2014 Vuelta a España, Stage 15: Oviedo → Lagos de Covadonga (152Km)

[hfer07]

What we witnessed today is the very reason why neither Valverde nor Purito will ever win a Grand Tour (Valverde again)....

A champion simply cannot wheel suck a way out to success, its impossible!!!
A champion simply cannot achieve success, by outsprinting the leader for some time bonuses, over and over... & Purito knows better!!


OTOH Alberto-as the champion that he is- will design a tramp for those fools and attack them when they weren't expecting it....... & I hope Froome summons his 2012 TDF skills and make this Vuelta more intriguing....

 

[DFA123]

Also, Contador was very stupid with all those attacks. He has a comfortable lead over his opposition, so he only has to follow their wheels. With all this energy spending the only thing he accomplished was to caught the breakaway, giving the bonus seconds to Rodriguez and Valverde, and he didn't have the energy to follow them in the last meters, losing five seconds.

It's up to Rodriguez and Valverde to make the race, if they want to win it. Speaking of which why did Katusha send those two men on the attack? It would be better if they put a strong pace in the group and then their leader made a huge attack. These way they were of little help. Imo, it was a stupid tactic.

He's scared of Froome. He said in his interview that Froome could gain time on Ancares and the time trial and it was important to distance him. I think he's relatively happy to lose a few seconds to Valverde in order to gain some on Froome - potentially a risky strategy.

 

[SafeBet]

How many races has he lost that way? Don't bring up dauphine, that was his team, so which one? Give me some facts for that statement.

Why was that his team? It was an easy call, follow the attack. He didn't and I'm sure you know why.

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

The only stupid thing Valverde did was listening to this forum's advice on yesterday and attacking from further only to lose a bunch of time. If he just wheelsucked all the time and only targeted boni's, he would've had a serious chance to win this thing, because of his excellent ITT.

 

[Geraint Too Fast]

Maxime Monfort passed Pardilla and Chaves today, now sitting at 18th place.

22nd is looking like a long shot now.

 

[SeriousSam]

What we witnessed today is the very reason why neither Valverde nor Purito will ever win a Grand Tour (Valverde again)....

A champion simply cannot wheel suck a way out to success, its impossible!!!
A champion simply cannot achieve success, by outsprinting the leader for some time bonuses, over and over... & Purito knows better!!


OTOH Alberto-as the champion that he is- will design a tramp for those fools and attack them when they weren't expecting it....... & I hope Froome summons his 2012 TDF skills and make this Vuelta more intriguing....

Don't pretend Valverde's tactics are bad for Valverde, just because you're upset he didn't pace Contador up the mountain.

If he took your advice, he'd be worse off.

 

[No_Balls]

Valverde rode smart today.
Incorrect. There are 3 more MTF's to go. The three Spaniards clearly could have put real time into Froome today, instead they let him hang around, remaining the main threat to all three of them. If they ride together today and put more time into Froome, then the 3 of them could fight it out another day. All they did was gain a few seconds on AC, but let Froome remain within striking distance. Valverde is a huge a$$.

They have different focus at this point. Valverde aint worried about Froome (and why should he? He has lost time on every mountain bar one so far) but Contador whom he gained 11 seconds on today. Contador is for some reason more worried about Froome but that can be for whatever reason. Purito just needs to fight for a podium and he was probably rather satisfied with the possibility of galning these bonus seconds - which was there for the taking.

Froome main threat? Puh-lease.

 

[kingjr]

Valverde is glad to be able to keep up with Contador, mostly it doesn't pay off for him to waste that one big acceleration anywhere else except close to the line. We saw that yesterday.

 

[jaylew]

I stopped liking Valverde long time ago...he only thinks podium place

Exactly. Valverde is such a tool, he had a lot in the tank, yet all he thinks is 2nd place in a podium.

Nothing personal, but these are moronic comments. This is the only way he can win! The one day he attacked, he lost time. He's not going to outclimb Contador but if he can hang in and get bonus seconds...He doesn't give a rats a$$ about Froome - he's not defending podium, he's trying to win, ffs! This Froome is not going to put significant time into him in a 9k TT. I bet Valverde goes faster in fact.

Stupid/coward race by Purito.

The couple of Spaniards that has finished in front of Contador clearly had some reserves.
It's cowardly to wait for the sprint to use that reserves and not to try to make the difference before, especially if you need it.

BS! Valverde is trying to win the only way he can and Purito being further back attacked a few times. He's trying, he just can't drop AC. If their primary concern was distancing Froome and they were racing for the podium they'd work together but they've already got multiple podiums - they're trying to win.

When will people realize Froome is not the threat?

You are a disgrace by naming then cowards. Purito was clearly on his max when Contador attacked. And Purito even attacked 2/3 times himself.

The hate towards some guys really goes to far sometimes. First Froome, now Purito and Valverde. Who's next?

I knew this forum was toxic, but sheesh, enough is enough.

Valverde did plenty of pushes yesterday and failed, so it's no wonder he was more cautious today. Purito attacked a couple of times today. Even if they hadn't, I simply can't bring myself to call "wheelsucking" enduring - matching, even - Contador's signature 500m pushes off the saddle.

Contador is my favorite of the 3, but bloody hell, I can't read this ****. This is what happens when you care more about the result than the show. And I'm pretty sure Contador leaving everyone behind at 10K would not be nearly as entertaining as this.

If you want a wheelsucker to hate today, slam Niemiec.

2 people that get it.

TT. If Froome is hot he can make a difference. Nothing Valverde will gain in a sprint will equal what he will lose at the TT.

Unlikely. It's a 9k TT at the end of a race in which he's been generally stronger than Froome.

 

[go crazy]

I am shocked at the number of people who are applauding Valverde...SMDH!

Tell me how it's smart to not work together with AC and Purito? They would have caught up to and passed the eventual stage winner, and probably put 30-40 seconds on Froome. Valverde would have still beaten AC to the line by the same 5 seconds because of his sprint. So, he would have a stage win, a 10 second bonus, and put real time into Froome. But noooooo, he'll wheelsuck, and gain less time on AC than if he would have helped, and less time on Froome.

Some of you people have the tactical sense of Froomedawg, lol

 

[Eyeballs Out]

And if they would have worked together, the 3 of them would have closed the gap on the winner, and Valverde would have still won, because of his sprint. Valverde jerking around with AC lower down ONLY gained him 11 seconds instead of 15 on AC and probably 40 on Froome. He's an idiot, and it's plainly obvious.

If Valverde works with Contador that REALLY would be a case of riding for 2nd place

 

[jaylew]

Eh how? He gained 11 seconds on Contador and 18 on Froome even though he clearly wasn't the strongest. How is that dumb?

Best post here. Valverde raced the smartest of all the top guys.

 

[MBotero]

Very nice stage,but i was hopping they will catch Niemec in the end.Really impressed by Valverde,he's better than ever,if he would have attacked today and not yesterday,the GC gap to Contador would have been smaller.Good effort from Contador,this time Froome couldn't bridge it,but brave race from him and Aru anyway.

 

[mr. tibbs]

Totally agree. And so are his fans.

I think worrying about Froome in a grand tour is very reasonable. How is recognizing the danger of a top competitor whose form has been so spectacularly variant a bad idea?

Sure, there's always the danger of marking yourself out of contention, but that's cycling. There's always the danger that your tactics will fail. For example, with Valverde, what are the chances he can keep this level through the third week after what he did in the Tour? How will his bonus seconds look if he cracks on an MTF and loses three minutes?

Seems to me that Contador isn't the one trying to build irrational narratives.

 

[Arredondo]

What we witnessed today is the very reason why neither Valverde nor Purito will ever win a Grand Tour (Valverde again)....

A champion simply cannot wheel suck a way out to success, its impossible!!!
A champion simply cannot achieve success, by outsprinting the leader for some time bonuses, over and over... & Purito knows better!!


OTOH Alberto-as the champion that he is- will design a tramp for those fools and attack them when they weren't expecting it....... & I hope Froome summons his 2012 TDF skills and make this Vuelta more intriguing....

Yes he can. Winning Lombardia (2x), Fleche, stages in GT's.

But what i don't understand. Contador is the best GT rider of his generation. So if we follow that theory, guys like Purito and Valverde cannot drop him in the mountains. So they will not win a GT.

The way you are so mad, does that mean you expect they can drop Contador in a GT?

Contador is just the better GT rider, climber, whatever. The only thing you could critical of, is the fact why they don't try a 'Fuente De'.

 

[the sceptic]

my two biggest nightmares can still come true..

a mutant attack by Dawg or Valverde winning the vuelta with bonus seconds.

 

[go crazy]

Nothing personal, but these are moronic comments. This is the only way he can win! The one day he attacked, he lost time. He's not going to outclimb Contador but if he can hang in and get bonus seconds...He doesn't give a rats a$$ about Froome - he's not defending podium, he's trying to win, ffs! This Froome is not going to put significant time into him in a 9k TT. I bet Valverde goes faster in fact.

He should give a rats a$$ about Froome, because he's going to lose a place to Froome at this rate.

 

[afpm90]

He's scared of Froome. He said in his interview that Froome could gain time on Ancares and the time trial and it was important to distance him. I think he's relatively happy to lose a few seconds to Valverde in order to gain some on Froome - potentially a risky strategy.

Well I don't think the attack stop that we saw today is the best strategy to gain time.

 

[roundabout]

If Valverde works with Contador that REALLY would be a case of riding for 2nd place

Valverde winning the stage and gaining 5 seconds on Contador in 3rd.

11 seconds gain total.

Valverde finishing second on the stage and not working with Contador gaining 5 seconds on Contador in 4th.

11 seconds gain total.

 

[TheGreenMonkey]

If Valverde had gone to the front and done pacing there is no guarentee that he would have won the stage. He might have just given Contador a break to enable him to attack harder and drop him.

Everyone has been saying Rodriguez is not quite at his best yet he was supposed be super strong today. A real contradiction.

Rodriguez was racing for the Vuelta win today, he was trying to drop Contador and Valverde. He attacked them as hard as he could a couple of times, he just was not strong enough.

While Contador was clearly racing against Froome, Valverde and Rodriguez were clearly doing their best to take time off Contador. They did not want to help him because they wanted to beat him and they did although only by a small margin.

 

[DFA123]

I am shocked at the number of people who are applauding Valverde...SMDH!

Tell me how it's smart to not work together with AC and Purito? They would have caught up to and passed the eventual stage winner, and probably put 30-40 seconds on Froome. Valverde would have still beaten AC to the line by the same 5 seconds because of his sprint. So, he would have a stage win, a 10 second bonus, and put real time into Froome. But noooooo, he'll wheelsuck, and gain less time on AC than if he would have helped, and less time on Froome.

Some of you people have the tactical sense of Froomedawg, lol

But Contador would have got 4 seconds so would be the same result.

Valverde is guessing that if he beats Contador he wins the Vuelta. If Froome comes from nowhere and gains two minutes on a later climb on everyone then he would beat Valverde whatever he does.

 

[Big Doopie]

dan martin. kick ***.

up to 7th.

considering terrible garmin TTT and his weakness at ITT, he is really right under the top 5 in mountains.

can he pass Uran...for sixth?

and shutup all those here who claimed he can't climb.


3rd week resilience the only question...

 

[Arredondo]

If Valverde had gone to the front and done pacing there is no guarentee that he would have won the stage. He might have just given Contador a break to enable him to attack harder and drop him.

Everyone has been saying Rodriguez is not quite at his best yet he was supposed be super strong today. A real contradiction.

Rodriguez was racing for the Vuelta win today, he was trying to drop Contador and Valverde. He attacked them as hard as he could a couple of times, he just was not strong enough.

While Contador was clearly racing against Froome, Valverde and Rodriguez were clearly doing their best to take time off Contador. They did not want to help him because they wanted to beat him and they did although only by a small margin.

+ 1
Couldn't agree more with this post. Some sensible thoughts still alive.

 

[naviman]

my two biggest nightmares can still come true..

a mutant attack by Dawg or Valverde winning the vuelta with bonus seconds.

What will you do if both Froome and Valverde leapfrog Contador?

 

[Geraint Too Fast]

my two biggest nightmares can still come true..

a mutant attack by Dawg or Valverde winning the vuelta with bonus seconds.

We all know you'd love that really, but unfortunately it's not going to happen.