Vuelta a España 2022: Pre-race discussion/hype tread

[Lequack]

Post all your hype here. Example:

• will Rogla start?
• will Superman Lopez slap a fan?
• will Remco wrap up the GC after the first week?
• will Valverde win a stage on his last GT ever?
• ...

 

[Skalman]

-Will ala be in form, not crash and win a stage?

 

[Lequack]

-Will ala be in form, not crash and win a stage?

He needs to do a Contator on Angliru attack.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Such an open race with the 4 best GT riders out for various reasons. Without Remco in the race, I honestly wouldn't have been that hyped to see the wheelsuckers of Italy back in May again, but needs brings and entirely different dynamic to the race. He'll be my bet, and I honestly thing Remco is the favorite if we only consider winning chances. Obviously, the chances of him not doing that hot at all are also present.

Will be good to see Alaf again. Ineos is bringing and young squad, and Im intrigued about Carlos Rodriguez. Along with Ayuso they need to carry Spanish cycling.

Then you have Mas, and if he bring this climbing from last year's Vuelta, he can definitely win the race. Valverde is still somewhat injured, but theres still 3 weeks to go. He can get some decent form and a stage, but it wouldn't be Valverde if he also tried to sneak into the top-10.

Bora looks interesting as well. Probably the best team, but if Hindley doesn't find his peak climbing legs, they will have a hard time winning. Higuita could so something good as well. Dont believe in the rest.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

No Pogacar, no Roglic, no Vingegaard, no Carapaz, no Bernal. I'm not too hyped for this race, but let's see if it can deliver some good action anyway.

 

[tobydawq]

No Pogacar, no Roglic, no Vingegaard, no Carapaz, no Bernal. I'm not too hyped for this race, but let's see if it can deliver some good action anyway.

We don't know that Roglic won't be there, right?

 

[Rollthedice]

No Pogacar, no Roglic, no Vingegaard, no Carapaz, no Bernal. I'm not too hyped for this race, but let's see if it can deliver some good action anyway.

Why no Carapaz?

 

[Valv.Piti]

Why no Carapaz?

Second that. Why wouldnt he ride the Vuelta - only reason I can see is hes leaving, but..

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Such an open race with the 4 best GT riders out for various reasons. Without Remco in the race, I honestly wouldn't have been that hyped to see the wheelsuckers of Italy back in May again, but needs brings and entirely different dynamic to the race. He'll be my bet, and I honestly thing Remco is the favorite if we only consider winning chances. Obviously, the chances of him not doing that hot at all are also present.

Will be good to see Alaf again. Ineos is bringing and young squad, and Im intrigued about Carlos Rodriguez. Along with Ayuso they need to carry Spanish cycling.

Then you have Mas, and if he bring this climbing from last year's Vuelta, he can definitely win the race. Valverde is still somewhat injured, but theres still 3 weeks to go. He can get some decent form and a stage, but it wouldn't be Valverde if he also tried to sneak into the top-10.

Bora looks interesting as well. Probably the best team, but if Hindley doesn't find his peak climbing legs, they will have a hard time winning. Higuita could so something good as well. Dont believe in the rest.

Remco the favourite??

 

[sir fly]

Unprecedented deterioration of the start list in less than a month.

 

[yaco]

The big IF is S.Yates - He can just about win if he is consistent - It's a wide, open race.

 

[railxmig]

• will there be a cat. 4 in this Vuelta
• will Nibali win this Vuelta because he's non-anonymous in a prep race (if he survived the crash)
• will Nibali win this Vuelta wile randomly losing time on Montilla and Tentudia finishes
• will there be a wrestling match between Almeida, Ayuso and Soler
• will Carlos GodRiguez be the next Alberto Contador
• will Tao Hart find his form after Hindley did his in the Giro
• will there be the legendary "two-lane" roads of south Alava that are barely car-wide
• will there be any speedbump or roundabout crashes

 

[Bolder]

Hindley to win 2 GTs in a season.

 

[Blanco]

If Roglic rides, Roglic wins.
If not, Simon Yates wins.
Bala will get a stage, and a top 10.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Interesting what is and isn't there.

Rear wheel:
Vincenzo Nibali, 2010
Fabio Aru, 2015
Alberto Contador, 2012
Juan José Cobo, 2011 - disqualified, so strange to see it here

Front wheel:
Chris Froome, 2017
Chris Froome, 2011 - both 2011 jerseys? Seems odd to acknowledge both
Simon Yates, 2018
Primož Roglič, one of 2019-21, can't quite tell

Top tube:
Roberto Heras, 2004
Roberto Heras, 2000

Seat tube:
Alejandro Valverde, 2009
Roberto Heras, 2005 - now the official winner again

Stays:
Tony Rominger, either 1992 or 1993, can't quite tell
Laurent Jalabert, 1995 (could be Melcior Mauri 1991 or Alex Zülle 1996-7, but looks like Jalabert's)

Down tube: Denis Menchov, 2007

Pedals: Aitor González, 2002

Forks: Jan Ullrich, 1999

Handlebars: Alberto Contador, 2008

Seat: Roberto Heras, 2003

Surface:
Tony Rominger, 1995, Abraham Olano 1998, Álvaro Pino 1986, Alberto Contador 2014

Missing in timeframe:
Luís Alberto Herrera 1987
Sean Kelly 1988
Pedro Delgado 1989
Marco Giovannetti 1990
(possibly) Melcior Mauri 1991, Laurent Jalabert 1995, Alex Zülle 1996-7 (I believe the ONCE jersey there is Jalabert's)
Ángel Casero 2001
*Denis Menchov 2005 (Froome and Cobo are both there...)
Aleksandr Vinokourov 2006 (the gold Astana kit could also be his, but it has a sponsor that references 2008 on it so I assume it's Contador's)
Chris Horner 2013
Nairo Quintana 2016

The latter two could be there though, there is a red jersey which is obscured in the bottom left where you can just see the edge of the sponsor square, it's very dark in colour but I can't tell if it's the black of Radioshack (which I think more likely) or the navy blue of Movistar.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Remco the favourite??

Yes, hes my favorite to win the race. I don't think thats controversial at all.

EDIT: LS, some impressive stuff there. Speaking of older edtions, the past couple of days I have revived some of the 00's Vuelta, Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin have made these big highlight packages on basically every race it seems. Just to get in the groove, and because Im pretty bored. Anyways, what a fantastic race that 2006-edition was. The race basically revolved around a strong rider (but not quite the the strongest) got the jersey relatively early on with quite some margin, and then was proceeded to be hunted down throughout the entire race by the stronger rider along with teammate Kascheckin. Valverde basically had the race won if not for Vinokourov getting a few seconds on the downhill to Granada, and extending that lead quite rapidly on the downhill/flats. A classic Valverde implosion.

Also watched the 2003-edition, which was quite similar to 2006 in the sense that Nozal got the jersey early on with a big gap to his biggest competitor, and Heras continually made small gains here and there on Nozal until the big implosion on the last mountain time trial. 2004, again, quite similar, Heras got a good lead early on the radioactive Santi Perez (everybody thought Valverde would be the biggest rival, and Valverde also looked to be just that going into the last week), and Santi ALMOST clawed all of the time back with some absolutely ridiculous performances in the mountains against the mythical climber Heras. Safe to say Santi Perez was never close to replicate those performances...

Great times!

 

[tobydawq]

Yes, hes my favorite to win the race. I don't think thats controversial at all.

Well, I think he has had a few issues on climbs a little too many times (I know somebody will now come and explain to me exactly the reason why he was dropped every time in his life and why those instances then shouldn't be considered) for me to readily label him as the top favourite.

But I might end up doing it anyway even if I have that reservation.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Well, I think he has had a few issues on climbs a little too many times (I know somebody will now come and explain to me exactly the reason why he was dropped every time in his life and why those instances then shouldn't be considered) for me to readily label him as the top favourite.

But I might end up doing it anyway even if I have that reservation.

Yeah, but I have just about as many reservations with just about anyone lining up honestly. Riders like Hindley and Yates can explode on any given day, and a rider like Landa doesn't have the top end level anymore. Then you have the more consistent riders Carapaz and Mas, but neither have been that impressive either, and have some question marks as well. Roglic? Even if he lines up, he won't be on full.

 

[Andre]

Who will televise La Vuelta? USA network? Peacock?

 

[Gratemans]

Yeah, but I have just about as many reservations with just about anyone lining up honestly. Riders like Hindley and Yates can explode on any given day, and a rider like Landa doesn't have the top end level anymore. Then you have the more consistent riders Carapaz and Mas, but neither have been that impressive either, and have some question marks as well. Roglic? Even if he lines up, he won't be on full.

Agreed with both of you. There are plenty of reasons why Evenepoel wouldn't win this. There's also plenty of reasons why the other GC contenders that are participating wouldn't.

 

[thomaswavrin]

Interesting what is and isn't there.

Rear wheel:
Vincenzo Nibali, 2010
Fabio Aru, 2015
Alberto Contador, 2012
Juan José Cobo, 2011 - disqualified, so strange to see it here

Front wheel:
Chris Froome, 2017
Chris Froome, 2011 - both 2011 jerseys? Seems odd to acknowledge both
Simon Yates, 2018
Primož Roglič, one of 2019-21, can't quite tell

Top tube:
Roberto Heras, 2004
Roberto Heras, 2000

Seat tube:
Alejandro Valverde, 2009
Roberto Heras, 2005 - now the official winner again

Stays:
Tony Rominger, either 1992 or 1993, can't quite tell
Laurent Jalabert, 1995 (could be Melcior Mauri 1991 or Alex Zülle 1996-7, but looks like Jalabert's)

Down tube: Denis Menchov, 2007

Pedals: Aitor González, 2002

Forks: Jan Ullrich, 1999

Handlebars: Alberto Contador, 2008

Seat: Roberto Heras, 2003

Surface:
Tony Rominger, 1995, Abraham Olano 1998, Álvaro Pino 1986, Alberto Contador 2014

Missing in timeframe:
Luís Alberto Herrera 1987
Sean Kelly 1988
Pedro Delgado 1989
Marco Giovannetti 1990
(possibly) Melcior Mauri 1991, Laurent Jalabert 1995, Alex Zülle 1996-7 (I believe the ONCE jersey there is Jalabert's)
Ángel Casero 2001
*Denis Menchov 2005 (Froome and Cobo are both there...)
Aleksandr Vinokourov 2006 (the gold Astana kit could also be his, but it has a sponsor that references 2008 on it so I assume it's Contador's)
Chris Horner 2013
Nairo Quintana 2016

The latter two could be there though, there is a red jersey which is obscured in the bottom left where you can just see the edge of the sponsor square, it's very dark in colour but I can't tell if it's the black of Radioshack (which I think more likely) or the navy blue of Movistar.

The handlebar is Vino's. You can just make out the BH logo. Water bottle is Rominger '93.
Thanks for doing most of the work.

 

[spalco]

For future reference: betting odds (without Roglic) currently have Remco at about 3:1, Carapaz at 5:1 (a few days ago they were even), Hindley at 7 (ridiculous imo). Yates at 9, Mas 12 Almeida 14, Rodriguez 14, Haig, Higuita and MAL at 20.

I want Remco to win, but I wouldn't be surprised at all about any of the others in that list having a surprisingly strong performance, Rodriguez and Higuita especially, and Carapaz of course should be difficult to beat.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

For future reference: betting odds (without Roglic) currently have Remco at about 3:1, Carapaz at 5:1 (a few days ago they were even), Hindley at 7 (ridiculous imo). Yates at 9, Mas 12 Almeida 14, Rodriguez 14, Haig, Higuita and MAL at 20.

I want Remco to win, but I wouldn't be surprised at all about any of the others in that list having a surprisingly strong performance, Rodriguez and Higuita especially, and Carapaz of course should be difficult to beat.

That seems fair for Evenepoel. That's roughly 25% that he wins, with the other 75% that he finishes outside the top 7.

Well, I think he has had a few issues on climbs a little too many times (I know somebody will now come and explain to me exactly the reason why he was dropped every time in his life and why those instances then shouldn't be considered) for me to readily label him as the top favourite.

But I might end up doing it anyway even if I have that reservation.

Assuming someone comes along to rightfully point out the context regarding those instances, disregarding them as proof of him being incapable does not mean they therefor become proof of the opposite.

But he has also blown away the opposition on climbs a little too many times to dismiss.

 

[Lequack]

Interesting what is and isn't there.

Rear wheel:
Vincenzo Nibali, 2010
Fabio Aru, 2015
Alberto Contador, 2012
Juan José Cobo, 2011 - disqualified, so strange to see it here

Front wheel:
Chris Froome, 2017
Chris Froome, 2011 - both 2011 jerseys? Seems odd to acknowledge both
Simon Yates, 2018
Primož Roglič, one of 2019-21, can't quite tell

Top tube:
Roberto Heras, 2004
Roberto Heras, 2000

Seat tube:
Alejandro Valverde, 2009
Roberto Heras, 2005 - now the official winner again

Stays:
Tony Rominger, either 1992 or 1993, can't quite tell
Laurent Jalabert, 1995 (could be Melcior Mauri 1991 or Alex Zülle 1996-7, but looks like Jalabert's)

Down tube: Denis Menchov, 2007

Pedals: Aitor González, 2002

Forks: Jan Ullrich, 1999

Handlebars: Alberto Contador, 2008

Seat: Roberto Heras, 2003

Surface:
Tony Rominger, 1995, Abraham Olano 1998, Álvaro Pino 1986, Alberto Contador 2014

Missing in timeframe:
Luís Alberto Herrera 1987
Sean Kelly 1988
Pedro Delgado 1989
Marco Giovannetti 1990
(possibly) Melcior Mauri 1991, Laurent Jalabert 1995, Alex Zülle 1996-7 (I believe the ONCE jersey there is Jalabert's)
Ángel Casero 2001
*Denis Menchov 2005 (Froome and Cobo are both there...)
Aleksandr Vinokourov 2006 (the gold Astana kit could also be his, but it has a sponsor that references 2008 on it so I assume it's Contador's)
Chris Horner 2013
Nairo Quintana 2016

The latter two could be there though, there is a red jersey which is obscured in the bottom left where you can just see the edge of the sponsor square, it's very dark in colour but I can't tell if it's the black of Radioshack (which I think more likely) or the navy blue of Movistar.

Wonderful analysis!

 

[Rollthedice]

Wait a minute. No words about Quintana?