Last year stage 20 did not look tough yet it created the biggest time gapsI just don't see enough difficulty here to change the GC results in any significant way.
The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to
In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.
Thanks!
Last year stage 20 did not look tough yet it created the biggest time gapsI just don't see enough difficulty here to change the GC results in any significant way.
I like that idea. Stage 6 Tourmalet queen stage, stage 12 Angliru is really good, apart from stage 11 Farrapona.The route was front loaded due to the olympics as more riders would carry their form and go to la vuelta
Excluding for Poggers it didn't.Last year stage 20 did not look tough yet it created the biggest time gaps
I guess the finishing town/regions offers must've been dire? But then why not go the other way aruond?
Last year stage 20 did not look tough yet it created the biggest time gaps
That's not true. ITT always produces gaps. Even if Roglic had won. Giro offered a last week where you could create huge differences if the rider were strong enough.True it's hard to see anything crazy happening tomorrow, but then nothing much was expected for the penultimate stages at the Tour and the Giro either...
When the race leader is can get dropped by a guy's domestique on a cat 2 you will always see hilarious stuff. It's not a scenario to assume will happen. The original Giro stage design was godlyThat's not true. ITT always produces gaps. Even if Roglic had won. Giro offered a last week where you could create huge differences if the rider were strong enough.
To be fair, we're also simply seeing the final throes of an incredibly time-compressed season, with a huge number of important races thrown together back to back. It's not surprising if by the final few days of the Vuelta riders just aren't incentivised to take risks. The stage tomorrow is perfectly fine in a vacuum, but it would be best in my opinion as a stage 19 (stage 16 in this edition) with another mountain stage in the Sierra de Gredos or the Sierra de Madrid to finish tomorrow, akin to stage 20 that Dumoulin crumpled on in 2015 or the classic Ávila stages of 1983 and 1999 vintage. People could ride the mountaintop finish as the last mountaintop and just contest the last 11km or what have you, and then there'd be a stage where, if you wanted any time, you'd have to work for it, but it was there for the taking if you did want it, on stage 20 with nothing to wait for the following day.
Even maybe something like Stage 8 in 2011 or stage 19 in 2004 could work, maybe even something like Los Ángeles de San Rafael 1997. Would love to see Abantos back, just because it's not the greatest of climbs but the steepest parts are at the bottom, it's not been seen since 2007, and it's like a lesser version of Formigal in terms of always producing better racing than it deserves to.
That's why you gotta get creative. The harder climbs are further from the line. Hell, I'd actually quite like a difficult circuit race somewhere like San Lorenzo de El Escorial, doing those punchy climbs several times, that'd be fun.good luck getting away from the Jumbo death train on Navalmoral which has a maximum of about 8 percent and doesn't have a single km above 7
I remember the Abantos created real problems for Ullrich in 1999.... there were attacks from Zulle, Jimenez and Heras. On paper it doesn't look like the toughest climb but the gradient is irregular and it creates exciting action.To be fair, we're also simply seeing the final throes of an incredibly time-compressed season, with a huge number of important races thrown together back to back. It's not surprising if by the final few days of the Vuelta riders just aren't incentivised to take risks. The stage tomorrow is perfectly fine in a vacuum, but it would be best in my opinion as a stage 19 (stage 16 in this edition) with another mountain stage in the Sierra de Gredos or the Sierra de Madrid to finish tomorrow, akin to stage 20 that Dumoulin crumpled on in 2015 or the classic Ávila stages of 1983 and 1999 vintage. People could ride the mountaintop finish as the last mountaintop and just contest the last 11km or what have you, and then there'd be a stage where, if you wanted any time, you'd have to work for it, but it was there for the taking if you did want it, on stage 20 with nothing to wait for the following day.
Even maybe something like Stage 8 in 2011 or stage 19 in 2004 could work, maybe even something like Los Ángeles de San Rafael 1997. Would love to see Abantos back, just because it's not the greatest of climbs but the steepest parts are at the bottom, it's not been seen since 2007, and it's like a lesser version of Formigal in terms of always producing better racing than it deserves to.
The only changes I can see in the top 10 is Carthy squeezing past Carapaz into the 2nd place, and Vlasov, maybe, edging past Valverde... Otherwise, this is doneI just don't see enough difficulty here to change the GC results in any significant way.
Alberto Contador: Ineos have let Richard Caparaz down
"Carapaz is playing his role and I don't think he can do much more with what his colleagues are doing. In the end when you don't achieve the goal you set out to achieve you start to question and look for explanations. Jumbo is winning without any problems and almost without any effort and that has to be analysed. ."
La Vuelta - Alberto Contador: Ineos have let Richard Caparaz down, nobody is testing Primoz Roglic
Alberto Contador believes Ineos Grenadiers have not been strong enough in their support of Richard Carapaz’s general classification challenge at La Vuelta.www.eurosport.co.uk
froome is at least giving it all. What the hell is Sosa doing? he is getting dropped on 3% climbs with 80 people in the peloton. It is really a disgrace, I would just get rid of him if I was Ineos.So true!!! The only one who has been reliably at his side was Amador. Van Baarle did his job too, Wurf a bit... But the rest? I don't even know they were there: Golas (abandoned), Rivera and Sosa were non factors and Froome, oh well, let's just say he was being Froome... Just a great waste of a good spot in the team. But I guess being the multiple GT winner, if he wanted to be there, INEOS wouldn't say no to him... The only way he could repay to be on this team, Froome would need to be some kind of extra-terrestrial magician and help Carapaz to win it all tomorrow
EDIT: No wonder I didn't hear about Rivera at all... Just realized he also abandoned, stage 2!!!
Great point and great name!The route was front loaded due to the olympics as more riders would carry their form and go to la vuelta
I have seen worse...Roglic will NOT lose second GT in a row on penultimate stage. It would be also heartbreaking to see it again.