Volta a Portugal 2016 (2.1, 27.07./07.08.)

[BigMac]

LIVE! http://www.rtp.pt/play/direto/rtp3

 

[Cannibal72]

Lokosphinx is the single coolest named team in the peloton. That is all.

 

[Arredondo]

Re: Re:

Am I the only one who thinks that the Funvic guys could be competitive? Diniz and João Gaspar ( last year he finished 2nd behind his teammate Kleber Ramos on the queenstage of the Tour de Rio, ahead of Sevilla and Veloso, riding as a stagiaire for Funvic) could do something, and Flavio Santos is just Flavio Santos. Kleber Ramos and Murilo Affonso aren't riding, but they still have a strong team and I think that riding the Volta is a big deal for the team.
PS: Murilo Fischer getting a spot on in the Olympic RR team over Diniz is a joke.

the funvic guys usually really suck outside of america.

Yeah, usually they do, but I still have some hope.

I think Gaspar was quite good in Trentino. I mean, finishing 38th is not that bad. Especially if you compare it to his earlier races in Europe, where he really sucked.

 

[BigMac]

William Clarke best time at the moment. GC boys nearing depart.

http://www.rtp.pt/play/direto/rtp1

edit: Daniel Mestre beats it by 1 second.

edit 2: Rafa Reis 3 seconds better. Great time.

 

[BigMac]

Veloso on the ramp. Horner and Brandão on the road.

 

[BigMac]

Veloso mechanical. Switches bike.

 

[BigMac]

Horner awful. Just awful.

This is a good day.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Re:

Horner awful. Just awful.

This is a good day.

like he's supposed to ride a good prologue

 

[BigMac]

Top ten.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

was it hilly?

 

[BigMac]

Re: Re:

Horner awful. Just awful.

This is a good day.

like he's supposed to ride a good prologue

I thought those final 600m at nearly 10% would play in his favour. Couldn't make a single position there.

In general you're right but he looked bad by his own standards. I have no doubts he won't contend the rest of the race.

edit: Yeah, slightly hilly finale.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

explosivity is nothing for horner. I hope he will ride well although I don't expect it. he's a great rider

 

[Arredondo]

Good ride by Gaspar! Will he be ready?

And i didn't know Rincon is riding for Funvic now! Interesting to see how he climbs the coming days

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

Good ride by Gaspar! Will he be ready?

And i didn't know Rincon is riding for Funvic now! Interesting to see how he climbs the coming days

The final was explosive, but Gaspar riding a good prologue should indicate that he has great form. Who knows what to expect from Rincon, he could be great or he could just ride in the grupetto.

 

[Arredondo]

Re: Re:

Good ride by Gaspar! Will he be ready?

And i didn't know Rincon is riding for Funvic now! Interesting to see how he climbs the coming days

The final was explosive, but Gaspar riding a good prologue should indicate that he has great form. Who knows what to expect from Rincon, he could be great or he could just ride in the grupetto.

Could be a great fight between the likes of Brandao, Sousa, Veloso, Torres, Parra, Gaspar, Diniz, Goncalves and many more!

 

[Sem Travões]

Well I'm supporting Nocentini, but if Bradão wins it Ok with me

Didn't know the French Army had a professional cycling team, are they any good?

 

[Cannibal72]

Re:

Well I'm supporting Nocentini, but if Bradão wins it Ok with me

Didn't know the French Army had a professional cycling team, are they any good?

I don't think it's pro as such, it's for especially talented soldiers. They're breakaway fodder in all the French classics/semi-classics.

 

[Squire]

Re:

Horner awful. Just awful.

This is a good day.

I don't get it. Who is it that you guys are referring to as "Horner"?

 

[May0maniac]

Re: Re:

Horner awful. Just awful.

This is a good day.

I don't get it. Who is it that you guys are referring to as "Horner"?

Rui Sousa

 

[trevim]

Weird sport cycling, here I am, a Benfica fan, really happy to see a Porto rider winning a stage in the Volta

Rafael has been knocking on the door for some time now and he seems to be developing quite OK and he's still quite young. He seems to be more well rounded now, maybe he can evolve to be a rider like Nelson Oliveira, maybe a bit heavier.

Great way to start the Volta, I'm hoping to go and watch the final stage!

 

[BigMac]

I'd like to go to Monte Farinha this year but I can't. Will have to stick with Arrábida and the last stage as well. The former will be a stunner on TV, hope there's some action too.

I refuse to call both W52 and Tavira Porto or Sporting. Just like I feared, every post in every news site is filled with fans from both [football] teams attacking and insulting each other. Nauseating. Soon there will be hooligans at Senhora da Graça or Torre. Think I'm going to kill myself then.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

They are W52 and Tavira as far as I'm concerned, until the football teams become the actual lead force of the team like Benfica a few years ago they remain traditional sponsor concerns. These are existing team structures that have been purchased by the football teams. how can a team from Tavira really be identified with Sporting?

Good time for Zé Gonçalves as well, fancy he might be able to get a stint in the camisola amarela after tomorrow's stage, which promises to potentially be one of the best of the whole race. Obviously you don't want to give time away unnecessarily but I'm not sure Joni will want to take the jersey and have to go almost coast to coast with it tomorrow, then again sometimes the breaks can be really unexpected here, like when Alberto Gallego was going in the break in flat stages last year or Emanuele Sella in 2010. And the further down Horner goes the better. Maybe they can return him to that kind of not-quite-break-fodder that he was for several years like his sojourn in yellow in 2008, before his late career renaissance...

 

[BigMac]

Gonçalves says he's not here for GC, that he's building form for Spain and that Vilela is the leader. For what it's worth, I still think he'll be the better of the Cajas and won't say no to a stage win. A pity Hugh Carthy is not here. CJ could have imposed their dominium with stage and overall wins. Carthy against Veloso... Maybe next year.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Even if Zé is only riding for form, he's well placed to get the camisola amarela, even if it may wind up being somewhat like Luís León Sánchez a couple of years ago, a stint in the lead then dropping away as form subsides. For Gonçalves you've got the added home bonus; while Vilela may turn out stronger over the whole race, Zé is most likely to have an immediate impact owing to his strong position in the prologue and combative style, while Vilela trying to contend against the national péloton when the watts go up may not have the same impact.

 

[TMP402]

Re: Re:

Well I'm supporting Nocentini, but if Bradão wins it Ok with me

Didn't know the French Army had a professional cycling team, are they any good?

I don't think it's pro as such, it's for especially talented soldiers. They're breakaway fodder in all the French classics/semi-classics.

One of their riders is Bryan Alaphilippe, younger brother of Julian. Once in a while you get a guy who raced at a higher level moving to the team, eg Clément Penven was with Marseille 13 KTM last year. Another link to the pro scene is their DS, Jimmy Casper.