The Unipublic way

[Libertine Seguros]

Parcours is part of the puzzle. The riders are another one, sure, possibly a bigger one. But while the riders can make a great parcours into a terrible race, all the will to race in the world can't guarantee a great race if the parcours doesn't allow for the chances of the race to develop. Take the 2011 Worlds for example. There's also examples like Paris-Nice 2011 (and to an extent the 2012 Tour follows this example) where the TT was too long for the meagre mountain stages on offer, so while we got some good names attacking in those last two stages (Tondó, Samu), they were more or less GC-irrelevant, so their racing meant nothing. This is a key factor - we need to feel like the racing means something to invest our emotions in it. The Tour may have had stages where there was much more action than there have been in the Vuelta stages so far, but most of it was irrelevant, because the strength of Sky meant they could afford to give them a little wave when they left, and leave them to their own devices. Here, there haven't been many opportunities to create more than a few kilometres of racing, but the main protagonists - Contador, Froome, Rodríguez, Valverde - have all been on the move, meaning less action but more action that we can emotionally invest ourselves in.

Ultimately, the riders decide whether they want to make the race or not. But the parcours is an inducement. Today's racers seem, with precious few exceptions (Voeckler, Hoogerland, Txurruka, Chuzhda, Pirazzi), to need inducements to make the race exciting, and therefore we should make the parcours as appealing to attacking cycling as possible in order to best encourage them to make the race.

 

[The Hitch]

Harmonn said today there was "no doubt" that this would forever be remembered as one of the great gts

 

[roundabout]

Because every day since about Andorra feels a bit like Groundhog Day?

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

Agree with the opening post, this is just insane. Almost has nothing to do with cycling. The Vuelta course makers are just as imbecile as those of the Giro.

Because every day since about Andorra feels a bit like Groundhog Day?

Nice way of putting it.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Let's just say, this Vuelta is going to look legendary from the highlights reel. People 20 years down the line just won't realise that that highlights reel contains absolutely everything of note in the race.

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

Let's just say, this Vuelta is going to look legendary from the highlights reel. People 20 years down the line just won't realise that that highlights reel contains absolutely everything of note in the race.

When you analize this Vuelta you will notice we have seen only sprint finishes, apart from the real mountains of course. Sprints and puncheur finishes.

Liked the Giro much more I must say.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I have actually found the Vuelta less frustrating than the Giro. The Giro I came into with some expectation, and it was let down by timid racing and disappointing spectacle. The Vuelta has managed to match (and occasionally even exceed) my meagre expectations. You could (and perhaps should) argue that the Giro had more action, but I left the Giro feeling more dissatisfied because I expected more to happen. The Vuelta has provided mostly what I expected - a bunch of uphill sprints of varying length and difficulty. It's "youtube cycling" to its logical extreme, for sure.

 

[El Pistolero]

Today's stage was fine, but I agree with hrorta.

 

[Asturiano]

In fact, riders could come back to Pola de Lena. The place to start climbing "el Cordal" and "Angliru".


I hope you like the Asturias stages.

 

[Descender]

In fact, riders could come back to Pola de Lena. The place to start climbing "el Cordal" and "Angliru".


I hope you like the Asturias stages.

Do you mean they could ride back to Lena after climbing Cuitu Nigru? You know that's impossible...

 

[icefire]

Do you mean they could ride back to Lena after climbing Cuitu Nigru? You know that's impossible...

They could have done it from Pajares' summit. The road was wide enough to be split into two

 

[Asturiano]

Do you mean they could ride back to Lena after climbing Cuitu Nigru? You know that's impossible...

I was joking.

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

I have actually found the Vuelta less frustrating than the Giro. The Giro I came into with some expectation, and it was let down by timid racing and disappointing spectacle. The Vuelta has managed to match (and occasionally even exceed) my meagre expectations. You could (and perhaps should) argue that the Giro had more action, but I left the Giro feeling more dissatisfied because I expected more to happen. The Vuelta has provided mostly what I expected - a bunch of uphill sprints of varying length and difficulty. It's "youtube cycling" to its logical extreme, for sure.

I skipped the first two weeks of the Giro, not lying.

But, we have got to accept everyone has a different opinion. I like climbing stages [was looking forward since last october to the Mortirolo Stelvio stage and wasn't disappointed], lots of others like the short uphill sprints.

When we are realistic, this Vuelta course is just laid out in the way the GT have been ridden for the last 15 years: a 4/5/6/7 kilometer sprint uphill for the GT contenders. In that way it is okay. The [grand] public has gotten what it wants.

For the oldskool mountain stage watchers like me it isn't really interesting.

 

[Asturiano]

I skipped the first two weeks of the Giro, not lying.

But, we have got to accept everyone has a different opinion. I like climbing stages [was looking forward since last october to the Mortirolo Stelvio stage and wasn't disappointed], lots of others like the short uphill sprints.

When we are realistic, this Vuelta course is just laid out in the way the GT have been ridden for the last 15 years: a 4/5/6/7 kilometer sprint uphill for the GT contenders. In that way it is okay. The public has gotten what it wants.

For the oldskool mountain stage watchers like me it isn't really interesting.

I think the Cuitu Negru stage was a mix between the old school mountain and the sprint uphill.

For me, it was a brilliant stage and really fun to be watched. Almost epic.

 

[sartoris]

This season's 3 week races from 0/10 in my humble view:

Tour: 3

Giro: 7

Vuelta: 8 (so far. It'll be a 10 if Contador wins)

 

[User Guide]

I have actually found the Vuelta less frustrating than the Giro. The Giro I came into with some expectation, and it was let down by timid racing and disappointing spectacle. The Vuelta has managed to match (and occasionally even exceed) my meagre expectations. You could (and perhaps should) argue that the Giro had more action, but I left the Giro feeling more dissatisfied because I expected more to happen. The Vuelta has provided mostly what I expected - a bunch of uphill sprints of varying length and difficulty. It's "youtube cycling" to its logical extreme, for sure.

This +100000
Its like the difference between FW and LBL im sure a 3 min vid of FW looks awesome,but really thats all there is.

 

[The Hitch]

This +100000
Its like the difference between FW and LBL im sure a 3 min vid of FW looks awesome,but really thats all there is.

no, its the difference between 10 fws and 1 lbl.

 

[Tanto monta]

http://forodeciclismo.mforos.com/30984/10813466-rampones-si-o-rampones-no/

 

[Eshnar]

no, its the difference between 10 fws and 1 lbl.

now you're gonna tell me the Giro had only one mountain stage

 

[cineteq]

Before hitting the sack, I wanted to congratulate Unipublic for having done a brilliant sequence of stages cuitu negru + rest day + fuente dé. I think most of us loved the kind of racing it was generated. Kudos!

 

[Afrank]

Before hitting the sack, I wanted to congratulate Unipublic for having done a brilliant sequence of stages cuitu negru + rest day + fuente dé. I think most of us loved the kind of racing it was generated. Kudos!

I second this, well done Unipublic.

 

[42x16ss]

I second this, well done Unipublic.

Agreed, this is what can happen when you have the queen stage/obscenely difficult MTF in the second week, not the third. Unipublic have done it twice in two years now, with good results.

ASO could learn from this.

 

[The fridge in the blue trees]

MMh, I thought it was the riders who make the race?

But ok, I upgrade my vote for the course to a 2. Hadn't seen the possibilities this stage offered.

 

[Ferminal]

I'd say the stage had more in common with Amaury designs than Unipublic (or RCS).

If this were the Tour, it would be the 4th hardest mountain stage on paper, and we would be furious. But because of the Vuelta route it was embedded in, it is a game-changer.

Gets me thinking of that word again.

 

[Forunculo]

After stage 17 the poster who opened the thread was right