Stage 16: Ponte Di Legno-Val Martello/Martelltal (139 km)

[jsem94]

I really hope Quintana owns the MTT and Zoncolan now so that it's undisputed that he was the strongest.

 

[Sciatic]

In an ironic twist (and sorry if someone posted already), Uran's account of the situation atop the Stelvio indicates that HE was one of the riders who didn't follow directions:

"On the Stelvio I heard from Davide Bramati that the downhill will be controlled by motos with a red flag for the safety of the riders, and that we could have maintained our position on the descent without attacking," Urán said."

"He told me to put on my rain jacket and pay attention in any case. At 300 or 400 meters I had my jacket from one of our masseurs. I managed to wear my jacket before the top so at that point I didn't stop at the top like a few of my colleagues did. I THEN STARTED DESCENDING, BUT I DIDN'T SEE ANY MOTORBIKE"

Just goes to show how ridiculous and convoluted the post-race protests have become: Uran failed to follow the directions to follow a motorbike with the red flag; he simply headed down.

Sorry to extend the conversation, as it's time to move on to racing, but wasn't sure if others had teased out that piece before.

 

[The Hitch]

Uran DID complain. And Majka doesnt fight for overall win but for a podium spot so the fact that GC is resolved under the table doesnt concern him that much.

What might concern him is that he lost the white jersey, to - Quintana.

Though of course he was never going to keep that from Quintana anyway, at best just loses a few days prize money (since he's wearing it in Nairo's place)

But then again, neither was Uran going to win the GC against this Quintana.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

The stage is over, and so is the one after it.
The riders have long moved on and are back to racing.
Anything that needs to settled will be done on the road, with legs; not mouths.

And anyone in this thread who is still whining about the outcome is off the back and OTL. They are considered to be a loser. Maybe your mom will listen to your complaints. Maybe.

Now if we can see some really powerful rivalries in the coming years, it would make the sport much more interesting.

Perhaps in a few years, Majka will also develop into an strong opinionated person off the bike.

 

[Czapiewski]

In an ironic twist (and sorry if someone posted already), Uran's account of the situation atop the Stelvio indicates that HE was one of the riders who didn't follow directions:

"On the Stelvio I heard from Davide Bramati that the downhill will be controlled by motos with a red flag for the safety of the riders, and that we could have maintained our position on the descent without attacking," Urán said."

"He told me to put on my rain jacket and pay attention in any case. At 300 or 400 meters I had my jacket from one of our masseurs. I managed to wear my jacket before the top so at that point I didn't stop at the top like a few of my colleagues did. I THEN STARTED DESCENDING, BUT I DIDN'T SEE ANY MOTORBIKE"

Just goes to show how ridiculous and convoluted the post-race protests have become: Uran failed to follow the directions to follow a motorbike with the red flag; he simply headed down.

Sorry to extend the conversation, as it's time to move on to racing, but wasn't sure if others had teased out that piece before.

Where do you find "not following directions" in this case. It is really a big stretch only to prove Your point.

 

[Butterhead]

After have read just a couple of the last posts here, I would say this thread should be closed, its getting more and more ridiculous and lame, with 8 year old kids comments. Can´t we just close it before we are down to a level where nobody can follow...?

 

[scholar]

One thing that seems relatively clear is that if the organizers had acted more sensibly then the GC battle would be better set up for the last two days -- but then this stage might also not have been as good as it was.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Thomas Dekker, who stepped into the car after the first downhill of the Gavia, said he saw at least 80 riders hanging on the car on the Stelvio.
He said Arredondo even hung on the car the entire Stelvio climbed and even took pictures because it was funny.
He said it was also perfectly possible to hop onto his bike for the last climb and finish anyway, nobody would have cared. But in the end, he chose fair play ofcourse

 

[icefire]

Thomas Dekker, who stepped into the car after the first downhill of the Gavia, said he saw at least 80 riders hanging on the car on the Stelvio.
He said Arredondo even hung on the car the entire Stelvio climbed and even took pictures because it was funny.
He said it was also perfectly possible to hop onto his bike for the last climb and finish anyway, nobody would have cared. But in the end, he chose fair play ofcourse

He should send those pics to a friend of a friend of friend... to finally get them posted on the internet for everyone to view them, including race commissaires

 

[scholar]

If I can be forgiven a creative misunderstanding, a photo of 80 riders hanging off a single car would be very impressive indeed.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

If I can be forgiven a creative misunderstanding, a photo of 80 riders hanging off a single car would be very impressive indeed.

He saw cars with 7/8 riders hanging on them, at that on almost every car
He also said "if i knew they were going to do that, i wouldn't have stepped into the car and given up in the first place"

 

[hrotha]

Jokes aside, that's a scandal. Even more so because we know it happens often and no one gives a rat's ***.

 

[meat puppet]

ditto. and more so than the confusion about the descent, IMHO.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Jokes aside, that's a scandal. Even more so because we know it happens often and no one gives a rat's ***.

the worst thing is he literally said "if i would have started the last climb (after sitting in the car for 80km), nobody would have cared either. Nobody would've seen or cared.

It's that simple.
The regulations in the sport are a joke if they are enforced that badly

 

[scholar]

It's not just that they're enforced badly, but also that they're enforced so inconsistently.

 

[del1962]

the worst thing is he literally said "if i would have started the last climb (after sitting in the car for 80km), nobody would have cared either. Nobody would've seen or cared.

It's that simple.
The regulations in the sport are a joke if they are enforced that badly

On other occasions there are disqualifications though

 

[The Hitch]

I'd like to see names of these 80 riders.











So that I can place bets on them winning the Tour de France in the next 2-3 years.

 

[scholar]

They'll probably get disqualified from the points jersey competition, though.

And if you're prepared to place bets on 80 different people winning one of the next 2-3 Tours, I've got a bunch of other bets you might be interested in.

 

[Escarabajo]

Thomas Dekker, who stepped into the car after the first downhill of the Gavia, said he saw at least 80 riders hanging on the car on the Stelvio.
He said Arredondo even hung on the car the entire Stelvio climbed and even took pictures because it was funny.
He said it was also perfectly possible to hop onto his bike for the last climb and finish anyway, nobody would have cared. But in the end, he chose fair play ofcourse

He should post the pictures and send them to the organizers.

 

[scholar]

**** that, he should post the pictures and send them to all the fans for our amusement (or bemusement).

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

He should post the pictures and send them to the organizers.

Dekker doesn't do screwing of other riders. He is strong omerta