patrick767 said:When was the last time Basso rode away from the top GC guys in a grand tour? His 2010 Giro win? He's got over 2 minutes to make up on Roche and Valverde to make the podium. All I've seen him do in recent years is struggle to stay in contact on the big climbs.
under ideal conditions, roche is expected to fade in the last 3 MTFs significantly enough for basso to get a podium spot.
But this vuelta doesn't believe in dieal conditions.
bad luck for Valverde today. But for that issue, he would have been probably 10-20 sec off nibali.