Stage 20 - Toledo ITT - September 19th

[issoisso]

Aaaaand Millar takes the stage. Been a while

 

[powderpuff]

He lost 57seconds with the puncture and getting up to speed. If he complains about losing the GC by more than that, it's him being a bad loser.

whose stop watch was that on? he also lost time on the bottle incident

 

[Bala Verde]

Top 16 @ 19.5

Km. 19,5
1 Millar 26:06:00
2 Evans a 5
3 Sánchez a 11
4 César_Veloso a 12
5 Kreuziger a 13
6 Bodnar a 21
7 Valverde a 26
8 Herrero a 26
9 Del_Nero a 28
10 Rabon a 32
11 Kiryienka a 35
12 Gilbert a 36
13 Westra a 39
14 Riblon a 40
15 Kessiakoff a 41
16 Basso a 46

 

[Izoard]

Well well well ...
Evans is "riding out of his skin" today. Great ride, looks to get on the podium. Begs the question about that wheel change Impressive!

 

[ak-zaaf]

whose stop watch was that on? he also lost time on the bottle incident

Being dropped by Sanchez didn't help him either.

 

[Bala Verde]

whose stop watch was that on? he also lost time on the bottle incident

but he knew he wasn't taking sticky bottles are illegal, right? I thought all cyclists know that you run a risk getting slapped with a time penalty when you do that...

 

[ak-zaaf]

Sanchez beats him here fair and square, so that discussion is useless now.

 

[Bala Verde]

Cant bump Sanchez off the podium, only take the higher step.

You are correct... Got too enthusiastic

 

[Izoard]

I'm thinking DM is heaving a big sigh of relief. Finally bags a win. One monkey off his back.

 

[Bala Verde]

Sanchez beats him here fair and square, so that discussion is useless now.

Maybe we should start a discussion now on where some had finished hadn't it been for the time bonus at the finish line...

 

[powderpuff]

but he knew he wasn't taking sticky bottles are illegal, right? I thought all cyclists know that you run a risk getting slapped with a time penalty when you do that...

they all do it... just this time they decided to act.

 

[Bala Verde]

they all do it... just this time they decided to act.

It's rather difficult to NOT act when he does it in clear view of the camera... That would make people believe the org is biased, in favour of Evans...

Anyway, Sanchez and Evans would have taken Gesink's top 2-3 spot?

 

[benpounder]

Anyone checked how the gaps would have been without time bonuses?

 

[ak-zaaf]

Maybe we should start a discussion now on where some had finished hadn't it been for the time bonus at the finish line...

You're right.
My nonsense theory is Gesink wouldn't have had his fall and be #1 by now. It's all about the bonus seconds.
Cadel would lose the Vuelta by the seconds he lost in the time-trial to people he normally beats.
Valverde would have had his usual bad day. Hoogerland wouldn't have attacked once. Moncoutie would have won a bunch sprint.

Man, those seconds.

 

[pedaling squares]

Millar gets a sword? That's the coolest podium prize ever! Don't stand on Cadel's dog now for heaven's sake.

 

[msjett]

Millar gets a sword? That's the coolest podium prize ever! Don't stand on Cadel's dog now for heaven's sake.

Just lucky Cadel didn't win then...lol

It's a bit of a bizarre trophy.....wonder if he will get that through airport security?

 

[Mellow Velo]

Well.....when in Toledo. Swords are what the are known for.

Nice course, pretty enjoyable stage.
I would much rather see 3 ITT's of that length than two ultra long slogs.
Basso should be happy with his comeback year, even though he was off both podiums.
Some consolation for the Aussie and at least Sierra Nevada wasn't his complete downfall.
On that topic, I wonder how much that crash Samu had, the day before and the SN stage, actually cost the scruffy orange man?
Get a shave lad!

 

[powderpuff]

Valverde deserved his win and Sanchez did well. Cadel did bloody well for a race that was not on his race calendar and he could have easily pulled out of the race after the incident and said I was only in it for training for the worlds but he didn't. He hung in there again with minimal support at the pointy end and he deserves the podium finish. I feel sorry for Gesink, but as all of you have pointed out, that's racing.

 

[benpounder]

...Man, those seconds.

Interestingly, the time bonuses had little to do with the overall:
Gesink - 8s(stage8), 8s(12)
Valverde - 8s(9), 8s(13), 12s(19)
Sanchez - 8s(14)
Evans - 8s(19)

More interesting is that of the likely final podium, only Valverde had a second place on any stage, and combined, there were only four third places. In fact, of the top ten, only Cobo and Deingnan won a stage. IIRC this is quite different than the other typical Grand Tours.

myedit: not counting Sanchez' 2nd and Evans' 3rd of today of course.

 

[Mellow Velo]

No bonus seconds in ITTs.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

nice win by millar.
Valverde finally wins a GT, sanchez came close..
I think Gesink would have held onto his 2nd place in all honesty if it wasn't for the crash, all things considered another great ride by him today.

 

[Cobber]

He lost 57seconds with the puncture and getting up to speed. If he complains about losing the GC by more than that, it's him being a bad loser.

It's impossible to say how much time he lost to Sierra Nevada. He lost 57s on the wheel change, but how much energy did he expend trying to catch up? Did thet affect his performance the next day? It is a hell of a lot easier to hang on someones back wheel, even on a climb, than maintain the same time difference 1 minute back. I think, all up, that flat cost him a lot more than 57 seconds.

Regardless, flats are part of the game.

Edit: Plus he rides for S-L... which immediately adds 10 minutes to to any grand tour overall time!

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Hard to argue SS wasn't stronger then Evans.
He beat him in both ITT. And clearly climbed better, Evans couldn't keep his wheel on the Sierra Nevada.

 

[Cobber]

Hard to argue SS wasn't stronger then Evans.
He beat him in both ITT. And clearly climbed better, Evans couldn't keep his wheel on the Sierra Nevada.

Again... it's hard to say that. Evans/Valverde and co. had already dropped SS when Evans had his flat, then used a lot of energy to catch him and then couldn't hold his wheel. Overall, Evans is 37s behind SS, and lost 57s on the wheel change. So one could also argue that Evans was better than SS!

 

[titan_90]

I was hopping for a little more from Basso, a podium or a stage win but overall he rode well.