USAPCC Stage 2: Gunnison to Aspen 209.8km (24/8)

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Rabo DS Verhoeven said he was dissapointed with the course. The last climb was nothing more than false flat and attacking was useless. "If they rode the climb from the other side than we would have seen some serious selection."

He says after the TT the course is made and the other stages are not so selective. They expected some good climbing race but now are dissapointed that the only climbs were 4% ones

 

[theyoungest]

Rabo DS Verhoeven said he was dissapointed with the course. The last climb was nothing more than false flat and attacking was useless. "If they rode the climb from the other side than we would have seen some serious selection."

He says after the TT the course is made and the other stages are not so selective. They expected some good climbing race but now are dissapointed that the only climbs were 4% ones

Do Rabobank ever check the race course and profiles before going there? I've heard a lot of "this race is harder/easier/more boring than we expected" this season.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

they reconned the climbs by car.
Heck, they even went to recon a flat finish for Theo Bos a few weeks ago.

But somehow a recon is never the same as a race, suprising huh.

 

[hrotha]

If they reconned the climbs, they probably took a look at the profiles too (I don't know when they were made available). Still, you'd expect seasoned veterans to tell the difference between a false flat and a real climb even from a car.

 

[theyoungest]

If they reconned the climbs, they probably took a look at the profiles too (I don't know when they were made available). Still, you'd expect seasoned veterans to tell the difference between a false flat and a real climb even from a car.

Exactly. The gradient of a climb doesn't change during a race.

Surprising, huh.

 

[just some guy]

I´m really not sure what all the fuss is about

Yes the TV is cr@p and P & P should be fired and the profiles are not the best, but it is the 1st year and they need to have the finishes in the bigger towns for spectators - look at the basque stages coming up soon.

This event will get better and the riders will return

why ?

1 reason might be cash but Ive got another

Tour

2 weeks in Europe

Utah altitude under race conditions

weeks training @ altitude

Colorado altitude under race conditions

2 Canadian races

Worlds

I recon we will see a lot of the bigger name riders for 2012 and 2013 taking this route over la Vuelta

 

[TRDean]

Rabo DS Verhoeven said he was dissapointed with the course. The last climb was nothing more than false flat and attacking was useless. "If they rode the climb from the other side than we would have seen some serious selection."

He says after the TT the course is made and the other stages are not so selective. They expected some good climbing race but now are dissapointed that the only climbs were 4% ones

If the course is so damn easy why the hell didn't they win? Bunch of whiners!

 

[theyoungest]

If the course is so damn easy why the hell didn't they win? Bunch of whiners!

You're sort of right. Gesink got dropped fair and square, uphill. Maybe the course was too easy for him

 

[Havetts]

Awesome photos deagol, thanks for posting them!

 

[Duartista]

If the course is so damn easy why the hell didn't they win? Bunch of whiners!

Be fair. Climbers need steeper gradients than 4% to come into their own. The strongest riders on the climb last night were not the specialist climbers.

Apart from the obvious -Van Garderen - look at the EPM-Une team. Infantino is their best TT rider and Castaneda is more of a sprinter (bearing in mind the sprinting level in Colombia is not high), yet they were both stronger than Baez, the team's best climber.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

What Duartiste said.

Actual climbers need gradients over 7% to be able to do something. On 4% riders like Clement, Hincapie etc can hold on... tt guys, power guys

 

[theyoungest]

Be fair. Climbers need steeper gradients than 4% to come into their own. The strongest riders on the climb last night were not the specialist climbers.

Apart from the obvious -Van Garderen - look at the EPM-Une team. Infantino is their best TT rider and Castaneda is more of a sprinter (bearing in mind the sprinting level in Colombia is not high), yet they were both stronger than Baez, the team's best climber.

That's true, this race has a weird dynamic... Jeff Louder was also in that group, a guy who can barely make the time cut in any climby race in Europe.

Still, Verhoeven shouldn't b*tch. Anyone who saw these profiles had some questions about whether it would really be selective. And Gesink could actually do pretty well on these gradients, he's not a lightweight climber. He just needs to switch to a bigger gear.

 

[Angliru]

poor Andy...gotta feel a bit for him.
TJ did great! Levi couldn't do it today, ok by me...

miserable weather...that is too bad.

Why?? He's a pro having to ride in the same conditions as everyone else. A youngster like TJ handled it all better than the relatively seasoned vet that AS is. Of course TJ had extra motivation, Aspen being his girlfriends hometown and the potential of taking over the race lead being in play after the descent.

 

[Havetts]

Still, Verhoeven shouldn't b*tch. Anyone who saw these profiles had some questions about whether it would really be selective. And Gesink could actually do pretty well on these gradients, he's not a lightweight climber. He just needs to switch to a bigger gear.

No idea, cause of his extremely light gear I'd say he's better on the somewhat steeper gradients (not the ultra). In an interview with Gesink in the TT of the TdF he says he likes to keep 104 rpms. Im not sure if thats just in the TT but even in a normal stage thats (extremely) high...

And yea, the higher gear is definatly needed. Can't someone prevent him from changing his gear that low ?

 

[theyoungest]

No idea, cause of his extremely light gear I'd say he's better on the somewhat steeper gradients (not the ultra). In an interview with Gesink in the TT of the TdF he says he likes to keep 104 rpms. Im not sure if thats just in the TT but even in a normal stage thats (extremely) high...

And yea, the higher gear is definatly needed. Can't someone prevent him from changing his gear that low ?

He is indeed better on the steeper gradients, but this shouldn't necessarily be so.

 

[Astana1]

I wish the TV had not cut out. The last bit of the last "climb" was exciting. So was the descent. There's more to cycling than mountain top finishes.

 

[Havetts]

He is indeed better on the steeper gradients, but this shouldn't necessarily be so.

Yes, due to the low gear he turns. Vicious circle .

 

[Angliru]

Anybody see this quote in the CN report??
It's from Tejay!

I love it!! TJ talking smack! Thanks for the quote.

 

[Bala Verde]

they reconned the climbs by car.
Heck, they even went to recon a flat finish for Theo Bos a few weeks ago.

But somehow a recon is never the same as a race, suprising huh.

Funny. I rode up independence pass (in a car) and i noticed it was a very uneven climb, with many 'false flat sections' or shallow sections. The advertised 17 miles of climbing were not there in reality. Only the last 2-3 miles felt like it was going up.

Even strapped in a car blindfolded they could have known the pass wasn't as steep/long as the profile suggested.

 

[theyoungest]

Funny. I rode up independence pass (in a car) and i noticed it was a very uneven climb, with many 'false flat sections' or shallow sections. The advertised 17 miles of climbing were not there in reality. Only the last 2-3 miles felt like it was going up.

Even strapped in a car blindfolded they could have known the pass wasn't as steep/long as the profile suggested.

I also think that Dekker_T is translating very freely. I believe they only said they reconned the first climb of the first day.

 

[Bala Verde]

I also think that Dekker_T is translating very freely. I believe they only said they reconned the first climb of the first day.

Hincapie said in the post race interview after the stage Leipheimer won, he and TJ rode up the independence pass (on bikes). I guess that's what they should have done as well given the results...

 

[MartinGT]

Enjoyd the stage yesterday

 

[theyoungest]

Hincapie said in the post race interview after the stage Leipheimer won, he and TJ rode up the independence pass (on bikes). I guess that's what they should have done as well given the results...

The climb wasn't the problem

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Anybody see this quote in the CN report??
It's from Tejay!

"There is no big summit finish or big day that will separate a lot of time so you have to take time where every you can," said Van Garderen. "All due respect to Levi [Leipheimer], he’s not the strongest descender and he sometimes loses his nerve a little bit. That is one of my strong suits, I can..I have balls. I just went for it and when I saw I had a gap I just drove it."

I love that. Especially need big balls in the wet. I did not see much of the race, just about the last 5 or 10 minutes to the finish. The roads looked a little wet.

 

[just some guy]

I love that. Especially need big balls in the wet. I did not see much of the race, just about the last 5 or 10 minutes to the finish. The roads looked a little wet.

Saw about as much as we did really