Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2020: Stage 12 (Pola de Laviana > Alto de l'Angliru, 109.4 km)

Page 28 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
H

hayneplane

Sep 4, 2017
3,052
3,506
19,180
Weird riding from Jumbo Visma today but still impressive.

Strong turns from Gesink and Vingegaard with the latter really stepping up. George Bennett dropping without ever hitting the front to pull the bunch yet continuing up still trying to limit losses. The way he has ridden throughout has felt as though he has been allowed largely to ride for his own GC and go for top 10 possibly to make up for being added to the Tour team instead of leading the Giro as planned at the start of the season.

Kuss as mentioned by others rarely does the classic superdomestique thing of upping the pace with a sharp acceleration to prime his leader for an attack nor does he often cover moves and pace his leader back up. Just floats around almost part comfort blanket and part I could drop you all in an instant if I felt like it.

Ultimately I feel like as impressive as Kuss looks uphill he is a lot like Wout Poels in being better suited to being the key lieutenant with the luxury of having days off and not the constant stress of fighting for position that then allows him to look different class when on it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: L.Suds, SafeBet and Sandisfan
Eyeballs Out

Eyeballs Out

Jun 19, 2009
3,975
1,193
16,680
Lequack said:
Elw1NOgXgAA11-n
Click to expand...
That's an amazing snap. Chapeau
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan and Lequack
M

movingtarget

Aug 5, 2009
15,638
7,769
28,180
Great win for Carthy. Roglic didn't look good. Does this indicate another third week weakening or just an off day ? The TT is a big stage for him. He will probably need a time buffer. Carapaz is looking good. Dan Martin gives his all but always struggled to be a podium rider in grand tours. Good to see Froome turning himself inside out while trying to recover his form. The final kms on the last climb seemed to take forever.
 
Rackham

Rackham

Jul 16, 2015
4,489
11,957
21,180
movingtarget said:
Great win for Carthy. Roglic didn't look good. Does this indicate another third week weakening or just an off day ? The TT is a big stage for him. He will probably need a time buffer. Carapaz is looking good. Dan Martin gives his all but always struggled to be a podium rider in grand tours. Good to see Froome turning himself inside out while trying to recover his form. The final kms on the last climb seemed to take forever.
Click to expand...

I bet everyone wishes they would have an "off day" & just lose 10 seconds on their closest rival on the Angliru. Lost time in those conditions is all relative when the numbers are so small, i.e. Roglic "didn't look good" last Sunday (#jerseygate) & lost way more time than yesterday, yet still put in a monster performance on Wednesday (winning a mountain stage), won on Friday & controlled over the weekend all things considered with his team stepping-up when he needed them.

I'd say the time trial would be closer than usual (late in a grand tour always seems to level the field between GC contenders to an extent), but that first 30 km looks as flat as a pancake, with potential strong winds as well. Pure climbers & non specialists are going to suffer. I already feel bad for Dan Martin tbh.
 
  • Like
Reactions: movingtarget
W

woodburn

Dec 10, 2009
2,634
411
12,580
Kuss reminds me so much of Andy. This ride on Angliru was like 2008 Alpe. He definitely can win the right GT, especially because I don't think his career will essentially end at 26. He also seems to have the drive that was missing from Andy.

As much as a worry as the TT will be, he also is susceptible to losing time on those medium stages, especially if he doesn't have a strong team. Seems like a good descender but hasn't been tested as a leader.
 
afpm90

afpm90

Jul 10, 2009
609
36
10,030
Losing only ten seconds for Carapaz was a great performance from Roglic. At a certain it really looked that it could be a lot more. Having Kuss made a real difference, even though on a climb like Angliru there's little to be gained from having a teammate in front of you, except for not allowing you to give up and suffer mentally.

Congrats to the younger guys: Carty, Vlasov and Enric Mas. It was their stage.

I think Carapaz wasn't on a particularly good day. Always at the back of the group. And when he attacked he never gained a significant distance to the Jumbo boys. Today, he'll lose the red jersey, I believe.
 
Z

Zoef-Lightning

BANNED
Sep 21, 2020
550
379
4,280
movingtarget said:
Great win for Carthy. Roglic didn't look good. Does this indicate another third week weakening or just an off day ? The TT is a big stage for him. He will probably need a time buffer. Carapaz is looking good. Dan Martin gives his all but always struggled to be a podium rider in grand tours. Good to see Froome turning himself inside out while trying to recover his form. The final kms on the last climb seemed to take forever.
Click to expand...
But at the end of the climb, before te last "easy" hunderd of meters, Carapaz had difficulties in following Mas etc. So, the last part of the climb, Carapaz didn't take extra time on Roglic, who was terrible struggling. Not a good sign either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom