2016 Vuelta a España, stage 9: Cistierna > Alto del Naranco

[Libertine Seguros]

Re: 2016 Vuelta a España, stage 9: Cistierna > Alto del Nara

BOOORIIIING
And I'm actually not really surprised.

The racing among the break was pretty decent, and the subplot about de la Cruz looking for the time gap was entertaining, but the GC contenders were always going to only give this a few hundred metres' action.

Monte Naranco is legendary and mythical, but it's not actually that HARD. Its legend derives from history and the Subida al Naranco one-day race. Back in the 80s and 90s the surface was bumpy and horrible as well which made it more challenging. Nowadays, unless you approach it from El Violeo, the climb in and of itself isn't going to open gaps in a GT péloton. You'd need a real saw-toothed run-in to make the traditional Manzaneda-Oviedo-Naranco approach decisive now. The best approach from the direction they came would have been from San Isidro to continue towards Mieres then turn left to Pola de Lena, then go over El Cordal (5,5km @ 8,9%) or even better Cuchu Puercu (7,8km @ 9,6%, starts with the same 5km @ 11% of the toughest side of Cobertoria then meets Cordal on the way down) then Viapará (4,8km @ 7,9% - the right hand side of that profile) with about 5k between the base of the descent and the start of La Manzaneda.

I have to say though I'm getting 2009 vibes from this race, when Caisse had the lead so just let unthreatening breaks go, nobody wanted to let Valverde mark them then take bonus seconds so nobody wanted to fight for stages, and Deignan (9th) and Cobo (10th) were the highest placed GC riders to win stages.

 

[sir fly]

I think Movi missed an opportunity today.
Not necessarily to gain time or do some damage in the GC, but to make sure what's Froome's condition before Covadonga.

 

[Arredondo]

In 2013, the Naranco stage was really good and proper raced (quite big gaps between the GC guys).

This year's ascent was horrible. BORING!!! Actually, the whole Vuelta till now is quite poor.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: 2016 Vuelta a España, stage 9: Cistierna > Alto del Nara

BOOORIIIING
And I'm actually not really surprised.

The racing among the break was pretty decent, and the subplot about de la Cruz looking for the time gap was entertaining, but the GC contenders were always going to only give this a few hundred metres' action.

I have to say though I'm getting 2009 vibes from this race, when Caisse had the lead so just let unthreatening breaks go, nobody wanted to let Valverde mark them then take bonus seconds so nobody wanted to fight for stages, and Deignan (9th) and Cobo (10th) were the highest placed GC riders to win stages.

The last time it was ridden, it was a good stage as far as I remember. That's probably due to the fact that they actually cared for stage wins back then and the reward naturally was a lot greater than just a few seconds, especially before such a big climb as Lagos the next day.

2009 vibes indeed. No one wants to help Movistar and they won't bury their team.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re: 2016 Vuelta a España, stage 9: Cistierna > Alto del Nara

BOOORIIIING
And I'm actually not really surprised.

The racing among the break was pretty decent, and the subplot about de la Cruz looking for the time gap was entertaining, but the GC contenders were always going to only give this a few hundred metres' action.

I have to say though I'm getting 2009 vibes from this race, when Caisse had the lead so just let unthreatening breaks go, nobody wanted to let Valverde mark them then take bonus seconds so nobody wanted to fight for stages, and Deignan (9th) and Cobo (10th) were the highest placed GC riders to win stages.

The last time it was ridden, it was a good stage as far as I remember. That's probably due to the fact that they actually cared for stage wins back then and the reward naturally was a lot greater than just a few seconds, especially before such a big climb as Lagos the next day.

2009 vibes indeed. No one wants to help Movistar and they won't bury their team.

Well, that's the other problem (and another reason for 2009 vibes). If stage 9 was to Covadonga then stage 10 to Naranco, this is a much better stage among the GC men. As it is, nobody's going to risk going from afar because Covadonga's a much scarier climb. Again, 2009 vibes because of how the well-designed Velefique stage was completely ruined because Sierra Nevada and La Pandera the next two days meant nobody dared risk anything until the last kilometre. In 2013 the stage was deep into week 3 and Nibali was clearly tiring, so even with Angliru to come Horner smelt blood.

Also, here, the GC contenders are people like Froome, Contador and Valverde who already have bucketloads of stage wins so don't have the same attraction to them, and Quintana who had the leader's jersey and who the nature of the finish isn't ideally suited for. The kind of guys who might have made the stage battle interesting are the likes of Yates who already has a stage, and Chavito who lost a bit of time yesterday and probably doesn't want to risk blowing himself up before tomorrow.

 

[Red Rick]

Last time, Purito hadn't won a stage yet, was gonna get 4th in GC anyway, and Naranco was a huge chance. #1 and #2 were only seconds apart. Now the red jersey doesn't have to care, the favourite for the stage is in 2nd, and is red jersey's teammate, #3 blew up yesterday and #6 and the guy who's expected to attack the most in the rest of the Vuelta is recovering from a crash.

So yeah, winner winner chicken dinner

 

[Tank Engine]

Re: 2016 Vuelta a España, stage 9: Cistierna > Alto del Nara

BOOORIIIING
And I'm actually not really surprised.

Well, if you're looking for GC action each day. Given it's position in the race and the nature of the finish (difficult, but with no huge difficulties), it was always going to be a day for a breakawy. GTs are not just about GC action, there are vignettes along the way. Today was such a day with all the splits and re-formations in the breakaway and the question of whether de la Cruz would take the Red Jersey. I rather enjoyed it.

Congratulations on de la Cruz. You have to be strong to take the jersey AND win the stage.

I guess everyone's on their bike, since the number of posts is so low. I've just got back from cycling around the Czech republic, so I'm taking it easy.

 

[Valv.Piti]

We really need Katusha to reel a few breaks in during this Vuelta. I can't imagine they would have let go of Mirador and Camperona. Purito, come back!

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

We really need Katusha to reel a few breaks in during this Vuelta. I can't imagine they would have let go of Mirador and Camperona. Purito, come back!

+ 1

That's the whole thing. The only GC guy who always took his responsibilty in those kind of stages, is Purito. Because he can really win on these kind of finishes. Now he's gone, there's no rider apart from Valverde who has got that same racing attitude and belief in himself.

It's a shame

 

[klintE]

Re: 2016 Vuelta a España, stage 9: Cistierna > Alto del Nara

BOOORIIIING
And I'm actually not really surprised.

Transition stage. Much better then TdF's Carcassonne > Montpellier or Escaldes-Engordany > Revel

 

[Red Rick]

Quintana + Valverde is not a great combo for attractive racing tbh. Valverde would totally burn his team to win these stages if he didn't have Quintana in his team.

 

[Arredondo]

Re: 2016 Vuelta a España, stage 9: Cistierna > Alto del Nara

BOOORIIIING
And I'm actually not really surprised.

Transition stage. Much better stage then TdF's like Carcassonne > Montpellier or Escaldes-Engordany > Revel

I mean. Did you really saw that stage? If you have, you're not serious right?

I know it's popular to bash the Tour, but sometimes that race has some good aspects too.

 

[Flamin]

I don't get at all how people call this boring. De Gendt rode a super fast pace on the climb to Padrún with still 25k to go, trying to break the group apart. From there on, cohesion was totally gone and it was basically attack after attack.

There's way more to cycling than GC racing.

 

[klintE]

Re: 2016 Vuelta a España, stage 9: Cistierna > Alto del Nara

I mean. Did you really saw that stage? If you have, you're not serious right?

Yes, i saw it and I'm serious. Sagan gave it a bit of fire but nothing spectacular happened there. More bored than today.

 

[del1962]

Nah Carcassonne > Montpellier was a far more entertaining stage than todays

 

[hrotha]

Re:

I don't get at all how people call this boring. De Gendt rode a super fast pace on the climb to Padrún with still 25k to go, trying to break the group apart. From there on, cohesion was totally gone and it was basically attack after attack.

There's way more to cycling than GC racing.

That there will be a break fighting for the victory is the absolute minimum you can expect of a hilly stage. What you're saying is like saying a flat stage where nothing happened wasn't boring because hey, we saw a close sprint at the end.

 

[Flamin]

Re: Re:

I don't get at all how people call this boring. De Gendt rode a super fast pace on the climb to Padrún with still 25k to go, trying to break the group apart. From there on, cohesion was totally gone and it was basically attack after attack.

There's way more to cycling than GC racing.

That there will be a break fighting for the victory is the absolute minimum you can expect of a hilly stage. What you're saying is like saying a flat stage where nothing happened wasn't boring because hey, we saw a close sprint at the end.

This doesn't make any sense.

 

[klintE]

Nah Carcassonne > Montpellier was a far more entertaining stage than todays

For some guys every stage of TdF is better than LV. I accept that.
But for me only thing that raised my blood pressure during that stage was when Froome robbed M.Bodnar from stage victory.

 

[Netserk]

Re: Re:

I don't get at all how people call this boring. De Gendt rode a super fast pace on the climb to Padrún with still 25k to go, trying to break the group apart. From there on, cohesion was totally gone and it was basically attack after attack.

There's way more to cycling than GC racing.

That there will be a break fighting for the victory is the absolute minimum you can expect of a hilly stage. What you're saying is like saying a flat stage where nothing happened wasn't boring because hey, we saw a close sprint at the end.

I think the point is that there's degrees to that, and that today's stage delivered as much as one could hope for of entertainment from the breakaway (and I don't think 25km of action is comparable to 250m of so). Granted, the action from the bunch was absolutely horrible, but that shouldn't cloud one's judgment of the other action.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re:

Quintana + Valverde is not a great combo for attractive racing tbh. Valverde would totally burn his team to win these stages if he didn't have Quintana in his team.

Valverde always has been like that. Even without Quintana.

It does not have anything to do with Movistar. I told you there was no reason to attack today. Nothing whatsoever. Call it boring, strategic or whatever. Yesterday I said it would be silly to waste energy in a soft mountain for probably few seconds of separation at the most because the mountain wasn't strong enough to begin with. Now you can go ballistic tomorrow if they do the same.

Nowadays fans want action in all stages like in the video games. That is not going to happen. It just won't. It is not smart racing. Now with more television to expose the races is more evident. But in the past there were so many boring stages that you would not imagine.

Having said that I enjoyed the fight for the stage!

 

[This Charming Man]

Re: 2016 Vuelta a España, stage 9: Cistierna > Alto del Nara

Why didn't Quintana, and Moviestr not spank Froome, coulda pulled a couple of minutes out of him.?

 

[Mr.White]

Re: 2016 Vuelta a España, stage 9: Cistierna > Alto del Nara

Why didn't Quintana, and Moviestr not spank Froome, coulda pulled a couple of minutes out of him.?

Yeah, maybe even hour or two :lol:

 

[This Charming Man]

Re: 2016 Vuelta a España, stage 9: Cistierna > Alto del Nara

Why didn't Quintana, and Moviestr not spank Froome, coulda pulled a couple of minutes out of him.?

Yeah, maybe even hour or two :lol:

Froome, Valverde, Contador, will crush Nario in TT, Nario needs to exploit every MTF. Hell, every great champion, from Anquentiel, Merckx, Coppi, Armstrong, Hinault, exploited their strengths. Here is a climbing champion. Here is a TT champion, here is a rouler. This is competition in a stage race. The Spaniard, what a climber. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUIr9LG1juw

 

[Pippo_San]

The average fitness level in this Vuelta is beyond ridiculous.