Vuelta a España Stage 15: Avilés - Anglirú 144km

[Scirea]

Blind hope simply because the attacking back and forth is more entertaining to watch than the diesel grind, so people are desperately hoping that the most powerful diesel in the race (which has a performance advantage akin to the diesel success at Le Mans, it seems) will have an off day.

Plus, Wiggins is totally untested at anything of this kind of gradient, hence some are assuming that he won't take to it as well as the power climbs, which suit him more. That is the case - but today wasn't his kind of climb and he and Froome still wiped the floor with everyone save Cobo.

It's not exactly what happened but it definiately sounds good. For example Menchov could have beat them imo but he didn't want to bridge to Cobo for obvious reasons.

 

[Scirea]

I've rewatched the last 3km a few times now.

Cobo lost 10 seconds in the final km to Wiggins/Froome (and 15 seconds to Poels). So indeed, he can't sustain the effort.

We will see how much effort you can get from Wiggins when he will be standing still 8 km from the finish.

 

[Scirea]

My prediction for this stage is the Sky duo grinding up the mountain with Mollema and Menchov following. Cobo gets dropped halfway and loses more than he won today. Mollema sprints away in the final meters to win the stage and gets the bonus seconds. Menchov ends second shortly behind, smashing his bike because he mistimed his jump. VDB2 takes 3rd out of nowhere just before an angry Wiggins, who keeps red by 1 second. The rest is nowhere to be found.

You wanna bet that Mollema and Wiggins will beat Cobo? I'm open to it.

 

[El Pistolero]

What a moronic post.

If you know anything about JJ Cobo, he gifted the stage to Piepoli back in 2008 when the Sunier Duval went 1st and 2nd on the climb to the Hautocam.

He could have won that stage (it I wish he had) and he is a 'great' climber.

YMMV

Cobo didn't gift that Tour stage. And he won it, Piepoli tested positive for Cera there. No doubt Cobo was on it as well. Cobo is an slightly above average climber without the dope.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Hopefully it won't be as much of a letdown as today. I've been consistently defending this race, but I'm getting pretty sick and tired of formation riding. Guys need to realise that this isn't the Tour de France, and so attacking is possible!

We look like going a perfect 0 for 2 on Grand Tours this year.

Leave the tour alone. It was a great edition and has been better than the vuelta or giro this year.

It's almost like the Tour de France, with Tommy Voeckler in 4th.

Cobo will take the red jersey tomorrow. Mollema will crack, he wasn't feeling great today so his usual fever must be coming up

Getting the excuses ready? Typical.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

What?

What have you got against Sky so much. You keep insinuating stuff with Froome and Wiggins in this subforum (which is surprising considering who some of your favourite riders are) and now you really attack Wiggins style as boring?

Wiggins doesnt grind his way up the climb like Szmyd Basso, slowly dropping riders off one by one.

Rather when Wiggins turns on the pace its like an attack. Riders get dropped immediately. Not small fry rather but big fish like for example the overwellming favourite for the gc and the guy seen as the best climber.

Its very much like an attack.

It is like an attack - but it's less immediately visually appealing than people ping-ponging off the front. Doesn't make it any less effective, and doesn't make it bad - Wiggins has been brilliant so far in this race, and it's not him that my insinuations have been aimed at. I'm just saying, people are hoping he'll have an off day so that we'll have a more visually exciting spectacle. We've already had other contenders saying that the pace that was set was so high that all they could do was follow, which is testament as you say to the great power in Wiggins' pacesetting. But it's less immediate to see the group slowly trimmed down, and the pace is too high for anybody to dart off the front, hence there's no back and forth because there's no point where it slows down enough for anybody to try to gain separation.

Is Wiggins boring? Not particularly. He's forcing a pace that suits him and hurts others. Chapeau to him. But I think many would find it more exciting if somebody could attack him then he was using this insane power that he puts down to pull them back afterward, rather than pre-empting any attacks.

Am I being a hypocrite? Almost definitely, but we all are hypocritical about some things, because we all have our biases that are hard to take off.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Leave the tour alone. It was a great edition and has been better than the vuelta or giro this year.

Both GTs have been sorely lacking this year. The Tour was a great one week race, but to be honest by the time we got to the final week I just wished it was over.

2011 has been a crap year for stage racing. How many really good stage races have we had? Tirreno-Adriatico, Asturias, Suisse... I'm already struggling.

Edit: oh, Utah. That was good.

 

[The Hitch]

It is like an attack - but it's less immediately visually appealing than people ping-ponging off the front. Doesn't make it any less effective, and doesn't make it bad - Wiggins has been brilliant so far in this race, and it's not him that my insinuations have been aimed at. I'm just saying, people are hoping he'll have an off day so that we'll have a more visually exciting spectacle. We've already had other contenders saying that the pace that was set was so high that all they could do was follow, which is testament as you say to the great power in Wiggins' pacesetting. But it's less immediate to see the group slowly trimmed down, and the pace is too high for anybody to dart off the front, hence there's no back and forth because there's no point where it slows down enough for anybody to try to gain separation.

Is Wiggins boring? Not particularly. He's forcing a pace that suits him and hurts others. Chapeau to him. But I think many would find it more exciting if somebody could attack him then he was using this insane power that he puts down to pull them back afterward, rather than pre-empting any attacks.

Am I being a hypocrite? Almost definitely, but we all are hypocritical about some things, because we all have our biases that are hard to take off.

You obviously do handle critiscsm well and defend yourself well but on a side note that last defense is weak.

Come on, are we really are going to defend ourselves against charges hypocricy by saying "everyone does it so its ok"?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

You obviously do handle critiscsm well and defend yourself well but on a side note that last defense is weak.

Come on, are we really are going to defend ourselves against charges hypocricy by saying "everyone does it so its ok"?

It's not so much intended as "everyone does it so it's ok", more "yea, you got me on that one, I'm only human and I let emotion cloud judgement".

 

[greenedge]

Get ready for the explosion of rage when L_S insinuated that Suisse was good when Levi won. I like Levi though. The first week of the TDF was exciting, seeing Contador attack in the 3rd week was also nice. Vanendert got a stage win and Greipel beat Cav.

Wiggins going at his pace is like Contador attacking ( or the effect ) on the other riders. Whatever works. If riders can't sustain the pace like JROD they are not on top form.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Get ready for the explosion of rage when L_S insinuated that Suisse was good when Levi won.

Regardless of who won, it was an exciting race. I don't like Levi and was disappointed that Cunego couldn't hold it together in the ITT, but it was still an exciting race.

 

[Scirea]

Get ready for the explosion of rage when L_S insinuated that Suisse was good when Levi won. I like Levi though. The first week of the TDF was exciting, seeing Contador attack in the 3rd week was also nice. Vanendert got a stage win and Greipel beat Cav.

Wiggins going at his pace is like Contador attacking ( or the effect ) on the other riders. Whatever works. If riders can't sustain the pace like JROD they are not on top form.

You kidding, right? Schleck bros and 6 billion other people are laughing pretty hard somewhere if they are reading this.

 

[Climbing]

Ok... this will be interesting.
The guys going well today will suffer tomorrow.
Nibali to get stage and red on Angliru... or just to lose 20 minutes trying it.
Let's be serious, I really do not have a clue how things are gonna develop, this Vuelta it's impossible to understand.
I can only say that Froome looks stronger than Wiggo!

 

[El Pistolero]

Both GTs have been sorely lacking this year. The Tour was a great one week race, but to be honest by the time we got to the final week I just wished it was over.

2011 has been a crap year for stage racing. How many really good stage races have we had? Tirreno-Adriatico, Asturias, Suisse... I'm already struggling.

Edit: oh, Utah. That was good.

Tour of Belgium.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Both GTs have been sorely lacking this year. The Tour was a great one week race, but to be honest by the time we got to the final week I just wished it was over.

2011 has been a crap year for stage racing. How many really good stage races have we had? Tirreno-Adriatico, Asturias, Suisse... I'm already struggling.

Edit: oh, Utah. That was good.

Tour was quite interesting racing across 3 weeks. Many would agree that it was unpredictable and exciting.

Giro was just such a one sided affair that I didn't really care for the race in the end. This Vuelta has all the big gc riders not doing that great. A lot of 2nd tier riders are doing well here. NO disrespect to Froome, Kessiakoff, Mollema, Fuglsang, etc but they all being in the top 10 and some in the top 5 of a GT is a bit comedic.

 

[Scirea]

Tour was quite interesting racing across 3 weeks. Many would agree that it was unpredictable and exciting.

Giro was just such a one sided affair that I didn't really care for the race in the end. This Vuelta has all the big gc riders not doing that great. A lot of 2nd tier riders are doing well here. NO disrespect to Froome, Kessiakoff, Mollema, Fuglsang, etc but they all being in the top 10 and some in the top 5 of a GT is a bit comedic.

The TdF wasn't interesting at all. If not for Bertie's kamikaze attack it would have been total boredom... I know you were excited because Evans but it doesn't mean the race was great.

 

[auscyclefan94]

It was unpredicatable and exciting. Everybody after the race on this forum were raving about what a entertaining race it was.

 

[Gingerale]

Angliru awesomeness by Contador:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afFI4alhJQc

Stop it at 6.00 if you are not a fan of the smokin' gun

thanks.

wiggins won't win the stage but he won't lose the jersey, unless froome is somehow stronger than wiggins. (which would be highly entertaining)

 

[Scirea]

It was unpredicatable and exciting. Everybody after the race on this forum were raving about what a entertaining race it was.

Highly doubt that.

 

[Kopuliak]

It was unpredicatable and exciting. Everybody after the race on this forum were raving about what a entertaining race it was.

I agree with Scirea.Two 'boring' weeks from top GC riders in defensive mode and waiting for some Alps show-down stage and/or ITT ...

 

[The Hitch]

Tour of Belgium.

Sagan vs Martin.

 

[jobiwan]

This will be a great stage!! Whoever wins this stage and whoever's in red will deserve their victories!

Once again, great preview Hitch!!

 

[The Barb]

Igor Anton at 50-1 is the way to go. He dropped half an hour yesterday which can't be totally because of bad form. Clearly saving himself for today to have one last go at salvaging something from this race.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

The TdF wasn't interesting at all. If not for Bertie's kamikaze attack it would have been total boredom... I know you were excited because Evans but it doesn't mean the race was great.

apart from andy and ac huge attacks, the tour mountains sucked so bad.

 

[meandmygitane]

a bit disappointed by Kessiakoff today, thought he can do better.
well, maybe tomorrow, when it's really going to be steep...

(Some of) it may be attributed to sickness:
http://proteam-astana.com/content/News/newsUK.php?ID_news=452

Not much hope that he will be 100% again before the rest day, but I hope he will be a little better at least. Doesn't seem like he wants to attack much but just consolidate his position and try not to slip down on the GC.