Pre La Vuelta-thread

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

I don't think GT will keep his shape. He has always said that long stints with focus on nothing but training was not his thing and why he would probably never win a GT.

So I assume he has been spending some time celebrating, perhaps drinking GTs and will be surprised if he does much more of note this year, to be honest.

So, GT won a GT and is celebrating by drinking GTs?
Got it.

Perhaps playing GT on his Play Station?

 

[Leinster]

Sky are ditching Pinarello as a sponsor next year. The opportunities were just too big for GT to pass up.

 

[Lequack]

Re:

Sky are ditching Pinarello as a sponsor next year. The opportunities were just too big for GT to pass up.

Are they going for a more British brand?

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Why don't they send G to the Vuelta, in his current forms he might just win it and he hasn't ridden the Giro.

Sure, because the Vuelta dynamics is the same as the Tour. Not to mention that he has to prove that he can do back to back GT's in good shape.

The Tour is the best race for him with the best Sky team that can control the race. The Giro and Vuelta is always more chaotic.

 

[gregrowlerson]

The main contenders are Porte, Yates, Quintana and Aru IMO. Aru has proven he can do Giro and Vuelta; I would forgive him for this years Giro performance.

 

[Salvarani]

Re:

The main contenders are Porte, Yates, Quintana and Aru IMO. Aru has proven he can do Giro and Vuelta; I would forgive him for this years Giro performance.

Bouncing back in Vuelta and finish like top 5 would be great for Aru and for the future imo

 

[Robert5091]

If Poels is doing the Vuelta he'd be a good outside bet.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

If Poels is doing the Vuelta he'd be a good outside bet.

After riding Giro and Tour?

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

Jetse Bol will win, if he gets to start that is...

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

Sky are ditching Pinarello as a sponsor next year. The opportunities were just too big for GT to pass up.

Are they going for a more British brand?

No, GT is a bike brand. Embarrassing that I had to Google that as I have a MTB of that brand :Neutral:

 

[Broccolidwarf]

I think a lot of the usual GT contenders, will not be riding the Vuelta for a GC result there, but to get in shape for worlds only 2 weeks after.

Even if we see the strongest start list for a Vuelta in decades, half of them will be riding as stage hunters or domestiques, because their goal is worlds - and if you go deep for the GC at the Vuelta, you may very well be empty at worlds.

It will upset our "normal" expectations a great deal, and I think we will see a lot of usual contenders drop time the first 2 weeks, as they ride themselves into peak condition.

 

[Laplaz]

Re:

I think a lot of the usual GT contenders, will not be riding the Vuelta for a GC result there, but to get in shape for worlds only 2 weeks after.

Even if we see the strongest start list for a Vuelta in decades, half of them will be riding as stage hunters or domestiques, because their goal is worlds - and if you go deep for the GC at the Vuelta, you may very well be empty at worlds.

It will upset our "normal" expectations a great deal, and I think we will see a lot of usual contenders drop time the first 2 weeks, as they ride themselves into peak condition.

Well, Nibali had the best fall in his career after the hard Vuelta last year, so i wouldn't take it for granted.

 

[Leinster]

I would think 2 weeks would be plenty of time to recover from a GT to do a one-day ride. We’ve seen plenty of riders back up from a strong TdF to ride San Seb only 1 week later.

And I can’t see any rider just passing up a run at the Vuelta gc on the off-chance of getting a good run at Worlds.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Re:

I would think 2 weeks would be plenty of time to recover from a GT to do a one-day ride. We’ve seen plenty of riders back up from a strong TdF to ride San Seb only 1 week later.

And I can’t see any rider just passing up a run at the Vuelta gc on the off-chance of getting a good run at Worlds.

Obviously, if you can win the Vuelta, that is what you go for.

My point is, that for a lot of the guys that did the full Tour, if they ride the Vuelta full gas, they will have stretched the resources too far, when it comes to worlds.... and if they are not a realistic contender for the Vuelta win, they will prioritise differently.

Worlds will be the hardest race day of the year, by far, both because everyone who is anyone is there, and because the route is crazy hard (20 km longer and 10 % more elevation gain than the Rio Olympics, at higher altitude)...... and not least, because the race is going to be nigh on impossible to control, with a much larger peloton than the Olympics, that consists of a lot more competent riders generally.

In other years, when worlds is not for the GT guys, the Vuelta is the last chance of the season (unless you can win Lombardia), and everyone gives everything.

I think the dynamics and priorities are different this year....... not for the teams, but certainly for the riders who are eyeing a rainbow jersey chance - which for many of them is a once in a career opportunity, as it is very rarely a route for the GT guys.

I think we will see more people pull their punches, on more stages..... guys like Kruijswijk, Martin, Valverde, Fuglsang, etc.

 

[postmanhat]

Jose Been on twitter saying it looks like we'll only get TV coverage of the Vuelta from 1600 to 1800

My memory isn't what it was, but pretty sure this is an unwelcome new 'development'

 

[luckyboy]

Re:

Stage 2 won't finish at the same place than in 2015. The finish will be at the upcoming Visitor Reception Centre of Caminito del Rey.
https://www.lavuelta.es/en/news/2018/the-upcoming-visitor-reception-center-of-caminito-del-rey-will-held-the-finish-line-for-the-second-stage-of-la-vuelta-18/12856

The Vuelta web site still keeps the old profile but the map shows that the climb to the Alto de la Mesa won't be part of the stage.
https://www.lavuelta.es/en/stage-2

From the look of the map, they'll climb less than 200m in the last 4.5 km with the last km at ~5%.

They updated the map and profile for stage 2 now

2015 map, 2018 map

new profile

old profile

 

[ice&fire]

Re:

Jose Been on twitter saying it looks like we'll only get TV coverage of the Vuelta from 1600 to 1800

My memory isn't what it was, but pretty sure this is an unwelcome new 'development'

This has been standard coverage in the last few years for most stages. Spanish TV is short on money to fly helicopters and airplanes to cover whole stages for 3 weeks.

 

[staubsauger]

Re: Re:

Jose Been on twitter saying it looks like we'll only get TV coverage of the Vuelta from 1600 to 1800

My memory isn't what it was, but pretty sure this is an unwelcome new 'development'

This has been standard coverage in the last few years for most stages. Spanish TV is short on money to fly helicopters and airplanes to cover whole stages for 3 weeks.

In the Zeros 15.45 - 18.00 was the standard time schedule on Eurosport for the Vuelta a Espana!

 

[Lequack]

Re: Re:

Jose Been on twitter saying it looks like we'll only get TV coverage of the Vuelta from 1600 to 1800

My memory isn't what it was, but pretty sure this is an unwelcome new 'development'

This has been standard coverage in the last few years for most stages. Spanish TV is short on money to fly helicopters and airplanes to cover whole stages for 3 weeks.

Yeah I thought covering the flat stages where nothing happens, in full, is more of a Tour thing for the past 2 or 3 years.

 

[rghysens]

Re:

Jose Been on twitter saying it looks like we'll only get TV coverage of the Vuelta from 1600 to 1800

My memory isn't what it was, but pretty sure this is an unwelcome new 'development'

An unwelcome new development that matches the stage profiles. For ____________/ stages you don't need 3 or 4 hours coverage. For flat stages neither. How many stages are there where there's a big possibility of action before the start of the coverage? 1?

 

[shalgo]

Re: Re:

I would think 2 weeks would be plenty of time to recover from a GT to do a one-day ride. We’ve seen plenty of riders back up from a strong TdF to ride San Seb only 1 week later.

And I can’t see any rider just passing up a run at the Vuelta gc on the off-chance of getting a good run at Worlds.

Obviously, if you can win the Vuelta, that is what you go for.

That may not be obvious to all riders. In 2000, Ullrich was sitting in 4th place in the Vuelta after 12 stages, only 1:18 behind the eventual winner Heras and with a 38 km TT still to come. Yet he dropped out to rest before the Olympics.

The circumstances weren't exactly the same: there were only 10 days between the end of the Vuelta and the Olympic road race and those events were also a hemisphere apart. But it does show a precedent of a rider giving up an excellent chance at a Vuelta win to prepare for another race.

Not that I am recommending this course of action--it has always bothered me that Ullrich did this, even if he did end up with a gold medal out of it.

 

[roundabout]

It wasn't an excellent chance. You should look at Ullrich's results from ITT's and difficult stages to see that a win was a longshot even if he seemed close after 12 stages.

 

[shalgo]

Re:

It wasn't an excellent chance. You should look at Ullrich's results from ITT's and difficult stages to see that a win was a longshot even if he seemed close after 12 stages.

He wasn't in great shape at the start of the race, because he was planning to peak for the Olympics. It is possible that he would have been stronger in the final week of the race.

 

[May0maniac]

According to La Gazzetta Bahrain Merida will send
Ion & Gorka as the leaders
Nibali
Delfino
Cortina
Padun
Pibernik
+1 another rider
I'd like to see Pernsteiner riding his first gt, but it's probably going to be Visconti, even if there are rumours about him leaving the team.

 

[luckyboy]

Padun will be interesting. He looked really strong at times this year. Notably during one of the Hammer races.