2015-Volta Ciclista a Catalunya(2WT) 23-29.03

[Jagartrott]

"@chrisfroome Confusing day out on the road today, accurate time gaps would have been helpful…live & learn #VoltaCatalunya"

Btw: Declerq finished top-15 in the Tour in 2013 I thought, so perhaps he can hold on longest of the three in GC? Had some crashes last year if I recall.

 

[MatParker117]

So Chalk board *** up then.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

"@chrisfroome Confusing day out on the road today, accurate time gaps would have been helpful…live & learn #VoltaCatalunya"

Btw: Declerq finished top-15 in the Tour in 2013 I thought, so perhaps he can hold on longest of the three in GC? Had some crashes last year if I recall.

Yep. It'll be very, very hard to beat those 3

 

[JRanton]

Re:

So Chalk board **** up then.

It's about time this race lost its World Tour status. The TV coverage has been terrible for years and now this.

 

[Anderis]

Re:

Is Hesjedal sick? Not good to be finishing with sprinters and Betancur today.

Maybe he is picking up some minutes in GC to be allowed to go for an early breakaway? Cannondale has enough of possible GC options here.

And TBH, I can see Hesjedal never finishing again in the top10 GC of any WT race. Since 2011, he didn't finish in the top10 overall in any stage race apart from Giro d'Italia. And he is not getting any better at his age. It might be the time to switch his focus on breakaways and helping other GC riders in his team, I'm afraid.

 

[MatParker117]

Re: Re:

So Chalk board **** up then.

It's about time this race lost its World Tour status. The TV coverage has been terrible for years and now this.

Or at least found new organisers apparently ASO/Unipublic were close but nothing happened.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re:

First WT race for Manuel Senni, the next big Italian climbing prospect.
It's Valverde's race to loose, if only Bananito would show up in decent shape..

Bananito is coming back!!

Today he did not make it to the finish line last in the gruppetto.

 

[staubsauger]

Re: Re:

Is Hesjedal sick? Not good to be finishing with sprinters and Betancur today.

Maybe he is picking up some minutes in GC to be allowed to go for an early breakaway? Cannondale has enough of possible GC options here.

And TBH, I can see Hesjedal never finishing again in the top10 GC of any WT race. Since 2011, he didn't finish in the top10 overall in any stage race apart from Giro d'Italia. And he is not getting any better at his age. It might be the time to switch his focus on breakaways and helping other GC riders in his team, I'm afraid.

1. he could have been top 5 at last years Giro without the Garmin crashgate.
2. That's exactly what he did at last years Vuelta.

 

[GuyIncognito]

Heh. Funny. Unfair, but funny. Hadn't seen it happen since the 2008 Avenir, when they told the peloton there was no one left ahead when Bakelants was still out there, so he ended up taking a thoroughly undeserved GC win.

Rolland FTW on GC I guess.

 

[Jagartrott]

Average of today was 52 km/h. Pretty amazing considering those three had been at the front for nearly 150 km.

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

Who ended up chasing in the peloton??

sky, sky, and then sky.

another tactical masterclass by sky today. Is this the marginal gains I'm hearing so much about?

So it was all Skys fault?...Some folks and their agendas blind them

 

[Ruudz0r]

Re:

Average of today was 52 km/h. Pretty amazing considering those three had been at the front for nearly 150 km.

It wasnt even close to 52 km/h, they rode 185.2 km in 4:33:31 so that is an average around 40.6 km/h

 

[Anderis]

Re: Re:

1. he could have been top 5 at last years Giro without the Garmin crashgate.

No chance. Garmin lost only 3:26 to Orica on that stage, probalby 2:00, 2:30 at best to what they would have managed to do without that crash (their line-up for that race was very weak TT-wise). Hesjedal was 7 minutes behind Pozzovivo in GC at the end of the race. He was very weak towards the end of the race, losing 3 minutes or more to all top6 riders on Zoncolan stage alone.

Don't get me wrong, Hesjedal is one of my favourite riders. But I'm just being pessimistic here.

 

[durtyfat]

Re: Re:

1. he could have been top 5 at last years Giro without the Garmin crashgate.

No chance. Garmin lost only 3:26 to Orica on that stage, probalby 2:00, 2:30 at best to what they would have managed to do without that crash (their line-up for that race was very weak TT-wise). Hesjedal was 7 minutes behind Pozzovivo in GC at the end of the race. He was very weak towards the end of the race, losing 3 minutes or more to all top6 riders on Zoncolan stage alone.

Don't get me wrong, Hesjedal is one of my favourite riders. But I'm just being pessimistic here.

Actually, i think he could have been in the top5 last year in the Giro. Don't forget that the half of his teammates went down in the crash in the opening TTT. He surely spent more energy to position himself before the climbs in the front of the peloton. I saw him many times alone, even in the flat stages.
This year, he said in an interview that he will focus in his early-season only in helping his teammates, so im not really worried. =.= Sorry for my english

 

[del1962]

This thread needs to be a sticky

 

[manafana]

Yes this race needs to get its act together for World Tour, pity as parcours is very good and an interesting threat. ANyway another day for sprinters willing to dig in and finishthis.

 

[happytramp]

Re: Re:

Who ended up chasing in the peloton??

sky, sky, and then sky.

another tactical masterclass by sky today. Is this the marginal gains I'm hearing so much about?

I'd like to join the ranks of people to point out how utterly ridiculous this statement is.

 

[search]

Re:

Heh. Funny. Unfair, but funny. Hadn't seen it happen since the 2008 Avenir, when they told the peloton there was no one left ahead when Bakelants was still out there, so he ended up taking a thoroughly undeserved GC win.

well, we don't know if it's true at all, or in what way it influenced the result. I know it was mentioned by different teams, but others (Greenedge for example, also Saxo) said that the reason for the big gap was that there was a standstill in the peloton with the gc teams looking at each other because nobody wanted to work. And Tiralongo also mentioned that the peloton took it very easy on the descends, which also was a reason why the gap became that big.

So there might indeed have been some irritation about the actual gap, I wouldn't be surprised if there was, whether it was decisive and teams would have started to chase earlier then is a different story though.

 

[ferryman]

Re:

This thread needs to be a sticky

Agreed and done.

A fair bit of intrigue in this race now that may not have been expected by many at the start. Sky certainly have a team here to make things happen despite the parcours. But we all know AC doesn't go down without a fight and more often than not with a trick up his sleeve. Movistar must still be fancying Valverde's chances. And of course how will the teams CCC, Lotto and Europcar decide to play it for their guys. Paterski in particular must be knackered!

I also suspect Etixx and Cann-Garmin may also have cards to play...

Not a bad week to be off work all in

 

[TourOfTexas]

Has it been posted yet how Betancur finished 16 minutes down on the main peloton?

 

[wirral]

Has it been posted yet how Betancur finished 16 minutes down on the main peloton?

Sadly the route passed a pasteleria and he was unable to help himself.

He he he, the old dodgy chalkboard and "problems with the motorbikes" trick. It is true, "the old faithful ruses never fail, technology comes and goes but life in the Iberian peninsula has a comforting traditional feel about it" unless you are Chris Froome or Robert Millar......

 

[ferryman]

Has it been posted yet how Betancur finished 16 minutes down on the main peloton?

Sadly the route passed a pasteleria and he was unable to help himself.

He he he, the old dodgy chalkboard and "problems with the motorbikes" trick. It is true, "the old faithful ruses never fail, technology comes and goes but life in the Iberian peninsula has a comforting traditional feel about it" unless you are Chris Froome or Robert Millar......

I'm still smarting after 30 years with Millar. Bitter Brit I guess

 

[Jagartrott]

Re: Re:

It wasnt even close to 52 km/h, they rode 185.2 km in 4:33:31 so that is an average around 40.6 km/h

You're right, but this was what was depicted at the finish.
I thought they started with a downhill or something, but that was not the case I see.

 

[wirral]

Not only a dodgy chalkboard but a dodgy speed calculator. Gotta love Catalunya. I can't wait for the next instalment, really. I am confident that the Tour of Mishaps and Odd Goings-on will not disappoint in the coming days.

 

[LPP68!]

Re: Re:

It wasnt even close to 52 km/h, they rode 185.2 km in 4:33:31 so that is an average around 40.6 km/h

You're right, but this was what was depicted at the finish.
I thought they started with a downhill or something, but that was not the case I see.

I think the 52km/h was the speed of the sprint.