2013 Vuelta a España, Stage 15: Andorra → Peyragudes (224.9 Km)

[Vino attacks everyone]

How is the weather forcast? bad, not-that-bad, good, excellent??

 

[Netserk]

How is the weather forcast? bad, not-that-bad, good, excellent??

See the OP.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

See the OP.

ah, yes. Thanks

 

[Netserk]

ah, yes. Thanks

It's going to be a great day today

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

It's going to be a great day today

Nibali and the old man will destroy them all once again

 

[Netserk]

Nibali and the old man will destroy them all once again

Nibs is going to stomp it like Vino did in 2003! _O_

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Nibs is going to stomp it like Vino did in 2003! _O_

Nibali and Kangert will a La Pandera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgdRpvtTgTE

 

[Netserk]

Nibali and Kangert will a La Pandera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgdRpvtTgTE

Motorbikes are simply too slow

 

[jens_attacks]

i just hope for an agressive port de bales. on peyresourde i'm pretty sure kiserlovski and horner will kill them again. nibali will survive though, horner needs some sunny days, pena cabarga might be his big day i hope

as a reminder, fastest ascents of peyresourde:
http://climbing-records.blogspot.com/2013/07/calm-finale-after-ballistic-start-on.html

2003:9,8 km@7,7%---25:20---average speed 23.21 km/h(Vinokourov-Mayo)-RECORD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=sT9Hg48Vqjc#t=1950

some magic!

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Motorbikes are simply too slow

And that is when he was climbing

 

[greenedge]

I think Horner will take the stage- Nibali cannot just ride on his wheel all day (he will try an attack). Nibali to trail by 5 seconds, will be my guess.

 

[Netserk]

Tomasz Marczynski DNS

 

[Descender]

I like reading a lot of things you have to comment on, Descender, but I have to disagree with you here. Your analogy doesn't seem to fit for me - yes it's 'unprofessional' for someone to complain about a shift at a time they wouldn't normally do it if they knew about it in advance, but I don't think staying up at night is really comparable to the work conditions of being forced to be outside in the cold for hours. Granted I haven't seen and couldn't translate full Spanish of what Valverde said, but the English version seems to read like this: he felt terrible, conditions were terrible, some riders had to quit because of hypothermia and that sucks. I don't disagree with any of this. If I worked a night shift and I was interviewed by the media after it for some reason, and they asked how my day/night was, I'd probably say that I was tired and I needed some sleep and that I didn't feel good. That wouldn't be unprofessional or complaining about my work, that would just be answering a question truthfully, right?

I dunno, just seems a bit hyperbolic to call people 'pussies' for feeling physically bad and talking about it honestly.

You left out the part of his statements that I was criticising: where he said that, if conditions were the same on today's stage, organisers would have to "consider doing something about it", otherwise they'd be left with 50 riders.

That is where the half-assed weakness comes along. To follow up on my analogy, it would be like me saying "look boss, I was so knackered on Sunday I had to spend the whole day in bed... I mean, if you don't want us to stay home, you'd consider doing something about night shifts...".

For goodness sake, he is a professional cyclist. He gets paid loads of money to ride a bicycle. And last time I checked, his contract doesn't include a clause that states he'd race "except when the weather is dodgy".

Come on Alejandro, man up, put on a jacket and some gloves and ride.

Jeez that Descender guy talks some cr@p. How can he seriously criticize these guys for getting cold and having a bit of a moan! Id love to see him tackle a cold mountain stage in the ****ing rain with long 50mph+ descents (ever heard of wind chill?) and 5% body fat. There's only so much that clothing can do for you. Yeah we can all wrap up warm and go for a little spin on a chilly day. Its not quite the same as what these guys were doing. Chapeau to all the riders who made the finish and good luck for tomorrow!

I've ridden a bike, thanks. I know very well that proper clothing will allow you to ride in temperatures above 5º without any health risks. For goodness sake, riders have been doing this for decades... but now people like Valverde go on record asking the organisers to soften the stages. And he calls himself a professional rider? Shame on him.

 

[Netserk]

You certainly didn't hear Nibali cry in the Giro over the weather, and that was far worse conditions.

 

[roundabout]

How much descending did he have to do in bad weather?

But you probably know the answer.

 

[Flamin]

You certainly didn't hear Nibali cry in the Giro over the weather, and that was far worse conditions.

No, just no.

 

[Pentacycle]

You certainly didn't hear Nibali cry in the Giro over the weather, and that was far worse conditions.

When the weather is one of the main reasons you win, it's not very appropriate to complain about it.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Tweets indicate that a break formed with Amets Txurruka (Caja Rural), Javi Moreno (Movistar), Dario Cataldo (Sky), Sergio Henao (Sky) and Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel), then joined by Arroyo (Caja Rural), Rafal Majka (Saxo), Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel), Yoann Bagot (Cofidis), Kenny Elissonde (FDJ).

A 225km stage over multiple mountain passes in horrible weather? Sounds like a job for Nieve.

Then the bunch realised that if Nieve gets in the move on a stage like this he is guaranteed victory, and chased them down, now Txurruka attacking solo.

Apparently Vacansoleil chased the group down because they missed it. Now there's a nine man group on the attack and about to catch Txurruka.

 

[Netserk]

When the weather is one of the main reasons you win, it's not very appropriate to complain about it.

I'm sure poor Nibbles would've lost if it was dry and mild

 

[SafeBet]

When the weather is one of the main reasons you win, it's not very appropriate to complain about it.

That and the weak field, of course.

 

[Netserk]

That and the weak field, of course.

And the course was designed favourably.

And he was assisted by helicopters.

 

[markene2]

And the course was designed favourably.

And he was assisted by helicopters.

lol'ed

10char

 

[roundabout]

Looks like the weather may be better than yesterday's predictions. Nice job by Vac to chase the break down having only 4 riders left.

 

[Netserk]

Huzarski in front. A group of 22 riders behind including Henao and Arroyo.

 

[icefire]

Having ridden my bike in Northern Europe winter days with temperatures down to -18ºC I don't get all the fuss about the weather. Honestly. Get proper clothing and gloves FFS.