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

[TANK91]

Eh no.

10 char

You're pathetic he is not exciting because your not his fan haha. I thought you was better than that. He as attacked far more than Contador in past years.

 

[roundabout]

My thoughts Exactly. Totally selfish riding IMO.

He was 200 meters away from winning the stage and did everything right.

But I guess for some people anything other than being Contador's total slave is not good enough.

 

[kingjr]

Eh no.

10 char

How do you become a fan? Maybe it's because you appreciate someone's riding?

 

[MBotero]

He didn't win the stage, did he?

You are right i said he'll win it,but it wasn't too steep for him,it was similar with Pena Cabarga with some flat start

 

[Big Doopie]

Also Dan Martin did well. Coming in just behind the big guys but ahead of his GC rivals like Gesink, Uran and Caruso.

Yup and many here said he couldn't climb mountains. Ridiculous. 3rd week staying power is a valid question but he's creeping up and 7th or 8th is becoming very possible.

 

[cineteq]

Good calls... not.
That happens with bold predictions. They go down the toilet, and look embarassing in the end.

Sorry, don´t wanna hurt anybody. But I couldn´t resist to quote...

No hurt feelings, but is La Vuelta over?

 

[roundabout]

Yup and many here said he couldn't climb mountains. Ridiculous. 3rd week staying power is a valid question but he's creeping up and 7th or 8th is becoming very possible.

Wasn't exactly a huge mountain today though. Insane gradients, but only 3km of real climbing.

 

[LaFlorecita]

You're pathetic he is not exciting because your not his fan haha. I thought you was better than that. He as attacked far more than Contador in past years.

How do you become a fan? Maybe it's because you appreciate someone's riding?

It was the subjective part I was replying to. Surely everyone agrees attacking from far out is exciting.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

He didn't win the stage, did he?

It wasn´t about the win or not. And you know it. (Hell, there even was bold statements by others that a break would have no chance, if not hitting the last climb with 10 mins+... all down the toilet too.)

You are right i said he'll win it,but it wasn't too steep for him,it was similar with Pena Cabarga with some flat start

Bolded for you.

 

[LaFlorecita]

the horse is back, what a sad day for the sport

Andy??

 

[sir fly]

It was the subjective part I was replying to. Surely everyone agrees attacking from far out is exciting.

Exactly!
That's why no one will come near to Andy Schleck's greatness!

 

[BigMac]

It was the subjective part I was replying to. Surely everyone agrees attacking from far out is exciting.

My point was that attacking from far out is not the only criteria to measure a rider's exitingness, is it? I'm sure some can find other other traits in Froome they like and/or find interesting. And you don't have to be a fan of him to realize it.

Exactly!
That's why no one will come near to Andy Schleck's greatness!

^^

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

No hurt feelings, but is La Vuelta over?

But good that you read my post.

As I said I didn´t wanna attack any of you.
I did bold statements a lot, which looked pretty bad after. Thus I reduced them to a minimum. Cycling is unpredictable... good so.

 

[willbick]

Why did Valverde attack at the bottom of the climb??! seems completely pointless to me. i can only imagine its pure ego. Surely an experienced pro like him should be doing whatever it takes to get to the top in the quickest time and attacking at the bottom is not that!

no way would Froome have finished in front of Contador and Purito if they had all just ridden up at the same pace. very strange tactics really. you wudda thought by now that top pro riders wouldnt be riding up 3km walls by starting off with a big attack!

 

[LaFlorecita]

My point was that attacking from far out is not the only criteria to measure a rider's exitingness, is it? I'm sure some can find other other traits in Froome they like and/or find interesting. And you don't have to be a fan of him to realize it.



^^

Which is why I wrote: "PART of the reason". Sheesh.

 

[SeriousSam]

It was the only place he could ever dream of droping the other guys. If he was going to attack, those were the slopes. He is not the rider for the incredible steep stuff. He did what he had to do, he just could not drop the others (or Contador, as he was the only one who responded the attackm the others just followed).

I guess you're right. Can't blame him for having a go at dropping Contador though it did hurt his podium prospects with Froome, Purito, Contador and even Aru now climbing better than he does.

 

[BigMac]

Why did Valverde attack at the bottom of the climb??! seems completely pointless to me. i can only imagine its pure ego. Surely an experienced pro like him should be doing whatever it takes to get to the top in the quickest time and attacking at the bottom is not that!

no way would Froome have finished in front of Contador and Purito if they had all just ridden up at the same pace. very strange tactics really. you wudda thought by now that top pro riders wouldnt be riding up 3km walls by starting off with a big attack!

10char 10char

It was wise. The way I see it, Valverde would have been dropped on the steeper slopes anyway - that is not his terrain. He did not know how others would respond to his attack, but he knew that those softer ramps were the ideal spot for him to try something, given his caracteristics. Unfortunatly he could not drop the others, but it was the only thing he could do if he was to attack.

 

[MBotero]

But good that you read my post.

As I said I didn´t wanna attack any of you.
I did bold statements a lot, which looked pretty bad after. Thus I reduced them to a minimum. Cycling is unpredictable... good so.

I guess you are really sad that Horner is not here,what do you think would have made of this amateurs today?

 

[indianfanboy]

Why did Valverde attack at the bottom of the climb??! seems completely pointless to me. i can only imagine its pure ego. Surely an experienced pro like him should be doing whatever it takes to get to the top in the quickest time and attacking at the bottom is not that!

no way would Froome have finished in front of Contador and Purito if they had all just ridden up at the same pace. very strange tactics really. you wudda thought by now that top pro riders wouldnt be riding up 3km walls by starting off with a big attack!

The element of surprise is very important in an attack and he really surprised the GC guys and they had to start the wall at a really high pace...its a pity that Valverde didnt have the legs to push on ...Froome played it smart and didnt give a damn about Valverde's attack

 

[BigMac]

Which is why I wrote: "PART of the reason". Sheesh.

You wrote: ''And part of the reason why Froome is not the most exciting rider unless you are his fan.'' I told you that you don't have to be his fan in order to consider him the most exiting rider because it is subjective. Just that.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

I guess you are really sad that Horner is not here,what do you think would have made of this amateurs today?

No actually I like it that he´s gone. It was wayy too much embarassing...
BTW, like your call before the stage.
Leave the break (no one predicted to get trou) and you hit the nail. Respect.

 

[DFA123]

I guess you're right. Can't blame him for having a go at dropping Contador though it did hurt his podium prospects with Froome, Purito, Contador and even Aru now climbing better than he does.

It might not have hurt his podium prospects that much. If he hadn't done the attack and the others were fresher coming on to the steeper bits, he might have lost even more time.

He probably won't do too badly on Lagos tomorrow - the gentle last 2km should help him limit any losses.

 

[Carols]

He was 200 meters away from winning the stage and did everything right.

Except Win or help his boss.......

 

[cineteq]

I did bold statements a lot, which looked pretty bad after. Thus I reduced them to a minimum. Cycling is unpredictable... good so.

It's all good bro, it's fun. But my bold statement is still valid on some MTF until La Vuelta is over.

 

[icefire]

The element of surprise is very important in an attack and he really surprised the GC guys and they had to start the wall at a really high pace...its a pity that Valverde didnt have the legs to push on ...Froome played it smart and didnt give a damn about Valverde's attack

Froome doesn't give a damn about anyone's attacks. He just rides looking at his stem and keeping an eye on riders in front of him when he has to overtake them. We're lucky his stem didn't seem to work in the ITT so he's now forced to gain time.