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

[Ferminal]

Seeing as we are discussing cavs vuelta and worlds, anyone see any parallels with cav at the vuelta and his great enemy at the giro? Both keep failing at sprints, and cite illness.

I suspect the finale might be similar, he will wait to get a stage win and then leabe, by which i mean he will win finally get his win on stage 21.

Yeh it's very similar, no doubt Cav will break through for at least one win sooner or later.

The points situation is a bit tricky:

There are only four people who could possibly win it, Cav & Farrar for the sprinters, or Anton & Rodriguez for the climbers. There is only one more Gilbert finish, whilst 4 sprint finishes and 5 climbers finishes (in theory).

It just depends on which days the break wins and how big the break is, but Cav is also more likely to go for intermediate sprints.

At this stage I'd say Rodriguez > Cav > Anton > Farrar.

 

[Mellow Velo]

Tschopp to win if the breakaway isnt caught/

Inspired choice. Well done.
I wish I had had the courage to pick him, elsewhere.

 

[The Barb]

Gap at 14.25 ...... surely Tschopp wins this stage, right?

 

[roundabout]

14.50 now, but it doesn't really matter once Katusha starts chasing

 

[Frosty]

Inspired choice. Well done.
I wish I had had the courage to pick him, elsewhere.

Me too

I had a look at the bookmakers' prices but couldnt find him listed anywhere.

 

[Frosty]

Gap at 14.25 ...... surely Tschopp wins this stage, right?

Theyve been going quite a while and there is still 100 kms to go. Depends how soon someone starts chasing. They could take back a lot of time as the climb steepens towards the end.

 

[Frosty]

Yeh it's very similar, no doubt Cav will break through for at least one win sooner or later.

The points situation is a bit tricky:

There are only four people who could possibly win it, Cav & Farrar for the sprinters, or Anton & Rodriguez for the climbers. There is only one more Gilbert finish, whilst 4 sprint finishes and 5 climbers finishes (in theory).

It just depends on which days the break wins and how big the break is, but Cav is also more likely to go for intermediate sprints.

At this stage I'd say Rodriguez > Cav > Anton > Farrar.

Cav's HTC squad has been quiet recently so they should be in good shape to help him chase down attacks. Garmin have also been quiet and with Cav not on form they should be putting in a lot of effort to help Farrar out. FDJ could be a big help too but Hutarovich hasnt got that close since he won. The mountain stages with a climb at the end after fairly flat conditions could see a break stay away. Remains to be seen how well Rodriguez does on the longer climbs although he should still be close to the front. Surprised to see Gilbert having a go unless he is hoping the sprinters drop out. I think Cav can do it, especially if he doesnt really think much of his chances at the worlds.

 

[insideout leadout]

According to the Vuelta live ticker:

"ORTEGA OCANA Manuel (026) and GARATE Juan Manuel (153) have been parents today."

So will the name of the kid be Ortega Garate or Garate Ortega?

 

[icefire]

According to the Vuelta live ticker:

"ORTEGA OCANA Manuel (026) and GARATE Juan Manuel (153) have been parents today."

So will the name of the kid be Ortega Garate or Garate Ortega?

It depends on who of them was the mother

 

[Frosty]

Rabo pulling on the front. Guess Menchov must be feeling better?

 

[icefire]

Rabo pulling on the front. Guess Menchov must be feeling better?

I recall Leakygas used to do the same last year for Basso

 

[Francois the Postman]

Inspired choice. Well done.
I wish I had had the courage to pick him, elsewhere.

I did 567890

 

[theyoungest]

I recall Leakygas used to do the same last year for Basso

It's not like Basso majorly f#$ked up in last year's Vuelta. There were just some stronger guys than him.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Gap at 14.25 ...... surely Tschopp wins this stage, right?

of course not. someone from the peloton wins this I think either purito or mosquera and hopefully uran.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I recall Leakygas used to do the same last year for Basso

I also remember rabobank doing this for menchov this year in the tour for the Tourmalet.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Live feed?

Desperately seeking live feed - none of those listed at steephill seem to work so far


Edit: spoke too soon

this oneworks now

 

[Ferminal]

Gap has kind of been hammered, Tschopp will need at least 5-6 minutes at the base of the climb?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

So, all this for Menchov?

He must be feeling great then

 

[Francois the Postman]

Kelly is speculating that the rabo put its team up front to wake Menchov up. Letting him know that he is expected to do something.

 

[Jamsque]

Gap has kind of been hammered, Tschopp will need at least 5-6 minutes at the base of the climb?

I think he has little chance.

 

[Jamsque]

Rabo is pushing hard because of the crosswinds, the whole pack is lined out right now.

 

[Christomir]

Yet, if those two somehow manage to hold on to a big enough lead at the bottom of the climb, Tschopp is by far the better climber of the two, isn't he?

 

[The Hitch]

good to see eurosport getting the breaks in early again, so that we have a undisturbed final climb

 

[issoisso]

14 kms till the climb....

*twiddles thumbs*

 

[issoisso]

So, all this for Menchov?

He must be feeling great then

He's arguably the best sprinter among the climbers here.
If he can hang on to the others, he may win the stage.

I doubt it though. My money's on Tondó winning the sprint if he holds on.