Vuelta 2017 stage 9: Orihuela - Cumbres del Sol, 174 km

[TMP402]

Re:

Biggest problem with Froome riding like this is that there's like 0 anticipation for the GC fight.

Maybe I'm odd but sometimes I just think "it's his turn". I don't mind a boring Vuelta if Froome finally wins.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

well, at least it's better than having similar stages without murito in the finale. watching 5 tier sprinters playing out the victory would be even more boring.

This.

If you expected this stage to be amazing from start to finish then you're expectations were set way too high. This is a Vuelta flat stage, and compared to flat stages in other GTs the finish was much more entertaining imo.

The cumulative fatigue on the GC riders of having to do efforts like this every day, rather than just rolling around at 150 watts from start to finish, shouldn't be underestimated either. The gaps and excitement in the final week will be much bigger because of stages like this earlier in the race.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Chaves could have won if he didn't race like an amateur tho, he must have felt he was really strong and anticipated Froome's attack and stayed on the wheel. It costed to much closing it down, pretty stupid tbh.

 

[TMP402]

Sad to see GC legend Jetse Bol lose more time. Can't wait for the Vuelta-winning attack on Stage 20.

 

[alspacka]

Excuse my ignorance I've not been able to follow this vuelta closely but Contador has looked pretty good, what happened on stage 3? Mechanical? Missed split?

 

[DFA123]

Re:

Chaves could have won if he didn't race like an amateur tho, he must have felt he was really strong and anticipated Froome's attack and stayed on the wheel. It costed to much closing it down, pretty stupid tbh.

Encouraging for the overall GC battle though that Chaves was able to close that gap at all. And also that Zakarin and Nibali seem to be growing into the race slowly but surely.

 

[roundabout]

Re: Re:

Another great stage. Sticking a murito at the end of a flat stage just transforms it from being a tedious sprint to a great spectacle.

Very impressive from Froome; I guess the question is will he pay for all these efforts later in the race.

You cannot be serious. It's a Sunday. A Sunday is for actual mountain stages not shite 400m sprints lasting less than a minute.

Depends on how you view this stage. If you see it as replacing a mountain stage then it's rubbish. But it's not replacing a mountain stage, it's replacing a flat sprint stage, and it was way better than a flat sprint stage.

Personally I don't care whether or not its on a sunday - makes no difference to me whether the best mountain stages are on sunday, monday or whenever.

The best stages should have the biggest potential audiences.

And it seems "way better" to you equals a slightly longer sprint.

It doesn't work like that these days though. The stages with the biggest potential audience will go to the areas which can pay the most - and the Costa Blanca area can pay a lot more than rural Almeria. Similarly to why the Tour or Giro have tedious flat stages in Germany or Holland on the opening weekend.

This finish was way better than a bunch sprint because it was multi dimensional. It involved both the stage and the GC battle, and the action also lasted significantly longer.

Not sure if it's a correct business model then, as personally I am timing my viewing to watch only the last climb when the chances of anything happening before are basically minimal.

And maybe it's me and it's a wrong impression, but I think of Xorret de Cati as being a bit in a middle of nowhere.

And yes, it's a battle not only for a stage, but also for GC. However the actual action lasted for the last 500 meters, so it's hardly anymore significant in terms of duration even if it had an extra dimension/

Edit: from the point Froome attacked, it took him 77 seconds to reach the finish

 

[TMP402]

Nice performance by Sunweb. KeldOomen.

 

[Pharazon]

Excuse my ignorance I've not been able to follow this vuelta closely but Contador has looked pretty good, what happened on stage 3? Mechanical? Missed split?

he was ill

 

[Vasilis]

Re:

Nice performance by Sunweb. KeldOomen.

Maybe it's a good omen

 

[capuldemetal]

pedrero 15th.the youngster is growing nicely.

 

[alspacka]

Excuse my ignorance I've not been able to follow this vuelta closely but Contador has looked pretty good, what happened on stage 3? Mechanical? Missed split?

he was ill

Thanks bud

 

[Valv.Piti]

What could be great was if Costa Blanca stopped paying for the Vuelta and went back into cycling again. I miss that young Valverde in a Kelme uniform, pre-Postal legendary climber Heras and a bunch of random Colombians.

 

[Robert5091]

Froome did the buisness, though Chaves looks good again. Woods got some good PR! Be interesting to see how it goes on longer climbs.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re: Re:

well, at least it's better than having similar stages without murito in the finale. watching 5 tier sprinters playing out the victory would be even more boring.

This.

If you expected this stage to be amazing from start to finish then you're expectations were set way too high. This is a Vuelta flat stage, and compared to flat stages in other GTs the finish was much more entertaining imo.

Not sure I want the same type of riders fighting for 15 stages wins out of 20.

Without getting too extreme on flat finishes.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

well, at least it's better than having similar stages without murito in the finale. watching 5 tier sprinters playing out the victory would be even more boring.

This.

If you expected this stage to be amazing from start to finish then you're expectations were set way too high. This is a Vuelta flat stage, and compared to flat stages in other GTs the finish was much more entertaining imo.

Not sure I want the same type of riders fighting for 15 stages wins out of 20.

Without getting too extreme on flat finishes.

Rather that than giving the sprinters 10 opportunities...

 

[Forever The Best]

It was far from a boring finish. Does Chavez and Woods a disservice to say that given their great efforts to reel in Froome. I suspect if you found that dull you possibly didn't favour the eventual outcome - I.e that Chris Froome won the stage.

The stage design was dull and the racing was dull as well. Nothing to do with Froome. If Contador/Nibali won with the same fashion it would have been equally dull.

Great posts roundabout, btw. Fully agree.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Biggest problem with Froome riding like this is that there's like 0 anticipation for the GC fight.

Maybe I'm odd but sometimes I just think "it's his turn". I don't mind a boring Vuelta if Froome finally wins.

It's not odd; that's how all fanboys/girls think.

 

[bigcog]

Re: Re:

Biggest problem with Froome riding like this is that there's like 0 anticipation for the GC fight.

Maybe I'm odd but sometimes I just think "it's his turn". I don't mind a boring Vuelta if Froome finally wins.

It's not odd; that's how all fanboys/girls think.

Oh come on, if Contador was whooping ass it would be no different would it.

 

[Bolder]

Re: Re:

Biggest problem with Froome riding like this is that there's like 0 anticipation for the GC fight.

Maybe I'm odd but sometimes I just think "it's his turn". I don't mind a boring Vuelta if Froome finally wins.

It's not odd; that's how all fanboys/girls think.

that's a nasty way to put it. why be so harsh? Calling someone a "fanboy" smacks a little of jealousy in 2017. It was a cute term 10 years ago.

I think everyone on these forums knows very well how bike racing works.

 

[Escarabajo]

What could be great was if Costa Blanca stopped paying for the Vuelta and went back into cycling again. I miss that young Valverde in a Kelme uniform, pre-Postal legendary climber Heras and a bunch of random Colombians.

There were no Colombians. Well, 1 or 2.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Biggest problem with Froome riding like this is that there's like 0 anticipation for the GC fight.

Maybe I'm odd but sometimes I just think "it's his turn". I don't mind a boring Vuelta if Froome finally wins.

It's not odd; that's how all fanboys/girls think.

Oh come on, if Contador was whooping *** it would be no different would it.

If Contador had a choo-choo all the way to 800m to go, then attacked without victory ever being in doubt, it would've been equally suspenseless and void of tension. I would be happier with the result though.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

A typical uphill sprint with predictable race action.
Congrats to Froome with the win.

 

[HelloDolly]

The issue for me is not Froome...its SKY

Froome is very strong and is a very good rider

Its the way SKY destroy the race ....today no one cold attack without losing time ..

 

[roundabout]

What could be great was if Costa Blanca stopped paying for the Vuelta and went back into cycling again. I miss that young Valverde in a Kelme uniform, pre-Postal legendary climber Heras and a bunch of random Colombians.

There were no Colombians. Well, 1 or 2.

Buenahora, Castelblanco, Botero, Contreras, Chepe Gonzalez. And that's just those that come to mind immediately.

edit: didn't read the post through. still there were more than 1 or 2 Colombians in the Costa Blanca sponsorship days