Hey, let's tinker with the Vuelta.

[chiocciolis_calves]

Well, it's time for the annual call to shorten the Vuelta by the esteemed cycling media. It's important to make this call shortly after you have noted that we were treated to yet another dramatic, exciting (in cycling media jargon: "epic") Vuelta again last season. This is an excellent way to bolster your case and convince your readers that you are not just bloviating with the usual twaddle that comprises the pages of pro cycling's journals of record.

Cookson is now apparently receptive. For God's sake, let's get on this with the urgency it requires.

 

[LaFlorecita]

But why

 

[Red Rick]

But why

I don't even know what is exact point is, so the 'why' is beyond me

 

[Libertine Seguros]

There is nothing wrong with the Vuelta that better stage design won't fix. It doesn't need changing otherwise.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

http://velonews.competitor.com/2016...rt-of-shortened-vuelta-eight-man-teams_399150

Personally, the Vuelta has had the most drama/most excitement in it compared to the the Giro and the Tour in the last few yeard

 

[Tonton]

That's idiotic. The Vuelta is a GT, a GT is 3-weeks. Period.

 

[Poursuivant]

That's idiotic. The Vuelta is a GT, a GT is 3-weeks. Period.

This, every time.

 

[Red Rick]

There's nothing wrong with cycling that Cookson can fix.

I have some more great ideas

Tour de France in March.
Milan Sanremo reduced to 200km instead of 300
Paris Roubaix without cobbles, rider might get injured
Cycling without the UCI

Find the one I'm serious about

 

[LaFlorecita]

That's idiotic. The Vuelta is a GT, a GT is 3-weeks. Period.

Yes, exactly.

 

[SafeBet]

Let's make the Giro six weeks long and have Zomegnan back in charge then everything else I'm OK with.

 

[del1962]

Didn't the Vuelta start out as a 14 stage race?

 

[Carols]

One of the great things in cycling is the Three, 3-Week tours! Leave them Alone! Okay well you could do some route changes but don't mess with the time length of a GT! The Vuelta has been the most exciting of the 3 for a few years now, leave it at 3 weeks!

 

[Mr.White]

Re:

Didn't the Vuelta start out as a 14 stage race?

Yes, just like Tour and Giro

 

[Ramon Koran]

No doubt it needs shortening for cyclings sake. Two major 3 week races Is enough. I think every year there should be two groups of riders that race one giro say nibali Quintana aru and then Contador froome valverde do tour. Then at two week vuelta have match inbetween giro and vuelta with say nibali Quintana aru one team valverde froome Contador another. It could be champions of champions if you want bit like NBA. Cycling needs this to improve sponsorship and money

 

[Libertine Seguros]

No offence, but I hate your idea and don't think cycling needs that in the slightest. Notwithstanding that the "All Star" Giro team would almost invariably hold the cards, being better rested.

 

[chiocciolis_calves]

Re:

No doubt it needs shortening for cyclings sake. Two major 3 week races Is enough. I think every year there should be two groups of riders that race one giro say nibali Quintana aru and then Contador froome valverde do tour. Then at two week vuelta have match inbetween giro and vuelta with say nibali Quintana aru one team valverde froome Contador another. It could be champions of champions if you want bit like NBA. Cycling needs this to improve sponsorship and money

This is precisely the sort of inventive approach I hoped I might inspire by taking the lead from members of the cycling press and noting the urgent need to adjust the Vuelta.

I am for your proposal, but I must say I'm concerned that such a system would almost necessarily exclude all but one British rider, particularly now that Sir Bradley has given up winning Grand Tours. I would fear the sustainability of the cycling press in such a context. Snide comments and implications about riders from countries on the Mediterranean can only get you so far.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

No doubt it needs shortening for cyclings sake. Two major 3 week races Is enough. I think every year there should be two groups of riders that race one giro say nibali Quintana aru and then Contador froome valverde do tour. Then at two week vuelta have match inbetween giro and vuelta with say nibali Quintana aru one team valverde froome Contador another. It could be champions of champions if you want bit like NBA. Cycling needs this to improve sponsorship and money

This really confuses me. Why would this be better than the current system with 3 3-week Grand Tours? are you seriously saying riders from different teams would be put together in 1 team and the Vuelta is reduced to some sort of "just for fun" criterium race?

No, let's keep it as it is. They are GRAND Tours - they should be 3 weeks.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Who the hell cares about what happens in the Pro Bowl, compared to who cares what happens in the Superbowl?

While you can argue that a hell of a lot more people care about what happens in the Tour than what happens in the Vuelta... it's just no comparison.

Ask an NFL player if they'd like to have a playoff season, or play on the winning side in the Pro Bowl. All-star games are utterly meaningless. We have the post-Tour criteriums for that kind of crap with big stars riding around carefully orchestrated so that nobody gets hurt, because there's nothing at stake. The Vuelta is not like that. It may be the soft target among the GTs, it may be the runt of the litter. But it's not a post-Tour crit, it's a prestigious and historic race in its own right, and the authorities only want to carve it up because it's less powerful than the Tour or Giro and they can make more space in the calendar for "expansion" races providing crappy, meaningless races in countries with no interest in the sport, in front of no fans, or artificial circuit races where Cookson can sell the sport down the river at the altar of €6 for a warm bottle of weak beer and festival toilets and sell tickets and popcorn.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Who the hell cares about what happens in the Pro Bowl, compared to who cares what happens in the Superbowl?

While you can argue that a hell of a lot more people care about what happens in the Tour than what happens in the Vuelta... it's just no comparison.

Ask an NFL player if they'd like to have a playoff season, or play on the winning side in the Pro Bowl. All-star games are utterly meaningless. We have the post-Tour criteriums for that kind of crap with big stars riding around carefully orchestrated so that nobody gets hurt, because there's nothing at stake. The Vuelta is not like that. It may be the soft target among the GTs, it may be the runt of the litter. But it's not a post-Tour crit, it's a prestigious and historic race in its own right, and the authorities only want to carve it up because it's less powerful than the Tour or Giro and they can make more space in the calendar for "expansion" races providing crappy, meaningless races in countries with no interest in the sport, in front of no fans, or artificial circuit races where Cookson can sell the sport down the river at the altar of €6 for a warm bottle of weak beer and festival toilets and sell tickets and popcorn.

Oh +1000

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

No doubt it needs shortening for cyclings sake. Two major 3 week races Is enough. I think every year there should be two groups of riders that race one giro say nibali Quintana aru and then Contador froome valverde do tour. Then at two week vuelta have match inbetween giro and vuelta with say nibali Quintana aru one team valverde froome Contador another. It could be champions of champions if you want bit like NBA. Cycling needs this to improve sponsorship and money

Just no. I'm open for any improvement for cycling but this is just the exact opposite. There are numerous points why I don't like this idea, and just to name a few:
1.) Only because they are officially in one team, why should Nibali, Quintana and Aru work together when they get paid by different people.
2.) Stage races consist of gc relevant stages but also flat stages and stages for the break. Thats what makes cycling cyling but it would be completely gone in your Vuelta
3.) Who qualifies to be in the all star teams? You can't just rely on old results because that way young and talented riders will never get a chance
4.) A gc rider can never try the double
5.) If you abandon (for example due to a crash) you can't just ride another gt instead
6.) As Libertine Seguros has already said it, the riders who don't have the giro in their legs when they ride the vuelta have a huge advantage. Moreover they will have a disadvantage in the more important tdf, why they will probably just skip the vuelta which automatically leads to point 7
7.) Nobody will ride the giro.
8.) Nobody will ride the giro except you meant that the riders can't choose which gt they want to ride which would be even worse
9.) Just imagine there are no spanish guys in the all star team. That would be horrible for the vuelta.
10.) This would completely mess up the whole traditional calendar.

This is already more than enough reason to not carry your plan into effect and I'm very sure I still forgot many important points.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

No doubt it needs shortening for cyclings sake. Two major 3 week races Is enough. I think every year there should be two groups of riders that race one giro say nibali Quintana aru and then Contador froome valverde do tour. Then at two week vuelta have match inbetween giro and vuelta with say nibali Quintana aru one team valverde froome Contador another. It could be champions of champions if you want bit like NBA. Cycling needs this to improve sponsorship and money

Just no. I'm open for any improvement for cycling but this is just the exact opposite. There are numerous points why I don't like this idea, and just to name a few:
1.) Only because they are officially in one team, why should Nibali, Quintana and Aru work together when they get paid by different people.
2.) Stage races consist of gc relevant stages but also flat stages and stages for the break. Thats what makes cycling cyling but it would be completely gone in your Vuelta
3.) Who qualifies to be in the all star teams? You can't just rely on old results because that way young and talented riders will never get a chance
4.) A gc rider can never try the double
5.) If you abandon (for example due to a crash) you can't just ride another gt instead
6.) As Libertine Seguros has already said it, the riders who don't have the giro in their legs when they ride the vuelta have a huge advantage. Moreover they will have a disadvantage in the more important tdf, why they will probably just skip the vuelta which automatically leads to point 7
7.) Nobody will ride the giro.
8.) Nobody will ride the giro except you meant that the riders can't choose which gt they want to ride which would be even worse
9.) Just imagine there are no spanish guys in the all star team. That would be horrible for the vuelta.
10.) This would completely mess up the whole traditional calendar.

This is already more than enough reason to not carry your plan into effect and I'm very sure I still forgot many important points.

Yes very good post such a strange idea

 

[Cannibal72]

Re:

No doubt it needs shortening for cyclings sake. Two major 3 week races Is enough. I think every year there should be two groups of riders that race one giro say nibali Quintana aru and then Contador froome valverde do tour. Then at two week vuelta have match inbetween giro and vuelta with say nibali Quintana aru one team valverde froome Contador another. It could be champions of champions if you want bit like NBA. Cycling needs this to improve sponsorship and money

This is fine, except that cycling can't have 'matches' or be remotely like the NBA, because it's a race, not a game.

 

[burning]

Re:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2016...rt-of-shortened-vuelta-eight-man-teams_399150

Personally, the Vuelta has had the most drama/most excitement in it compared to the the Giro and the Tour in the last few yeard

I just hope that ASO simply removes all of their races including Vuelta to just give a lesson to this fool.

 

[jaylew]

I'm always fine with innovation and change if it betters things but I haven't heard a good, fully fleshed out idea yet. And I kind like the Vuelta the way it is these days. I like the niche its carved out and I generally like the parcours. It's often the most exciting GT of the year to me.

 

[jens_attacks]

No thanks no

**** off velon