Vuelta a España - Stage 1 August 28, TTT Sevilla 16.5km

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I'm pumped as it isn't the Tour.
23 days without the opportunity to cluelessly name drop.
Plus, this Vuelta has followed the Giro model.
Cruel.
Diesels need not apply.


..............Oh yes, I almost forgot. Came on to say the Eurosport girlie tennis has gone on forever, so expect a start delay.

how'd radioshack do?

 

[ultimobici]

Sport drinking with the Specialized reps/VIP's each night. T of C was a PR trip and a fun one from the sounds of it.

Reinforcing the notion that the ToC is still a Micky Mouse race!

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Ah, wondered what happened to him.

Disappointed for Rabobank, that really didn't turn out great. Cervelo were a bit of a surprise being that close though. Should be a good Vuelta.

Yup, and Ten Dam lost a minute and they didnt wait for him as well which puts a serious dent into Ten Dam's "top 10 GC" plan

 

[Mellow Velo]

Yup, and Ten Dam lost a minute and they didnt wait for him as well which puts a serious dent into Ten Dam's "top 10 GC" plan

I was wondering when you would pick up on that.
A GC very dark horse, turned black on day one.

 

[tgsgirl]

lovkvist...disappointing, hope it was a mechanical. Either way they didn't wait, so i'm not expecting a solid GC showing

Wasn't a mechanical, he just couldn't keep up.

Team Principal Dave Brailsford explained: "They went off like a train and Thomas just got distanced a little bit on one of the chicanes.

"That meant he had to fight really hard to get back which put him into the red and it was hard work for him from then on."

 

[RedheadDane]

Hmm... was I the only one who found Lars Bak's struggle with the champagne-bottle kinda hillarious?

 

[bastigon]

Wasn't a mechanical, he (Lövkvist) just couldn't keep up.

Team Sky UnProfessional cyling team. Thomas is probably one of the best ITTs of them and they couldnt give him a few seconds to get back after a chicane.. Also he was said to get kind of a GC role. Very UnProfessional.

 

[Kwibus]

Yup, and Ten Dam lost a minute and they didnt wait for him as well which puts a serious dent into Ten Dam's "top 10 GC" plan

Very dissapoingting by Rabo. 18th overall and 3 guys in the team that lost even more time and are at the bottom of the GC among LtD. Well I don't expect him to get top10 anyways, but I wish him best of luck though

 

[roundabout]

Team Sky UnProfessional cyling team. Thomas is probably one of the best ITTs of them and they couldnt give him a few seconds to get back after a chicane.. Also he was said to get kind of a GC role. Very UnProfessional.

We'll see how he goes on the climb tomorrow but i have a feeling that he is not in good enough form to finish high on GC.

 

[theyoungest]

Very dissapoingting by Rabo. 18th overall and 3 guys in the team that lost even more time and are at the bottom of the GC among LtD. Well I don't expect him to get top10 anyways, but I wish him best of luck though

If this puts an end to his GC hopes, that would be a bit too early IMO. We'll see where he stands after a few climbs. I doubt Löfkvist has given up, for instance.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Hmm... was I the only one who found Lars Bak's struggle with the champagne-bottle kinda hillarious?

I was laughing quite a bit. He was hopeless. Cav had to help him out. Oviously he knows how to do it.

Rabo were disspainting but it all went wrong at the one time so it took them a while to get going again. Once they did get going they looked fast.

Sky was 2nd or 3rd most dissapointing with garmin or rabobank around them. Dave harmon, Stephen farrand and matt keenan would agree with me.

 

[hrotha]

Team Sky UnProfessional cyling team. Thomas is probably one of the best ITTs of them and they couldnt give him a few seconds to get back after a chicane.. Also he was said to get kind of a GC role. Very UnProfessional.

Did you watch the race? It was pretty brutal. You let the rider in front of you get one meter away, and you're toast. You had to go at 100% for the whole 13 km, or you end up like Rabobank. As Sky, I'd rather try to win the TTT than hope for Lövkvist to come 10th or whatever.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Did you watch the race? It was pretty brutal. You let the rider in front of you get one meter away, and you're toast. You had to go at 100% for the whole 13 km, or you end up like Rabobank. As Sky, I'd rather try to win the TTT than hope for Lövkvist to come 10th or whatever.

Keenan said Sky was one of the first teams to arrrive intoSeville and that they had quite a few days of practise.

 

[RedheadDane]

I was laughing quite a bit. He was hopeless. Cav had to help him out. Oviously he knows how to do it.

He blamed it on the champagne afterwards... And yeah... Cav's your man when it comes to opening champagne bottles after having won a bike race...

 

[Mellow Velo]

Sky was 2nd or 3rd most dissapointing with garmin or rabobank around them. Dave harmon, Stephen farrand and matt keenan would agree with me.

They weren't as disappointing as BMC, though, were they?

I take it, after Cadel worshipping, Sky bashing is your next favourite pastime.
I'd move along, if I were you. If Sky win a stage, their Vuelta will be made.
Really not one of the featured teams, here.

 

[Anonymous]

Team Sky UnProfessional cyling team. Thomas is probably one of the best ITTs of them and they couldnt give him a few seconds to get back after a chicane.. Also he was said to get kind of a GC role. Very UnProfessional.

they eased up and waited for him for almost a full kilometre but when he still couldnt stay on the back they dumped him. He was struggling with the pace for a fair while before he was dropped.

 

[hrotha]

Keenan said Sky was one of the first teams to arrrive intoSeville and that they had quite a few days of practise.

I'm struggling to understand what that has to do with my post.

 

[meandmygitane]

At 7:24 mins Löfkvist was still on. What the heck did they do after that point? Didn't seem like he was struggling overly much at the time?

I think Löfkvist was distanced for some metres but the DS and/or the rest of the team didn't react quickly enough. Not so very good, quick thinking and decisive action would have been needed to right things up. Wait 5-6 seconds and adios.



I can only say "Aaaargggggggh!"

 

[bastigon]

At 7:24 mins Löfkvist was still on. What the heck did they do after that point? Didn't seem like he was struggling overly much at the time?

I think Löfkvist was distanced for some metres but the DS and/or the rest of the team didn't react quickly enough. Not so very good, quick thinking and decisive action would have been needed to right things up. Wait 5-6 seconds and adios.



I can only say "Aaaargggggggh!"

Yes, Amateurish to lose your captain in a chicane.. and not react. Guess Ljungquist has to take the blame. Lövkvist should have been up in the front of the team for the tricky parts on the road. Sky UnProfessional cycling team.

 

[auscyclefan94]

They weren't as disappointing as BMC, though, were they?

I take it, after Cadel worshipping, Sky bashing is your next favourite pastime.
I'd move along, if I were you. If Sky win a stage, their Vuelta will be made.
Really not one of the featured teams, here.

Well BMC aren't racing... I hope you weren't attempting to be funny.

Did you watch the race? It was pretty brutal. You let the rider in front of you get one meter away, and you're toast. You had to go at 100% for the whole 13 km, or you end up like Rabobank. As Sky, I'd rather try to win the TTT than hope for Lövkvist to come 10th or whatever.

THIS - Sky did put an emphasis on the TTT. They were one of the first teams to arrive from Seville and matt Keenan who is in Seville actually saw them arrive on tuesday practising each day on the circuit.

I'm struggling to understand what that has to do with my post.

 

[sublimit]

They weren't as disappointing as BMC, though, were they?

I take it, after Cadel worshipping, Sky bashing is your next favourite pastime.
I'd move along, if I were you. If Sky win a stage, their Vuelta will be made.
Really not one of the featured teams, here.

This is what Aussiecyclefan doesnt understand. And and the constant slagging of team Sky is like some sort of compulsive disorder with him.. it gets very wearing after a while.

 

[auscyclefan94]

This is what Aussiecyclefan doesnt understand. And and the constant slagging of team Sky is like some sort of compulsive disorder with him.. it gets very wearing after a while.

Constant slagging? I am allowed to have an opinion if I want to. 3 respected commentators/journalists agreed with me on sky's poor performance. BMC weren't expected to be near the top rankings in il giro ttt so i don't see Mellow Velo's point about that. I will compliment Sky if they do something well. People say it is just me that bashes Sky and wiggins when there are plenty of others who love to do it also. But you seem to just single me out.

 

[sublimit]

What Mellow velo was getting at was Sky did better than BMC because they weren't strong enough to be allowed to race the Vuelta.

I admit Sky should of done better, but I expected anything from P5 up to 10th with the team they had - they had no TT riders and they end up in position 14 and they live to fight another day.

 

[auscyclefan94]

What Mellow velo was getting at was Sky did better than BMC because they weren't strong enough to be allowed to race the Vuelta.

I admit Sky should of done better, but I expected anything from P5 up to 10th with the team they had - they had no TT riders and they end up in position 14 and they live to fight another day.

BMC is totally irrelevant to la vuelta. They are not riding. I never said that BMC were stronger than sky because sky have more depth across the board and bigger budget helps them buy big riders. I just expected more.