Vuelta a España - Stage 13: September 12 - Berja - Sierra Nevada, 175km

[craig1985]

Vuelta a España - Stage 13: September 12 - Berja - Sierra Nevada, 175km

BTW what does Puerto (as the Puerto de la Ragua) mean in Spanish?

 

[blaxland]

this stage will be a ripper and maybe gesink can take some more time on valverde/evans before the final time trial.Ive been really impressed by him so far...outsider for stage win sanchez..he needs to do something..

 

[craig1985]

You would think Valverde will have to get some time as well, he obviously can't go into the final TT with only a few seconds over Cadel because he will be toast.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Summary of gc favourites so far and what they have to do to win!

1. Alejandro Valverde - will need to attack during next 2 days to get a buffer before the tt. Has got a strong team to ride on the front but will his team get tired on the last 3-4 days if he keeps the lead over La Pandera. Stage 15, 18 and 19 are possible stages where he could be attacked on. He has got a quality team on his side but will Alejandro avoid the day he always has where he bonks? Will have to wait and see.

2. Cadel Evans - the best possible scenario for Cadel is take the lead in the final tt so his team doesn't have to defend over a whole week. Must keep himself within 30 seconds over Valverde so if it comes down to the tt he will be in striking distance. He is the strongest time trialist of the gc boys so that could work to his adavantage but the final tt is only 27km long. Cadel must just stay with the favourites on Sierra Nevada and don't lose time because if he attacks and gets the jersey his team may struggle to defend it. If he is going to attack, he should wait for La Pandera so his team has to defend over a smaller period of time. He has stayed out of trouble without making a big effort yet.

3. Robert Gesink -probably the best climber in the race at the moment. He must get some time on his rivals before the time trial so he has to attack. Though Robert should wait for la Pandera because he will need to conserve as much energy as he can because he's only 23 and could bonk if he goes too hard. He will be marked a lot more now as the other gc guys see him as a much bigger threat after the Alto de Velifique.

4.Tom Danielson - the big surprise of the vuelta so far but how he will go in the last week and the next 2 mountain stages is a mystery. So far he has looked sprightly on the climbs by responding to some of the attacks. He can tt but will his form peak or fade away. He will need to attack over the next 2 stages to make up some time.

5.Ivan Basso - basso has been relatively quite with his usual grinding away pedalling style. Basso needs to attack over the next 2 stages as his time trialling isn't great. basso being quiet may be a plan on liquigas' part to make one big attack to take back the time. He has stayed out of trouble but has the job ahead of him to make back the 53 seconds he has lost.

6. Samuel Sanchez - the daredevil descender and pre race favourite hasn't had the perfect vuelta though he is a strong tt and a great descender. he should try on la pandera though he still has some other stages to get back the time. St19 looks like a stage were he could get some time back. Cat 1 finishes 17km before the finish with a descent down to the finsish line.This stage is made for him.

Everyone else is too far behind to have a crack at la vuelta. Mosquera attacking 8km out shows he's desparate. If i was him i would try from a break becausse he's not going to get the big gap on a climb as last night he got 10secs from attacking 8km out. That's nothing...

The few medium mountain stages near the end of la vuelta could be more decisive than we think. It still maybe close after La Pandera.

My Prediction
1.Valverde
2.Evans
3.Sanchez
4.Gesink
5.Basso
6.Danielson

 

[blaxland]

1. Alejandro Valverde - will need to attack during next 2 days to get a buffer before the tt. Has got a strong team to ride on the front but will his team get tired on the last 3-4 days if he keeps the lead over La Pandera. Stage 15, 18 and 19 are possible stages where he could be attacked on. He has got a quality team on his side but will Alejandro avoid the day he always has where he bonks? Will have to wait and see.

2. Cadel Evans - the best possible scenario for Cadel is take the lead in the final tt so his team doesn't have to defend over a whole week. Must keep himself within 30 seconds over Valverde so if it comes down to the tt he will be in striking distance. He is the strongest time trialist of the gc boys so that could work to his adavantage but the final tt is only 27km long. Cadel must just stay with the favourites on Sierra Nevada and don't lose time because if he attacks and gets the jersey his team may struggle to defend it. If he is going to attack, he should wait for La Pandera so his team has to defend over a smaller period of time. He has stayed out of trouble without making a big effort yet.

3. Robert Gesink -probably the best climber in the race at the moment. He must get some time on his rivals before the time trial so he has to attack. Though Robert should wait for la Pandera because he will need to conserve as much energy as he can because he's only 23 and could bonk if he goes too hard. He will be marked a lot more now as the other gc guys see him as a much bigger threat after the Alto de Velifique.

4.Tom Danielson - the big surprise of the vuelta so far but how he will go in the last week and the next 2 mountain stages is a mystery. So far he has looked sprightly on the climbs by responding to some of the attacks. He can tt but will his form peak or fade away. He will need to attack over the next 2 stages to make up some time.

5.Ivan Basso - basso has been relatively quite with his usual grinding away pedalling style. Basso needs to attack over the next 2 stages as his time trialling isn't great. basso being quiet may be a plan on liquigas' part to make one big attack to take back the time. He has stayed out of trouble but has the job ahead of him to make back the 53 seconds he has lost.

6. Samuel Sanchez - the daredevil descender and pre race favourite hasn't had the perfect vuelta though he is a strong tt and a great descender. he should try on la pandera though he still has some other stages to get back the time. St19 looks like a stage were he could get some time back. Cat 1 finishes 17km before the finish with a descent down to the finsish line.This stage is made for him.

Everyone else is too far behind to have a crack at la vuelta. Mosquera attacking 8km out shows he's desparate. If i was him i would try from a break becausse he's not going to get the big gap on a climb as last night he got 10secs from attacking 8km out. That's nothing...

The few medium mountain stages near the end of la vuelta could be more decisive than we think. It still maybe close after La Pandera.

My Prediction
1.Valverde
2.Evans
3.Sanchez
4.Gesink
5.Basso
6.Danielson

very true summery of the race and agree they all need to attack evans before the final tt

 

[craig1985]

If Cadel gets Gold, I wouldn't be surprised if his team gives it up straight away.

 

[EPOch of End Times]

feed the hungry

Hi guys. New to this board. I noticed that some people didn't have access to a good feed for the vuelta. Maybe somebody already mentioned it but http://www.universalsports.com/ has a live feed. I've been watching it on their tv cable channel so I'm not sure how good it is...

Cheers.

 

[gatete]

BTW what does Puerto (as the Puerto de la Ragua) mean in Spanish?

puerto in Spain (and only in Spain) means climb, just like in french you would read col de.... if you translate puerto in any other spanish speaking country it will mean port (like an ocean port)

ciao

 

[Ferminal]

How steep is the climb to Sierra Nevada?

 

[Mellow Velo]

Not steep enough. The Monachil, on the other hand........
Valverde will sit behind the train. He doesn't need to attack.
If the group is first to the finish, he'll hit the gas and go for the 20 second bonus.
He's got a couple of opportunities for more bonus time, in the final week.

Apparently, the Ragua is a beast, but will only serve to select the breakaway bunch.

Look, there is only one way to ignite this stage and it's not going to happen.

A group of top contenders are first of all going to have to attack, on the Monachil. Then, they are going to have to agree to work together, up the SN and work hard.
Only then, can the Caisse train be derailed and make it mano-a-mano.

Any individual "rough stuff" on the "man killer" Monachil, can be ignored and brought back on the more temperate climb to the finish.

Look at Valverde's early attack of Cadel Evans on the Dauphine's Ventoux and there, you have the difference. Not a soldier in sight.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

If I was Evans, I would not just count on the TT.

In the first TT, he won.. 3 seconds on Valverde
The second TT is hillier, shorter and suits Valverde even more!

 

[issoisso]

Past climbs of the Sierra Nevada tell us Valverde won't be able to count on his train the whole way. At a certain point the oxygen in the air becomes too scarce and they start dropping like flies. He'll be isolated then.

And since this climb is a long grinding slog (precisely what doesn't suit him), I'm expecting him to not have an easy day.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

very true summery of the race and agree they all need to attack evans before the final tt

The TT suits valv. I think he might beat evans there to be honest.
At best i think valv. just needs a 30 second buffer to win this race over cadel which he can do with time bonuses alone.

This race will be won in the mountains not the tt. Gesink, Basso and Sanchez will attack.

If I was Evans, I would not just count on the TT.

In the first TT, he won.. 3 seconds on Valverde
The second TT is hillier, shorter and suits Valverde even more!

+1

People are expecting Evans to wipe the competition away in the final itt. I think there's gonna be some surprised folk...

If Cadel gets Gold, I wouldn't be surprised if his team gives it up straight away.

are you serious? That would be stupid... Like i said in another thread, Evans knows that you can lose a GT by seconds, I highly doubt he will be giving any charity away anytime soon. As for S-L controlling the race, even when Cadel is the leader of a race, they rarely do the work.

Nope. Cadel wont be "giving" away the jersey if he manages to get it.

 

[I Watch Cycling In July]

www.universalsports.com

I've tried this and channelsurfing.net but they don't seem to cover the whole stage. Can anyone confirm that coverage is from 10:am ET and roughly the last 1&1/2 hrs of the stage..... That would be a 2am NZST start for me so quite keen to be sure when to get up before I bother.

 

[Hammerhed]

Puerto defined

Craig, just in case no one has answered you yet, puerto means door, or in this case, an entranceway. So Puerto Rico meaning "rich doorway" signified that the island was an entrance into the Carribean, a rich, wealthy area.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

I've tried this and channelsurfing.net but they don't seem to cover the whole stage. Can anyone confirm that coverage is from 10:am ET and roughly the last 1&1/2 hrs of the stage..... That would be a 2am NZST start for me so quite keen to be sure when to get up before I bother.

No one covers the whole stage. As a rule, there is no live coverage at all until a certain time. That is generally 16:00 here in Germany, which would be 10:00 EDT.

Susan

 

[Anonymous]

4.Tom Danielson - the big surprise of the vuelta so far but how he will go in the last week and the next 2 mountain stages is a mystery. So far he has looked sprightly on the climbs by responding to some of the attacks. He can tt but will his form peak or fade away. He will need to attack over the next 2 stages to make up some time.

A surprise? Naaah.. JV Turned round before the race and said they would surprise everyone just like they did in the tour..

was nobody paying attention..

 

[Danilot]

Craig, just in case no one has answered you yet, puerto means door, or in this case, an entranceway. So Puerto Rico meaning "rich doorway" signified that the island was an entrance into the Carribean, a rich, wealthy area.

BS. You're confusing puerto (usually means "port", but can also mean "mountain pass") with puerta (which actually means "door").

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Group of 30 in the attack with a lot of top 30 GC guys. Navarro, Rodriguez, Hoogerland, Valjavec, Moncoutie, De Greef etc...

 

[powderpuff]

De Greef spent time training with Cadel in Livigno, so hopefully this tactic will work better for him than when JvdB went up the road on the TdF. Cadel is quite familiar with the stage today as he spent 2 weeks here in May with JvdB. He is in positive frame of mind and so is the team.(most of it)

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Now a smaller group is left, with TXURRUKA Amets (009), RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin (058), MONCOUTIE David (071), TAARAMAE Rein (079), PALOMARES VILLAPLANA Adrian (087), MOERENHOUT Koos (157), WEENING Pieter (159), HOOGERLAND Johnny (203) y GARCIA DA PENA David (215).

Rodriguez is the best in GC at 10th place (4.01)

Silence Lotto looking shaking, also Garmin no riders in the group. Those teams have to chase, together with Liquigas I think

 

[Mellow Velo]

Caisse playing "chicken" with the rest.
No way they'll let Katyusha bound Rodriguez too much leeway.
Must mean a few more fireworks, than yesterday, are planned.

 

[powderpuff]

Now a smaller group is left
Rodriguez is the best in GC at 10th place (4.01)

Silence Lotto looking shaking, also Garmin no riders in the group. Those teams have to chase, together with Liquigas I think

I don't think they need/will to chase, why not Rabo chase if the others should? Do you think Caisse will let Rodriguez go into gold over Valverde?

 

[Mellow Velo]

Down to 3 suspects. Taaramae, Moncoutie and Weening, with the peloton at almost 10 minutes.
Guess what? Caisse are doing all the work.

Meanwhile, we have Paris-Bruxelles on RTBF Sat.....

 

[Danilot]

Caisse's goal is not for someone in the team to win, it's for VALVERDE to win. If nobody pulls, Caisse themselves are going to make sure Rodríguez doesn't get the jersey.

On another note, what do you think about Freire retiring? His goal of winning a 4th World Championship is certainly very important, but Gesink might miss him if he manages to get the jersey.