Rate the Vuelta

[chiocciolis_calves]

Regardless, it's great to see fans lining the roads of the Vuelta this year and the past few years. I can remember editions where there was nary a soul out on the side of the road on some stages. I hope this quashes the talk of reducing it to two weeks.

 

[peloton]

Gave it an 8.

Was a pretty undulating route, we had crosswinds, few cobbles, TTT. and the race wasn't decided until the second to last day, which is always good.

Too bad we didn't see some of stages from the start like in the Tour, as the battle for breaks sounded pretty intense.

I'd given it a 10 if Aru had made the podium

 

[Afrank]

Was a pretty undulating route, we had crosswinds, few cobbles, TTT. and the race wasn't decided until the second to last day, which is always good.
p

It was decided on stage 10.

 

[icefire]

It was decided on stage 10.

Do you mean stage 10 of the TdF?

 

[ILovecycling]

Do you mean stage 10 of the TdF?

No,vuelta...we didnt know who will ride it in july.

 

[Afrank]

Do you mean stage 10 of the TdF?

Stage 10 was the time trial where Contador first took red.

 

[Carols]

I'm pretty sure I gave the Tour an 8 so Vuelta gets at least an 8. I'm one of those strange people that follow cycling that actually enjoy watching it

 

[jaylew]

I'm pretty sure I gave the Tour an 8 so Vuelta gets at least an 8. I'm one of those strange people that follow cycling that actually enjoy watching it

+1, nice. I'm pretty sure if we went back to everyone being doped to the gills people would actually enjoy the races again.

 

[cineteq]

Gave it a 6. Unsatisfying is the word that comes to mind.

 

[Netserk]

ohh he was either on the same climbing level as Alberto or better, you can choose , so you are right,not terrible at all

Quintana was worse than Alberto on Cumbres Verdes and Valdelinares and he was behind after the first time check (the climbing part) in the ITT. The only thing going for him was that he gained time in the TTT.

 

[murali]

i think i gave a 4 to tour/giro, so have to go for 5.

reasons: not enough spice.

AC winning was the only good outcome of the race.
Quintana's abandon was a big down for me.
just one stage actually had a real battle raging on between the contenders. in the rest of the stages, it was more about following others, defensive rides, etc.
If you leave Neimic, the rest of the breaks were bound to win. Neimic's appeared touch and go for a while.
No exceptionally brave ride by anyone.

The only major plus point is that there were far lesser last-km crashes, comparatively.

 

[murali]

Stage 10 was the time trial where Contador first took red.

why are you guys giving so much stress on that ITT?

the only thing that went wrong was Quintana's fall. and froome didnt live up to Kirby's expectations.

The gains in the ITT allowed AC to not actively attack in the mountains. the top-5 also reflect the best-5 riders (if one excludes NQ)

 

[LittleJo]

I gave it a 6 - probably would have been a 7 if it weren't for that appalling final stage. Some good racing, although eventually I found the inevitable uphill sprint that occurred in the final 2km of almost all the MTFs a little bit dull.

 

[Mellow Velo]

Stages 12 and 21, the two worst stages of the GT season.
The mountain stage finishes lacked variety.
Gave it a very generous 6, just for the three amigos being very un-amigo on a couple of the MTFs.

 

[ILovecycling]

Quintana was worse than Alberto on Cumbres Verdes and Valdelinares and he was behind after the first time check (the climbing part) in the ITT. The only thing going for him was that he gained time in the TTT.

great, he lost 12secs on mountain sprint as he lost his murito sprinting legs , and at valdelinares he was as good as Berto. He also erased 10secs deficit on last 2km hill before the 1st time check...and from our knowledge we know he is the specialist of 3rd week peaking. But why I bother when you know all these things

 

[Akuryo]

It is not always the route. Look at ToB this year. They had no climb (near the final of each stage) that was longer than 4k. But with only 6 riders and without radios they managed to make it an interesting race. Only 2 riders were allowed to keep the leaders jersey for longer than a day. So even a course without murderous climbs can result in a great race. Maybe the GTs should consider allowing only 7 or 8 riders per team. That could change a few things. Sky or Movistar couldn't unleash their mountain-trains from the get go. Breakaways had more chances. I would really like to see a GT with fewer riders than 9!

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

But the ToB actually had a great route! If the Vuelta had the same easy mountain stages it has now, but a couple of good hilly stages as well, like the ToB, it would have been much better! Actually the Vuelta did have a couple of okay hilly/difficult sprint stages and they were more entertaining than a lot of the mountain stages. For instance, I liked stages 13, 17 and 19 more than most of the mountain stages!

 

[icefire]

Stage 10 was the time trial where Contador first took red.

Valverde took bonus seconds the day after in Aralar and was 20s behind Contador in GC, but yeah, Aralar is just a hill and the Vuelta was already decided

 

[Afrank]

why are you guys giving so much stress on that ITT?

the only thing that went wrong was Quintana's fall. and froome didnt live up to Kirby's expectations.

The gains in the ITT allowed AC to not actively attack in the mountains. the top-5 also reflect the best-5 riders (if one excludes NQ)

I'm not really putting a lot of stress on the TT, Just making the point that that's where he took red. And by that point he had the race won pretty much.

I personally had absolutely no doubt he would keep it to the end.

 

[MBotero]

I gave it a 5,the worst Vuelta in the last 4 years at least.This year Vuelta description here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqFLXayD6e8

 

[Descender]

I couldn't give it a 0, so I didn't vote.

 

[myrideissteelerthanyours]

The last shot at a truly monumental legacy for AC quickly revealed itself to be a glorified training ride for CF.

I gave it a 2 because it was mildly interesting with the possibility of seeing the old AC but sadly this just confirms that the "real" AC only had that magic for a few short years and it will never be back.

 

[ILovecycling]

I couldn't give it a 0, so I didn't vote.

schleck should be ashamed in your presence, you are true whinning all star

 

[Pricey_sky]

The last shot at a truly monumental legacy for AC quickly revealed itself to be a glorified training ride for CF.

I like the glorified training ride comment, it's very true! However I still feel Contador has a great chance next season to win another Tour. After that who knows...

 

[Electress]

I enjoyed the Vuelta but then I enjoyed the Tour. I pretty much enjoy watching cycling.

Don't think it was the best V. course - there were some lamentable stages, I agree - but it was fun to see the GT favourites do battle.