Rate the 2018 Vuelta

[Valv.Piti]

This is a perfect example of a 6/10 race. Decent enough and definitely enough to keep me interested throughout, but many mediocre stages. I liked the stages in Andorra (although they surely could be designed much better) and a few of the uphill finishes that Valverde won.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

3. Shouldn't be rated higher than Giro or Tour.

I will really, really pass on the Tour

 

[Flamin]

...

The Andorra stage was pretty mediocre imo. There was one (semi-cautious) attack from a top-10 rider (López) near the top of Beixalis 2, that's it. Then López went (a bit less cautious) again on Comella, and Mas got triggered by the race leader, of all people, who attacked because he got bored. Else Mas would have also waited until Gallina.

I was very surprised to see action on the Comella from that side.

I think Andorra stages like that can work, but there wasn't really one point to lay down the hammer. Beixalis isn't really hard enough for that.

If the stage had finished with Collada de Gallina/Cortals d'Encamp I think it would've been a lot better. Don't think you even need Comella in between.

The stage design could have been better obviously, but this stage definitely had more potential than what came out of it. I don't think it needs a certain point to lay down the hammer. The strength of such a short stage where it's up and down all day, is that it's very difficult to control and that something can happen basically everywhere. There's no such thing as a fight for the break followed by a 'dead moment' once the peloton is okay with the break and eases off. It's full gas from start to finish. Groups of riders were going up the road on Comella, on Beixalis,... that's a great script for sending team mates up the road and using them.

Why Urán for example didn't do anything is beyond comprehension. At one point he had two team mates (Woods and Rolland) up the road. Why they hell doesn't he attack on Beixalis 1 or Ordino. Especially on such a short (and the last!) stage, you're much more likely to find allies as well who share the workload (like Kwiat and De la Cruz going for the stage win). He wouldn't have lost much energy at all if he tried that.

 

[Flamin]

I gave it a 6 but I'm starting to think I should have given it a 5. There were some obvious good things about the race like it being close almost to the end, the last two stages were really good, we had some very interesting breakaway action with lots of attempts to take over the leaders jersey (which is something I always find interesting), there was a crosswind stage and there were some new names who showed big potential for the first time. Still it feels like this gt was missing something. Especially the first 2/3 felt were completely boring and I had the feeling the stage only really started on the penultimate weekend. Shortly before we still thought Buchmann was a contender I thought Mas wouldn't finish in the top ten and Quintana was the outstanding favorite. Now at first it may seem like something positive if there are some big twists in the last week but those weren't really twists but rather a sign for how little we knew about the race at that point. The race was so boring thus far that we were completely clueless. That Ofc also has something to do with only two mountain stages in the first 12 stages of which the first can even hardly be called a mountain stage which is the next thing I have to criticize, the route. Especially for the race that always boasts about having so many mtf's and so little flat stages this route was appalling. No murito until stage 13 which is complete nonsense (if you use a murito use it early in a gt) too many boring stages and most importantly once again lack of good mountain stages. Stage 20 showed perfectly while multi mountain stages are simply necessary for a good race and this vuelta had one. It's fine if stages are always decided on the final climb but at least give us hope and excitement with early climbs where an attack could be launched or where a team could isolate a leader. Those are the stages I watch gt's for and this vuelta just ignored their existence.
So as I wrote above 5/10 for me, it just felt completely unspecial

The Andorra stage was pretty mediocre imo. There was one (semi-cautious) attack from a top-10 rider (López) near the top of Beixalis 2, that's it. Then López went (a bit less cautious) again on Comella, and Mas got triggered by the race leader, of all people, who attacked because he got bored. Else Mas would have also waited until Gallina.

It wasn't superb but still pretty good imo. Astana went to the front at the beginning of Beixalis and from then onwards there was always something gc related going on. Astana shredded the peloton, Lopez attacks halfway up the climb, Lopez gets caught at the top, Quintana attacks on the descent, Lopez attacks again at the beginning of the next climb, Yates attacks dragging Mas with him, the first two groups TTT'd on the flat before the final climb and then on the final climb it was just everyone giving everything he had left. There was never huge excitement but always something going on on the last three climbs which is rare enough these days

Yeah but López attacking for like 10 seconds and then sitting on Fraile and Cataldo hardly put me on the edge of my seat. Neither does an average descender attacking on the downhill. López' move would have been more interesting if he was fully committed on Beixalis and then link up with Fraile and Cataldo in the valley.

So things only got interesting on Comella imo. I'd just expected more from it (a bit closer to Cercedilla 2015 though not for the red jersey of course).

 

[Tonton]

Old habits die hard: I give this Vuelta a 8 .

Unlike some here, I think that the route was fine if you judge by the results on the road and not by how it looks on the paper. There was suspense until the end, and one success worth noting: the three mountain stages in a row all gave us some GC action. Very steep gradients will do that...nowhere to hide, if you hold back you lose minutes. The third chapter ended with a legendary win for El Tibo, that's a plus .

Great to see Sky not winning, the next biggest team Movistar failing, although I wanted the many fans of the Don here to feel good in the end. Well, it's not like he left La Vuelta empty ended either...

Big plus, Simon winning a GT, which he deserved since the month of May. hats off! Another big plus is the revelation, or rather the confirmation: Enric Mas is a special rider. Now we're guaranteed that LaFlo will surpass the 100,000 posts, and probably sooner than we think . Heck, Porte and Pinot finished a GT !

This Vuelta ended and more than after any GT that I can remember (correct me if I'm wrong), we are left to wonder about some riders and where they're at in their career. Aru looks done. Nairo Quintana is a shadow of his normal self. Was last year's Wilco the best Merckx that he can be? Better than Axel, but no Eddy. Should Pinot turn into Virenque, have fun, win a stage and KOM in July, race with no GC pressure? For sure, he was the happiest that I have seen him on a GT since '14 at least, maybe ever. Majka and GC...nope. Zakarin regressed.

Biggest bummers were Uran who never attacks when he was in great GC position to place an attack and have everyone watching each other. Superman, if you want Wonder Woman, you need to ask her on a date, instead of waiting for others to fade and podium in a vulture way. Maybe it's harsh, but we keep seeing Colombians not attacking. With so much talent, I don't get it. We're still waiting for the successor to Lucho Herrera.

Bummer: SK didn't get a podium. The dude should have won a Giro. I was rooting for him. And Sagan.

Great stories: Kwiat the fighter, Rudy in red and 14th overall, Euskadi won a stage (why that yellow jersey, for Pete's sake?), Nacer has a new reason not to listen to anyone (now that he's the best sprinter in the World ), Tony The Tiger Gallopin fought hard, and Viviani delivered again.

From a fan-boy standpoint, I wish that Tibopino had set his sights on a podium finish, and it was there for the taking. Why be more of a royalist than King Thibaut himself, who wanted fun, attacks, and a stage win? In the end the story is Yates and Mas, but Pinot showed class, gained fans, had fun, and wow, big wins!

All in all, not as good as Il Giro, but this Vuelta was very entertaining. 8 is fair IMO. Intrigues, suspense, epilogue with an uncertain future for some marquis names...

 

[lartiste]

Re:

7/10
The close race for GC made it interesting til the last few stages. Team Sky could fall off the face of the Earth and I would not care, sport tactics are better without the SkyBot™ Train™. There were a few interesting strategic stages involving breakaway tactics. Ben King has found Jesus and very surprisingly found two stage wins. *** crash at the finish line of Stage 12 was a minor blemish on the event. Movistar fell flat in the end. Most of my prerace Vuelta predictions came true, including Porte collapse and López podium. TiboPino was amusing. Rohan Dennis proves again that he is in a class of his own in the TTs

I fully agree with this comment. Also 7/10 for me, also happy for Valverde's green jersey.

 

[movingtarget]

...

The Andorra stage was pretty mediocre imo. There was one (semi-cautious) attack from a top-10 rider (López) near the top of Beixalis 2, that's it. Then López went (a bit less cautious) again on Comella, and Mas got triggered by the race leader, of all people, who attacked because he got bored. Else Mas would have also waited until Gallina.

I was very surprised to see action on the Comella from that side.

I think Andorra stages like that can work, but there wasn't really one point to lay down the hammer. Beixalis isn't really hard enough for that.

If the stage had finished with Collada de Gallina/Cortals d'Encamp I think it would've been a lot better. Don't think you even need Comella in between.

The stage design could have been better obviously, but this stage definitely had more potential than what came out of it. I don't think it needs a certain point to lay down the hammer. The strength of such a short stage where it's up and down all day, is that it's very difficult to control and that something can happen basically everywhere. There's no such thing as a fight for the break followed by a 'dead moment' once the peloton is okay with the break and eases off. It's full gas from start to finish. Groups of riders were going up the road on Comella, on Beixalis,... that's a great script for sending team mates up the road and using them.

Why Urán for example didn't do anything is beyond comprehension. At one point he had two team mates (Woods and Rolland) up the road. Why they hell doesn't he attack on Beixalis 1 or Ordino. Especially on such a short (and the last!) stage, you're much more likely to find allies as well who share the workload (like Kwiat and De la Cruz going for the stage win). He wouldn't have lost much energy at all if he tried that.

If riders never attack it's usually because they don't have the legs. Quintana at least tried and failed but Uran was nowhere near the form of the 2017 Tour. But he could be one to watch at the Worlds.

 

[Flamin]

...

The Andorra stage was pretty mediocre imo. There was one (semi-cautious) attack from a top-10 rider (López) near the top of Beixalis 2, that's it. Then López went (a bit less cautious) again on Comella, and Mas got triggered by the race leader, of all people, who attacked because he got bored. Else Mas would have also waited until Gallina.

I was very surprised to see action on the Comella from that side.

I think Andorra stages like that can work, but there wasn't really one point to lay down the hammer. Beixalis isn't really hard enough for that.

If the stage had finished with Collada de Gallina/Cortals d'Encamp I think it would've been a lot better. Don't think you even need Comella in between.

The stage design could have been better obviously, but this stage definitely had more potential than what came out of it. I don't think it needs a certain point to lay down the hammer. The strength of such a short stage where it's up and down all day, is that it's very difficult to control and that something can happen basically everywhere. There's no such thing as a fight for the break followed by a 'dead moment' once the peloton is okay with the break and eases off. It's full gas from start to finish. Groups of riders were going up the road on Comella, on Beixalis,... that's a great script for sending team mates up the road and using them.

Why Urán for example didn't do anything is beyond comprehension. At one point he had two team mates (Woods and Rolland) up the road. Why they hell doesn't he attack on Beixalis 1 or Ordino. Especially on such a short (and the last!) stage, you're much more likely to find allies as well who share the workload (like Kwiat and De la Cruz going for the stage win). He wouldn't have lost much energy at all if he tried that.

If riders never attack it's usually because they don't have the legs. Quintana at least tried and failed but Uran was nowhere near the form of the 2017 Tour. But he could be one to watch at the Worlds.

Did you miss the fact that Urán finished 4th and 5th on Rabassa and Gallina respectively?

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re: Re:

Torn between 6 and 7.

On the positive side, I really liked the "new" climbs, Les Praeres and Monte Oiz, even if the action was limited on the former.

I think the first 10 days were kind of boring, except for the stage Molard won. Stage 11 (De Marchi won) was better than stage 1-10 combined.
More importantly, compared to last year, I missed the 'epic' factor in the race. I suspect it has something to do with Contador missing. I just don't really find riders like Simon Yates, MAL or Kruijswijk spectacular.

Maybe my memory fails me already (it's not getting any better, that's for sure), but as I remember it, the first 10 days were not that bad.

A decent uphill finish to start with (Caminito del Rey), echelons, another uphill sprint (Valverde vs Sagan), the finale in the stage Gallopin won was nice as well...

Overall very meh. A 5 seems accurate.

I think the stage to Caminito del Rey was very boring and the same for the other stage that Valverde won against Sagan. And the MTF's to Covatilla and Sierra Alfaguara were also without much action. Overall, I find (and I'm not saying you should feel the same way), that it's only the two stages, which Molard and Gallopin won, that was genuinely exciting for more than 1 km.

That's not to say it wasn't expected that it would be a dull first 10 days. But I was hoping for something more.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Caminito del Rey was a much harder stage than anticipated and we got to many of the best riders flat out get dropped early, I would say that was a a nice stage which delivered more than you could have expected.

 

[movingtarget]

...

The Andorra stage was pretty mediocre imo. There was one (semi-cautious) attack from a top-10 rider (López) near the top of Beixalis 2, that's it. Then López went (a bit less cautious) again on Comella, and Mas got triggered by the race leader, of all people, who attacked because he got bored. Else Mas would have also waited until Gallina.

I was very surprised to see action on the Comella from that side.

I think Andorra stages like that can work, but there wasn't really one point to lay down the hammer. Beixalis isn't really hard enough for that.

If the stage had finished with Collada de Gallina/Cortals d'Encamp I think it would've been a lot better. Don't think you even need Comella in between.

The stage design could have been better obviously, but this stage definitely had more potential than what came out of it. I don't think it needs a certain point to lay down the hammer. The strength of such a short stage where it's up and down all day, is that it's very difficult to control and that something can happen basically everywhere. There's no such thing as a fight for the break followed by a 'dead moment' once the peloton is okay with the break and eases off. It's full gas from start to finish. Groups of riders were going up the road on Comella, on Beixalis,... that's a great script for sending team mates up the road and using them.

Why Urán for example didn't do anything is beyond comprehension. At one point he had two team mates (Woods and Rolland) up the road. Why they hell doesn't he attack on Beixalis 1 or Ordino. Especially on such a short (and the last!) stage, you're much more likely to find allies as well who share the workload (like Kwiat and De la Cruz going for the stage win). He wouldn't have lost much energy at all if he tried that.

If riders never attack it's usually because they don't have the legs. Quintana at least tried and failed but Uran was nowhere near the form of the 2017 Tour. But he could be one to watch at the Worlds.

Over six minutes down on GC and he has never been known for being one of the more attacking riders in the mountains. His TT was also pretty ordinary based on what he can do.

 

[Red Rick]

Uran getting better towards the end of the Vuelta makes me think he is a big danger for that silver medal in Innsbruck

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re:

Caminito del Rey was a much harder stage than anticipated and we got to many of the best riders flat out get dropped early, I would say that was a a nice stage which delivered more than you could have expected.

Dropped? You mean distanced by Valv/Kwiatkowski in the uphill sprint? And I'm pretty sure Lopez was the only one of the best riders who lost more than 10 seconds, which, to be honest, is more indicative of Lopez' inability to cope well with uphill sprints in the beginning of stage races, than the action on the stage.

 

[SKSemtex]

7.
For me the best GT this year.
Not seeing Sky train every montain stage is balsam for my tired eyes after the Tour.

 

[movingtarget]

7.
For me the best GT this year.
Not seeing Sky train every montain stage is balsam for my tired eyes after the Tour.

I think Yates participation in both the Giro and the Vuelta made the races better. This year I liked the Giro as much because it was more dramatic and the route was better than the Vuelta. Valverde weakening at the end of the Vuelta wasn't a big surprise nor was Quintana's lack of form. I think the Tour ranked three simply because Thomas always looked comfortable especially after he had a decent time gap early in the race and Sky had it under control most of the time. Nibali and Porte not having the condition to compete in the Vuelta took some interest out of the race and took even more interest out of the Tour when they crashed out but it was good to see the young riders do well in the Vuelta as well as Steven K.

 

[Forever The Best]

That was awful. I dunno, a 2?

 

[Robert5091]

7 for entertainment due to no Sky train and nobody saying that they planned to win it! - though if Bernal had been fit ... Some time in the future it might well go down as a blip in the Sky dominance.