La Vuelta 2024:-Stage 6: Jerez de la Frontera – Yunquera, 185.5km ***Spoilers***

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Comments

  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726

    Looking at the few ITT head to heads they have had over similar distances and it would appear Roglic should take 1 minute back.

    So, 4 minutes on the climbs. That's a lot of bonus seconds!

    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,345

    It's not just the bonus seconds, it's who has the "bad day", how bad, and how many.

    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,656
    edited August 23

    There's also the eternal question of whether Roglic can keep his bike rubber side down...

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  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,345
    edited August 23

    True, which is why I picked Almeida. O'Connor is in the hot seat and favourite. I'd just suggest that it's a long way from over whereas if Roglic had 5 minutes we would think it was all over.

    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,601

    I'd ask the opposite. Why does anyone think he can hold them off with only 5 minutes lead? He's never come close in a GT before. His 4th at the tour was because he got in a successful break

    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • wakemalcolm
    wakemalcolm Posts: 913

    His lead today is because he got into a successful break: what's your point, caller?

    ================================
    Cake is just weakness entering the body
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726

    A successful break? Kind of like yesterday’s you mean.

    4th in that Tour, he finished 10 minutes behind Pogacar and 5 minutes behind Vingegaard.

    I think we can all agree that pair are of a slightly higher calibre than the opposition in this Vuelta.

    So I will ask again, why could he not win, even with a 15 minute lead?

    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,601

    He'll lose time every time the top riders race and totally crumble on a mountain stage.

    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    edited August 23

    I admire your certainty, but do you recall Voeckler or Alaphilippe at all?

    For now, I am firmly in the, don’t know how it will play out, Camp.

    Today, I got the impression that Roglic and Bora are a lot less confident about the final result, than you.

    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,553

    I don't think you can discount any rider who has twice finished fourth in a GT when he has a lead of nearly five minutes. i'm not certain he'll win, but equally, I'm not certain anyone will over haul his lead.

    Some people have short memories, it was only a year ago that a second tier rider who'd only ever had one top ten GT finish previously, gained time in a break in the first week and held on to win.

  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,656

    There's a hell of a lot of racing, and a lot of climbing left.

    Anyone can have a bad day, anyone can have an intimate encounter with the asphalt or verge.

    O'Connor can swing a bit, but he's also incredibly dogged when he has his head in the right place, and we've seen he can race in the third week. I reckon he's got a decent chance. I also think Roglic's chip away the bonus seconds is the easiest for him to defend against, and that Roglic will need to make a proper attack at some point if he wants to catch him

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  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463

    The ride yesterday suggests O’Connor is in serious form. He didn’t just get lucky, the peloton expected him to come back in the latter stages even if he took the win but simply couldn’t take any time back from him. Relying on him having a bad day and cracking could have the same result.