Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2024 (March 18-24)

[Logic-is-your-friend]

UAE love team rankings.

Other than that, there's always good ol' arrogance.

To actually increase the gap to the second group or try to drop guys dangling at the back, without burning his team mates (so he wouldn't be isolated then and there) is also a possibility.

 

[AnotherArmChair]

Sepp Kuss never wanted to be GC Kuss
Its about more than just climbing ability

I dont know but I bet the pressure may have got to him as he hasnt been that bad at climbing all week

But there was pressure today to win this stage

 

[ice&fire]

WTF is Movistar doing?

Whatever it takes so nobody understands

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Is this the stage Kuss designed?

It's not the one he designed directly, but it's very similar to one he proposed. But it's also very similar to one proposed on PRC all the way back in 2009.

 

[Sciatic]

Awesome landscapes today.

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

All my favourites in the front group! <3

 

[Andre]

Tiz-Cycling keeps going off every so often

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

So is the Visma Group coming back? Last time I paid attention on the descent they were 1min back and now it's half of that.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Tiz-Cycling keeps going off every so often

Yes, the Catalan feed does too.

 

[Netserk]

Awesome landscapes today.

Yeah, Pradell delivers in that aspect as well.

 

[Gigs_98]

Coll de Pal isn't that far away. There's some other softish Cat 1 finishes as well.

My bigger questions is if you take Pradell entirely or if you go over Fumanya first and thus skip the first 2 steep KMs of Fumanya

I remember never being able to make up my mind about that either, when I was trying to design stages with Pradell.

And there are some good finishes, but no slamdunk perfect climb to connect it to. Spain has a relative lack of really brutal HC climbs you can descend and this is argubly one of the best. But it's just not quite the Spanish Mortirilo I wish it could be, not just because of not being quite as hard, but also because it's missing its Aprica.

 

[Netserk]

4D chess. GC Kuss out-yo-yo'ing Almeida.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I didn't realise how old Kirby was until now. He's better at explaining what a phalanx is than at calling riders

Interesting that he would be so keen to discuss phalanxes in this particular part of the world.

 

[Sciatic]

Chase group back just in time to get dropped on the upcoming climb

 

[Squire]

I didn't realise how old Kirby was until now. He's better at explaining what a phalanx is than at calling riders

It's also a bit annoying how categorically they state that the riders in the front group will definitely be the strongest towards the finish even if it comes back together. Sean Kelly would not approve. Kuss can have his race saved here. It's very possible to recover a bit.

The final two climbs are not the same as Prandel, and the riders in the front group have technically spent more energy.

 

[ice&fire]

I didn't realise how old Kirby was until now. He's better at explaining what a phalanx is than at calling riders

I'll take that you know what a phalanx is

 

[AmRacer]

It's also a bit annoying how categorically they state that the riders in the front group will definitely be the strongest towards the finish even if it comes back together. Sean Kelly would not approve. Kuss can have his race saved here. It's very possible to recover a bit.

The final two climbs are not the same as Prandel, and the riders in the front group have technically spent more energy.

The chasing group went harder all the way.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Stephen Williams death defying descent to make up 1.30 is quite the show of confidence in George Bennett

 

[Bolder]

None of this really concerns Pogacar, though. He’s probably thinking about something totally unrelated to cycling at the moment…

 

[Salvarani]

Sosa has one of those days

 

[Squire]

The chasing group went harder all the way.

The guys on the front, yes. Sitting in the wheels on a primarily downhill section wouldn't hurt that much.

 

[AnotherArmChair]

why are Movistar riding ???

 

[Salvarani]

This is a great climb as well

 

[AnotherArmChair]

Almeida and Soler
You never know what one is going to do at the back and the other at the front

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

why are Movistar riding ???

Because Movistar