Clásica San Sebastián - 2 August 2014

[BigMac]

Is that a bad thing? It makes sense....the Spanish riders wanting to do well in their races. I think it's pretty nice. Vuelta stages are usually better than most from other GT's.

Not only it is good for the Spanish riders, it is also good for the organisers. A Spanish big name winning here is all they wanted. A national win always brings more attention from the locals and rest of the country, exactly what San Sebastian needed since the sponsros are mainly focused in the internal market. As I said, they aren't exactly rich over there these days. Not the best outcome for most here, but I couldn't be happier with the winner. Give me this parcours for many years (even if just the finale), at least until Valverde retires.

 

[icefire]

There are no descent finishes in the Vuelta so you are wrong

There are 2 descent finishes in the Vuelta this year

 

[Hakkapelit]

This race has been turned into a Vuelta stage. And it played out like a Vuelta stage. With the usual suspects in a Vuelta stage.

How did it play out in past times then=?

 

[Arredondo]

Purito is not going to do Burgos, just rest till the Vuelta, he said to the Basque media after the race.

Logical. I bet that before Clasica, he would start in Burgos if this race wasn't a succes.

 

[trevim]

GC after stage 3:
1. Gustavo Veloso
2. Victor de la Parte +11
3. Luis Leon Sanchez +21

 

[No_Balls]

Bala . Attacks on the downhill and holds them off. Chapeau Sir! He needs to focus on these kinds of races instead of 3 week tours!

Indeed! He has evolved to a very fine one day racer and should focus on that.

He'll be a man to watch for the Worlds, thats for sure.

 

[theyoungest]

Is that a bad thing? It makes sense....the Spanish riders wanting to do well in their races. I think it's pretty nice. Vuelta stages are usually better than most from other GT's.

Really? The Vuelta is mostly just about the last 2 k of stages. And Purito wins.

 

[Jspear]

Really? The Vuelta is mostly just about the last 2 k of stages. And Purito wins.

Nah man! Lot more than that. Just think back to last year...Angliru. That's just one example out of a MANY.
Edit: Just did some quick math. Jrod one his first Vuelta stage in 2003. Since then he has won 8 Vuelta stages. He has won 8 out of the last 209 Vuelta stages. That isn't winning "most" of them.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Really? The Vuelta is mostly just about the last 2 k of stages. And Purito wins.

Counter example: Contador-Example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SGb9VyI37Q

 

[hrotha]

Counter example: Contador-Example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SGb9VyI37Q

That was an accident and very much not something Unipublic wanted, as evidenced by the fact that they didn't even have a camera covering it because it didn't happen in the last hour of the race.

 

[Jspear]

Counter example: Contador-Example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SGb9VyI37Q

Yes a great example...one of my personal favorites.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Picking a stage like Fuente Dé as a counter-example is pretty counter-intuitive. There's a reason stages like that are called exceptional. Apart from that and Heras to Pajares in 2005, can you name any other Vuelta stages that were exciting that far out in the last decade?

There are lots of Vuelta stages that are exciting for however long it takes to do the final climb, whether that be 2-3 minutes (eg Valdepeñas de Jaén) or 45 (eg Angliru). But there aren't many Vuelta stages in recent memory that really give you something beyond that. Mainly because they've marginalised the time trial and gone bonanza on MTFs, so we regularly have the bunch all coming to the base of the mountain together and then see what happens (and then they have to make the mountains steeper and steeper because the doms are all fresh so fairly straightforward climbs do not create gaps).

The Vuelta could have stages that have the potential to be epic for hours. But it doesn't. In a way, the fact they only broadcast the last 75-90 minutes of most stages helps, because you still see everything you need, but it's all condensed into a shorter period of time. If they broadcast 2-3 hours like at the Tour or some Giro stages, the lack of action until the final climb would be felt a lot more.

 

[jaylew]

Valverde is the man to beat in almost any race with some hills close to the finish. And most of the time he gets beaten

Sure, but that's cycling. Most of the time you lose, but he wins more than any rider in the peloton who isn't a bunch sprinter as evidenced by this, his 10th win of the year.

Anyway, nice win for the Green Bullet!

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Valverde always had a bit of a problem like Sagan. If you can sprint and can do another thing well, nobody wants to go to the line with you. In his early years Valverde would go on the attack a lot and then lose because nobody would ride with him. Now he usually rides defensively and still loses because either they drop him or they won't ride with him.

Still wins a lot of smaller races in a year tho, and always 1 or 2 big victories. You could do worse

 

[Rollthedice]

Sure, but that's cycling. Most of the time you lose, but he wins more than any rider in the peloton who isn't a bunch sprinter as evidenced by this, his 10th win of the year.

Anyway, nice win for the Green Bullet!

He's first now in WT rankings.

 

[jaylew]

He's first now in WT rankings.

And first in CQ, both in the rolling one year ranking and for 2014.

 

[movingtarget]

Well taken win by Valverde. Never looked in doubt when he was chasing down Riodriguez.