Vuelta a España Ninja of La Vuelta

[Armchair cyclist]

Who will be the highest placed on GC without a top ten finish (excluding team time trial)

You can't name a rider someone else has taken.

I'll go Sergio Pardilla.

 

[Cian]

I'll go with Matteo Fabbro

 

[wirral]

Louis Meintjes

I think the criteria are rather restrictive. How about a forum consensus over a rider that hid, was hardly mentioned and, most importantly, never attacked.

 

[42x16ss]

It's possible to ninja your way into a top 10. Guys like Meintjes and Zubeldia have careers based off it.

Having said that, I like Kelderman or O'Connor for a high GC finish with minimal TV time.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Tao Geoghegan Hart

 

[klintE]

Tao Geoghegan Hart

You gotta be kidding

 

[starlord]

Tao Geoghegan Hart

Think it's gonna be other way around for Tao

Sergei Chernetski

 

[HelloDolly]

Tao Geoghegan Hart

Hart just sniffs a top 10 and ES UK and ITV4 will do an hourlong special on him from every angle

 

[hayneplane]

Pierre Latour. Could have recovered well enough to hang around the favourites group for a long time but won’t have it when the attacks start.

 

[tobydawq]

Víctor de la Parte.

 

[Anderis]

I'll go with Felix Grossschartner.

 

[42x16ss]

Tao Geoghegan Hart

Hart just has to take to the start line and the British media is all over him. Couldn't blow his nose without Kirby or Brian Smith fawning over him.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Also considered Meintjes and Grossschartner yesterday. The problem is i can see those guys lose too much time and go in a break and get a top 10 finish that way.

Knox might actually be good enough to finish inside the top 10 a few times, especially in this rather weak field. Maybe Cras, Eg, Roche, CF Hagen...

I'll go with Roche. Eventhough he will probably also go in a break.

 

[laarsland]

Bob Power

 

[Armchair cyclist]

Who will be the highest placed on GC without a top ten finish (excluding team time trial)

You can't name a rider someone else has taken.

I think the criteria are rather restrictive. How about a forum consensus over a rider that hid, was hardly mentioned and, most importantly, never attacked.

If he goes in a break, he either is so low in the GC that he is unlikely to win this title, or he will take a top ten on the stage and disqualify himself from the rankings.

Anything else is rather subjective: UK commentators will mention Geoghegan Hart and Knox, no matter how unremarkable their ride; Kirby will dwell on Meintjes in particular, and DD in general, if they are near the screen, and TV producers will linger on any Spanish rider, national jersey wearer, carrier of injuries/bottles etc.

 

[tobydawq]

Víctor de la Parte.

Wow, I'm really off to a flying start with this one.

 

[Red Rick]

Yeah I think Kelderman won't get TV time

 

[RedheadDane]

Pierre Latour. Could have recovered well enough to hang around the favourites group for a long time but won’t have it when the attacks start.

You were saying…

 

[Koronin]

How about Rafa Mijka?

 

[Sciatic]

Yeah I think Kelderman won't get TV time

Kelderman's a good bet, I think.

BTW, I thought the way we used the term ninja here meant a rider flying under the radar but still ending up with a top 10-15 placing, a la Zubeldia. What the point of identifying a rider who goes unnoticed AND misses a top placing? Aren't they just bad (or domestiques) ?

 

[Armchair cyclist]

I'll go with Roche. Even though he will probably also go in a break.

Well that didn't last long: we have our first elimination.

 

[SHAD0W93]

The original question wasn't who isn't going to get the most press coverage, it was:
"Who will be the highest placed on GC without a top ten finish (excluding team time trial)

You can't name a rider someone else has taken."

So I made my choice based off the fact Sky/Ineos usually have theor support riders in the top 11-20 that don't have a top 10 in stages supporting their leaders and he was the most logical that wouldn't get a top 10 out of the lot. Though that all went to hell today. :/

 

[SHAD0W93]

How about Rafa Mijka?

I thought of him first but he usually gets a top 10 stage in the GT's he races.

 

[Koronin]

I thought of him first but he usually gets a top 10 stage in the GT's he races.

He very well could end up with a top 10 somewhere.

 

[Anderis]

Since Vuelta 2013 Majka was not even once close to finishing a GT without any top10 on a stage. Unlikely candidate. If he is strong enough to go for GC, he'll get some top10 on mountain stages, if he is not, he will go for breakways and still probably get some top10s this way as a profficient breakaway specialist unless his form turns out to be really poor, in which case he won't finish high enough in GC bo win the ninja competition.