38th Vuelta a San Juan Internacional (2.1) // 26th of January - 2nd of February 2020

[Logic-is-your-friend]

A 52kg climber like him finishing inside the top 10 is a big surprise for me.

Do we have intermediate times? Did he make up a lot of time in the climb, or was his flat section respectable as well?

I don't think that crashes are part of the fun but have always been and will always be part of the racing and neutralizing everything is only another travesty to reduce the more possible the gaps and that kills the show because no one needs to attack from far anymore, they probably think that a packed GC increases the show but it's the opposite.

Personally i'm fully behind the old saying "la corsa l'è corsa, pietà l'è morta" and i think neutralizations (but also "waiting for fair play") shouldn't exist in a race, if riders lost time and have to bring it back will only help to produce good racing.

Cycling first and foremost is a sport. Only in a distant second spot should it be seen as entertainment. The goal of a sport is to see who is the best. Not to see who is the most lucky. So i completely disagree with about everything in your post.

 

[LosBrolin]

I was watching but can't remember what were the intermediate times for Fabbro. Anyway, seeing him grinding that last hill reminded me of his Valle D'Aosta prologue victory, which was also bit of a surprise. It was obviously very different as it was uphill from start to finish, but he did beat some notable riders back then ; Sivakov, Vlasov, Hamilton etc..

I had him two years in a row at CQ-game and I was expecting some 300-400p season at best, but at the end it wasn't even close. Well, maybe this is the season!

 

[GVFTA]

Without that increased wind, McNulty would've been close to Sevilla's time. Good performance.

I only saw Remco's ride which was impressive. Was the tailwind that strong all day? It was ripping up the climb for Remco.

 

[Jungle Cycle]

Does anyone guess the % of difference between tt bike x normal would make??
3%??

 

[Bolder]

Wth...absolute insane difference in a 15km tt. And Ganna is the best pursuit rider in the world, he doesn’t even come close. Scary good..

Agree 100 percent. Phenom-inal. Literally.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I only saw Remco's ride which was impressive. Was the tailwind that strong all day? It was ripping up the climb for Remco.

On the top of the dam, it seemed even more favorable for Ganna. But by the time McNulty came through, it was definitely a disadvantage the final 1k up to the finish.

 

[Scarponi]

The fact this crap has 10 pages proves the South American bias this forum has

 

[RedheadDane]

The fact this crap has 10 pages proves the South American bias this forum has

It's racing! And some pretty good racing as well.
And it's televised.

 

[red_flanders]

It's racing! And some pretty good racing as well.
And it's televised.

I assume the previous post was dripping with sarcasm...

 

[Nirvana]

The fact this crap has 10 pages proves the South American bias this forum has

Without the freaking kid there wouldn't even be a thread for a race like this...

 

[yaco]

It will be interesting to see how Evanapoel goes in the climbing stage with limited support - QS had trouble handling the multiple attacks in the 2019 edition - In saying that the GC field appears weaker in 2020.

 

[GuntherL]

It will be interesting to see how Evanapoel goes in the climbing stage with limited support - QS had trouble handling the multiple attacks in the 2019 edition - In saying that the GC field appears weaker in 2020.

The field is weaker, but he's a lot stronger than last year. Remember that he was soundly beaten by Alaphilippe during the time trial. I expect him to counter attacks on the climb and possibly dropping his competitors by steadily increasing the pace.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

The field is weaker, but he's a lot stronger than last year. Remember that he was soundly beaten by Alaphilippe during the time trial. I expect him to counter attacks on the climb and possibly dropping his competitors by steadily increasing the pace.

It was his first ITT as a pro, he had the fastest intermediate time. He simply didn't manage it well. He also said that afterwards, he should have won, but he started too eager and got tired too soon. It was a lesson learned. Also, the GC field is weaker (though G Martin may prove to be at least as good as Quintana was), but the ITT field certainly wasn't. With Ganna, Bodnar & McNulty. Only Alaphilippe was missing.

Also, last year there was only one guy who could do some work for Alaphilippe on Alto Colorado, and that was Remco. Remco now has Serry and Stybar for the first part. Maybe not an improvement, but i think Remco is stronger than Alaphilippe was last year, who didn't give me the best impression on that climb. It will be a good test for Remco. He said he sees Alto Colorado as a long ITT. If he rides it like that, maybe it will be the competition who might long for better support.

 

[RedheadDane]

That is one loooooong road. Good luck to the riders trying to get away there…

 

[GuntherL]

That is one loooooong road. Good luck to the riders trying to get away there…

Is there a live broadcast?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Is there a live broadcast?

Seems like the official streams have been geoblocked for today (and probably the next days as well?) unfortunately.

 

[RedheadDane]

Seems like the official streams have been geoblocked for today (and probably the next days as well?) unfortunately.

I was watching something. But now it seems to have changed to just foliage and the GC.

Edit. It's on (for now).

Also, Ganna is in the break, so DQ got their work on.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I was watching something. But now it seems to have changed to just foliage and the GC.

Edit. It's on (for now).

Also, Ganna is in the break, so DQ got their work on.

Yeah, until they shut that down as well. It can be found on youtube by performing a search with "en vivo" in it.
But good old TIZ is also streaming.

 

[Mayomaniac]

I was watching but can't remember what were the intermediate times for Fabbro. Anyway, seeing him grinding that last hill reminded me of his Valle D'Aosta prologue victory, which was also bit of a surprise. It was obviously very different as it was uphill from start to finish, but he did beat some notable riders back then ; Sivakov, Vlasov, Hamilton etc..

I had him two years in a row at CQ-game and I was expecting some 300-400p season at best, but at the end it wasn't even close. Well, maybe this is the season!

His engine seems to be decent, he finished 8th in the NC RR on a route that wasn't for the pure climbers. He also raced for Team Friuli as an U23 rider and they are known for taking it rather easy with their riders and not already pushing them to the limit in the U23 ranks, so he should still have lots of room to improve.

 

[GuntherL]

Yeah, until they shut that down as well. It can be found on youtube by performing a search with "en vivo" in it.
But good old TIZ is also streaming.

Thanks

 

[RedheadDane]

Yeah, until they shut that down as well. It can be found on youtube by performing a search with "en vivo" in it.
But good old TIZ is also streaming.

I'm watching on Eurosport (Player).

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I'm watching on Eurosport (Player).

That's cheating.

 

[RedheadDane]

That's cheating.

Watching on the subscription site that I pay for is cheating?

 

[sir fly]

Watching on the subscription site that I pay for is cheating?

What's happening, Ginger?
Speak! Talk!

 

[RedheadDane]

What's happening, Ginger?
Speak! Talk!

The Ganna group was caught, some sprinting for KOM (Evenepoel getting into the mix), and some other guys are away.
Plus a lot of rocks!