2014 Vuelta a Espana, stage 18: A Estrada-Monte Castrove en Meis (157 km)

[sultanofhyd]

You forget there's an ITT left.

On which Froome is going to take a minute out of him, right?

 

[Netserk]

I've never seen Contador fail so hard tactically

Depends on what the objective was. Neither Valverde nor Purito won today.

 

[Red Rick]

He let his most dangerous opponent take 18s....

Don't worry, it means he doesn't take Froome seriously, so he's confident enough for saturday

 

[De Snelle Duif]

Pardilla must have had a good day today, he seemed to be at the front constantly until the end.

 

[Ferminal]

Navarro can finish 8th overall.

Yeah, real strong field this.

Typical Vuelta depth.

 

[SeriousSam]

Alberto is playing with fire here. 1 minute is nothing on the Alien with one MTF left.

And a time rial. Dawg looks ready go super mutant on the remaining opportunities.

 

[cineteq]

How much time do you think Dawg get get off Contador there?

30s...the point is that the tactical mistake leaves Contador with a little margin of error

 

[Red Rick]

Gotta love Aru for putting Froome on one second

 

[l.Harm]

Navarro can finish 8th overall.

Yeah, real strong field this.

Uran, Gesink, Quintana out. Navarro pretty strong in general this Vuelta.

 

[No_Balls]

This. I think it was solely personal. The relationship between Contador and Valverde is more tense that I thought.

If that was the case then i'll hope Oleg slaps him big time. You cant take it to this selfish level at a moment like this. It could be just a day off

 

[del1962]

I hope Aru can beats Purito on GC

 

[SeriousSam]

Depends on what the objective was. Neither Valverde nor Purito won today.

And that was supposed to be his objective, rather than not giving up seconds to the guy who can ride away from him at his best?

 

[Cance > TheRest]

I'm not too impressed by Froome today, except for his good tactical riding.

The spanish trio almost closed the gap when Rodriguez accelerated and basically he was allowed to get away, because Contador misjudged the situation. Froome also didn't crack Aru with his pace and the gap was never more than 15 seconds to the Trio.

Suggesting that Froome can seriosuly challenge Contador on Ancares, is surreal.

 

[DFA123]

And a time rial. Dawg looks ready go super mutant on the remaining opportunities.

He wasn't that mutant today. If Contador would have closed the gap straight away instead of bluffing with Valverde he'd probably have stayed on Froome's wheel and sprinted around him at the finish.

Seems he was happy to lose 18 seconds to put Valverde in his place.

 

[cineteq]

I hope Aru can beats Purito on GC

and Valverde

 

[No_Balls]

And a time rial. Dawg looks ready go super mutant on the remaining opportunities.

And what is Dawg supposed to pull off in a 9 km Time rial, in the eyes of a Skybot, exactly?

 

[Publicus]

I'm a little surprisd that Contador abandoned his Froome only approach. That's the only person he has to worry about. Not JRod. Not Valverde. Froome. Maybe today was his bad day physically. I'm curious to hear his rationale for following JRod initially....

 

[SeriousSam]

Seems he was happy to lose 18 seconds to put Valverde in his place.

If so I might have to start rooting for the unexpected to occur.

 

[cineteq]

If Contador would have closed the gap straight away instead of bluffing with Valverde he'd probably have stayed on Froome's wheel and sprinted around him at the finish.

Lesson learned: never count on Valverde to achieve your own goals.

 

[del1962]

and Valverde

Yes, but much less realistic

 

[Dr. Juice]

That was crazy. Contador wants Valverde to do the work, they hesitate ..gap grows to 15 sec...then Rodriguez pulls hard and they almost catch the duo in front...then they look at each other again and that's it. WTF.

Almost seemed like Contador wanted to punish Valverde for Lagos de Covadonga.

Bad tactics today...it's not like AC has to be afraid of this Froome 1 vs 1. But you can never have enough advantage for when you have a bad day at the wrong time.

 

[Red Rick]

I'm not too impressed by Froome today, except for his good tactical riding.

The spanish trio almost closed the gap when Rodriguez accelerated and basically he was allowed to get away, because Contador misjudged the situation. Froome also didn't crack Aru with his pace and the gap was never more than 15 seconds to the Trio.

Suggesting that Froome can seriosuly challenge Contador on Ancares, is surreal.

Pretty much this. Expect a rerun of the Tour stage with finish on Tourmalet, with Froome playing the role of Schleck and Contador not giving the stage away this time

 

[DominicDecoco]

One can only hope that Froome wins the whole thing. The three Spaniards are a joke and has been throughout.

 

[Arredondo]

The top-5 looks certain to me. Ancares is less tactical, and more riding on own power and tempo. And we learn that Aru is just behind the big four. 40 seconds looks to much for me.

 

[roundabout]

He wasn't that mutant today. If Contador would have closed the gap straight away instead of bluffing with Valverde he'd probably have stayed on Froome's wheel and sprinted around him at the finish.

Seems he was happy to lose 18 seconds to put Valverde in his place.

Contador did not look that good when Valverde countered him and Purito attacked

Going all psycho on Valverde for no apparent reason might bight him in the *** longer term