2016 Vuelta a España, Info & Discussion

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

The times Porte and Froome did yesterday on Finhaut Emmoson are practically the same to those that Contador did in 2014. So Froome is not in "best form of his life". Contador in 2014 Dauphine(!) would have matched Froome yesterday. In his Tour 2014 form he would absolutely annihalate everyone. So if Bertie is in 2014 Vuelta shape Froome will not be able to do anything. If not.. I would rather not think about that...

They did Forclaz 2 minutes faster and you you honestly think Froome went 100% deep? I dont.

 

[Miburo]

Re:

You guys are incredible. 'No chance', 'Contador will annihilate Froome'... how many times have we heard that song?

Contador rode the vuelta 3 times, won it 3 times. Contador has definitely a better preperation than Froome who is also gonna do the olympics with different timezones btw.

What are you on?

 

[cellardoor]

Seems to me that Froome has been riding pretty conservatively in the mountains and with the advantage he has he can more or less freewheel to Paris. I expect him to be in much better form at the Vuelta than we've seen previously. Stil, I'd make Contador the favourite but underestimate Froome at your/his peril.

 

[HelloDolly]

Re:

Seems to me that Froome has been riding pretty conservatively in the mountains and with the advantage he has he can more or less freewheel to Paris. I expect him to be in much better form at the Vuelta than we've seen previously. Stil, I'd make Contador the favourite but underestimate Froome at your/his peril.

Yes...people on here are so afraid of Frooemand so in love with a Contador who is past his best that they cannot see the wood from the trees

Froome and Porte beat the record up the last climb yesterday and yet Froome barely broke into a sweat...no washing machine spinning

http://www.stickybottle.com/coaching/analysis-tours-fastest-hour-froomes-portes-new-climbing-record/

It is one thing to big up your hero but its another to ignore facts

I dont want Froome to go to the Vuelta...would like to see a more open race and no SKY trian but to ignore that Froome will be there and in great form is ridiculous

 

[Miburo]

I'm cheering too for Froome in this tour because of movistar

 

[Pricey_sky]

Let's cool it with the personal stuff. No need to call out other posters either.

I've deleted several posts that were getting personal.

 

[bob.a.feet]

Re:

Let's cool it with the personal stuff. No need to call out other posters either.

I've deleted several posts that were getting personal.

My post?

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Let's cool it with the personal stuff. No need to call out other posters either.

I've deleted several posts that were getting personal.

My post?

Apparently also nearly all my posts.

No fan of this deleting posts stuff all the time.

 

[portugal11]

Re:

You guys are incredible. 'No chance', 'Contador will annihilate Froome'... how many times have we heard that song?

Do you want a avatar bet? I say that contador will win la vuelta with at least 2 minutes to second place

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

You guys are incredible. 'No chance', 'Contador will annihilate Froome'... how many times have we heard that song?

Do you want a avatar bet? I say that contador will win la vuelta with at least 2 minutes to second place

No I don't wanna do some silly avatar bet, I just oppose the thought process of Contador winning with 100% certainty. I even stated that he should be the favourite.

 

[barmaher]

So who is riding this race?

Contador almost certainly
Pinot I guess
Quintana maybe
Rodriguez almost certainly
Froome probably
Kruijswijk probably
Talansky almost certainly
Chaves and Simon Yates I guess

Am I missing anyone else that might challenge for GC?

 

[jsem94]

Froome less likely now, but I hope he'll show up. The more stacked the better.

Miguel Angel Lopez will of course be leading the line for Astana.

 

[manolo57]

Contador for sure
Quintana also
Rodriguez said no, but he could change his mind
Pinot not sure

 

[liamito]

Re:

Quintana also

Not if his medical check-up says otherwise.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re:

Contador wasn't breathing in the giro of 2011, yet his form was clearly worse in the tour otherwise he would have won that with 10 min

Contador didn't begin 2011 targeting the double. The Tour was just an after thought after he'd already won the Giro. The Giro is also tougher than the Tour.

At no point in this Tour did Froome go into the red, apart from maybe the TTs, which are less than an hour of pain any way. Yes Rio will also take something out of Froome, but if Froome finished 4th in the 2012 Vuelta after dragging Wiggins around France and also competing in the Olympics, then this year he's going to be a threat after softpedalling around France

Contador has to be the favourite but Froome is most likely going to be the main challenger, with a battle between Yates Chavez and MAL for the 3rd spot on the podium

Pretty well suited to Froome if you ask me

 

[jsem94]

It is. It will be a missed opportunity for Froome if he doesn't make an attempt.


Oh, and just looked at Sagan's race calendar and he's doing the Vuelta. Excellent.

 

[liamito]

Re:

Oh, and just looked at Sagan's race calendar and he's doing the Vuelta. Excellent.

Not possible.

 

[Sartorius]

Re:

It is. It will be a missed opportunity for Froome if he doesn't make an attempt.


Oh, and just looked at Sagan's race calendar and he's doing the Vuelta. Excellent.

Sagan will ride Olympic Men's Cross Country MTB (August 21) and Vuelta starts on August 20.

 

[Pantani Attacks]

Contador will annihilate Froome at the Vuelta simply because Dawgstrong won't race the Vuelta.

 

[jsem94]

Then what the... ah well. Can't look at Sagan's website and actually expect accuracy then.

 

[Ataraxus]

Re: Re:

Contador wasn't breathing in the giro of 2011, yet his form was clearly worse in the tour otherwise he would have won that with 10 min

Contador didn't begin 2011 targeting the double. The Tour was just an after thought after he'd already won the Giro. The Giro is also tougher than the Tour.

At no point in this Tour did Froome go into the red, apart from maybe the TTs, which are less than an hour of pain any way. Yes Rio will also take something out of Froome, but if Froome finished 4th in the 2012 Vuelta after dragging Wiggins around France and also competing in the Olympics, then this year he's going to be a threat after softpedalling around France

Contador has to be the favourite but Froome is most likely going to be the main challenger, with a battle between Yates Chavez and MAL for the 3rd spot on the podium

Pretty well suited to Froome if you ask me

Actually the whole Vuelta is pretty well suited to Froome (Stage 4 and Stage 9 as well). To a Froome who has the form obviously.

 

[Cannibal72]

Pinot, Rodriguez (if he rides), Quintana (likewise), Kruisjwijk also worth considering for the podium spots. (For what it's worth, my prediction: 1. Contador 2. Pinot 3. MAL).

 

[Red Rick]

One major thing for Froome are the Olympics this year. In 2012 he had really similar build up, could ride relatively economically in an easier Tour, rode the Olympics a week after the Tour, and he basically crashed and burned late in the Vuelta. This year, the Olympic road race is two weeks after the Tour, so closer to the Vuelta, and in the exact middle of the period in which you rest a bit from the Tour and build up to the Vuelta. And he wants to compete for the win in both the TT and the RR, on a hard course, in a different time zone. It's gonna be a lot harder then in 2012.

Froome was confirmed for a criterium in Holland for tomorrow. I don't know how many others he rides. Crits are terrible if you want to prep for races that come after. Kevin de Weert even forbids riders from his Olympic's squad to ride them. Froome has won the one he needed. Everything else is a bonus. He's not going to the Vuelta expecting to win. He's going to the Vuelta he's got nothing to lose, and everything to gain, should the stars align.

 

[Flamin]

Re:

One major thing for Froome are the Olympics this year. In 2012 he had really similar build up, could ride relatively economically in an easier Tour, rode the Olympics a week after the Tour, and he basically crashed and burned late in the Vuelta. This year, the Olympic road race is two weeks after the Tour, so closer to the Vuelta, and in the exact middle of the period in which you rest a bit from the Tour and build up to the Vuelta. And he wants to compete for the win in both the TT and the RR, on a hard course, in a different time zone. It's gonna be a lot harder then in 2012.

Froome was confirmed for a criterium in Holland for tomorrow. I don't know how many others he rides. Crits are terrible if you want to prep for races that come after. Kevin de Weert even forbids riders from his Olympic's squad to ride them. Froome has won the one he needed. Everything else is a bonus. He's not going to the Vuelta expecting to win. He's going to the Vuelta he's got nothing to lose, and everything to gain, should the stars align.

He's not doing a very good job then, since GVA is riding multiple crits this week Froome also did a crit today in Belgium btw.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

One major thing for Froome are the Olympics this year. In 2012 he had really similar build up, could ride relatively economically in an easier Tour, rode the Olympics a week after the Tour, and he basically crashed and burned late in the Vuelta. This year, the Olympic road race is two weeks after the Tour, so closer to the Vuelta, and in the exact middle of the period in which you rest a bit from the Tour and build up to the Vuelta. And he wants to compete for the win in both the TT and the RR, on a hard course, in a different time zone. It's gonna be a lot harder then in 2012.

Froome was confirmed for a criterium in Holland for tomorrow. I don't know how many others he rides. Crits are terrible if you want to prep for races that come after. Kevin de Weert even forbids riders from his Olympic's squad to ride them. Froome has won the one he needed. Everything else is a bonus. He's not going to the Vuelta expecting to win. He's going to the Vuelta he's got nothing to lose, and everything to gain, should the stars align.

He's not doing a very good job then, since GVA is riding multiple crits this week Froome also did a crit today in Belgium btw.

Whoops, I thought I though I rememberd Wuyts talking about that during his commentary at the Tour