Vuelta a España - Stage 18: September 17: Talavera de la Reina - AVILAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Dr. Maserati]

Deignan is the first Irish winner of a stage in a GT since Stephen Roche in the 92 Tour, a long time coming. A stage win and Top 10 ranking, best day for Irish cycling since the Kelly/Roche era. Well done Philip, he seems to have developed a mangled Euro/Donegal accent judging by his interview. They asked him if he would go for another stage win, WTF.

Yes - a great win!! Really nice guy and he has been knocking on the door of a big win for some time now.

I put Irish radio on the PC to see what they said - nice to see it was the first news on Today FM.

Chapeau Philip!

 

[issoisso]

Which is interesting, considering saturday is the time trial. But I guess that was Deignan's joke

Deignan didn't actually say it, in case it wasn't obvious

 

[BroDeal]

He IS back to his old self (sick again).

LOL. Tommy D. should give up eating real food during a GT. He should do a whole race eating MREs. Maybe the team could bring a "bubble boy" enclosure that he could be put into as soon as a stage ends.

 

[issoisso]

LOL. Tommy D. should give up eating real food during a GT. He should do a whole race eating MREs. Maybe the team could bring a "bubble boy" enclosure that he could be put into as soon as a stage ends.

Maybe he can race rolling the hamsterball instead of pedalling a bike

 

[Anonymous]

after two appaling days i didnt bother watching today..

damn!!!!

 

[Rupert]

Crushed again

LOL. Tommy D. should give up eating real food during a GT. He should do a whole race eating MREs. Maybe the team could bring a "bubble boy" enclosure that he could be put into as soon as a stage ends.

I just keep getting my hopes up to see him really do something and it never happens...

 

[Bala Verde]

Re Gesink, via twitter:

17-9-2009 18:53 ...Het verlies bleef beperkt tot 1sec. Morgen weer een hele lastige dag met hopelijk wat beter weer en minder last van de val!

... limited my loss to 1s. Tomorrow another tough day ahead, hopefully the weather improves and I'll be less affected by the crash!

17-9-2009 18:51 Dankzij de ploeg heb ik de moeilijke momenten van vandaag overleefd, het was een hele lastige dag zo na de val. Knie hield zich vrij goed.

I survived the difficult moments today, thanks to the team. It was a hard day after my crash. My knee felt rather well/OK.

According to Breukink, Gesink had a really rough day in the saddle. He lost connection with the peloton at the start of the race when the wind played an important role. The team brought him back to the pack. He had trouble using his knee when it mattered. They were happy with the pace set by Caisse, but it became more difficult when Eusk took the lead.

Doesn't look promising for tomorrow, if Eusk will force an early selection. Even so, if Sanchez can get to the top of the climb with a small gap, he could be flying down to the finish...

 

[Digger]

Great day for us Irish on the forum. Was driving home from work and the national radios had it as their lead Sport story which is a rare thing for cycling in Ireland. He had a great chance on a stage in the Giro this year but Gerrans was just that bit too strong but today was great for him. And as the Dr says, he's a gentleman. Not bad for a guy who was sending out CVs to teams last winter. He lost his way completely with AG2R, but injury and sickness played a big role in this to be fair. I'm not saying he's going to win a Grand Tour or anything, but I think he can build on this year's Vuelta for hte coming years, just like Nicholas Roche did last year.
Not that I'm bothered, but I have a feeling that Kreuziger and himself did a deal before the finish. Either that or Roman was in bits by the end.

 

[luckyboy]

Not that I'm bothered, but I have a feeling that Kreuziger and himself did a deal before the finish.

Deignan - I'll take the stage and top ten overall and you can roll over the line behind me with nothing?

Kreuziger - Sounds good!

 

[pmcg76]

Deignan - I'll take the stage and top ten overall and you can roll over the line behind me with nothing?

Kreuziger - Sounds good!

It would seem that Kreuziger actually tried to buy the stage of Deignan which makes more sense.

 

[Esroh the Hoss]

It would seem that Kreuziger actually tried to buy the stage of Deignan which makes more sense.

After the abuse Kreuziger gave Philib D about his bike handling skills on the run in to the town it was the right way to answer him.
Pog Mo Hon

 

[Digger]

It would seem that Kreuziger actually tried to buy the stage of Deignan which makes more sense.

We can safely park my theory up so!!!
Just saw the final bit of it and RK looked like he didn't try, but from reading the reports etc, he was actually f***ed. Just thought money or favours would've been the bartering tool. Anyway I was wrong!!! God I hate that line!!!

 

[Walshworld]

Too much chess, not enough bike racing.

I know this is how modern grand tours are won. Do one big effort in a mountain stage and get your time gap. Then defend, defend, defend. Understandable. But somehow the lack of attacking from the other contenders makes for a less than exciting race. Yes, it's hard to get away when there isn't a monster climb but still, riders seem content with a top ten instead of taking a chance. Maybe drugs are good--if we can get someone to attack. Cheers to Mr Deignan today in Avila.
Twisted Spoke blog: http://walshworld.wordpress.com/

 

[Runitout]

I know this is how modern grand tours are won. Do one big effort in a mountain stage and get your time gap. Then defend, defend, defend. Understandable. But somehow the lack of attacking from the other contenders makes for a less than exciting race. Yes, it's hard to get away when there isn't a monster climb but still, riders seem content with a top ten instead of taking a chance. Maybe drugs are good--if we can get someone to attack. Cheers to Mr Deignan today in Avila.
Twisted Spoke blog: http://walshworld.wordpress.com/

Dude - d'you mind putting your blog in your signature rather than the message body? Every post you make looks like spam for your blog. It's bloody annoying, and a quick way to go to the 'ignore' list.

 

[BroDeal]

Dude - d'you mind putting your blog in your signature rather than the message body? Every post you make looks like spam for your blog. It's bloody annoying, and a quick way to go to the 'ignore' list.

That's because it is spam for his blog. He wants to create links to it to raise his page rank. That is why all his posts are a short "blah, blah, blah, and please vist my LINK." You can bet he is doing the same thing to lots of other sites.

 

[badboyberty]

Dude - d'you mind putting your blog in your signature rather than the message body? Every post you make looks like spam for your blog. It's bloody annoying, and a quick way to go to the 'ignore' list.

Walshworld for reference Bikesnobnyc is a funny blog with lots of followers. The Snob has became popular through word of mouth and genuine plugs by other popular bloggers and cycling press. Take heed of what the Snob did, concentrate on regular quality original posts and followers will come with time.

It's good to take time with some things, pushing your site before you've developed a a unique identity will mean you get a fair few one click visitors who never bother coming back.