2011 Vuelta a Espana Stage 11: Verín - Estación de Montaña Manzaneda 167,0 km (31/8)

[Gloin22]

I don't think any other rider would sacrifice himself, while in the red leaders jersey, for a teammate who so far in the race has shown nothing to show that he is stronger than Froome. I mean the fact that Froome beats Wiggins in a TT should just show that Froome is in much, much better shape than Wiggins. I guess he's not "purely" british though so I guess that's why they use him as a domestique.

That's pure stupid. If Froome was in better shape he would be the leader. He isn't. Maybe he looked strong for few days but he is inconsistent, he will more than likely blow up on Angry Lou, while Wiggo won't. Wiggo came as an leader here and I think that was judged by the level of fitness, consistency. Not by ''not being British enough''

 

[Lexman]

Today I say a definite NO to the chances of Fuglsang, Froome, JvdBroeck (hanging in there at the skin of his teeth) and Menchov.
And for people who still believed in Scarponi, well... no.

agreed with that !

 

[Winterfold]

Wiggins is going to have a hell of a time defending 11 seconds to Nibali.

Maybe - but has Nibbles finished in front of Wiggo on a mountain or hilly finish yet?

I dont think he has...

EDIT

... but I would be A LOT happier if he had done the ITT 40-50s quicker

 

[virandociclista]

for me the battle will be between nibbles and mollema!

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

That's pure stupid. If Froome was in better shape he would be the leader. He isn't. Maybe he looked strong for few days but he is inconsistent, he will more than likely blow up on Angry Lou, while Wiggo won't. Wiggo came as an leader here and I think that was judged by the level of fitness, consistency. Not by ''not being British enough''

you seem certain wiggo wont blow on angry lu ey. He will be up against there forsure.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

for me the battle will be between nibbles and mollema!

I agree, mollema is looking pretty good. He is keen anyway.

 

[luckyboy]

wooo yeah

 

[canyonball]

If the roads had been full on a Wednesday wouldn't that have just confirmed the Northern European biases against the South

How so? If they weren't at the race, certainly they were doing "la siesta"

 

[patrick767]

I don't think any other rider would sacrifice himself, while in the red leaders jersey, for a teammate who so far in the race has shown nothing to show that he is stronger than Froome. I mean the fact that Froome beats Wiggins in a TT should just show that Froome is in much, much better shape than Wiggins. I guess he's not "purely" british though so I guess that's why they use him as a domestique.

Right. It's because Froome isn't British enough.

Froome is showing that he's a break out talent with huge potential, but he has nothing in his prior race results to indicate that he can win a grand tour. There's a long way to go in this race with several more very tough stages. Wiggins has proven in the past that he has a real chance of winning. It's a logical tactical decision by Sky to go with him.

 

[luckyboy]

Wiggins is going to have a hell of a time defending 11 seconds to Nibali.

Impossible with Angliru coming up.

 

[roundabout]

Wiggins looked very good again today. But it's his sort of climb.

Mollema is looking like more of a threat with each day though.

 

[l.Harm]

I keep telling myself Mollema won't win this Vuelta. But if I watch these MTF stages I keep thinking it

Dutch mafia alert

 

[hatcher]

Wiggins looked very good again today. But it's his sort of climb.

Mollema is looking like more of a threat with each day though.

Kessiakoff too.

 

[jens_attacks]

epic fail stage yet again.
great job god with al this headwind killing any chance of long-distance attack.i hope i won't see this climb again in vuelta...they should go in the pyrenees more often.
angliru,the only place where we'll see some kind of gaps between the riders

 

[Anonymous]

I agree, mollema is looking pretty good. He is keen anyway.

This Vuelta is the unveiling of the real "GREATNESS" in him

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

And Dan Martin can win summit finishes in Grand Tours.

it's a matter of time before you will have to eat your words

 

[patrick767]

Wiggins is going to have a hell of a time defending 11 seconds to Nibali.

With Froome turning out to be one hell of a domestique, I'd say Wiggins has a real shot at this one.

 

[roundabout]

Kessiakoff too.

I think Kessiakoff is riding sensibly so to say to finish as high as possible in the end and not after a win. I don't really expect him to attack as a top-10 will be a very good result for him.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I agree, mollema is looking pretty good. He is keen anyway.

hmm, Mollema is better on tempo climbs than very steep ones you know. He could have a hard time and end up with Wiggins on Angliru.

Rodriguez could catch 1 minute + 20 boni there...

 

[Scansorial]

While I agree that Wiggins is more proven than Froome, why not try to preserve Froome as long as possible? Seems like a waste to throw away his high GC position after only one stage.

 

[hatcher]

While I agree that Wiggins is more proven than Froome, why not try to preserve Froome as long as possible? Seems like a waste to throw away his high GC position after only one stage.

What could they do when they were the last two Sky guys left? As soon as Possoni gave way the other teams swamped them. If Froome didn't chase down the dangerous attacks, who would?

 

[Epicycle]

I can see somebody eventually grabbing the lead like Savoldelli did in the 2002 Giro. There were a bunch of guys very close on GC late in the race. Paolo attacked on a MTF on stage 17 and got the gap he needed to win. All it takes is somebody feeling good enough on Angliru to win the jersey there.

 

[shalgo]

While I agree that Wiggins is more proven than Froome, why not try to preserve Froome as long as possible? Seems like a waste to throw away his high GC position after only one stage.

Well, Froome is only seven seconds behind Wiggins and is still second on GC, so they haven't exactly thrown away is high GC position.

 

[patrick767]

While I agree that Wiggins is more proven than Froome, why not try to preserve Froome as long as possible? Seems like a waste to throw away his high GC position after only one stage.

It is interesting that even with all that work Froome did, he only finished 27 seconds behind Wiggins on the stage.

Also note that they certainly haven't thrown away Froome's chance. He's in 2nd place, seven seconds behind Wiggins.

 

[Winterfold]

While I agree that Wiggins is more proven than Froome, why not try to preserve Froome as long as possible? Seems like a waste to throw away his high GC position after only one stage.

Huh? He's second at 7s

EDIT As above many times...