Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2021: Stage 18 (Salas - Alto d'El Gamoniteiru, 162.6 km)

[Tricycle Rider]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUbpwNWmjfI&ab_channel=Alex-F1

 

[Jungle Cycle]

Is Cordal descent tecnical ?
or at least can be selective if wet??

 

[JosefK]

How many riders will look at that stage profile and DNS ? . . . But seriously, after today's war I wouldn't be surprised if the stage were anticlimactic. (I'm trying to reverse-jinx the stage. Maybe it'll be a barn-burner now.)

 

[noob]

I wouldn't be surprised if a baby faced Australian takes this; Storer sure is going to try?

 

[Tricycle Rider]

I wouldn't be surprised if a baby faced Australian takes this; Storer sure is going to try?

As long as he has a proper drummer coming along with him!

 

[EliseeReclus]

I once read that passes in the Alps were designed not to go over 7-8% so horse carriages could cope with the gradients. So if needed, the road would make another hairpin (at almost all costs) to avoid steeper sections.
But for most (smaller) mountain roads, they once were goat paths and the more road / pavement = more money and labour to build them. So it's cheaper to have it straight up the mountain at 15%, and when it goes over e.g. 20% they make a hairpin. But some mountains are very rough terrain and don't allow for too many hairpins, e.g. it's easier to traverse a section with a big rocky slope than to make hairpins in that section, even if that means a certain stretch goes over 20%.

To add to this, many of the mountain passes in the Alps will have been long distance trading and transit routes (for those carriages and caravans) and would have had fairly large strategic importance - think about how important some of the Italian cities were as merchants and traders, and the relationships in the Middle Ages between for instance the Holy Roman Empire and Rome. What's more, taking a route to avoid - for instance the Alps - is very difficult, so it's incumbent to make these routes not so steep to allow for easy travel as there is no other option. Think if you want to take something from Milan or Venice to Munich, to avoid the Alps you either have to go along the coast to Nice and around through Northern Switzerland, or you have to go along the coast and through Slovenia and around to Vienna - neither of these would be faster than a mountain pass, so there was an economic incentive to make passes that were as easily passable as possible. The Gotthard pass for instance has been there in some form since the 13th Century and was first paved in the early 19th century.

In contrast, areas like the Picos de Europa are quite small in area so finding a way around is very easy, and it's near the coast so it doesn't separate two strategic areas. So making a route to go over isn't needed in the whole, so these tend to be farming routes for moving cattle that have been paved later on in the 20th century. As Volderke mentioned, the groundworks to keep these routes under 10% wouldn't have been viable just for some farmers to move some goats or cows, so they tend to be direct and therefore steeper. This is generally why there is lots of emphasis on 'finding' the next Zoncolan or Angliru, as sometimes there are farming tracks that are unknown to those that aren't local to them.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

How many riders will look at that stage profile and DNS ? . . . But seriously, after today's war I wouldn't be surprised if the stage were anticlimactic. (I'm trying to reverse-jinx the stage. Maybe it'll be a barn-burner now.)

My thoughts as well. Today there will be less drama, everybody is tired and the GCis set. No team willing to explode the race. The winner is likely known, Movistar are happy with their podium places, Bernal is dead from yesterday. Yates or Haig can try something but unless a big guy cracks there will be less drama.

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

My thoughts as well. Today there will be less drama, everybody is tired and the GCis set. No team willing to explode the race. The winner is likely known, Movistar are happy with their podium places, Bernal is dead from yesterday. Yates or Haig can try something but unless a big guy cracks there will be less drama.

Yes, it sounds very plausible, and is probably the most likely outcome. But I do hope you're wrong on all accounts.

 

[glassmoon]

Wonder whether he crashed or whether he decided to make Llomena his version of Contador's Bonaigua.

just don't wanna help Haig... he was free once again and he failed... again. working for a teammate would be too mainstream i guess
Yeah, I know he was injured during Giro and might not be in his top shape but still he should be a good support for Haig instead of trying to win the stage and then DNS/DNF once that doesn't work out.

 

[MrTea1976]

Yates and MAL to attack, get a good gap, then Mas to pull Roglic and Haig back to them to stop Yates gaining time.

 

[Lequack]

 

[Lequack]

High chance of rain again in the afternoon.

 

[gregrowlerson]

The more that I look at the profile of this final climb, the more amazed I am about how Bernal and Roglic rode yesterday. We are lucky that stage 17 wasn't GC neutralised because of this climb.

Question: Would it be better to have a stage like this stage 18, during the very first week of the race? It doesn't matter how fresh the riders are; gaps will be created on such a monster MTF. Create gaps early, force riders to peak for closer to 3 weeks, and not have them wait for such a fearful stage late in the race.

 

[Fantastico]

Is Cordal descent tecnical ?
or at least can be selective if wet??

If I remember correctly, it has often caused havoc in rainy conditions, as it is really technical and dangerous.

 

[Descender]

Is Cordal descent tecnical ?
or at least can be selective if wet??

Pretty technical and steep, can create differences under the right circumstances.

 

[Descender]

If I remember correctly, it has often caused havoc in rainy conditions, as it is really technical and dangerous.

Though it's usually climbed the other way around (on the way to Angliru mostly). Today they descend through the side that they usually climb, which makes for a somewhat less technical descent, but a steeper and faster one.

 

[Fantastico]

Though it's usually climbed the other way around (on the way to Angliru mostly). Today they descend through the side that they usually climb, which makes for a somewhat less technical descent, but a steeper and faster one.

Yes, you're right. I have just realized this as well.

Edit: But if I look at Google Maps, it still looks very tricky with a lot of hairpins/curves.

 

[Nickname]

These are the last kms of the stage.
Note: the last kms of the climb are well-tarred roads. But when the video was recorded, som parts of them were not.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auLf_I2ofu4&ab_channel=PericoDelgado

 

[Lequack]

Let's hope everyone stays safe.

 

[ice&fire]

Gamoniteiru's drop, length and pitch figures are somewhere between Tiefenbachferner and Col de Portet. So expect around 50 minutes of climbing for the fastest men. I can't believe this can be won from the break without a ridiculous head start at the bottom of the climb.
Meanwhile, those in charge of the roadbook think the full stage will be done at constant average speed and their predicted climbing time is 25 minutes.

 

[Ricco']

Meanwhile, those in charge of the roadbook think the full stage will be done at constant average speed and their predicted climbing time is 25 minutes.

They believe we will have a Roglstomp from the bottom to the top.

 

[Red Rick]

Gamoniteiru's drop, length and pitch figures are somewhere between Tiefenbachferner and Col de Portet. So expect around 50 minutes of climbing for the fastest men. I can't believe this can be won from the break without a ridiculous head start at the bottom of the climb.
Meanwhile, those in charge of the roadbook think the full stage will be done at constant average speed and their predicted climbing time is 25 minutes.

Time table has average speed predicted higher for today than yesterday. Even only looking at profiles I can't see why. More total climbing, more net altitude gain over a shorter distance. Nothing makes sense.

 

[Rackham]

Carlos Verona out:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1433355671429320706

View: https://twitter.com/Movistar_Team/status/1433355671429320706


Bad news for Movistar.

 

[topcat]

Time table has average speed predicted higher for today than yesterday. Even only looking at profiles I can't see why. More total climbing, more net altitude gain over a shorter distance. Nothing makes sense.

Lockdown bounce back effect TM.

 

[Red Rick]

Carlos Verona out:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1433355671429320706

View: https://twitter.com/Movistar_Team/status/1433355671429320706


Bad news for Movistar.

I don't think it'll matter that much for Movistar. They'll just be both men for themselves on the Gamoniteiru and hope to hold on to their podium spots.