73ª Volta a Portugal 2.1 04/08 - 15/08

[Parrulo]

ya vitorino still pacing cardoso and mestre.

broco is already 1:35 behind.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

fucc those streams i hope someone uploads it on ct.nl as always.love that site.
go tavira!are there still 3?

I thought you were rooting for Barbot?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Hernâni blew the ITT last year. It looks like he's gone all out to rectify that mistake this year and spent too much energy to have enough left on Serra da Estrela.

 

[Parrulo]

I was just thinking how the Vuelta could go from somewhere like Salamanca or Cáceres to use this as a MTF. A couple of flat days then a TTT, Bola del Mundo or Monte Abantos as a final mountain stage, and then to Madriad. Great way to finish off the race.

you prolly mean an ITT right?

it would be indeed a great way to finish the vuelta

 

[Parrulo]

cardoso is going for the stage win. a shame broco failed today the climb would have been much more aggressive.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Personally I'd ITT into Madrid, screw this stupid parade nonsense. Bola del Mundo in stage 20, an intermediate stage into Ávila on 19, a flat stage 18, Alto da Torre on 17 after a flat 16 - this would then mean I could have stages 14 and 15, on the 3rd weekend, in the mountains of Asturias.

I'd also have, instead of a prologue, a circuit race in Ceúta with a climb in it, a week 1 stage over Haza del Lino via Rubite then a descent finish, an MTF on the Coll de Pal in the Pyrenees, and somewhere in week 2 stick in a stage from Jacá to the Higo de Monreál.

 

[canyonball]

Soon we'll be on the last KM. Mestre gets the jersey, Cardoso gets the stage? Would also be nice to see Sousa add another torre to his palmares

 

[Parrulo]

cardoso takes it

i am so glad he got this one!!!!

amazing job by vitorino

 

[Libertine Seguros]

cardoso is going for the stage win. a shame broco failed today the climb would have been much more aggressive.

Last year Broco failed on the final weekend after being stellar on Senhora de Graça and Torre; this year Broco failed on the final weekend after being stellar on Senhora da Graça and the super-difficult ITT.

I think it looks like he's a short stage-racer. A demon over a week, most definitely, as he showed in Asturias. But 11 days might be just a bridge slightly too far.

I still think he deserves a chance to step up, maybe be a domestique at Movistar (or Radioshack since they seem to have the dibs on Portuguese riders) or something like that like Pardilla did. Rubén Plaza will know him from the Liberty Seguros days - though of course Broco was apparently an outsider and was excluded from the 2008 and 2009 Voltas by the team.

 

[Parrulo]

wow broco is completely cooked.

i can't believe barbot made sergio sousa pace ribeiro up the climb

broco had to be carried to the anti doping control

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Holy cow Broco looks ungainly as he sprints for the line. He is absolutely destroyed. Barely able to keep upright. I'm not going to be hypercritical of his "failure" today. He obviously had nothing left to give.

Sérgio Ribeiro continues his quest to be the new Cândido Barbosa, but 3 minutes back is not good enough. He needs to be inside a minute of better climbers to properly mimic Cândido.

 

[canyonball]

Broco being dropped so early spoiled the stage the stage, but what can you do. Tavira really impressive. Three out of 4 on the stage 1,2 and 4 on GC?

 

[Parrulo]

broco completely heart broken on the flash interview

 

[canyonball]

Damn, dropping to fifth once again. It's a shame.

 

[jens_attacks]

I thought you were rooting for Barbot?

tavira and just sergio ribeiro from barbot although overall is a nice team too.

nice to hear the big boned guy didn't dissapoint

 

[Libertine Seguros]

lol, Rui Sousa just called Tavira "Palmeiras"... amnesia!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Grrr, Cabreira. Foxtrot Oscar.

Pretty amusing that they still haven't worked out that Garikoitz Bravo's name is not Bravo Garikoitz. Caja Rural now hold the youth and GPM.

 

[canyonball]

Imagine Gamito and Chagas on the commentary box everyday. It would be epic!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

GC

1 Ricardo MESTRE (PRT)
2 Andre CARDOSO (PRT) +1'31"
3 Rui SOUSA (BEF) +2'24"
4 Nelson VITORINO (PRT) +2'50"
5 Hernâni BROCO (LAR) +2'51"
6 Sérgio RIBEIRO (BEF) +5'24"
7 Virgílio SANTOS (LAR) +6'44"
8 Sérgio SOUSA (BEF) +7'06"
9 João CABREIRA (BOA) +7'54"
10 Daniel SILVA (BOA) +8'11"

Each and every one of them Portuguese. Last year Broco was the top Portuguese in 5th place, with Blanco, Bernabéu, Pardilla and Sinkewitz topping the list.

I don't know if this is a good thing (end of the hegemony of the Puerto guys) or a bad thing (two of the top names last year were on outsider teams, whereas here it's quite clearly the Portuguese teams' show, which makes it look even more provincial than it already is).

Ribeiro still being right up there is beginning to grind my gears as it reminds me of the bad old days.

 

[Lupetto]

Seems like young Vilela had a terrible day.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Yea, dropped out of the top 3 of the young riders' competition even.

Stage top 10:

1 André CARDOSO (PRT) 5'28'58"
2 Rui SOUSA (BEF) +MT
3 Ricardo MESTRE (PRT) +3"
4 Nelson VITORINO (PRT) +14"
5 Célio SOUSA (BOA) +1'47"
6 Hernâni BROCO (LAR) +2'06"
7 Délio FERNÁNDEZ (BOA) +2'17"
8 Francesco GAVAZZI (LAM) +2'40"
9 Sérgio RIBEIRO (BEF) +3'25"
10 João CABREIRA (BOA) +3'28"

Certainly a step up from last year's race, which had to be cut to under 120km and rerouted to climb via Manteigas, a much easier side of the climb, and the gaps in the top 10 were about 40". In 2008 on the Seia side they were upward of 7 minutes.

 

[killswitch]

How is Danail Petrov doing?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I was wondering that. Haven't seen his name on the results yet, but considering he's the only guy left on his team I've been hoping that he can make it to Lisbon.

 

[Lupetto]

Vilela +7:12
Petrov +25:02

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Broco did a bad ride