Vuelta a España - Stage 11 Vilanova i la Geltrú - Andorra 208.4km

[The Hitch]

Vuelta a España - Stage 11 Vilanova i la Geltrú - Andorra 208.4km

an mtf. Considering what excitement weve had on lesser finishes this vuelta...


Let the fireworks begin.

Official prediction: Mosquerra enters the fray

 

[Ferminal]

I'm slightly hesitant about Arcalis, given the tripe we were served up there last year.

 

[roundabout]

It's not Arcalis, it's even worse

 

[Ferminal]

It's not Arcalis, it's even worse

Oh, ok

The profile looks very similar (ramp near the start but then fairly mediocre gradients).

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

well menchov said he'd give it a go here ?

I'd expect mosq. to give it a go also.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

It's not Arcalis, it's even worse

worse as in, it's harder.

 

[dlwssonic]

frank schleck seems to have improved the last few days and riis said it was time for him to attack so i expect an attack from him

 

[Viskovitz]

The mtf in Pal sucks big balls, plain and simple. It's the worst mtf possible in Andorra, and the stage is almost flat. Boring, very boring.

 

[Francois the Postman]

Ah, stage 11. About time.

[grabbing popcorn....]

 

[hrotha]

They have enough super-steep climbs in this Vuelta as it is (even today, with that short and scary hill after the 1st category climb), it's perfectly OK to have other kinds of climbs that favour other riders.

I can see Purito being dropped by Antón, Nibali, Schleck and maybe Sastre and Mosquera tomorrow.

 

[Jamsque]

I wonder if Denis Menchov will show up tomorrow.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

They have enough super-steep climbs in this Vuelta as it is (even today, with that short and scary hill after the 1st category climb), it's perfectly OK to have other kinds of climbs that favour other riders.

Exactly. A mix of different types of climbs is ideal. I've no objection to mountain-top finishes which favour the kind of climber who can grind their way up a long, medium steepness climb - as long as those guys set a fast enough pace to make things exciting.

 

[Viskovitz]

They have enough super-steep climbs in this Vuelta as it is (even today, with that short and scary hill after the 1st category climb), it's perfectly OK to have other kinds of climbs that favour other riders.

I can see Purito being dropped by Antón, Nibali, Schleck and maybe Sastre and Mosquera tomorrow.

Tomorrow like 15 riders will be together until the last km. Booooring. Pal just sucks. It's ok to have that kind of long not-that-steep climbs like Tourmalet, or Courchevel....but in proper mountain stages with some big climbs in the middle and little flat between them (tour tipical Tour or Giro mountain stage). This Vuelta has nothing similar to that.

 

[Frosty]

I think Moncoutie said this was one of his aims and from what he said i think he meant from the peloton rather than in a break.

Hopefully it'll be a good stage. There are two pretty flat stages to come after this one so it should inspire people to give it a good go. Yesterday was a rest day and today would have been fairly straightforward so its the only hard one in five.

I'll go for Nibali to win although he did say he didnt want the jersey yet.

Break could stay away but it depends on whether any team really feel confident enough to drive the pace on the lower slopes.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Last time in Pal (2001)

1. [ESP] JIMENEZ SASTRE Jose Maria BAN 4h08'28" 70
2. [ESP] ESCARTIN COTI Fernando COA 01'44" 50
3. [ESP] MERCADO MARTIN Juan Miguel BAN 01'44" 35
4. [ESP] HERAS HERNANDEZ Roberto USP 01'44" 20
5. [ESP] OSA EIZAGUIRRE Aitor BAN 01'44" 15
6. [ESP] SEVILLA RIBERA Oscar KEL 01'44" 10
7. [ESP] CASERO MORENO Angel Luis FES 01'44" 5
8. [DEN] MÖLLER Claus Michael MIL 01'49" 3
9. [ESP] CUESTA LOPEZ DE CASTRO Iñigo COF 02'10" 2
10. [ESP] RUBIERA VIGIL Jose Luis USP 02'31" 1
11. [USA] LEIPHEIMER Levi USP 02'31" 0
12. [ESP] LAISEKA JAIO Roberto EUS 02'48" 0
13. [ESP] MAYO DIEZ Iban EUS 02'48" 0
14. [ESP] GONZALEZ DE GALDEANO ARANZABAL Igor ONC 02'48" 0
15. [ESP] PLAZA ROMERO David FES 02'48" 0
16. [ITA] DI LUCA Danilo CTA 02'58" 0
17. [ESP] BELTRAN MARTINEZ Manuel MAP 03'03" 0
18. [ESP] BLANCO GIL Santiago BAN 03'21" 0
19. [COL] BOTERO ECHEVERRY Santiago KEL 03'36" 0
20. [ITA] FIGUERAS Giuliano PAN 03'36" 0

Not that bad
Expect a group of 5/6 contenders left, with a possible breakaway winning

 

[roundabout]

Yeah, 7 guys coming in together behind Jimenez after a much tougher stage.

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/2001/vuelta01/images/stage_images/stage11.gif

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Still. Riders make the race. If a GC guy goes from the moment it gets steeper, there won';t be 20 guys or 10 guys left, but 5/4/3/

If they wait till last 2km/last km -> half group sprint

 

[Arnout]

Still. Riders make the race. If a GC guy goes from the moment it gets steeper, there won';t be 20 guys or 10 guys left, but 5/4/3/

If they wait till last 2km/last km -> half group sprint

Nah. Noone is tired. If for example Anton attacks on the steep part Rodriguez will still have 3 strong men left.

 

[Mellow Velo]

A phoney war of cat n' mouse.
Gradient ideally suits the Katusha train which can easily deal with anyone daft enough to attack early.
Personally, I can't wait for steeper slopes of the Covadonga on Sunday............oh wait, Eurosport and Sundays.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Watch Sporza...oh no wait, they'll show tennis and more tennis

The worst thing for cycling on Sporza was the comeback of Clijsters

 

[icefire]

Track stands and bunch sprint. A bunch of 10 or so, but a bunch anyway.

Delgado has told during today's stage that the Vuelta stage designers (Olano & Co.) have been taken on a trip to Andorra by a journo to visit some real climbs that could be included in future editions of the race. J-Rod trained last month there.

 

[Arnout]

AFAIK NOS will cover Vuelta during the weekends. And they have a livestream (with commentary) online anyway.

Unluckily I cannot access it as I'm not in the Netherlands right now. Regional protection is something that should be forbidden by the EU.

 

[Barrus]

Watch Sporza...oh no wait, they'll show tennis and more tennis

The worst thing for cycling on Sporza was the comeback of Clijsters

huh? I didn't have any problem with SPorza yet this Vuelta, please don't say it will be different this weekend, or I'll need to watch British Eurosport (Hell, like I'll listen to the Dutch Eurosport), and Lord knows when they show cycling

 

[El Pistolero]

huh? I didn't have any problem with SPorza yet this Vuelta, please don't say it will be different this weekend, or I'll need to watch British Eurosport (Hell, like I'll listen to the Dutch Eurosport), and Lord knows when they show cycling

They interrupted the final of a race once to show Clijsters taking on a nobody in the US open. Afterwards they showed the rest of the stage(but not live)

No one cares for Clijsters winning against the number 1337 of the world, so I find it strange they're interrupting the Vuelta for it. I'd understand if it was the final though, but then again, she won't make the final. And races start pretty late(16 a clock), but I don't have a problem with that as I don't like to watch any race from start till finish.

They will also show Paris-Brussels in favour of whatever Vuelta stage takes place then(they will show what's left of the Vuelta stage after Paris-Brussels though)

And I guess they will also show the US open semi finals and finals in favour of the Vuelta. Let's all hope Clijsters loses the next round!

 

[paperbackwriter]

Purito has a house in this area, so he probably trains quite often there. I don't expect him to be dropped by all most serious GC contenders tomorrow.

Anyway, Frank Schleck for the win. Looks quite good, is pressed to attack and if I was him, I'd be super angry at the moment- which may mean extra motivation.

And US Open finals don't clash with Vuelta stages this time I think