Vuelta a España - Stage 18 Valladolid - Salamanca 148.9km

[Oldman]

Welcome to the Cavendish talkshow....!

No he was too good today. Haedo had the perfect position but could do nothing about the win once he got wind on his nose.

And Farrar was left to fight him for a wheel. What the hell? Is Garmin protecting Danielson...geez.

 

[joy118118]

Cav's interview mentions that (Peter) Velits pulled a kilometre in the wind.

Third in the GC and you're working for a sprinter who would win going backwards without a train.

maybe martin velits?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

maybe martin velits?

I thought Martin would be more likely but other sources say Peter was mentioned. If Peter did a km into the wind I'd expect Martin did several. Either that or Cav can't tell the difference between them! But I still wouldn't put it past HTC to have Peter doing leadout duties. They had Tejay and Peter doing it when they were both in the top 10, in fact that work could well contribute to his losing energy and cracking on Cotobello. They promised Martin and Rogers were GC guys at the Tour and wouldn't be on leadout duty, then as early as stage 4 there they were, on the front, in the wind with under 10km to go.

 

[insideout leadout]

Farrar is normally very good at positioning himself but now he's getting used to the comfy spot behind Julian Dean. Without him Farrar seems a bit lost. The three last sprint stages have been rubbish for Farrar.

 

[hrotha]

maybe martin velits?

No, in his latest audiobook Cav specifically said it was Peter and commended him for doing all that work despite being so high in the GC.

 

[Oldman]

Farrar is normally very good at positioning himself but now he's getting used to the comfy spot behind Julian Dean. Without him Farrar seems a bit lost. The three last sprint stages have been rubbish for Farrar.

You are so right. It's tough to watch him start his move 10 metres behind Cav and end up 1 metre at the finish.

 

[Scirea]

Farrar is normally very good at positioning himself but now he's getting used to the comfy spot behind Julian Dean. Without him Farrar seems a bit lost. The three last sprint stages have been rubbish for Farrar.

Today he had Cav's wheel for quite a while yet he managed to screw up the finish completely.

 

[joy118118]

I HATE it!

No, in his latest audiobook Cav specifically said it was Peter and commended him for doing all that work despite being so high in the GC.

I thought Martin would be more likely but other sources say Peter was mentioned. If Peter did a km into the wind I'd expect Martin did several. Either that or Cav can't tell the difference between them! But I still wouldn't put it past HTC to have Peter doing leadout duties. They had Tejay and Peter doing it when they were both in the top 10, in fact that work could well contribute to his losing energy and cracking on Cotobello. They promised Martin and Rogers were GC guys at the Tour and wouldn't be on leadout duty, then as early as stage 4 there they were, on the front, in the wind with under 10km to go.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

HTC would put both Schlecks and Contador in Cav's leadout if they had them. They'd have Contador chasing down breaks, or at least holding them on a short rope for 100km at a time, if they could.

 

[Oldman]

I HATE it!

Taking a hard pull at the end of a race won't kill a GC guy.

 

[The Hitch]

An emerging sprint super team?

Nicely done

 

[joy118118]

Taking a hard pull at the end of a race won't kill a GC guy.

Do you really take what HTC says? I dont believe it. If it does nothing to a GC, why not seeing it on other teams?

 

[skidmark]

Taking a hard pull at the end of a race won't kill a GC guy.

No, but the frustrating thing about that setup, and Cav's interviewing is that, while he's always sure to thank his team before anything, which is gracious with all the 'it shows what kind of a team we are' talk, I don't recall ever seeing him use his huge engine to take a pull for one of his teammates in a race. I'm sure it happens less on HTC because they don't have dominant GC guys, and I'm sure if it happens it's probably earlier in the race, but there's just no reciprocity, despite his 'team team team' interviews.

 

[djlovesyou]

Taking a hard pull at the end of a race won't kill a GC guy.

Not like it's going to do him any good though.

 

[Oldman]

No, but the frustrating thing about that setup, and Cav's interviewing is that, while he's always sure to thank his team before anything, which is gracious with all the 'it shows what kind of a team we are' talk, I don't recall ever seeing him use his huge engine to take a pull for one of his teammates in a race. I'm sure it happens less on HTC because they don't have dominant GC guys, and I'm sure if it happens it's probably earlier in the race, but there's just no reciprocity, despite his 'team team team' interviews.

no argument here. He always thanks those that serve him and with 3 stage wins to go with his Tour wins...why would HTC do anything different? Besides; those GC guys may actually want to be part of the success.

 

[hrotha]

Speaking of saving energy this late in the Vuelta, I found it odd that Liquigas decided to pull hard in the end only for Bennati to sit up.

 

[Scirea]

Do you really take what HTC says? I dont believe it. If it does nothing to a GC, why not seeing it on other teams?

Because they don't stand a chance against Cav anyway so what would be the point?

 

[insideout leadout]

No, but the frustrating thing about that setup, and Cav's interviewing is that, while he's always sure to thank his team before anything, which is gracious with all the 'it shows what kind of a team we are' talk, I don't recall ever seeing him use his huge engine to take a pull for one of his teammates in a race. I'm sure it happens less on HTC because they don't have dominant GC guys, and I'm sure if it happens it's probably earlier in the race, but there's just no reciprocity, despite his 'team team team' interviews.

I don't know about Cav's huge engine...he sure has a speedy engine which he needs to rest and recharge during the harder stages (if he can).

If Cav would use 'I I I' instead of 'team team team' they wouldn't even broadcast the interview to spare the viewers.

 

[Jamsque]

Cav doesn't work for other riders, but there aren't many races where he would be any use as a domestique. If the parcours is flat, then he is always going to be the number one most protected rider, and if it's hilly, he'll be off the back and no use to anyone.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

He could use his explosive power to try to force something for teammates on the cobbles?

 

[salixcycling]

Velits earns 4 seconds over the rest except Schleck in the battle for 3rd

Don't forget Roche - he still has a chance in that battle.

nibali, mosquera, p.velits, schleck, roche all gained those 4 seconds over rodriguez, sastre, tondo, danielson. Heck, it could make a difference in those lower placings (3rd to 9th).

 

[Christomir]

nibali, mosquera, p.velits, schleck, roche all gained those 4 seconds over rodriguez, sastre, tondo, danielson. Heck, it could make a difference in those lower placings (3rd to 9th).

How did that happen?

 

[Climbing]

And how Mosquera gained 1 sec on Nibali?

 

[dgodave]

No, but the frustrating thing about that setup, and Cav's interviewing is that, while he's always sure to thank his team before anything, which is gracious with all the 'it shows what kind of a team we are' talk, I don't recall ever seeing him use his huge engine to take a pull for one of his teammates in a race. I'm sure it happens less on HTC because they don't have dominant GC guys, and I'm sure if it happens it's probably earlier in the race, but there's just no reciprocity, despite his 'team team team' interviews.

The guy WINS races. I'm sure the team is using him for the teams own best interest.
.

 

[paperbackwriter]

And how Mosquera gained 1 sec on Nibali?

Nibali was punished for starting too early yesterday.