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2016 Vuelta a España, stage 10: Lugones > Lagos de Covadonga

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Re: Re:

veji11 said:
DFA123 said:
Lexman said:
1. Quintana (MOV) 2. Valverde (MOV) +57" 3. @chrisfroome +58"


#LV2016 @albertocontador jumps to 5th in the GC after his late push on today's stage. Stellar ride from the Spanish Tinkoff leader @lavuelta
Great to see the big three from the last couple of seasons battling it out.

It's difficult to see anyone coming between them now. I don't think their level isn't going to drop enough for someone like Chaves or Scarponi to sneak in there, and the rest are too far behind or too off form.

End of the season, 2nd (3rd for Valverde) GT for everybody, tiredness and potentially sickness can strike in a brutal way still. The Aubisque stage could see someone looking good dropping like a stone.
True, I guess it's always possibility at this stage in the season. But Quintana looks super strong, Froome just never seems drop like a stone and neither does Valverde these days. I think far more likely that the other challengers will crack big time.
 
Wednesday's final climb is going to be very interesting.

It was a really great MTF.

Even apart from the "big 4" of Alberto, Nairo, Froome and Valverde, there were so many interesting rides.

Fraile, Scarponi and Gesink all rode out of their skins.
 
Apr 15, 2013
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Re: Re:

Merckx index said:
thehog said:
Its not yo yo at all. He is riding to a set power limit to time he run into the line.

I'm pretty sure you're right. And if he's doing that on a single stage, he may also be doing it for the whole GT. I.e., trying to pace himself so that he remains strong in the third week. He's not really racing the others, he's trying to minimize his total time.

But at some point, Quintana's lead may reach the point where Froome feels he has to try to follow him on a stage, even at the risk of not conserving as much energy for following stages as planned.

Yep, that's going to be the issue : how far back is he going to be before the ITT ?
 
I have really, really enjoyed Contador's career. He has given so much to cycling and been the main player in some epic races.

But I must admit that a small part of me is actually welcoming his demise, as I am sick to the teeth of the hype I read on here about him
 
Nov 29, 2010
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Re: Re:

Gigs_98 said:
Vroome.exe said:
No way Quintana will lose only a minute at that TT. It could be more like 3 minutes. I'd say Froome is still the favorite for vuelta.
No

If it's Froomes vs Quintana in their TDF form then 3 minutes could happen. As for this race I think Froome can only realistically hope for a minute, even then I'm not sure.
 
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Re: Re:

DFA123 said:
veji11 said:
DFA123 said:
Lexman said:
1. Quintana (MOV) 2. Valverde (MOV) +57" 3. @chrisfroome +58"


#LV2016 @albertocontador jumps to 5th in the GC after his late push on today's stage. Stellar ride from the Spanish Tinkoff leader @lavuelta
Great to see the big three from the last couple of seasons battling it out.

It's difficult to see anyone coming between them now. I don't think their level isn't going to drop enough for someone like Chaves or Scarponi to sneak in there, and the rest are too far behind or too off form.

End of the season, 2nd (3rd for Valverde) GT for everybody, tiredness and potentially sickness can strike in a brutal way still. The Aubisque stage could see someone looking good dropping like a stone.
True, I guess it's always possibility at this stage in the season. But Quintana looks super strong, Froome just never seems drop like a stone and neither does Valverde these days. I think far more likely that the other challengers will crack big time.

But if Contador really is able to recover, he can still get quite some time. I mean, he got more then 2 minutes on the La Farrapona/Ancares stages in 2014 on someone like Valverde.

But i don't think he will reach that shape again.
 
Re:

SeriousSam said:
Valverde is stronger having done 3 GTs than Contador having done 1/3. Incredible.
Nah, just more sensible. Contador didn't let go of a rider in clearly better form and blew up like the consummate attacker he is. Valverde knows not to follow those wheels, he'll drop off and try to follow a steadier rider, like the crafty devil he is. Both sublime racers, mind you, in their own way.

Was kind-of pulling for Gesink but it was great to see Quintana win a Lagos de Covadonga. As it was great to see the worlds two best climbers going at it on a bit of a delay. And Contador leaving it all on the road. Cracking racing all around.
 
Apr 15, 2013
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Re:

barmaher said:
I have really, really enjoyed Contador's career. He has given so much to cycling and been the main player in some epic races.

But I must admit that a small part of me is actually welcoming his demise, as I am sick to the teeth of the hype I read on here about him

To appreciate a champion we need to see his demise too : Coppi, Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Indurain.. they gave us the demise too, the failing. One of the reason Armstrong was so hated, beyond clinic related ones, was because he robbed the fans of his demise. he won 7 Tours than said "ciao suckers".. this is not how it goes in cycling, just like in boxing, the hero has to be defeated, has to pass the baton to the next guy. I like Contador's demise. I hated pre 2010 Contador, I can't but admire 2011-onwards Contador....
 
Jul 29, 2012
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Re:

DFA123 said:
Kreuziger sticking the boot in:

Roman Kreuziger ‏@Roman86_K
What for a inteligent ride from @chrisfroome ,hat off,not everyone knows his limits

It seems like no love lost there. Not surprisingly after the way Contador treated his team at the Tour.

Oh *** lol
 
Re: Re:

veji11 said:
barmaher said:
I have really, really enjoyed Contador's career. He has given so much to cycling and been the main player in some epic races.

But I must admit that a small part of me is actually welcoming his demise, as I am sick to the teeth of the hype I read on here about him

To appreciate a champion we need to see his demise too : Coppi, Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Indurain.. they gave us the demise too, the failing. One of the reason Armstrong was so hated, beyond clinic related ones, was because he robbed the fans of his demise. he won 7 Tours than said "ciao suckers".. this is not how it goes in cycling, just like in boxing, the hero has to be defeated, has to pass the baton to the next guy. I like Contador's demise. I hated pre 2010 Contador, I can't but admire 2011-onwards Contador....
When would you say Contador's demise started? I think he's been on a downhill trajectory ever since the 2011 Giro and his subsequent ban, with just a brief blip in 2014.
 
Apr 15, 2013
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Re: Re:

DFA123 said:
veji11 said:
DFA123 said:
Lexman said:
1. Quintana (MOV) 2. Valverde (MOV) +57" 3. @chrisfroome +58"


#LV2016 @albertocontador jumps to 5th in the GC after his late push on today's stage. Stellar ride from the Spanish Tinkoff leader @lavuelta
Great to see the big three from the last couple of seasons battling it out.

It's difficult to see anyone coming between them now. I don't think their level isn't going to drop enough for someone like Chaves or Scarponi to sneak in there, and the rest are too far behind or too off form.

End of the season, 2nd (3rd for Valverde) GT for everybody, tiredness and potentially sickness can strike in a brutal way still. The Aubisque stage could see someone looking good dropping like a stone.
True, I guess it's always possibility at this stage in the season. But Quintana looks super strong, Froome just never seems drop like a stone and neither does Valverde these days. I think far more likely that the other challengers will crack big time.

Well Froome did drop like a stone at the end of the 2012 Vuelta for example.. finished 4th but far behind.
 
Jul 19, 2010
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Re: Re:

Arredondo said:
DFA123 said:
veji11 said:
DFA123 said:
Lexman said:
1. Quintana (MOV) 2. Valverde (MOV) +57" 3. @chrisfroome +58"


#LV2016 @albertocontador jumps to 5th in the GC after his late push on today's stage. Stellar ride from the Spanish Tinkoff leader @lavuelta
Great to see the big three from the last couple of seasons battling it out.

It's difficult to see anyone coming between them now. I don't think their level isn't going to drop enough for someone like Chaves or Scarponi to sneak in there, and the rest are too far behind or too off form.

End of the season, 2nd (3rd for Valverde) GT for everybody, tiredness and potentially sickness can strike in a brutal way still. The Aubisque stage could see someone looking good dropping like a stone.
True, I guess it's always possibility at this stage in the season. But Quintana looks super strong, Froome just never seems drop like a stone and neither does Valverde these days. I think far more likely that the other challengers will crack big time.

But if Contador really is able to recover, he can still get quite some time. I mean, he got more then 2 minutes on the La Farrapona/Ancares stages in 2014 on someone like Valverde.

But i don't think he will reach that shape again.

Contador doesn't have the fitness to begin with. Some where, some what he didn't have the same prep probably..Dunno. So it's a moot point. He won't be able to pull any time with that kind of form. It's like watching Contador 2013 TDF. It's Quitana, Froome and Valverde for the podium. I'm just amazed how TDF/Rio leg are all dominating the top 3 spot up until now. As far as for the crown, it's between Froome vs Quintana.
 
Re: Re:

staubsauger said:
Tarnum said:
<3 Gesink. Caught but still giving it all for 2nd.
He still outsprinted Froome. That shows both how strong he was and how strong Quintana is!

A guy that can win the uphill sprint in the Canadian races you would expect to outsprint Froome

Anyway great stage, Quintana should win the Vuelta another second for Froome, cant see him dropping Quinatana on any stage, and almost 1 minute should be enough for ITT, Contador has not recovered enough from Tour crash unlike 2014
 
Re: Re:

veji11 said:
barmaher said:
I have really, really enjoyed Contador's career. He has given so much to cycling and been the main player in some epic races.

But I must admit that a small part of me is actually welcoming his demise, as I am sick to the teeth of the hype I read on here about him

To appreciate a champion we need to see his demise too : Coppi, Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Indurain.. they gave us the demise too, the failing. One of the reason Armstrong was so hated, beyond clinic related ones, was because he robbed the fans of his demise. he won 7 Tours than said "ciao suckers".. this is not how it goes in cycling, just like in boxing, the hero has to be defeated, has to pass the baton to the next guy. I like Contador's demise. I hated pre 2010 Contador, I can't but admire 2011-onwards Contador....

I agree with this.

It is just the demise might be a bit more palatable without having to read endless posts about how he is going to smoke very race he enters, how unlucky he has been, etc.

I have no problem with some of the more balanced posters thinking he was going to win. It was a valid opinion. But the more stridents posts just make the posters look weird.

It was like the Porte thing in the Tour. I could understand people saying he wouldn't ride well for 3 weeks (although I disagreed). It was just the guys who posted along the lines of: "I hate Porte, he has a low IQ, he has no chance of finishing a GT in the top 10".

Some Contador fans seem to post along the lines of "I hate Sky and Froome and Movistar and Alberto is going to school them".

Anyway, Alberto is a great champion. He actually rode like a champion today. He tried to go for the jugular, but failed. I admire that immensely. But he looks to be declining.
 
Apr 15, 2013
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Re: Re:

DFA123 said:
veji11 said:
barmaher said:
I have really, really enjoyed Contador's career. He has given so much to cycling and been the main player in some epic races.

But I must admit that a small part of me is actually welcoming his demise, as I am sick to the teeth of the hype I read on here about him

To appreciate a champion we need to see his demise too : Coppi, Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Indurain.. they gave us the demise too, the failing. One of the reason Armstrong was so hated, beyond clinic related ones, was because he robbed the fans of his demise. he won 7 Tours than said "ciao suckers".. this is not how it goes in cycling, just like in boxing, the hero has to be defeated, has to pass the baton to the next guy. I like Contador's demise. I hated pre 2010 Contador, I can't but admire 2011-onwards Contador....
When would you say Contador's demise started? I think he's been on a downhill trajectory ever since the 2011 Giro and his subsequent ban, with just a brief blip in 2014.

Timing is hazardous and also because there is the whole clinic issue. In Absolute peak Contador was probably 2009 ! But in a sense I would argue that the last time he seemed really really strong was 2014 indeed. in 2015 he won the Giro with good legs, but also benefited from the very weak opposition and a braindead Astana team.
 

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