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

[ingsve]

uran in colombia was the biggest tracktalent they ever had. he was national champion on every discipline in novices and juniors except the sprinting ones of course, you may think that's nothing but colombia has many track specialists and track culture in cycling. he was champion in individual pursuit, madison, scratch and points race. he was on his way to becoming world champion itt with juniors until he got a flat tire in 2005, this was

when he become pro in italy at age 18 he started to neglect his itt, which is usual since in italy you don't find itt's in races normally. with unibet he still won an incredible itt in euskal bizkleta against guys like isidro nozal and santoz gonzalez (clinic 101) at age 20!! but with caisse his itt's became really worse.

let's hope with sky's track background that indeed they can restore this talent in itt and also in sprinting, he used to be very fast!

Ya, it's interesting how diffrent cycling cultures shape the riders. I guess that's true, that we don't really see that many italian ITT specialists. Marco Velo and Marco Pinotti are perhaps the ones that first come to mind (I guess you need to be named Marco to ITT in Italy). Then there are a few GT riders with good motors he also needs to be good at ITT but none of them are really specialists.

As a flipside to that you very rarely see italian riders that are terrible at climbing. Even their sprinters are generally better climbers than some of the stereotypical sprinters out there who almost finds the grupetto in the neutral zone on though stages.

 

[hrotha]

It's the same reason why Colombia generally doesn't produce sprinters: their road races aren't suited for them, so I suppose those who show that kind of talent will inevitably turn to track (especially because, as Ryo said, there's a strong track scene there). Italian cycling favours hilly one-day races, Spain favours stage races (the amateur calendar is full of five-day stage races and few prestigious one-day races), and so on.

 

[Kazistuta]

Ya, it's interesting how diffrent cycling cultures shape the riders. I guess that's true, that we don't really see that many italian ITT specialists. Marco Velo and Marco Pinotti are perhaps the ones that first come to mind (I guess you need to be named Marco to ITT in Italy). Then there are a few GT riders with good motors he also needs to be good at ITT but none of them are really specialists.

As a flipside to that you very rarely see italian riders that are terrible at climbing. Even their sprinters are generally better climbers than some of the stereotypical sprinters out there who almost finds the grupetto in the neutral zone on though stages.

I understand your point, Ingsve, but I'm sure most of us remember a couple of Italian sprinters that didn't live up to these standards:

Mario Cipollini - a big, big guy, obviously had a hard time getting over mountains (and withdrew from every (?) TDF he participated in)

Ivan Quaranta - The ever-so-hyped talent that couldn't pass a speed bump if his life depended on it.

 

[ingsve]

I understand your point, Ingsve, but I'm sure most of us remember a couple of Italian sprinters that didn't live up to these standards:

Mario Cipollini - a big, big guy, obviously had a hard time getting over mountains (and withdrew from every (?) TDF he participated in)

Ivan Quaranta - The ever-so-hyped talent that couldn't pass a speed bump if his life depended on it.

Yes, I know Quaranta was terrible but Cipollini could sometimes climb better than other riders of his size if he wanted to but most of the time he simply wasn't bothered with it.

Those examples aside if you look at it more generally then italian sprinters are typically quite good at climbing compared to other sprinters.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Danilo Napolitano and Angelo Furlàn are two more Italian sprinters who couldn't get over a speed bump.

Now, Spanish sprinters, they always seem to be the ones that climb. Freire, Rojas, Ventoso, Izagirre... they can make it over the bumps.

Cipo may have withdrawn from every TDF he ever entered, but he completed the Giro multiple times and won its points jersey 3 times, so when he was motivated to he could get over the hills.

 

[ingsve]

Danilo Napolitano and Angelo Furlàn are two more Italian sprinters who couldn't get over a speed bump.

Now, Spanish sprinters, they always seem to be the ones that climb. Freire, Rojas, Ventoso, Izagirre... they can make it over the bumps.

Cipo may have withdrawn from every TDF he ever entered, but he completed the Giro multiple times and won its points jersey 3 times, so when he was motivated to he could get over the hills.

That's true. Though there are very few spanish sprinters at all and very rarely can they win against the top sprinters in the world. Freire is the only standout in the past decade as far as I remember right now.

 

[boomcie]

Looks like Vandenbroeck improved as well. 3rd in a prologue? Didn't expect that.

Me neither. He used to be really good at TT, but when he turned pro, he seemingly neglected that talent. Seems like he and Gesink both realised they need to up their game if they want to do better at the TDF.

 

[Anonymous]

Very Brief (like 30 second) roundup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxumzFsZAJk

Should be fuller highlights later.

 

[The Hitch]

Danilo Napolitano and Angelo Furlàn are two more Italian sprinters who couldn't get over a speed bump.

Now, Spanish sprinters, they always seem to be the ones that climb. Freire, Rojas, Ventoso, Izagirre... they can make it over the bumps.

Cipo may have withdrawn from every TDF he ever entered, but he completed the Giro multiple times and won its points jersey 3 times, so when he was motivated to he could get over the hills.

Lets not forget El Imbatido. Hes a sprinter, and he can get over a hill now and again too

 

[roundabout]

It's a shame that DAOTEC is unable to grace us with his presence on this glorious day.

 

[jens_attacks]

It's a shame that DAOTEC is unable to grace us with his presence on this glorious day.

3 saur sojasun in the top ten.he would be all over the place now.

this team really starts to impress me.

 

[taiwan]

Wierd race.

If there aren't any bonifications or MTFs, then Van Den Broeck could have already won. If he, Leipheimer and Coppel don't crack tomorrow, then we may have our podium.

 

[will10]

Danilo Napolitano and Angelo Furlàn are two more Italian sprinters who couldn't get over a speed bump.

Now, Spanish sprinters, they always seem to be the ones that climb. Freire, Rojas, Ventoso, Izagirre... they can make it over the bumps.

Cipo may have withdrawn from every TDF he ever entered, but he completed the Giro multiple times and won its points jersey 3 times, so when he was motivated to he could get over the hills.

Furlan yes, Napolitano though has done well on finishes with a few hills along the way and if I remember correctly has top 5'd in MSR before

 

[roundabout]

There's a somewhat tricky finish on the final stage.

Some small time gaps last year (same finish?)

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-a-andalucia-ruta-ciclista-del-sol-2-1/stage-5/results

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Furlan yes, Napolitano though has done well on finishes with a few hills along the way and if I remember correctly has top 5'd in MSR before

Napolitano now is comically bad though. He HDed the 2009 Tour long before Furlan, and over a week before Kenny van Hummel finally succumbed - and yet it was Kenny who was called 'the worst climber the Tour has ever seen'!

Napolitano also lost six minutes in the PROLOGUE at Paris-Nice last year; as soon as he saw there was a bit of a climb in it, he soft-pedalled the whole thing.

 

[Descender]

Nasty cobbled ramp at the end.

 

[roundabout]

Napolitano now is comically bad though. He HDed the 2009 Tour long before Furlan, and over a week before Kenny van Hummel finally succumbed - and yet it was Kenny who was called 'the worst climber the Tour has ever seen'!

Napolitano also lost six minutes in the PROLOGUE at Paris-Nice last year; as soon as he saw there was a bit of a climb in it, he soft-pedalled the whole thing.

Wasn't that a Delgado moment?

 

[Anonymous]

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.

 

[will10]

Freire I reckon

 

[Reuell]

He'll only manage when he's at the top of his form.
I don't think so however, the last three stages are more suited for him at the moment

 

[boomcie]

I'll throw Ventoso into the mix.

Also, I have the feeling Devolder is trying to start his season in the worst possible form again. 37th place at 24", for a guy of his standing...

 

[Christian]

1:30 minutes highlights in Luxembourgish, interview in French with the winner:

http://tele.rtl.lu/waatleeft/replay/v/20110220/0/34901/

Apparently Jimmy Engoulvent's average was 43 km/h

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I understand your point, Ingsve, but I'm sure most of us remember a couple of Italian sprinters that didn't live up to these standards:

Mario Cipollini - a big, big guy, obviously had a hard time getting over mountains (and withdrew from every (?) TDF he participated in)

Ivan Quaranta - The ever-so-hyped talent that couldn't pass a speed bump if his life depended on it.

cipollini is not true at all. he finished almost every giro he rode, and those were much harder than the tour, not to mention he even won a giro stage with 4 category 2 climbs in it in 1998 I remember. Cipo was more than fine climber for a sprinter only he didn;t care most of the time and especially not at the tour. because he was there to win few stages and go on holiday after that. he had already done giro and classics before that.

 

[La Pandera]

cipollini is not true at all. he finished almost every giro he rode, and those were much harder than the tour, not to mention he even won a giro stage with 4 category 2 climbs in it in 1998 I remember. Cipo was more than fine climber for a sprinter only he didn;t care most of the time and especially not at the tour. because he was there to win few stages and go on holiday after that. he had already done giro and classics before that.

+1 If one looks at the recent performances og gc riders that tried to double up with the Giro and Tour, you will see that their Tour performances on the average tended to be less than they had hoped for. To expect an Italian sprinter on an Italian team to excel in the Giro, no less dominate as Cipo usually did and then to finish the Tour is not being realistic. How often do we see any sprinter contend for the green jersey in the Tour and then chase the same at the Vuelta, finishing both? I've heard this criticism of Cipo in the past and it really gets under my skin. It is really not a rational argument.

 

[Addicted]

I'll throw Ventoso into the mix.

Also, I have the feeling Devolder is trying to start his season in the worst possible form again. 37th place at 24", for a guy of his standing...

I was at the prologue yesterday, and was a bit suprised of how fat and out of shape he looked...