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2011 Vuelta a España - Stage 13: Sarria - Ponferrada 158.2 km (2/9)

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LukeSchmid

LukeSchmid

Sep 27, 2009
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H2OUUP2 said:
Weather looks a little rough through the high passes.
I will guess LL Sanchez on a break who gets it. That means RS will need someone in there as well. Paulinho will challenge. I've been wrong before though.:eek:
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Maybe Busche will give it a go, not sure how he is coping with first GT.
 
H2OUUP2

H2OUUP2

Jul 4, 2011
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LukeSchmid said:
Maybe Busche will give it a go, not sure how he is coping with first GT.
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I don't know either. I get a terrible feed.... NBC Universal.

Now that I think about it, Tiago might actually be better positioned to follow. I'll take him over Paulihno. I will be completely off though.:D
 
LukeSchmid

LukeSchmid

Sep 27, 2009
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H2OUUP2 said:
I don't know either. I get a terrible feed.... NBC Universal.

Now that I think about it, Tiago might actually be better positioned to follow. I'll take him over Paulihno. I will be completely off though.:D
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The trouble with Machado is that he is only 4 minutes down, the peloton might be reluctant to let him go in a break.
 
LaFlorecita

LaFlorecita

May 15, 2011
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Descender said:
6801d1310939089t-copa-america-2011-blank_facepalm_224.gif



I suppose that 94 is the year you were born, right? It would make sense reading your post.
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Ah come on. Don't be so mean. (by the way, I was born in '92. Does that make me "stupid" as well?;))
 
Parrulo

Parrulo

Aug 5, 2010
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LukeSchmid said:
The trouble with Machado is that he is only 4 minutes down, the peloton might be reluctant to let him go in a break.
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well they may remember that he has been losing time on every climb and that the only reason why he is so "well" placed on GC its because of his time trial where he put a lot of time into many people. would be the perfect time to go into a break tho
 
H2OUUP2

H2OUUP2

Jul 4, 2011
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LukeSchmid said:
The trouble with Machado is that he is only 4 minutes down, the peloton might be reluctant to let him go in a break.
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He'll lose time on the weekend though. Peleton would know that, and give him a minute or so. Also, If a RB guy goes, a RS guy will have to counter. That's why with me picking Sanchez, a RS guy has to be there.
 
Tank Engine

Tank Engine

Jul 16, 2011
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Cogombre said:
This is a good day for the likes of Katusha, RadioShack, Movistar and Geox to put their secondary GC riders (Moreno, Pardilla, Machado, etc) in the breakaway. It could be a hell of a day for Sky if they do.

I doubt it very much, though.
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This stage looks like the starter for a three course meal of mountains. A couple of real nasty climbs, but in the middle of the stage. Although it's unlikely that anything major will happen on GC, it will serve to tire out those who are not on the top of their game and whet the appetite of those looking to take time at the weekend.

mmm.. I had those teams down as being very keen to get someone in the break as well (the ones on the edge of the GC battle). Radioshack will have to get someone up there for the all important team competition. How much pressure it will put on Sky depends on who gets away. Look out for Montaguti and Moncoutie to renew their mountain rivalry. Mouncoutie is still quite close on GC, so if he doesn't get away, he may well lose time on purpose to give himself more freedom at the weekend. Chavanel ftw
 
S

Swede1

Jun 7, 2011
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Moncoutie might want to be in the break for the mountains jersey. Unless he plans on going solo for a long time, and I doubt he will win a sprint from the break, I dont think he will win the stage. Someone like Fedrigo will win the stage from a break. Decent climber with a good sprint. Possibly Gasparotto. More likely that Chavanel is in the break though, and he seems to be in good shape, so ill go with Chavanel.
 
H2OUUP2

H2OUUP2

Jul 4, 2011
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Swede1 said:
Moncoutie might want to be in the break for the mountains jersey. Unless he plans on going solo for a long time, and I doubt he will win a sprint from the break, I dont think he will win the stage. Someone like Fedrigo will win the stage from a break. Decent climber with a good sprint. Possibly Gasparotto. More likely that Chavanel is in the break though, and he seems to be in good shape, so ill go with Chavanel.
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I was thinking Chavanel as well. I took him today though. Can I take the same rider two days in a row? Is that within the rules?:p
 
Zoncolan

Zoncolan

Apr 1, 2009
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I can easily see Sagan taking this one as well. That Cat1 climb should get rid of Kittel et al, even if the bunch decides to soft pedal. Sagan just might survive if they don't really drill it.
Points jersey in Madrid possibly?:)
 
Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

Feb 20, 2010
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Zoncolan said:
This. I wouldn't want it to be a MTF, as we have plenty of those in this Vuelta. Rather a finish somewhere at 120-130 km, or at Candin would be great to watch.
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Personally I think it would be even better to put the finish at Fabero, after the cat.3 climb. Remember that if you have a small climb that isn't too selective as the last, the previous climb is where attacks have to be - eg Finestre, or Mortirolo. Especially Mortirolo - Aprica on its own is a climb you or I could get up in our sleep, but after the climb and descent of the Mortirolo it's agony. Giving the riders who've been forced to attack and defend on Ancares another dose of uphill could make it really incredible.
jsem94 said:
They could've had that climb as as a mtf finish instead. It's like when Le Tour put the Tourmalet in the middle of a stage.
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There is pretty much nothing at the top of Ancares. The chances are they simply could NOT have had it as an MTF. It's also a long way from any population centre whatsoever.
Kwibus said:
Nice stage for an interesting breakaway. There won't be any GC action, but breakaway riders need their chances as well.
I'm quite happy they get their chance as well. The stage over the aubisque this year that Hushovd won was entertaining imo.

I think the Vuelta course is fine until the last week. They should've made that a bit more interesting.
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Yea, the Vuelta course has been absolutely fine. We've had some gradual climbs, some good short steep stuff. People were raving about how great the Tour had been, but what did that give us in the first two weeks? A couple of days of good short steep stuff and the rest of it was just sprints and crashes. Yet the Tour gets lauded as the best edition in years, while the Vuelta - which has put in more potentially decisive stages - is criticised for being boring. The Tour went out deliberately to be as dull as possible for two weeks to engineer a close finish. The Vuelta has tried its best not to, but the riders have had other ideas.
H2OUUP2 said:
He'll lose time on the weekend though. Peleton would know that, and give him a minute or so. Also, If a RB guy goes, a RS guy will have to counter. That's why with me picking Sanchez, a RS guy has to be there.
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But if he gets in the break, the rest of the break might not want him there, because a minute is too close for comfort - they won't be allowed to get too far up front.
Zoncolan said:
I can easily see Sagan taking this one as well. That Cat1 climb should get rid of Kittel et al, even if the bunch decides to soft pedal. Sagan just might survive if they don't really drill it.
Points jersey in Madrid possibly?:)
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I'll be very surprised if Sagan makes it over Ancares with the lead bunch. If he does make it to the finish, he'll have done an amazing job on the descent.
 
K

khardung la

May 8, 2009
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Mellow Velo said:
Meh, meh and thrice meh.
The Vuelta pay homage to Pau with the stage pinnacle at 60kms to go.....
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There is plenty of room for carnage in the stage. Those 60 kms are by no means like going down to Pau. Lumeras and Ocero are short but break the rhythm. Their descents are fast and a group of favorites could get rid of the concurrence by attacking in Ancares. The roads are tricky and invite to attacking.

For me the main issue of this stage is that it is before 2 hard MTFs stages Saturday and Sunday, so probably the riders will not be eager to loose too much energy.
 
Zoncolan

Zoncolan

Apr 1, 2009
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Libertine Seguros said:
I'll be very surprised if Sagan makes it over Ancares with the lead bunch. If he does make it to the finish, he'll have done an amazing job on the descent.
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Well, he did really well at the Tour de Suisse catching an accomplished downhiller in Cunego. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
 
R

Reverend_T_Preedy

Feb 12, 2010
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Could be a horrible day to control for Sky but I can't see any of the main GC contenders to do anything. The long decent/small climb/flat section after the Cat 1 climb will take a lot of effort for one of the main contenders to they will be worried about what is to come.

I expect a breakaway to contest the stage win with a bund of 30-40 riders max rolling over the line 5-10 minutes later.
 
T

theyoungest

Jan 11, 2010
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Libertine Seguros said:
I'll be very surprised if Sagan makes it over Ancares with the lead bunch. If he does make it to the finish, he'll have done an amazing job on the descent.
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Fuglsang and Ten Dam couldn't drop him on the Grosse Scheidegg, so unless the lead bunch is 20 riders he should be able to hold on. If he has the form he had then.
 
M

maltiv

Oct 23, 2009
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theyoungest said:
Fuglsang and Ten Dam couldn't drop him on the Grosse Scheidegg, so unless the lead bunch is 20 riders he should be able to hold on. If he has the form he had then.
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I don't think he does, he hasn't looked strong in any of the climbs so far. In top shape I think he would've been with Nibali quite a bit longer in the mountains than he has been so far in the race.
 
M

Moondance

Jul 2, 2009
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Good day for a break. Sky will want to take it as easy as possible, and the remaining teams with legitimate sprinters will have to straddle too think a line between not dropping their own fast men and reeling in the break.
 
Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

Feb 20, 2010
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theyoungest said:
Fuglsang and Ten Dam couldn't drop him on the Grosse Scheidegg, so unless the lead bunch is 20 riders he should be able to hold on. If he has the form he had then.
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Yea, but that was early on in a one-week race. This is nearly 2 weeks into a GT, which is uncharted territory for him. If the pace isn't drilled or he is within a minute or maybe two at the top, he can likely descend back on, because he's a stupendous descender. But I expect it to be a day for the break.
 
F

Frosty

Jun 25, 2009
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Could be tactical with teams looking to get riders there in case it breaks up on the big climb.

Taaramae has had four easy days in a row now, i think he will be looking to get in the break on this stage and the Angliru.

With two first cat climbs it could well be one for the king of the mountains contenders too.
 
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