2016 Vuelta a España, Info & Discussion

[yaco]

Re: Re:

Reckon Stage 17 suits Chavez - Wait and see.

he certainly wasn't able to distance Contador yesterday....

Chavez is going fine - In the leading 4 of the GC contenders in stage 17 and the leading GC rider from the second peleton in stage 15.

Reckon Chavez will lose 1 1/2 to 2 minutes to Froome in the TT and around 45s to a minute to Contador and Quintane - Expect S.Yates to do a better TT.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Maxime Monfort will finish 16th for the third time in this race.

In fact, he has an impressive collection of 11-20 GC classifications.
Le Tour : 16th (2012), 14th (2013)
Il Giro : 14th (2014), 11th (2015), 15th (2016)
La Vuelta : 11th (2007), 16th (2012), 16th (2014), 16th (2016) / 6th (2011)

He's more or less the Belgian Arroyo.

 

[carton]

Re:

Maxime Monfort will finish 16th for the third time in this race.

In fact, he has an impressive collection of 11-20 GC classifications.
Le Tour : 16th (2012), 14th (2013)
Il Giro : 14th (2014), 11th (2015), 15th (2016)
La Vuelta : 11th (2007), 16th (2012), 16th (2014), 16th (2016) / 6th (2011)

He's more or less the Belgian Arroyo.

Not bad for a guy who I thought had retired until I scrolled down the GC list a few days ago. That was absolute stealth.

 

[Christian]

Congratulations to New Zealander George Bennett for finishing 10th in the 2016 Vuelta. I don't know when New Zealand had a top-10 in a GT for the last time but it could be a while. I have followed Bennett's career a bit since he was on the ill-fated Radioshack-Leopard team. He always seemed like a nice and really funny guy, who struggled a lot with injuries or illnesses and could never quite deliver. Despite that he was able to get new contracts with Cannondale and now LottoJumbo. This season has been quite impressive for him, with quite a few top 10'a and good overall placings in California (7th), Dauphiné (14th), and now the Vuelta after already having ridden his maiden Tour. Congratulations for the great season, I hope there is a nice win in your future.

/edit: According to Sam Bewley on twitter, Bennett might be the first New Zealander ever to finish in the top-10 of a GT.
https://twitter.com/georgenbennett/status/774671770762829824

 

[42x16ss]

Congratulations to New Zealander George Bennett for finishing 10th in the 2016 Vuelta. I don't know when New Zealand had a top-10 in a GT for the last time but it could be a while. I have followed Bennett's career a bit since he was on the ill-fated Radioshack-Leopard team. He always seemed like a nice and really funny guy, who struggled a lot with injuries or illnesses and could never quite deliver. Despite that he was able to get new contracts with Cannondale and now LottoJumbo. This season has been quite impressive for him, with quite a few top 10'a and good overall placings in California (7th), Dauphiné (14th), and now the Vuelta after already having ridden his maiden Tour. Congratulations for the great season, I hope there is a nice win in your future.

/edit: According to Sam Bewley on twitter, Bennett might be the first New Zealander ever to finish in the top-10 of a GT.
https://twitter.com/georgenbennett/status/774671770762829824

I'm certain he is the first. Seems like a nice guy too, judging by his cameos on OBE Backstage Passes. Gets along well with Chaves.

 

[JRTK73]

Yip. Bennett is easily the first to go top 10. It will be exciting to see what he can do next season.

 

[Taxus4a]

My conclusions after La Vuelta:

Froome was the stroger, the first one in history to be the stroger in both Tour-Vuelta, but you need a team at least at his main rival level, and you have to be aware of mistakes.

Quitana and Movistar were as strog as they though in le Tour and they did not mistakes...so, deserved winer

Contador had the level of 2014, he was this time able t ofollow Froome wheels if he had any other thing to do, and to take some seconds o rto lose with him in some step climbs.. he has the potetial to make Froome lose the Vuelta, but the situation now was ot to follow Froome weheel, so the differet situation of the race make him to be 4th now and to win in 2014. froome lost rthat Vuelta for a mistake of calculatio o the ITT and he lost this one for a mistake in a short stage. In some way Contador and Quitana were lucky for those mistakes..

He is able still to win a GT if the rivals are not superstrog like this Vuelta and if he dont make mistakes againts people as Chaves, etc... becouse he is stronger on the ITT, of course he is able to win one week races,especially if the race suits him a lot, as pais vasco this year or if the only strong rival is preparing Giro so not at his beast as Tiirreno 2014 with Quitana...to win a GT with Froome or quitana he need luck.

Chaves showed he is now at the level of the best climbers of the world and a consistet rider for 3 weeks.

 

[Armchair cyclist]

A couple of riders made the 3 completed GTs in a season landmark with this race:
Adam Hansen's 5th triple is unprecedented, and the more remarkable for being consecutive. Will Lotto dare not select him for any next year?

Of the 32 previous riders to complete the triple, I doubt any waited until they were 36 to do it as Valverde has. Is he the oldest to do it? With a 3rd, 6th and 12th, he has the best cumulative positions since Nencini in the 1950s.

 

[Finn84]

Re:

Of the 32 previous riders to complete the triple, I doubt any waited until they were 36 to do it as Valverde has. Is he the oldest to do it? With a 3rd, 6th and 12th, he has the best cumulative positions since Nencini in the 1950s.

Zabel did it in 2008 and he turned 38 during the Tour. I found out that Giovanni Lombardi was also 36 but few months younger than Valv.

 

[Escarabajo]

Taxus, I don't think that Froome was the stronger in the whole race IMHO. Quintana looked stronger in the majority of the stages. Froome was just a better TT and on only one stage he could put a lot of time on Quintana. But overall Quintana looked stronger.