Vuelta a Andalucia (Ruta del Sol) 20th -24th of February

[Ryo Hazuki]

isn't michael barry the guy that rides for sky that is like 10 meters talll and weights a bit over a ton?

apart from his weight you are right

 

[jens_attacks]

lance armstrong 2.0

only without any tour de france title.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Why is it a show of disrespect from Andy but not from others in the group?

I feel certain Sicard could have put forth more effort then to finish 20 minutes back. Probably Garate too. Probably about half the group could have pedaled a bit harder and kept it closer.

Why is it just Schleck's job to finish close when he's capable of doing so, and not the others that soft pedaled with him?

sicard was in teh attack from the start garate chased whole day for freire

besides neither of them are of andy´s stature. stop making excuses

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

only without any tour de france title.

if lance had lived in this day and age of dopinghunt he would be without one either. let´s hope at least andy never wins one though

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Why is it a show of disrespect from Andy but not from others in the group?

I feel certain Sicard could have put forth more effort then to finish 20 minutes back. Probably Garate too. Probably about half the group could have pedaled a bit harder and kept it closer.

Why is it just Schleck's job to finish close when he's capable of doing so, and not the others that soft pedaled with him?

1) Garate and Sicard are from a totally different category than Schleck
2) Sicard was in the attack earlier.

 

[Kwibus]

Maybe he was eating meat (min 2 of the following video). ?How can people say that this kid is a real champion?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0tVAQech7g

So because they joke about Millar and vegetarians makes him no champion?
I respect Millar and I know/respect vegetarians. This doesn't mean his joke was actually pretty good It was witty.

I don't like the fact that Andy Schleck only shows himself in April and July, but I've always liked both of them. I also don't agree with the arrogance comments they get. People need to stop taking these guys too serious, because they usually aren't that serious.

Oh and thanks for the link I missed this vid.

 

[Christian]

I'll send an e-mail to LEOPARD TREK to sort this out:

1) It is OK to finish "a little bit off pace", Dekker_T himself authorized it. TBC exactly how much "a little" is, whether "a little" can have different values related to the length/profile of the stage

2) Please try to always finish within this margin (TBC), even if it seems pointless, to avoid giving Ryo high cholesterol from all the anger (you don't want a lawsuit on your hands).

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

No need to.. Just saying a lot of people dislike this about Schleck. Makes no sense to compare him with Garate or Sicard...
But compare him to other GC specialists...and most of them show themselves all season around or at least try too. That's why I and some others dislike Schleck, or that aspect of him...
You try to defend that but it won't change my opinion about him, unless he changes.

F.ex I disliked Cadel Evans riding and a lot about the guy, until the year he rode as world champion. I really started liking the rider Cadel Evans, too bad due to ACF postings that diminished a bit as well

 

[Mellow Velo]

Jeez.
I go to the Manchester WC for the weekend and I'm lost.
I can't keep pace with this place.
I need 36 hour days.
250 odd posts on the Sol and it's only Day 1.

I'm just catching up with that Oman lumpy stage.
That lanky guy in Orange wins and suddenly there's
yet another debate over his ITT.
I can't go there yet, since I still haven't seen stage 5!

Sardinia starts tomorrow, too and I've got Rai Sport 2.

I hope that none of the Dutch mafia or cuddly Australian guys are riding.

Oh and I agree with DT.
Shleckette is only riding for the beer money...............again.
1 day in April and a few days it July.
As a big star promoting a spectator sport, that sucks.

 

[hrotha]

Stage 2 summary (in Spanish)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYgy_PXwQ5w

I'm impressed, it's the first time I hear anyone here pronounce Van den Broeck's name more or less correctly.

 

[ingsve]

Stage 2 summary (in Spanish)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYgy_PXwQ5w

I'm impressed, it's the first time I hear anyone here pronounce Van den Broeck's name more or less correctly.

How do people usually mispronounce it? Just a hard V or something else as well?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Americans and British people often say the Van in Vandenbroeck the same way like a truck (a Van). While it's supposed to sound like the a in Bah a 'short' a so to speak

And Broek is often pronounced breu-ek or bro-ek by Americans/British instead of the dutch 'oe' (which actually is more like the oo in Loo and Moo.. )

 

[euanli]

So because they joke about Millar and vegetarians makes him no champion?
I respect Millar and I know/respect vegetarians. This doesn't mean his joke was actually pretty good It was witty.

It wasn't witty. It was pretty offensive, I'm sure if you replaced now a lady with likes men you would still be saying it was witty.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Stage 2 - 161.8km
Almuñécar - Adra

Couple of decent climbs before a flat finish. Im going to stick my neck out and tip Davide Appollonio to continue his good run of form and pick up a win.

Always brave to try a prediction, but Appollonio finished 118th out of 118 finishers. Arguably, it is harder to pick last than first, so well done, sort of.

 

[taiwan]

Ach well, some decent TV time for Geox, at the very least.

 

[Parrulo]

well i don't really care about andy. but i do like frank, he looks like a great guy.

 

[Ryaguas]

The thing with Andy is that:

1. He should respect the race, just going there to softpedal is not cool...

2. The fans, all the fans are expecting to see him in the top places or at least doing something but what does he do? just going with the gruppeto.

3. The Sponsors: c0cky c0ck, his brother and he are the big names of the Leopard-sht team so all the cameras are going to focus on them so they have the obligation to show the sponsors, they are who pay the bills...

4. Cycling is not only hilly Classics and Le Tour, ok maybe He is not like Contador or Gesink who have a very good base form all year long but He should try it...

5. Since He is the best climber in the world (I dont know who said that sht) he should demonstrate it... go to Il Giro or La Vuelta (but not party or as a domestique) again... point 4...

but anyway... He is not going to change that calendar never... another Uniballer... just take a look to Il Squalo Andrew... even when he did a very good Tour in 2009, He learned, better help Basso in Il Giro, not go to Le Tour (He knows that He's not match for Contador) then go to la Vuelta with very good possibilities to win and... well his 1st GT! equal to Confidence, experience, a GT in his palmares, etc... is not hard to understand that Andrew... This year? the same... but this time Il Giro will be for him and Basso will go to Le Tour, then La Vuelta to try to defend it! Easy... Nibali knows best than Andrew...

Ok Sorry... I went way off topic

 

[Spare Tyre]

I'll send an e-mail to LEOPARD TREK to sort this out:

1) It is OK to finish "a little bit off pace", Dekker_T himself authorized it. TBC exactly how much "a little" is, whether "a little" can have different values related to the length/profile of the stage

2) Please try to always finish within this margin (TBC), even if it seems pointless, to avoid giving Ryo high cholesterol from all the anger (you don't want a lawsuit on your hands).

Could you follow up with another email asking them to drop the silly capitalisation business?

 

[kurtinsc]

sicard was in teh attack from the start garate chased whole day for freire

besides neither of them are of andy´s stature. stop making excuses

Ah... so it's "stature".

Who else is required not to soft-pedal then? Contador obviously... but where's the line where you're required to make an effort to win a race due to stature when you may only want to get race days to build form?

 

[craig1985]

What is the finish into Jaén like?

 

[auscyclefan94]

No need to.. Just saying a lot of people dislike this about Schleck. Makes no sense to compare him with Garate or Sicard...
But compare him to other GC specialists...and most of them show themselves all season around or at least try too. That's why I and some others dislike Schleck, or that aspect of him...
You try to defend that but it won't change my opinion about him, unless he changes.

F.ex I disliked Cadel Evans riding and a lot about the guy, until the year he rode as world champion. I really started liking the rider Cadel Evans, too bad due to ACF postings that diminished a bit as well

I'd say the same thing about Gesink, excpet it is a collective effort mostly by you but some others as well.

 

[Kwibus]

It wasn't witty. It was pretty offensive, I'm sure if you replaced now a lady with likes men you would still be saying it was witty.

That's what I mean with people taking the Schlecks too serious.

 

[hrotha]

How do people usually mispronounce it? Just a hard V or something else as well?

Usually it's "Ban den Broëk" (no Dutch oe, and that's a dieresis, not an umlaut). This commentator got it right, except that he pronounced the n in "den" clearly. I've only just started with Dutch, so I'm not sure, but I think Flemish has "van" for Northern Dutch "fan", right?

3. The Sponsors: c0cky c0ck, his brother and he are the big names of the Leopard-sht team so all the cameras are going to focus on them so they have the obligation to show the sponsors, they are who pay the bills...

What sponsors?
(Yeah, yeah, tЯeK and the others, but they don't really pay the bills, plus it was a cheap joke anyway)

 

[theyoungest]

Usually it's "Ban den Broëk" (no Dutch oe, and that's a dieresis, not an umlaut). This commentator got it right, except that he pronounced the n in "den" clearly. I've only just started with Dutch, so I'm not sure, but I think Flemish has "van" for Northern Dutch "fan", right?

Flemish voices its consonants a little more, yes. It's the "softer" variety of Dutch, if you like. Although it depends a little on the Northern Dutch speaker as well. Someone from Amsterdam is likely to use a very pronounced "f", for example.

 

[ingsve]

Usually it's "Ban den Broëk" (no Dutch oe, and that's a dieresis, not an umlaut). This commentator got it right, except that he pronounced the n in "den" clearly. I've only just started with Dutch, so I'm not sure, but I think Flemish has "van" for Northern Dutch "fan", right?

How is the g in Jurgen pronounced? With a hard [g] or with a [ɣ] like in Gesink?