Does anyone know what's wrong? He was a boss in January and February and has disappeared completely since then, except for two won groups sprints for 3rd place. Mistiming of his form? But then he should be able to peak again in the fall. It was also an issue last year.
We're approaching the part of the season where the riders suddenly just don't have anything left in the tank, making it harder to predict. Del Toro has been all over the place for three months now; he's certainly one of the top candidates to be running out of gas, especially having done the...
I suspect he might be sick since he rode such a bad ITT as well. Or perhaps its just the two GTs in a season at such a young age that's finally taking it's toll.
MTF's like these usually don't provide as big gaps as one might expect. The last five times Angliru has been the MTF, the margin between 1st and 5th has been:
2023: 44 seconds
2020: 26 seconds
2017: 51 seconds
2013: 54 seconds
2012: 1 minute 21 seconds
So I don't expect huge gaps today either...
I like the profile. I guess this is just a straight forward break away stage, no? I don't see who should be interested in trying to pull back a break. Q36.5 perhaps. Trek for Ciccone? I don't really think so.
I reckon one of the three UAE musketeers will take it. Each for themselves, none for all.
That sounds weird. Especially the fatigue part, since he had less than 50 race days when he blew up this Vuelta. But he has had a few periods of illness and recovery this season, so perhaps that's what's taking its toll as well.
Perhaps yes, but he hasn't ever managed to make it all click and perform well over three weeks, and he's already been in peak condition for a while, so my suspicion is that he will fade eventually if he isn't already.
Vingegaard and Almeida are of course locked in, and Gall looks like the best option for third place at this point. Ciccone’s form seems to be fading, and he’ll struggle on Angliru and Bola del Mundo. It’s funny that Pidcock is actually a candidate now. Personally, I don’t believe it, but he did...