Vuelta a España 2011

[roundabout]

Wonder how many riders from the top-20 of the Tour will do the Vuelta?

 

[virandociclista]

Wonder how many riders from the top-20 of the Tour will do the Vuelta?

there will be more from the top-crashs of the tdf

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Pauwels abandons the Vuelta, the tendon of his triceps is ripped off

 

[uphillstruggle]

He was definitely stronger than Andy on Alpe lol. Much stronger.

Hard to tell. Andy didn't chase him when he attacked. If he could have closed the gap or not is conjecture. I would tend to agree with you that AC was stronger on that stage but Andy had pummelled himself the day before. Over three weeks Andy was the better climber, it's just maths really.

To return to the vuelta discussion I think Anton can win this if he has the same level as last year. The Anglirú and Peña Cabarga stages are well suited for him to take time on Nibbles and the Pope (who I feel will be his closest rivals)

Is there any chance Mosquera actually rides?

 

[boomcie]

No Vuelta for Pauwels (torn triceps tendon).

Source

Pauwels abandons the Vuelta, the tendon of his triceps is ripped off

Boom!

----------------------------

 

[l.Harm]

Hard to tell. Andy didn't chase him when he attacked. If he could have closed the gap or not is conjecture. I would tend to agree with you that AC was stronger on that stage but Andy had pummelled himself the day before. Over three weeks Andy was the better climber, it's just maths really.

Indeed.

To return to the vuelta discussion I think Anton can win this if he has the same level as last year. The Anglirú and Peña Cabarga stages are well suited for him to take time on Nibbles and the Pope (who I feel will be his closest rivals)

Is there any chance Mosquera actually rides?

He's in the preselection of Vacansoleil. At this moment there's no reason for Vacansoleil why they shouldn't let him ride.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Boom!

----------------------------

oooh noooooooooeeesss =(

 

[Angliru]

If Schleck rides Giro and Vuelta he probably wins both (yes except when Contador rides Vuelta).

That's doubtful. After the Tour I'll bet Andy hardly even trains on his bike. He'll lose his form and then have to build it back up again, provided he's motivated to do so and he seems to be motivated to do well only in a week in late April and the month of July. He can't even be motivated to ride diligently for his loving brother as exhibited by his halfhearted effort in last year's Vuelta before Riis made a surprise appearance and sent him home.

He did well in the 2007 Giro IMO because this was prior to his becoming the media darling and consequently believing everything the media was saying about him. He likely was told by Riis to train and prepare for the Giro and it appears he actually listened and did train.

 

[Angliru]

Because this year Menchov was so strong

If you're going to take a nab at Andy's bad season so far, then you need to do the same with Menchov.

The Andy we've seen in 2009 and 2010 is the second best GT contender. This year he was lacking for some reason(I think he was too afraid to get caught after Contador's positive and was riding cleanish).

The sad thing for Andy is that Contador is a better descender, a better climber, a better time trial specialist and better at saving his energy during a stage(you won't see Contador grabbing water bottles). The only thing where Andy is better in is probably the sprint. May it do much good to him when he finishes 50 seconds behind Contador on a MTF.

IMO Andy has no area in which he is better than or even equal to Contador.
Add to that Contador's mental toughness and more professional approach to his craft and it explains why he won't ever beat Contador if they are both at their best. If Contador can almost beat Evans in a sprint then Andy doesn't stand much of a chance against him.

 

[icefire]

Hard to tell. Andy didn't chase him when he attacked. If he could have closed the gap or not is conjecture. I would tend to agree with you that AC was stronger on that stage but Andy had pummelled himself the day before. Over three weeks Andy was the better climber, it's just maths really.

To return to the vuelta discussion I think Anton can win this if he has the same level as last year. The Anglirú and Peña Cabarga stages are well suited for him to take time on Nibbles and the Pope (who I feel will be his closest rivals)

Is there any chance Mosquera actually rides?

People keep underrating Nibali's climbing abilities.

Antón took 40 secs from Nibali last May on the Zoncolan, which is harder than Angliru. Last year Nibali lost about 10 secs to Purito on Peña Cabarga, and that was because he was instructed from the car to attack at the wrong place and run out of gas in the last metres.

Nibali only showed weakness last year in Cotobello. Remember that was the only stage with 3 serious climbs. The closest thing to that this year is La Farrapona, the day before the Angliru, but it only has one big mountain pass close to the MTF.

Antón was superb in Andorra but he just took 20 secs from Nibali. With these margins time bonuses will play an important role. Otherwise, he will need to take time in more places than just the walls of Angliru and Peña Cabarga.

 

[Angliru]

I doubt Menchov would follow Evans on the Galibier. I'm pretty certain Schleck is a (much) better climber than Menchov. Contador and Schleck are the best climbers of the peloton.



Evans changed as a person, I mean Schleck doesn't have to change like that because his character isn't his problem, but his time trial.Schleck was great in the mountains this year, Evans just did an amazing job to follow him almost everywhere. On a Dutch forum almost everybody agreed Schleck was the best climber this Tour de France.

As far as I can see Evans hasn't changed, his environment has. Andy's character is likely the problem. As I posted in another thread, when you can't motivate yourself to make an effort to ride for your brother when he's fighting for a Vuelta win, especially after the same brother had suffered the extreme disappointment of crashing out of the Tour the same year, you've got some unresolved issues of extreme selfishness. He apparently was too overwhelmed with his disappointment in losing a Tour that he thinks was his to win to really put in the effort to effectively support Frank.

 

[Dedelou]

I know what "lol" means. In this case, "haha just kidding", as opposed to "haha your opinion makes me laugh".

And Contador was cooked on Alpe. Otherwise he wouldn't have lost to Rolland.

yeah.. There is cooked as in "very rare" or cooked as in "well done " We know where what kind of dish Andy was . LOL ( my checkspeller keep attempting to change : dish Andy to dou*he. Anybody knows why?)

 

[hatcher]

Not huge news I know, but it seems Pete Kennaugh will be riding the Vuelta for Sky. Not sure it's the best idea for a 22 year old to do the Giro and the Vuelta in the same year, but there you go.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Not huge news I know, but it seems Pete Kennaugh will be riding the Vuelta for Sky. Not sure it's the best idea for a 22 year old to do the Giro and the Vuelta in the same year, but there you go.

They're determined to give a career to that boy on a plate. I wonder if he'll ever do anything to remotely justify it.

 

[hatcher]

They're determined to give a career to that boy on a plate. I wonder if he'll ever do anything to remotely justify it.

3rd in Route du Sud last month (including 6th on the Col d’Aspin/Tourmalet stage) was pretty darn good. As was dragging Possoni up Passo Maniva a couple of weeks later in the Brixia Tour.

Think he impressed people with his Giro ride too.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

3rd in Route du Sud last month (including 6th on the Col d’Aspin/Tourmalet stage) was pretty darn good. As was dragging Possoni up Passo Maniva a couple of weeks later in the Brixia Tour.

Think he impressed people with his Giro ride too.

He gets it all handed to him on a plate - he better win something meaningful at some point to repay the faith that's been put in him.

His Giro ride could only be impressive for someone who very much wanted to be impressed.

 

[hatcher]

He gets it all handed to him on a plate - he better win something meaningful at some point to repay the faith that's been put in him.

His Giro ride could only be impressive for someone who very much wanted to be impressed.

Whereas you don't at all sound like someone who has their mind made up about him already.

He's just turned 22 years old.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Whereas you don't at all sound like someone who has their mind made up about him already.

He's just turned 22 years old.

And he's nearing the end of his 2nd year in a top flight cycling team.

I'll be delighted if and when he starts repaying the faith paid in him, but until he does I reserve the right to be slightly irratated by the easy ride he is given, and the tentative attempts of english speaking commentators to build up a rider who has done nothing of note whatsoever yet.

He's only 22 is a pretty poor excuse for a placeholder in a squad when you're at the top level. Go and ride at your own level and work your way up - it worked for plenty of good riders.

 

[hrotha]

They're determined to give a career to that boy on a plate. I wonder if he'll ever do anything to remotely justify it.

In my mind, making a 22-year-old ride so much, including two GTs in the same year, it's not giving him a career on a plate. It might well be ruining it.

 

[hatcher]

And he's nearing the end of his 2nd year in a top flight cycling team.

I'll be delighted if and when he starts repaying the faith paid in him, but until he does I reserve the right to be slightly irratated by the easy ride he is given, and the tentative attempts of english speaking commentators to build up a rider who has done nothing of note whatsoever yet.

He's only 22 is a pretty poor excuse for a placeholder in a squad when you're at the top level. Go and ride at your own level and work your way up - it worked for plenty of good riders.

What exactly has he been given on a plate?

2010 he was given a pretty typical schedule for a first year future stage race rider (Romandie, Dauphine, Poland, Vuelta). Very similar schedule to Nordhaug (Ardennes, Suisse, Poland, Vuelta), who is probably the most comparable rider to him.

2011 he and Nordhaug pretty much on the same schedule again.

 

[maltiv]

In my mind, making a 22-year-old ride so much, including two GTs in the same year, it's not giving him a career on a plate. It might well be ruining it.

The giro-vuelta is not such a big problem, there is so much time between them. Sending someone that young to giro-tour or tour-vuelta would be much worse. They're not sending EBH to the vuelta for example.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

What exactly has he been given on a plate?

2010 he was given a pretty typical schedule for a first year future stage race rider (Romandie, Dauphine, Poland, Vuelta). Very similar schedule to Nordhaug (Ardennes, Suisse, Poland, Vuelta), who is probably the most comparable rider to him.

2011 he and Nordhaug pretty much on the same schedule again.

He has clearly shown something on an exercise bike ramp test to get the Sky management very excited. I'm just getting rather impatient to see it show up on the road.

The handed on a plate comment mainly refers to the contract itself, given his handy avoidance of working his way up through smaller teams as most riders have to. As a handy comparable, Nordhaug rode in the 'wilderness' for 5 years before reaching the protour promise land. It almost certainly did him good.

 

[El Pistolero]

In my mind, making a 22-year-old ride so much, including two GTs in the same year, it's not giving him a career on a plate. It might well be ruining it.

Meh, Nibali did the Giro-Tour double at age 23.

 

[hatcher]

He has clearly shown something on an exercise bike ramp test to get the Sky management very excited. I'm just getting rather impatient to see it show up on the road.

The handed on a plate comment mainly refers to the contract itself, given his handy avoidance of working his way up through smaller teams as most riders have to.

3rd at the Baby Giro, 4th at the u23 Worlds RR, and 3rd at the British RR as a 19 year old all probably had something to do with his getting a contract.

 

[hrotha]

Meh, Nibali did the Giro-Tour double at age 23.

Last I checked, Nibali and Kennaugh were not the same person.