Vuelta a España - Stage 7 Murcia - Orihuela 187.1km

[The Hitch]

Vuelta a España - Stage 7 Murcia - Orihuela 187.1km

Boring.Bunch sprint.

Cav will win a stage at some point. Wont he???

 

[icefire]

Wrong profile in the OP. This is it:

 

[The Hitch]

Wrong profile in the OP. This is it:

reread the OP.

 

[icefire]

What a waste of a climb. It is cat 3, but it could be a killer if it were closer to the finish:

 

[The Hitch]

What a waste of a climb. It is cat 3, but it could be a killer if it were closer to the finish:

sprinters need their stages

 

[icefire]

sprinters need their stages

I know, but having a climb like that in a sprinters stage is pointless. They should have tried a course closer to the seashore looking for cross-winds instead.

 

[Kwibus]

Watching the last 10km should be good enough

 

[Jamsque]

Cav will come good, I think.

 

[jaylew]

Yeah, probably Cav.

 

[The Sheep]

That route is funky

 

[Viskovitz]

It's imposible to put the climb nearer to the finish. But in Orihuela there is one of the very rare cobble roads in Spain: it's veeery soft but pintouresque and it would add some spice into tomorrows finish.

Here's a pic:

http://unavueltamejor.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/foto3.jpg

If they have done a circuit with it, it would has been a hell of a finish with a lot of stress.

Edit: its 2,5Km long and 2km from Orihuela.

 

[Viskovitz]

I know, but having a climb like that in a sprinters stage is pointless. They should have tried a course closer to the seashore looking for cross-winds instead.

Do I know you?

 

[luckyboy]

Is it just me or do TdF cat 3's look a lot easier than that?

 

[hrotha]

Yeah, this is probably the stage where Cav finally wins. For a surprise winner I'd tip Weylandt.

 

[Mellow Velo]

The calm before the storm.

 

[Ney the Viking]

Is it just me or do TdF cat 3's look a lot easier than that?

Agreed.

Also a 2km cobble stretch 2km before the finishline could spice things up, and maybe be enough to keep the bunch at bay if a breakaway reaches that part first.

I have decided to be overly optimistic and predict:
First breakaway get caught on the cat3, luckriders breakaway on the steep part near the top, manage to reach the cobble part ahead of the bunch and just manages to stay clear in a mad dash for the finish line

on a more realistic note ... yeah prolly boring bunch sprint, but one can dream no

 

[sublimit]

Mark Cavendish should get it.

Outsiders that can do well - Tossato, or Hutarovich again.

 

[Ferminal]

Apparently it's a hot one today.

BOTD is 4 combatants, Jorge Martin Montenegro (ACA), Martin Pedersen (FOT), Dominik Roels (MRM) and Vlad Isaychev (XAC).

Seems the peloton wanted a lazy day, and the advantage got to 10'27" after 25km, but they've started working now apparently...

 

[hrotha]

Apparently it's a hot one today.

BOTD is 4 combatants, Jorge Martin Montenegro (ACA), Martin Pedersen (FOT), Dominik Roels (MRM) and Vlad Isaychev (XAC).

Seems the peloton wanted a lazy day, and the advantage got to 10'27" after 25km, but they've started working now apparently...

Has there been a single breakaway without an Andalucia guy in it?

 

[CatsNK]

At least it's going to be hot so we can watch more fascinating footage of loaded down Rabobank riders.

The most interesting thing the past two nights has been watching the Rabobank riders bring gallons of water up to the rest of the team and trying to find Menchov. You know a race is boring when that's the most noteworthy moment.

 

[sigsky]

On a lark, I'll take Petacchi.

 

[Ney the Viking]

Has there been a single breakaway without an Andalucia guy in it?

Not any that have lasted any significant amount of time no.
I am however very happy that Martin Pedersen caught the BOTD

 

[MTDave]

What's up with the Zabriskie's half of a mustache?

 

[insideout leadout]

What's up with the Zabriskie's half of a mustache?

Don't mess with Dave Z, he's connected with Hells Angels.

 

[sigsky]

Hmmm, not much of a climb. zzzzzzzz