Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

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find_bruce
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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby find_bruce » Wed Aug 23, 2017 1:18 pm

Certainly shaken the chaff out of the GC quickly - I have some doubts about whether de la Cruz or Roche will last the distance & am pretty sure TJvG won't last, but otherwise those in the top 10 were pretty much expected. Looks like Kelderman & Zakarin don't have it & will continue to slide.

Nibali & Chaves certainly look to have good legs

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby MichaelB » Wed Aug 23, 2017 3:38 pm

find_bruce wrote: ...Nibali & Chaves certainly look to have good legs
Nibali got dropped on the climb at the end of Stage 3 and must have descended pretty damn well to catch the guys to make up the almost 20 sec gap, so are his legs good, or is he riding into form ?

Only time will tell.

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby find_bruce » Thu Aug 24, 2017 6:43 am

Yum yum humble pie for me - didn't think stage 5 was tough enough to distance a gc contender & I was wrong about who

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby fat and old » Thu Aug 24, 2017 7:04 am

And the TJVG entourage is on! :lol:

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby lone rider » Thu Aug 24, 2017 8:09 am

2 cracking GC stages already. I worry how long Chaves can go with the season he has had. Nibali been dropped twice now on Cat 2 climbs, last nights was pretty brutal at times though. Jack Haig is announcing himself and the good thing about Froome's lead is he wont have to work for Chaves/Yates and can just ride his own race until later on, be good to see how far he can take his current form.

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby MichaelB » Thu Aug 24, 2017 11:07 am

It seems some GC guys are not on the same plane or tired from LeTour.

TJvG isn't really a GC contender, or will he do a Froome from a few years ago ?
Esteban - keep going man !!
Nico Roche may get a top 10 - who will be the BMC protected rider in the end ?
Aru & Nibali down and losing time, so they will have to attack to make up for ITT potential deficit.
Good to see Contador back up to speed - his attacking style is needed
Zakarin & Bardet also bleeding time, but even further back

So is it going to be a Froome, Chaves, Nibali podium with Aru fighting for the scraps ?

A long way to go still and some damn big & steep hillocks to go !!!

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby fat and old » Fri Aug 25, 2017 7:38 am

And useless TjVG manages to not only stack his bike for no apparent reason, but takes down my man doing it! Poor Bananito. Not looking good for contract time now.

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby lone rider » Fri Aug 25, 2017 7:47 am

Im not sure what Alberto was hoping to achieve but geez it was exciting.

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby MichaelB » Fri Aug 25, 2017 8:54 am

fat and old wrote:And useless TjVG manages to not only stack his bike for no apparent reason, but takes down my man doing it! Poor Bananito. Not looking good for contract time now.
And he went down again !!!

The GC is taking shape, but a loooong way to go. Bardet definitely out (but is he losing time to prepare for a stage hunt later ?) and others bleeding time too.

With TJvG stacking and Roche ahead of him on GC, who is protected ....

Orica with 3 guys still in Top 10 atm :D

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby find_bruce » Fri Aug 25, 2017 12:08 pm

Contador has a big chunk of time to make up, just to make the podium & his best chance to do that is make the contenders work, day after day. Froome was down to just Poels. Nibali & Chaves both got dropped & had to work to get back. So i expect to see Contador continue to attack to isolate Froome & the others. Sure Contador may end up being the one to pay the price, but it's not like he has anything to lose

Simon Yates is slowly slipping back so I would expect him & Haig to be sacrificed if needed for the Chaves or Adam Yates - makes for some interesting team strategies

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby MichaelB » Fri Aug 25, 2017 2:17 pm

Some fun facts re the Vuelta from the Roadbook (Pity the Giro & TdF don't have the same data ....)

- 4 stages below 1,000m climbing (TTT & ITT are two of them, and Stage 2 & 21 are the others)
- 4 stages between 1,001 to 2,000m climbing (Stages 4, 9, 10, & 13)
- 7 stages between 2,001 to 3,000m climbing (Stages 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 18 & 19)
- 6 stages over 3,001m climbing (Stages 3, 11, 14, 15, 17 & 20)
- Average ascent per stage = 2,189m ( :shock: I try and average that every couple of weeks .....)
- Total ascent over Vuelta = 45,970m (8,419m nett ascent) :shock: That's 5 Everests within 3 weeks, at a damn fast pace !!!
- Stage 17 - 20 inclusive totals 11,830m ascent in 4 days with just a few steep climbs ...

Holy snappers !!! :P

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby lone rider » Fri Aug 25, 2017 6:38 pm

The thing in Orica's favour is while Froome is in red they dont have to work, unless they get stupid. Chaves will just sit on Froome until the climbs and the others can sit back an watch and keep riding thier own races, no youth classification means they are all there for GC spots only. Froome said he had really tough day yeterday due to Contador so the guys that were in the second group that ended up catching them anyway probably saved a bit of energy.

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby find_bruce » Sun Aug 27, 2017 9:55 am

Sitting on Froome is easier said than done.

Surprised by Barguil's exit - not the first rider to ignore team orders, but I can't remember anyone being pulled from a race by his own team. I'm struggling to understand the decisions from either side - for the team, Kelderman was not even in the top 10 GC. Barguil wouldn't seem to have any GC ambitions, likewise outside the top 10 & was in a group some 8 minutes back from the stage leaders - rolling in at 50th doesn't seem to fit with the claim for a free role in the mountains.

Makes me wonder how much tension there was in the team before his decision to leave.

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby MichaelB » Mon Aug 28, 2017 9:08 am

find_bruce wrote: ...
Surprised by Barguil's exit - not the first rider to ignore team orders, but I can't remember anyone being pulled from a race by his own team. .....
So was I, but there have been others, and in the Vuelta too - Remember Stuey & Andy Pandy getting booted for beering it up (allegedly) and Riis cracked it ?


Anyway, Froome looks strong as does Esteban, but he'll loose some time on the ITT, but there are plenty of stages to go, so maybe he's just biding his time a bit and waiting for the right opportunity.

Haig is still climbing well, so could be interesting when the longer mountains arrive.


Oh, and Cannondale looking shaky too. As much as I love some of the underdogs, the news doesn't appear to be good.

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby AUbicycles » Mon Aug 28, 2017 4:26 pm

Some of the steep climbs are making it interesting. Well done Froome for pushing out on the sprint finish. Yes, he was completely protected by his team mates in a way that no other team does (or can afford the do) but still nice to see such a difficult break off the front.
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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby fat and old » Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:52 am

AUbicycles wrote:Yes, he was completely protected by his team mates in a way that no other team does (or can afford the do)
Well, according to Froomay it would be communism to have it any other way :lol: That's gotta be the dumbest thing I've heard in a while.

On Barguil, I heard commentary on TVE (Spanish...excellent commentary by Pedro Delgardo btw for any linguists here.) which was repeated by the king of pedals Henk von Henk that Keldermann and Barguil have issues going back to their junior days. Barguil was none to happy to see Keldermann added to the team, and things have festered since.

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby AUbicycles » Wed Aug 30, 2017 6:15 am

If Froomey says one dumb thing, then that's ok. I can imagine the media focus and pressure that top riders face - and that they may not always be able to eloquently express themself. I believe I understand what he was intending to convey to say even if I don't entirely agree.

Salary caps or other regulations may not be the right approach - but if success in the sport is only linked towards the size of the budget, fans who are after a show with more competition need to be factored-in.
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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby MichaelB » Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:43 am

Mr S Roche would be happy with how young Nico rode last night.

Bet TJvG was a bit peeved, as it's showing that Nico is heading towards being a protected rider, but tonight's stage may be different ...

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby find_bruce » Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:02 am

Some big time gaps for what was supposedly a medium mountain stage. Two teams will be disappointed. I was surprised at the rider able to stay with Froome & Nibali.

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby MichaelB » Thu Aug 31, 2017 8:23 am

Talk about change in fortunes for Roche. Now even on time with Teejay !

Bugger about Esteban and the Yates boys. Hopefully they can turn it around !

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby MichaelB » Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:12 am

How things can change !! Is Froome lucky it's a sprint stage tomorrow ?

It will be interesting to see how this affects him with his descending and what the others will do re making him chase on a descent.

And just when it was getting a bit predictable ...

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby find_bruce » Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:44 am

Nice to see clembutador attacking & making Sky work, just a pity its a flat stage tonight.

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby fat and old » Sat Sep 02, 2017 12:33 pm

No mention of young Brendan Canty???? Sterling ride the other night; in spite of going over the Armco in a big way. Most impressed.

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby MichaelB » Sun Sep 03, 2017 10:50 am

Got a bit excited when Esteban had a go last night, but none of them could get away.
Oh well, he tried. Great ride by Majka

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Re: Vuelta 2017 - lucky last ?

Postby warthog1 » Mon Sep 04, 2017 12:40 am

Pretty happy with how Jack Haig is riding too. 8)
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