Vuelta a España - Stage 9: September 7 - Alcoy - Xorret de Catí, 186km

[auscyclefan94]

Talk about hitting the wall!

that guy climbs like kirsipuu(joke). I felt bad for him as he was in a winning posi and had good form from tour d ain

 

[craig1985]

Interestingly enough, a sprinter, Greg Henderson finished the stage ahead of guys like Garate, Vino, Gerdermann etc.

ITSTL.

 

[Von Mises]

Talk about hitting the wall!

Taaramae said later that on his map this 20% part ended 1 km earlier than in reality, so he expected steeper part to end, but it continued and continued...

 

[rata de sentina]

It is easy to sit back dispassionately and consider this to be relatively trivial. It even looks from his blog that that is what Evans has done too. I don’t blame him for getting fired up at the time and I don’t think anybody with any insight would either. If he’d shrugged his shoulders at the finished and said “that’s racing” I would have thought he was a wuss. It’s good to see Evans with a bit of fire in his belly. Personally I would have got fired up too but then I’ve had some git change his line on me like that and I ended up with two broken wrists. Lucky there were no cameras about that day!

Anyway although I concur that Evans does go on a bit sometimes I think that half the time he’s tarred as a whiner purely because of the tone of his voice which can get a tad squeaky especially at the end of a stage. If some bloke with a deeper voice said the same things I imagine the response would be different.

As for those that attest that Valverde would have easily won the sprint. I suggest that while he might be expected to have the edge I haven’t observed a huge difference between him and Evans in other similar finishes they have contested.

 

[Danilot]

It's also curious that people are now defending Gesink and what he did to Cadel ("just an accident", "racing is like that", "the barriers moved in"...), after lambasting Cavendish in the Tour for a similar incident with Hushovd.

Maybe Cadel should get into a pointless breakaway tomorrow and get a couple of intermediate sprints, it worked for Hushovd.

 

[Bala Verde]

What it means to die on the Cati, or perhaps Cadel gave him a Glasgow kiss, as he went past?

Nothing wrong with him. It looks like he has a Spanish SRM display, so he asked a friendly chap to help him translate.

 

[issoisso]

It's also curious that people are now defending Gesink and what he did to Cadel ("just an accident", "racing is like that", "the barriers moved in"...), after lambasting Cavendish in the Tour for a similar incident with Hushovd.

It's hip to bash certain riders for no reason

 

[Bala Verde]

http://i32.tinypic.com/2lnk2vb.jpg

Cadel is anti-unfair play

 

[ak-zaaf]

It's hip to bash certain riders for no reason

yeah, we just pick them blindfolded. no need for death threats and head-butts.

 

[Black-Balled]

And this is not the first head-butting incident for Cadel. What the hell? Is this a common practice down under?

 

[issoisso]

yeah, we just pick them blindfolded. no need for death threats and head-butts.

Which was a joke. And would be taken as such if it was any other rider.

 

[ptensioned]

It's also curious that people are now defending Gesink and what he did to Cadel ("just an accident", "racing is like that", "the barriers moved in"...), after lambasting Cavendish in the Tour for a similar incident with Hushovd.

The fundamental difference is that Cav wasn't trying to contest the sprint, and looked back to mark Hushovd. The key point is he wasn't racing and got in the way. Gesink was racing, and even though Evans may have been able to get around, he just made the wrong call on where to go.

What people seem to forget in the Cav/Hushovd incident is that while Cervelo may have lodged the protest, it was the race jury that levied the punishment. Agree with it or not, the decision came from a supposedly impartial group. If Evans had genuine concerns (it seems now he doesn't), he has the same options as Thor and Cervelo had. For the reasons above, he's would have been unlikely to be awarded anything...

 

[rata de sentina]

Which was a joke. And would be taken as such if it was any other rider.

It's a cultural thing. If an Odstralian says he'll cut your arms and legs off chances are that 10 minutes later you'll be having a beer and a laugh together. If a Euro says the same thing chances are 10 minutes later you'll be face down in a ditch with the rest of your village.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Which was a joke. And would be taken as such if it was any other rider.

the i'll cut your head off incident wasn't meant in a literal way and everyone potrayed him as being a basstard when they hardly know the true cadel.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Which was a joke. And would be taken as such if it was any other rider.

while the cut your head of incident was taking out of proportion (I agree he said it in a cheeky, kidding way) so many times Evans acts out of order in interviews. Media attention is a part of the sport, that guy just can't handle it. That is one the reasons I don't like him. plus i never liked the way he rode ( but i must say in the past year or so he has rode some what more aggresive... not the paris-nice 08 stage he wheel sucked gesink and out sprinted him.. B@stard ) main reason i dislike the guy tho, is he always makes excuses for his losses. tour 08 "wah wah it was 3 on 1". That is cycling, man up. Oh and trying to headbutt a rider cause you couldn't get around him.. classsy. But yes you are right. I for one take pleasure in bashing "certain riders" for no reason

 

[auscyclefan94]

while the cut your head of incident was taking out of proportion (I agree he said it in a cheeky, kidding way) so many times Evans acts out of order in interviews. Media attention is a part of the sport, that guy just can't handle it. That is one the reasons I don't like him. plus i never liked the way he rode ( but i must say in the past year or so he has rode some what more aggresive... not the paris-nice 08 stage he wheel sucked gesink and out sprinted him.. B@stard ) main reason i dislike the guy tho, is he always makes excuses for his losses. tour 08 "wah wah it was 3 on 1". That is cycling, man up. Oh and trying to headbutt a rider cause you couldn't get around him.. classsy. But yes you are right. I for one take pleasure in bashing "certain riders" for no reason

3 on 1 rider is not an excuse. it's a legitimate reason. CSC could work in numbers a lot more and that played into their hands. If you think evans acts out of order that's your opinion but i'll have to agree on disagreeing!

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

No I just never like the way he would response to a failure or loss. His reactions, it's like he is making himself out a victim. I just don't like his negative attitude, and imo he comes of a little disrespectful to the riders who beat him.

But yes agree to disagree. I acknowdge the guy is a talented riders, just wanted to make it clear my dislike for the guy was not without reason.