring home crowds in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
The teams start near Barcelona’s Olympic Port and take on a succession of largely right-angle bends on a rather technical circuit before finishing on the Avenida de la Reina Maria Cristina at the base of Montjuïc, the iconic mountain overlooking the city.
The intermediate times will be taken at kilometre 9.6 on this predominantly flat course. At the top of the standings, expect the top teams to be separated by mere seconds as the first red jersey of the race is awarded.
Final Kms.
What to Expect:
It's a team time trial so expect the teams who have brought specialists to come out on top.
Barcelona
Barcelona has hosted 50 La Vuelta stage departures.
1,636,732 inhabitants.
Barcelona is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. It is located on the coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range. Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination.
Bicycles have a privileged place in Barcelona, and its many green areas invite you to discover them through their bike lanes. La Ronda Verde acts as a cycling vertebral axis consisting of 70 kilometres of bike lanes that connect Barcelona’s metropolitan area and extend through such natural areas as the Barcelona coastline, the Besòs River Park or Montjuïc Mountain, which is hugely emblematic in the world of cycling.
Montjuïc
Montjuïc, meaning "Jewish Mountain" in medieval Latin and Catalan, is a broad, shallow hill. The hill has a medieval Jewish cemetery, declared an area of Cultural Asset of National Interest in 2007. Montjuïc has been the site of various fortifications, including the Castle of Montjuïc dating back to the 17th century. The area was also associated with political imprisonments and executions, and held significance during the Spanish Civil War.
In the last 350 years Montjuïc Castle has played a decisive role in the history of Barcelona, becoming a symbol after the Catalan defeat to Spain in 1714. The castle is infamous in Catalan history books because of its role in the civil war from 1936 to 1939, when both sides of the conflict imprisoned, tortured and shot political prisoners at Montjuïc.
Pa amb tomàquet.
The classic Catalan invention known as pa amb tomàquet consists of toasted slices of bread that are sprinkled with salt, rubbed with tomatoes, and drizzled with olive oil (purists insist on rubbing both sides of the bread with tomatoes).
The first recipe for this dish dates back to 1884, when stale bread was rubbed with tomatoes in order to soften it. It is recommended to use a rustic sourdough called pa de pagès and tomatoes on the vine, since they have a unique, intense flavor.
The dish is usually consumed for breakfast or served before a big meal, as a tapa.
Canelons
Adopted by the people here, cannelloni is considered a typical Barcelona dish. It tends to have stewed meat inside the tubes rather than the Italian minced meat. That is why it is traditional to eat them on December 26th using the leftovers from Christmas dinner. The cannelloni is always also topped with a béchamel sauce (very little, if any, tomato sauce is used).
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
4
Comments
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The whole iberian peninsula has been burning the last few days, with temperatures around 40 C even in the north. However, there's a very strong weather change, temperatures are expected to fall 10 degrees or more, and heavy rainfall around Catalunya is also forecast this weekend.1
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Pretty technical in the wet ?"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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This almost makes me interested in watching a TTT...
(Almost)We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver1 -
Hope it stays dry at the start - looks like a lot of potentially very slippery red paint!0
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Oh no, Wittermouth is back on live comms... for goodness sake...0
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Dodgy.
Lidl trek a bit fractured right from the start.
Oh and +1 to Wittermouth. He's already started giggling at his inane outpourings."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Lidl Trek taking it very careful.
Are we going to see a favourite crash out in these conditions? (Like the whole JV team?!)0 -
Only one crash so far"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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This is all a bit pants for a GT stage.0
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Timing is shambolic"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Arkea have 3 down on pretty much the last corner.0
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Another Saturday evening lottery."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0
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orraloon said:
This is all a bit pants for a GT stage.
Aso too ....orraloon said:This is all a bit pants for a GT stage.
"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
I keep expecting to see the moppers at the start begin to emulate curling sweepers.0
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Ineos off, Alpecin down"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0
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Ineos down0
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De Plus down and hurt"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0
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Jayco down - Eddie Dunbar, close to the finish0
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Eddie Dunbar down"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0
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Missed the beginning. Did DSM get a dry run?0
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Jumbo have just started.
Has Vingegaard finished yet?"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.2 -
Ineos very slow"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0
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Second to start, so drier than current (or should I say a lot less wet!)JimD666 said:Missed the beginning. Did DSM get a dry run?
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Ineos 20 seconds down on BSM
Probably happy given conditions0 -
Is getting dark. WTF with organising this stage?0
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Sounds like a farce (I’m watching the athletics which had its own farce in the relay as always).0
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Jumbo slow"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0
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Shhh.Pross said:Sounds like a farce (I’m watching the athletics which had its own farce in the relay as always).
Later"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Have they got headlights on their bikes?
Wtf"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Psychedelic"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
