# Vuelta heating up!-



## PJay (May 28, 2004)

The Vuelta is heating up!
I am not following much, but things look interesting.
Quintana was able to distance Froome, and everyone, yesterday. Is this what it takes to grind down Froome?
Quintana, Valverde, Contador, and Froome all look like contenders, plus other all-around riders are still in the running.


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## Handbrake (May 29, 2012)

I don't think Froome can be ground down. Win the TdF, win a crit or two, hit the olympics road race, take bronze in the ITT, ride away from almost everyone in the Vuelta. 

Pretty busy schedule, he should spend some time with British Track to explain how they can peak more than every 4 years.


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

Vuelta is a totally different type of race to the Tour. Froome isn't at peak like he was for the Tour. Valverde is the one I'm impressed by and I've been a fan of his since 2005. A hard classics season, Giro, National Championships, Tour, San Sebastian, Olympics, Vuelta.


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

I've never been a Valverde fan, but I have to admit he has been on the front all year. He's a dangerous man.


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## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

It's nice seeing Nairo go on the attack a couple of times, hopefully he remembers how to do it again at next years' TdF.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

Sounds interesting, but, argh!, my Tivo didn't record it for some reason.


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## MoonHowl (Oct 5, 2008)

Froome still looking unbeatable to me esp. given the upcoming TT. Even when he started out slow the other day on the climb; when he turned it on he was the fastest guy on the mountain.


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## Fireform (Dec 15, 2005)

I sometimes imagine what it would be like if Phil and Bob were narrating a porn video. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

Holy Cow.
Sitting here at work catching the text updates as I can...Love the Vuelta.


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## burgrat (Nov 18, 2005)

Just an awesome day today. Great race!


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## roox (May 14, 2008)

best grand tour of the season I reckon. Amazing push by the breakaway today. was on the edge of my seat all morning.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Damn.... You Know Who's teammates finished....53 MINUTES down today


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

roox said:


> best grand tour of the season I reckon. Amazing push by the breakaway today. was on the edge of my seat all morning.


It's hard to argue with this. Great racing today and Quintana is a grown butt man. That's how you take the fight to someone. It was definitely a lot of fun to watch.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Rashadabd said:


> It's hard to argue with this. Great racing today and Quintana is a grown butt man. That's how you take the fight to someone. It was definitely a lot of fun to watch.


Was definitely fun to watch.....The grupetto finished 20+ minutes past the elimination time. For *some reason* the UCI jury decided to completely ignore the elimination time rules today. Golly gee I wonder why.


BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

KoroninK said:


> Vuelta is a totally different type of race to the Tour. Froome isn't at peak like he was for the Tour. Valverde is the one I'm impressed by and I've been a fan of his since 2005. A hard classics season, Giro, National Championships, Tour, San Sebastian, Olympics, Vuelta.


The older he gets the stronger he gets, and the longer season he is able to race. He goes full out from the classics through the worlds. amazing nobody else can do that for a full season while staying competitive the whole time. He should share his secret when he retires.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

Well played on their part to absorb as many riders as they could, but to simply sit up and not even work was an insult to Sky, Moviestar and Tinkoff who actually raced today. What do you do if one of the riders who took a rest day wins tomorrow? Is that fair to Contador who put it all out there today to only just come up short?


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## coldash (May 7, 2012)

Excellent stage. Credit to Brambilla for starting the break and Contador for then going and driving it on. Quintana and Movistar were quick to jump on (and took their turns on pacing duties) but Froome/Sky and OBE seemed to be asleep. "All" Froome had to do was keep an eye on Quintana and wheel suck in the same way as Quintana did to Froome in the TdF. All in all it was a bit of a bizarre performance from Sky and OBE. ...... and Froome would have lost a lot more time (maybe + 5 to 10 minutes) if Astana hadn't taken over the pacing duties to protect Scaproni's top 10 position. Certainly, Froome's own team were nowhere to be seen. 

Definitely a stage to remember and I'm very happy that I was able to watch it live from the start.


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## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

Not too happy with nearly half the peloton missing the time cut and be allowed to continue...That would've changed the game a little.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

upstateSC-rider said:


> Not too happy with nearly half the peloton missing the time cut and be allowed to continue...That would've changed the game a little.


Over half, actually.


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## coldash (May 7, 2012)

upstateSC-rider said:


> Not too happy with nearly half the peloton missing the time cut and be allowed to continue...That would've changed the game a little.


IIRC, 71 inside the time limit, 93 outside (it might be 73, 91?). The entire Direct Energie team missed the cut. Four teams, including Sky would have had one (or 2 depending on whether Lopez made the cut) rider left and another eight would have had two or three riders left. I guess the jury took sponsors, audience and supporters aspects into consideration. It is a judgment call that they are allowed to make. They also chose not to do anything about what some thought came very near to Moto pacing from the camera bikes at the front of the breakaway. 

Anyway, life and the Vuelta goes on.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

coldash said:


> IIRC, 71 inside the time limit, 93 outside (it might be 73, 91?). The entire Direct Energie team missed the cut. Four teams, including Sky would have had one (or 2 depending on whether Lopez made the cut) rider left and another eight would have had two or three riders left. I guess the jury took sponsors, audience and supporters aspects into consideration. It is a judgment call that they are allowed to make. They also chose not to do anything about what some thought came very near to Moto pacing from the camera bikes at the front of the breakaway.
> 
> Anyway, life and the Vuelta goes on.


The sand bagging of the professional peloton, that too goes on.

Crap like that is went audiences and sponsors don't care for the sport. Professionals expecting a salary for not racing


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

coldash said:


> Excellent stage. Credit to Brambilla for starting the break and Contador for then going and driving it on. Quintana and Movistar were quick to jump on (and took their turns on pacing duties) but Froome/Sky and OBE seemed to be asleep. "All" Froome had to do was keep an eye on Quintana and wheel suck in the same way as Quintana did to Froome in the TdF. All in all it was a bit of a bizarre performance from Sky and OBE. ...... and Froome would have lost a lot more time (maybe + 5 to 10 minutes) if Astana hadn't taken over the pacing duties to protect Scaproni's top 10 position. Certainly, Froome's own team were nowhere to be seen.
> 
> Definitely a stage to remember and I'm very happy that I was able to watch it live from the start.


Also interesting was Movistar working over Sky on the previous stage with 3 riders in the breakaway. Made Sky chase most of the stage then hit them early on the following stage. Valverde also did a great job running interference back in the group with Froome on the last climb. Starting attacks, dragging a group of riders behind him then slowing and making Froome have to ride through that group, disrupting his rhythm.


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

spookyload said:


> Well played on their part to absorb as many riders as they could, but to simply sit up and not even work was an insult to Sky, Moviestar and Tinkoff who actually raced today. What do you do if one of the riders who took a rest day wins tomorrow? Is that fair to Contador who put it all out there today to only just come up short?


Except for the fact that most of Sky's riders were in the group.


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

spookyload said:


> The older he gets the stronger he gets, and the longer season he is able to race. He goes full out from the classics through the worlds. amazing nobody else can do that for a full season while staying competitive the whole time. He should share his secret when he retires.


Doubt he'll ever say anything. Indurain made a comment the other day that this is Valverde's gift and what makes him such a unique rider. Although we have now seen that 3 Grand Tours in one season was asking even too much from him. I had really hoped he'd have found a way to get that top 10, but it's now exceptionally unlikely. Hopefully he can at least hold onto the green jersey.


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## coldash (May 7, 2012)

4Crawler said:


> Also interesting was Movistar working over Sky on the previous stage with 3 riders in the breakaway. Made Sky chase most of the stage then hit them early on the following stage. Valverde also did a great job running interference back in the group with Froome on the last climb. Starting attacks, dragging a group of riders behind him then slowing and making Froome have to ride through that group, disrupting his rhythm.


Very good points. Getting Moreno in the break on the previous stage was great tactics from Movistar. If Froome had had the legs, he might have been better off "TT"ing it and ignoring Valverde and the others because his real race was with the others up the road. Valverde, for all his "history" is one of the more entertaining riders these days.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

KoroninK said:


> Except for the fact that most of Sky's riders were in the group.


Yup, if the elimination time was enforces Froome would have only had *1 teammate left* for the rest of Vuelta. I think Sky would have been the most short-staffed if the grupetto was cut.


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## coldash (May 7, 2012)

Marc said:


> Yup, if the elimination time was enforces Froome would have only had *1 teammate left* for the rest of Vuelta. I think Sky would have been the *most* short-staffed if the grupetto was cut.


No so. Direct Energie would have had 0 riders left in total, Lotto-Jumbo 1, FDJ 1, Bora Argon 1, so Sky would not have been the most short staffed.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

And today's winners raced like they have t been racing for two weeks. Shocked...not


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## RagbraiNewB (May 21, 2008)

I am enjoying Bob teasing Phil {oops, it's Paul actually] about Sky's weakness and how Froome has no chance and just doesn't have the legs. Had not realized that Phil literally cared about Sky winning.

Phil seemed to imply there had been collusion between Contador and Quintana.


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

RagbraiNewB said:


> I am enjoying Bob teasing Phil about Sky's weakness and how Froome has no chance and just doesn't have the legs. Had not realized that Phil literally cared about Sky winning.
> 
> Phil seemed to imply there had been collusion between Contador and Quintana.


They just got in an argument about the Union Flag/Union Jack during the Tour of Britain coverage. They are a mess.


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## RagbraiNewB (May 21, 2008)

So how much time can Froome make up in the time trial? Has Quintana got this thing wrapped up?


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## dcb (Jul 21, 2008)

The top four crossed the line together today so no changes. I don't think Froome catches Nairo without some bad luck befalling the Colombian. 

In other news, Cav stops to mid race to speak his mind to a spectator: Mark Cavendish stops to talk to fan during Tour of Britain 2016 | Metro News


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

That climb today was no joke; so brutal, but fun to watch. This stage reminded me of a one day race, everybody just going for it. I love it. To answer the question that has been posed, at his best, Froome can be one of the better time trialists in the world and could be good for 2:00-3:00 minuted over an average time trialist like Quintana. Quintana should be safe if can hold what he has now, but he clearly wants more of a cushion. Great ride by Mathias Frank. AG2R could be so strong in the mountains next year as they are adding him and Gwniez to all of the other climbers they already have (Bardet, Riblon, Peraud, Bakelants, etc.) . Good stuff and a fun stage for sure.


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## BacDoc (Aug 1, 2011)

Rashadabd said:


> That climb today was no joke; so brutal, but fun to watch. This stage reminded me of a one day race, everybody just going for it.
> 
> Great ride by Mathias Frank. Good stuff and a fun stage for sure.


Fun stage to watch for sure but brutal for the riders. Watching those guys on that steep final climb was amazing. Contador living up to his rep and Froome catching the group was classic pro grand tour action.

Mathias Frank! You gotta be kidding me, holding off the best of the best climbers on one of the toughest finishes in this Vuelta - I was yelling at the tv, hoping he would get the win. Strong ride and he deserved the win.


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

always the candidate for best GT of the year--the vuelta delivered again this year!


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## ozzybmx (Jun 23, 2013)

How good is the crowd on the Vuelta !?

A credit to the Spanish race, the TDF is disgusting on the big mountain stages.


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## coldash (May 7, 2012)

ozzybmx said:


> How good is the crowd on the Vuelta !?
> 
> A credit to the Spanish race, the TDF is disgusting on the big mountain stages.


Overall I agree that the crowd has been good and well policed but today Chevrier was brought down by a spectator who walked out in front of him to wave to the camera. Fortunately no one else was involved and the spectator took a (hopefully) hard hit.


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

It was a great race and another exciting attack filled stage today. The police were very active on a number stages I watched and I think that helped a lot with the crowds. I saw my fair share of goofballs though that came close to causing accidents. It's so hard to watch the TdF after you have experienced a couple of good Giros and Vueltas. I also have to tip my hat to Quintana for his victory , Froome for fighting the good fight, Valverde for being a workhorse, Chaves for his second grand tour podium this year, and Contador for surviving multiple crashes and fighting until the end. Inspiring racing all around. It was also nice to see Talansky quietly pull of a top 5 in a grand tour. I am looking forward to the battles in the mountians next year between Movistar, Sky, Trek (with the addition of Contador and Pantano), AG2R (with Mathias Frank joining them) and Orica Bike Exchange (with the Yates brothers, Chavez, and Roman Kruezinger).


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## Handbrake (May 29, 2012)

It seems the police in Spain are more active in grabbing fans and tossing them off the road, which is nice to see. There just aren't enough of them.

Quintana really rode well and smarter than he usually does. Really shocked to see both he and Froome (other than stage 15) could still climb so well after doing the TdF, it was a really tough Vuelta.

Contador was the surprising one to me as he just couldn't go today even though it meant being knocked off the podium. Orica played that one well but I expected Contador to be able to hang.


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

A beautiful day of racing. Painful for the riders but good Spain PR for the spectators.

Good tour by Quintana, who demonstrates the humility to be one of the world's best cyclists if only he can bear to stare at Froome's bony rear for hour upon hour!

Video screens keep getting more lightweight and flexible - Quintana may convince Froome to put a video display on the back of his tights so the GTs are not so visually painful for Quintana.

Good tour for Latour!

Good Grand Tour year for Quintana, Froome, Contador, Valverde, and a nice handful of others!


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

Orica with Chavez and the Yates twins I think are the biggest good surprise of the season. Must congratulate them and hope to see continued inprovement upon the building of that team as a GC contending team. I like that Chavez was willing to attack and try and risk loosing more if his gamble was wrong. That is refreshing to see.


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## RagbraiNewB (May 21, 2008)

Really enjoyed watching the Vuelta. That last mountain stage there was so much going on. Froome trying one last time to get a minute back, Chaves going for the podium, last KOM points up for grabs. LLS going for the stage win, but falling short. Darwin Atapuma who is fun to watch battling it out. If you had a non-fan friend and you wanted to show someone why the grand tours are interesting to watch, this year's Vuelta had it all. 

Also the role of the teams, where Sky didn't send their A-team to support Froome, and Movistar had Valverde who would basically be the GC team leader on almost every other team supporting Quintana


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