Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2019, March 25-31

[gregrowlerson]

Re:

Lol the time gaps

Yeah, I don't trust the time gaps. Formolo looks pretty tired.

 

[DNP-Old]

Dan Martin is missing.

 

[Hayabusa]

Fantastic ride from Formolo!

 

[gregrowlerson]

Excellent show of composure from MAL.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

What is valverde doing

Stage is gone, so he was upping the pace hoping Lopez or Bernal would crack and Quintana could get on the podium.

He just cannot abide the thought of attacking racing

 

[Carols]

Grand Finale!!! Many trying to win the overall. Formalo Chapeau on the stage, MAL Chapeau on the GC win

 

[DFA123]

Re:

Excellent show of composure from MAL.

Yeah, that was a beautifully timed acceleration at the end of the penultimate climb. Nothing too hard, and not leaving himself isolated on the descent and final climb, but enough to keep the gap comfortably under control.

 

[Robert5091]

Chapeau Formolo & Superman - another win for Astana.

 

[armchairclimber]

What a race this has been this year. Fantastic effort from Formolo ... good to see him win again. And Schachmann is just irrepressible. MAL a worthy winner, despite a brave ride from Yates. Bravo Catalunya.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

What is valverde doing

Stage is gone, so he was upping the pace hoping Lopez or Bernal would crack and Quintana could get on the podium.

He just cannot abide the thought of attacking racing

Yeah, should have just sat muted in the peloton and not tried anything for his team. That would have been super attacking.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re: Re:

What is valverde doing

Stage is gone, so he was upping the pace hoping Lopez or Bernal would crack and Quintana could get on the podium.

He just cannot abide the thought of attacking racing

Yeah, should have just sat muted in the peloton and not tried anything for his team. That would have been super attacking.

Yep, as unlikely as it would have been, let's say that Bernal and Lopez were both on the limit and cracked, and Valverde took Quintana with him and they also dropped Yates before the top of the climb. Quintana only needed 25 seconds on MAL and less on the others, and there would have been a 6 second bonus for second on the stage. All very hypothetical, but not impossible.

 

[slosada]

What a race today... Very entertaining... We only missed a killer attack by Bernal, because the others tried.
Now, for the butthurts around, Yates was losing time against Formolo too... So Sivakov and Valverde were trying to setup something for their leaders

 

[Popchu]

Re:

Dan Martin is missing.

What happened to him?

 

[gregrowlerson]

It's actually refreshing to see some women on the podium who I'd feel comfortable enough to say hello to.

And they probably have an actual interest/role in the event.

 

[gunara]

I don't remember watching any Montjuic stage since the one won by Westra years ago, nor the results, usually forgot Catalunya amidst the anticipation of classic season, except for the ttpically star-studded key mountain stages. That was a good race, though, but did this kind of final stage often have impact on GC through the years?

 

[gregrowlerson]

I don't remember watching any Montjuic stage since the one won by Westra years ago, nor the results, usually forgot Catalunya amidst the anticipation of classic season, except for the ttpically star-studded key mountain stages. That was a good race, though, but did this kind of final stage often have impact on GC through the years?

Not sure, but looked like a great way to finish a one week stage race.

And all you would need to do is add another couple of loops to make it potentially even more decisive.

 

[Laplaz]

Formolo looks good for LBL.

 

[gunara]

I don't remember watching any Montjuic stage since the one won by Westra years ago, nor the results, usually forgot Catalunya amidst the anticipation of classic season, except for the ttpically star-studded key mountain stages. That was a good race, though, but did this kind of final stage often have impact on GC through the years?

Not sure, but looked like a great way to finish a one week stage race.

And all you would need to do is add another couple of loops to make it potentially even more decisive.

It looks like a stage that offer temptation for GC guys but with little promise of rewards. I'm not complaining, though, just wanted to know whether it ever decided the top positions.

 

[Brullnux]

Insane peformance from Formolo. Lost only 50 seconds in 40km against the best riders in the race constantly attacking, despite being totally alone.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

Insane peformance from Formolo. Lost only 50 seconds in 40km against the best riders in the race constantly attacking, despite being totally alone.

Similar things happen quite often on circuits like these. Not quite this impressive however.

 

[movingtarget]

Great stage. Incredible win by Formolo. Yates tried hard. Looked like a nasty crash. Lopez had a good week and defended well.

 

[Escarabajo]

I don't remember watching any Montjuic stage since the one won by Westra years ago, nor the results, usually forgot Catalunya amidst the anticipation of classic season, except for the ttpically star-studded key mountain stages. That was a good race, though, but did this kind of final stage often have impact on GC through the years?

Don't remember deciding the winner. Apart from crashes it really just gives some action and that's it. Last year Bernal lost second place to a crash.

 

[jaylew]

8 GC wins for Astana at this point in the season is incredible.

 

[Lequack]

I woo wonder what happened to Dan Martin, was he in that crash or what?

Update: He was in the crash with 40k to go:
http://www.uaeteamemirates.com/martin-chiude-al-xx-posto-la-volta-catalunya/