2014 Vuelta a España, Stage 14: Santander → La Camperona. (201 Km)

[DFA123]

This kind of super steep finishing climbs are getting boring nowadays, I'm even starting to miss Arcalis. Anyway, one of the dynamic duo to win with a trademark last km sprint and taking the red from Contador.

Especially ones where the road is so narrow that it'll be really hard to overtake and riders further back might have to get off and walk if the fans are encroaching too much.

I wish they would leave the super steep stuff to the Classics and maybe use something like Angliru or Motirolo once every five years just for a change.

 

[Netserk]

Fantastic and very original stage design. Major props to the Vuelta organisers.

And only with a minimum of descent.

 

[MBotero]

and people like you call us ,ac fans, crazy lol

Wtf why is crazy for Froome to win a stage in La Vuelta,i don't say he'll win the GC,just a ****ing stage If he's here he might at least win a stage.You are crazy,this hate against a cyclist is unhealthy.And i also mentioned if he'll suck,it will be between the Spanish boys

 

[Netserk]

Wtf why is crazy for Froome to win a stage in La Vuelta,i don't say he'll win the GC,just a ****ing stage If he's here he might at least win a stage.You are crazy,this hate against a cyclist is unhealthy.And i also mentioned if he'll suck,it will be between the Spanish boys

A stage =/= tomorrow's stage

It's waaaaaaaay too steep for Froome tomorrow.

 

[Red Rick]

I don't know why people are looking to the Mur de Huy and Montelupone to predict results for this. This is an 8km climb, of which 2 km are incredibly steep. The total effort is gonna be 20 minutes at least, which is about 8 times the duration of the Mur. This is more climbing than punching, and that's way I think Contador will win, especially if it rains

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

RREEPPLLAAYYYYY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMHfjVgYGuo

Hope AC takes time on Valverde though

 

[the sceptic]

Contador is lucky this vuelta doesnt have any mountain stages

 

[SafeBet]

Especially ones where the road is so narrow that it'll be really hard to overtake and riders further back might have to get off and walk if the fans are encroaching too much.

I wish they would leave the super steep stuff to the Classics and maybe use something like Angliru or Motirolo once every five years just for a change.

What's wrong with Mortirolo?

To the poster suggesting Aru could win this, I'm pretty sure he'll lose time tomorrow.

 

[MBotero]

A stage =/= tomorrow's stage

It's waaaaaaaay too steep for Froome tomorrow.

I don't know,i see the final climb similar with Pena Cabarga,just a bit longer.

 

[icefire]

to be honest, i think dan martin will win tomorrow.

also, samu is on his home soil so expect good things at least i hope

those last 3 kms are damn ridiculous. huy has nothing on this

There isn't a single km in this stage on Asturian soil

Delgado has compared this climb to Mirador de Ézaro. It does not have the extreme >25% ramps of the Galician wall but it is longer and has one full km at an average 17.9%. That's hardest than the hardest km on Angliru.

I'm curious on which gearing they'll ride. Contador said in an interview 39x30, but after all he's said on his knee...

 

[Arredondo]

I don't know why people are looking to the Mur de Huy and Montelupone to predict results for this. This is an 8km climb, of which 2 km are incredibly steep. The total effort is gonna be 20 minutes at least, which is about 8 times the duration of the Mur. This is more climbing than punching, and that's way I think Contador will win, especially if it rains

The first 5 km are less then 3%, so that's not going to play a factor.

That means a climb of 4.8 km. That's similiar to Pena Cabarga (in lenght, not steepness), so if Purito is really good, he is the favorite. Especially if it rains. He's even better then Contador in the rain.

But if Purito is just good, like the whole Vuelta, Contador has a chance of winning.

 

[Jspear]

Contador is lucky this vuelta doesnt have any mountain stages

2 things - 1. There are mountains here. 2. Mountains are AC's terrain....he has said his knee is "no longer hurting at all."

 

[DFA123]

What's wrong with Mortirolo?

To the poster suggesting Aru could win this, I'm pretty sure he'll lose time tomorrow.

Nothing at all wrong with Mortirolo, but personally I'd prefer climbs like that and Zoncolan to be used sparingly as something to really look forward to - like how the TdF uses Ventoux. Once every five years or so rather than every other year.

Actually, perhaps Mortirolo isn't the best example, because at least you can go somewhere else afterwards and vary the stage finish. It's more the stage finishes that are too steep for much attacking and that discourage any real tactics throughout the stage that I would prefer to see only once in a while.

 

[Netserk]

I don't know,i see the final climb similar with Pena Cabarga,just a bit longer.

Tomorrow is way steeper.

 

[Red Rick]

The steep part is too long to really favour Rodriguez. He wasn't good on La Zubia, which is a shorter climb.

 

[Red Rick]

Has this climb ever been in the Vuelta before?

 

[May0maniac]

What's wrong with Mortirolo?

To the poster suggesting Aru could win this, I'm pretty sure he'll lose time tomorrow.

I don't know if Aru will lose time, he looked bad on the Zoncolan but that was after going all out on the Monte Grappa the day before and cracked on the last km.

 

[icefire]

Has this climb ever been in the Vuelta before?

No. It's one of the new MTFs this year together with La Zubia, San Miguel de Aralar and the new side of Ancares they'll climb on stage 20.

 

[Arredondo]

The steep part is too long to really favour Rodriguez. He wasn't good on La Zubia, which is a shorter climb.

But La Zubia wasn't so steep like Camperona. And did he attack not so early, he would have finished let's say 3rd in the same time as the winner. Then we wouldn't talked about it.

Purito won on Mende, Pena Cabarga, which were longer muro's. And he won on Ancares, a proper mountain climb.

If he's good, the steepness will favour him. It's not too long.

 

[cineteq]

On the way up to La Camperona
http://youtu.be/bdxHlBdN1UQ

http://www.ciclo21.com/la-camperona-valle-de-sabero-leon/

 

[icefire]

But La Zubia wasn't so steep like Camperona. And did he attack not so early, he would have finished let's say 3rd in the same time as the winner. Then we wouldn't talked about it.

Purito won on Mende, Pena Cabarga, which were longer muro's. And he won on Ancares, a proper mountain climb.

If he's good, the steepness will favour him. It's not too long.

He was also the best of the GC contenders on the super-steep Cuitu Negru. His problem, I'm afraid, is that we're not in 2012 anymore.

 

[Red Rick]

But La Zubia wasn't so steep like Camperona. And did he attack not so early, he would have finished let's say 3rd in the same time as the winner. Then we wouldn't talked about it.

Purito won on Mende, Pena Cabarga, which were longer muro's. And he won on Ancares, a proper mountain climb.

If he's good, the steepness will favour him. It's not too long.

It all depends on how good everyone is, obviously, but when he won on longer climbs, he was better than he is now

 

[Red Rick]

On the way up to La Camperona
http://youtu.be/bdxHlBdN1UQ

Surface looks awful in the vid, is it still that way or was it resurfaced?

 

[Arredondo]

It all depends on how good everyone is, obviously, but when he won on longer climbs, he was better than he is now

That's absolutely true. He looks now a little bit like he was in the Vuelta last year. Good, but not 100%.

I think he's still good enough to win. Definitely the fact it will be 16/17 degrees is positive for him. But the chance he will be beaten tomorrow, is bigger now then it was in the period 2011-2013

 

[Arredondo]

He was also the best of the GC contenders on the super-steep Cuitu Negru. His problem, I'm afraid, is that we're not in 2012 anymore.

Definitely. With his season, hampered by injuries and crashes, it was already a mission impossible to reach his 2012 level this Vuelta. I didn't even thought he could reach this level actually after his Tour.

But he's not on his 2012 level. That's for sure. But even then he should be able to win tomorrow.

Just look back at Tirreno 2013. He didn't belong even to the 5 best climbers on the long climbs in the race, but still was outstanding in Chieti and in the stage won by Sagan.