2016 Vuelta a España, stage 2: Ourense > Baiona (160.8km)

[DFA123]

Re: 2016 Vuelta a España, stage 2: Ourense > Baiona (160.8km

Think Arndt will win this. Giant's lead out train looks pretty respectable and he's got no problems getting over these bumps.

For you Which is the sprinters top 10 for this Vuelta?

Not sure if I could even name ten! Arndt and Bonifazio look the two best. Meersman of two years ago would be a threat, but he's done nothing recently. Then I guess riders like Cort, Drucker and Sbaragli have an outside chance of a stage.

I think a lot of these 'sprint' stages could be won by late attacks though. With few well organisied trains, riders like Gilbert, Stybar and Kwiatkowski get away in the last few km and not be seen again.

 

[MacBAir]

it makes me so confused that riders like those awesome french sprinters prefer maybe 1 top 3 in the tour than multiple stage wins at the vuelta.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Re:

it makes me so confused that riders like those awesome french sprinters prefer maybe 1 top 3 in the tour than multiple stage wins at the vuelta.

Its no different to the large group of GT wannabees doing top 15 at the tour. The commercialization sucks everybody in.

 

[Choppy Warburton]

Re: Re:

it makes me so confused that riders like those awesome french sprinters prefer maybe 1 top 3 in the tour than multiple stage wins at the vuelta.

Its no different to the large group of GT wannabees doing top 15 at the tour. The commercialization sucks everybody in.

All of us fall for it. For the Tour we expect to be entertained, at La Vuelta we hope to be entertained and generally it is a treat.

 

[SlickMongoose]

If they wanted a decent sprinter field they would put a few more sprint stages in.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re:

If they wanted a decent sprinter field they would put a few more sprint stages in.

The Vuelta has become a one-trick pony with all these steep-climb finishes.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Gotta say the sprint field is very weak when it's Arndt vs Bonifazio. They look like the two best sprinters on paper. Then we've got riders like Van der Sande, Sbaragli, Van Genechten, Drucker, Nielsen, Bennati, Rojas and Meersman. Not really a stellar lineup. Personally, I see Bonifazio as the fastest by far, and I think that Van der Sande could produce a few surprises.

 

[classicomano]

I strongly believe that Andreas Kloden could win the bunch sprint here, if he was still in the peloton.

 

[Valv.Piti]

There are a fair amount of sprint stages, especially for durable sprinters alá Degenkolb and Sagan. I don't think thats a problem.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

If they wanted a decent sprinter field they would put a few more sprint stages in.

The Vuelta has become a one-trick pony with all these steep-climb finishes.

To be fair though, that's a much more entertaining trick than the borefest of the TdF. At least it guarantees some kind of GC action on the majority of stages.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

If they wanted a decent sprinter field they would put a few more sprint stages in.

The Vuelta has become a one-trick pony with all these steep-climb finishes.

To be fair though, that's a much more entertaining trick than the borefest of the TdF. At least it guarantees some kind of GC action on the majority of stages.

My point through the entire Tour... at least we are guaranteed SOME action and actual gaps between contenders. Not saying its the way to go, but it can be pretty entertaining.

 

[Kwibus]

Re:

If they wanted a decent sprinter field they would put a few more sprint stages in.

There really are plenty opportunities for sprinters.

 

[jens_attacks]

goncalves or valverde

 

[Sweetmilk]

Re: Re:

Bonus seconds today? Intersting to see if anyone/who will chase down the breakaway. Will we see a repeat of Froome's sprinting skills?

10-6-4.

It may be interesting there are 3-2-1 bonus seconds to grab at the intermediate sprint also

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re: Re:

If they wanted a decent sprinter field they would put a few more sprint stages in.

The Vuelta has become a one-trick pony with all these steep-climb finishes.

To be fair though, that's a much more entertaining trick than the borefest of the TdF. At least it guarantees some kind of GC action on the majority of stages.

It's entertaining as long as it doesn't get repetitive, which IMO is starting to be the case.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

If they wanted a decent sprinter field they would put a few more sprint stages in.

The Vuelta has become a one-trick pony with all these steep-climb finishes.

To be fair though, that's a much more entertaining trick than the borefest of the TdF. At least it guarantees some kind of GC action on the majority of stages.

It's entertaining as long as it doesn't get repetitive, which IMO is starting to be the case.

Possibly, but the alternative is basically a load of flat sprint stages. Rolling stages don't work so well in the Vuelta, because nobody is bothered to chase the break down, so you just get random riders winning stages.

And loads of tough high mountain stages would just mean that most big name GC riders wouldn't bother turning up. I think they have a pretty good balance between attracting big names, and providing entertaining racing most days where those big names come up against each other.

Plus there are still genuine climbning stages like Lagos de Covadonga, Aubisque, Aitana for the likes of Contador to make his mark.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re: Re:

If they wanted a decent sprinter field they would put a few more sprint stages in.

The Vuelta has become a one-trick pony with all these steep-climb finishes.

To be fair though, that's a much more entertaining trick than the borefest of the TdF. At least it guarantees some kind of GC action on the majority of stages.

It's entertaining as long as it doesn't get repetitive, which IMO is starting to be the case.

Possibly, but the alternative is basically a load of flat sprint stages.

That's where Unipublic (or ASO) lead stage designers should show some creativity and find exciting alternatives instead of repeating the same tired formula every year.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Break now has 2 mins
Brian Naulleau (Direct Energie)
Laurent Pichon (FDJ)
Cesare Benedetti (Bora-Argon18)

 

[roundabout]

Re: Re:

If they wanted a decent sprinter field they would put a few more sprint stages in.

The Vuelta has become a one-trick pony with all these steep-climb finishes.

To be fair though, that's a much more entertaining trick than the borefest of the TdF. At least it guarantees some kind of GC action on the majority of stages.

It's entertaining as long as it doesn't get repetitive, which IMO is starting to be the case.

Possibly, but the alternative is basically a load of flat sprint stages. Rolling stages don't work so well in the Vuelta, because nobody is bothered to chase the break down, so you just get random riders winning stages.

And loads of tough high mountain stages would just mean that most big name GC riders wouldn't bother turning up. I think they have a pretty good balance between attracting big names, and providing entertaining racing most days where those big names come up against each other.

Plus there are still genuine climbning stages like Lagos de Covadonga, Aubisque, Aitana for the likes of Contador to make his mark.

No, the alternative is to not finish uphill every time under the pretext of GC action.

Stage 3, let's finish on a murito even though it's easily possible to do a potentially GC relevant stage that doesn't finish uphill in the area.

Stage 9, let's finish uphill, repeating mostly the climbs that were used back when I started following cycling 20+ years ago, even though again it's easily possible to do an awesome stage into Oviedo that could be worth tuning in for more than the last 15 minutes.

Stages 8 and 11, hey, let's repeat the same stage type in the space of 4 days

Hey, let's finish in Formigal, because the big names will be against each other for the whole 2 minutes it would take them to do the final km.

And there is only one genuine climbing stage over 21 days of racing. ONE.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Breakaway established.

 

[Krokro]

Re: Re:

No, the alternative is to not finish uphill every time under the pretext of GC action.

Stage 3, let's finish on a murito even though it's easily possible to do a potentially GC relevant stage that doesn't finish uphill in the area.

Stage 9, let's finish uphill, repeating mostly the climbs that were used back when I started following cycling 20+ years ago, even though again it's easily possible to do an awesome stage into Oviedo that could be worth tuning in for more than the last 15 minutes.

Stages 8 and 11, hey, let's repeat the same stage type in the space of 4 days

Hey, let's finish in Formigal, because the big names will be against each other for the whole 2 minutes it would take them to do the final km.

And there is only one genuine climbing stage over 21 days of racing. ONE.

Agreed. Enough of those "mtf" who seem cool on paper but boring af in reality (most of the tour, ardennes 2016 etc). But still can be an exciting Vuelta with a hopefully tired Froome and Quintana (not speaking about Valverde year long peak), Contador seeking revenge (pretty cool that he lost time, he might go nuts if he is in good form later), Chavito and Kruijs wanting to confirm after their awesome Giro, and a weak sprinting field which is imo more interesting than Kittel/Cav crushing everybody. *takes my breathe afterthislongsentence.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

No, the alternative is to not finish uphill every time under the pretext of GC action.

Stage 3, let's finish on a murito even though it's easily possible to do a potentially GC relevant stage that doesn't finish uphill in the area.

Stage 9, let's finish uphill, repeating mostly the climbs that were used back when I started following cycling 20+ years ago, even though again it's easily possible to do an awesome stage into Oviedo that could be worth tuning in for more than the last 15 minutes.

Stages 8 and 11, hey, let's repeat the same stage type in the space of 4 days

Hey, let's finish in Formigal, because the big names will be against each other for the whole 2 minutes it would take them to do the final km.

And there is only one genuine climbing stage over 21 days of racing. ONE.

Yeah, because GC racers are known for really animating flat and rolling stages these days. This route more or less forces them into action on most days, which, given the state of GC battles in Grand Tours nowadays, is pretty much a necessity for an exciting race.

 

[Flamin]

Coverage already on. Extra hour this year or?

 

[hrotha]

If you call a sprint (uphill, but still a sprint) "action".

 

[DFA123]

Re:

If you call a sprint (uphill, but still a sprint) "action".

It's not a sprint though is it? It's nothing like a sprint. Most of the short muritos this year will have 5-15 minutes of action, plus all the jostling for position. And it results in action between GC riders. Sprints have none of this.

The other benefit of lots of these kind of stages is that a rider other than the best high mountain climber in the race has a chance of winning a GT. Also, teams have much less ability to control the race. That doesn't happen in the Giro or Tour, where you can nearly always pick the winner from one or two names before the race. The Vuelta is much more open and much better for it.