Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2020: Stage 14 (Lugo › Ourense, 204.7km)

[Descender]

Should have such a final 50m in a descent?

50km

 

[Pantani_lives]

A finish like that is only possible in the Vuelta. Draw the line just behind the bend! Wellens must have been briefed. He smartly took advantage of the inside bends.

 

[Alexandre B.]

That bend clearly remembered Woods terrible actions from that time Valverde was in the breakaway.

 

[TomLPC]

That sort of finish adds a bit when it comes down to a small group and you have to use your head. 40 riders coming to the finish however and it's an accident waiting to happen.

 

[bob.a.feet]

I know you're all Wellen-tentioned, but Woods you please stop with these wheel-sucking jokes?

 

[johnymax]

Good breakaway action in the end although someone should have attacked earlier on the final climb. They all waited for the sprint.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

I don't know what plan Van Baarle had (other than to avoid getting taken out by any random officials after they made that final turn). He looked strong in the chase but didn't appear to try any attack

 

[Fernandez]

Hugh Carthy speaks good spanish

 

[MrTea1976]

Hugh Carthy speaks good spanish

Time at Caja Rural well spent.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Time at Caja Rural well spent.

As far as I can remember he even picked up an Navarrran accent.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

That is the most ridiculous finish I have seen in quite a while.

Featuring a hairpin bend 250m from the line in a sprint stage and a pointless narrowing of the course on the inside marked with cones only...

 

[RedheadDane]

Featuring a hairpin bend 250m from the line in a sprint stage and a pointless narrowing of the course on the inside marked with cones only...

1986 was quite a while ago.

 

[Mayomaniac]

1986 was quite a while ago.

The Tour de Suisse nearly always has at least one sprint stage with a pointles finishing circuit and a final that is just waaay to technical for a bunch sprint (remember when Gaviria let Richeze win that stage when he got out first of the final corner?)

 

[tobydawq]

Is Arensman just spectacularly weak anaerobically or what's going on here? That's the second time in this Vuelta he has just been dropped before the others have even launched their accelerations in an uphill sprint from a break.

 

[roundabout]

1986 was quite a while ago.

and a description that makes it a lot worse than it actually was

here is the Tour of Turkey

View: https://youtu.be/Ue3ajqw3xes?t=1983

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Woods wins from Valverde's wheel

Woods didn't do Wellens enough.

I didn't get to watch the stage today, so I was quite surprised to learn that Carthy hadn't lost any time during the finale.
But then I saw who he had wheelsucked. Disgusting, but effective.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Is Arensman just spectacularly weak anaerobically or what's going on here? That's the second time in this Vuelta he has just been dropped before the others have even launched their accelerations in an uphill sprint from a break.

No not at all.

If you really did watch the first time, Arensman just put in a big attack before the climb, because he knew he was going to lose the sprint. So he was spent from that attack when wellens caught him.

This time, today, his legs were just finished. He said in the dutch press he was dead when they arrived at the hill.

 

[Sciatic]

As for Carthy, sounded like he had to expend a lot of energy just to get in and stay clinging to the back of the leaders’ group.

 

[tobydawq]

No not at all.

If you really did watch the first time, Arensman just put in a big attack before the climb, because he knew he was going to lose the sprint. So he was spent from that attack when wellens caught him.

This time, today, his legs were just finished. He said in the dutch press he was dead when they arrived at the hill.

I know about his attack on the other stage, it just caught my attention how he was so easily dropped, and then again today. However, I think it might primarily be because we rarely see break stages being decided on short uphill finishes, and now we have twice witnessed Arensman being schooled there.

 

[PeterB]

according to Valgren, who spoke to Morkov, Quickstep wants to keep it together for Bennett today

Mørkøv får Valgren til at droppe plan

Michael Valgren satser ikke på at jagte et udbrud på 14. etape efter en snak med landsmanden Michael Mørkøv.

sport.tv2.dk

Most teams will have different plans, I guess, but for Valgren it seems to have worked at least. He postponed his plans to go for the breakway till tomorrow

Ultimate trolling by Mørkøv

 

[Koronin]

Nice stage win for Wellens. Soler in the break again, but obviously he isn't exactly much better at sprinting than Mas. Apparently Valverde is going to need to hold classes on how to sprint on up hill finishes for his two teammates.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

Just tuned in, looking at the road map. Must admit I'm too far behind personal stage analysing in this awkward year and just realized they finish in Ourense, where I took overnight in late
90ies. Quite dissapointed they missed SO many possibilities for a typical 'Murito', and just missing Mirador Montrealegra (I think it was named).

The slightly uphill finish in the streets past Minho is in my memory a lot easier than the rough profiles said, though it should make it an interesting finale between sprinters, climbers and GC riders. But just a small hesitation in the final 1½ k's and it's a grab for the sprinters.

Just had time to watch the stage.
Luckily the final two kilometers did not follow the road map of the official Vuelta site, where riders should have passed the Millenium Bridge in North direction going just vaguely uphill to Jardin del Posio, but actually today was on the contrary a 'mini murito' over the other bridge and NW to the Seminario instead, ending on the tiny parking place, 2 kilometers in flight distance of the original finish from the official site.

I must say this type of finish is typically 'Vuelta'
But with the very tiny finish area I have the thoughts that the route has been changed due to Covid-19.
Compared to the official sites road map. Jardin del Posio is much more open public area than the enclosed finish area of today. The whole Seminario area is normally closed for wider public.

Anyone with more insight on this?
As i stated earlier today, I've lost the upper hand grip on the GT stage designs this year.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Nice stage win for Wellens. Soler in the break again, but obviously he isn't exactly much better at sprinting than Mas. Apparently Valverde is going to need to hold classes on how to sprint on up hill finishes for his two teammates.

He should have held the classes before the season started though. Now it's too late
But Roglic can take over from him.

 

[Koronin]

He should have held the classes before the season started though. Now it's too late
But Roglic can take over from him.

It's possible he didn't know they were that bad at sprinting.

 

[md1975]

Is there any way to watch the stage from the beginning? So much happening right now.

Yes, but you have to Google it. Many sites offer it as free...but it isn't. But a few are free or dirt cheap