Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2022, stage 15: Martos - Sierra Nevada. Alto Hoya de la Mora. Monachil, 152.6k

[Tim Cahill]

Wise, diplomatic words from the DSM DS, a very measured approach, thanking the sponsors, the process, and toasting good health to the new reich.

 

[Red Rick]

Perhaps, but if you can take 15 seconds in the final kilometre you could have attacked at least a bit earlier.

He attacked after like 18km of suckwheeling a lot of which was modest gradients where you can easily save 20-30W.

If he felt good I don't think there's a chance he wouldn't have responded to Mas or MAL

 

[houtdffan]

Remco did most of the climb on the front.

Bad strategy for Rog. Went all in on the steep stuff, failed, then could only gain a few seconds at the line.

Rog needs to keep an eye on Mas, if Mas ever decides to be a man and not suck wheel the whole climb

 

[Jagartrott]

Ok, that's alright, not too bad for remco.

I'm baffled by roglic, if he still had that in him, why wait so long and not crush remco completely?

He sat in the wheels for >10 km before his attack, while Evenepoel was in front most of those km. He wasn't better than Evenepoel.

 

[BR2]

Did Soler help his teammates? I didn't see it anyway

It's amazing how everybody at UAE rides for himself.

 

[hfer07]

What a great stage - It was every man on his own
Congrats to Arensman
Great job by Lopez, a bit late, but it was good. Mas sucked wheel as always
Primoz did OK with that last Km sprint and the 15 secs gain, but Remco did really great keeping his loses in check, considering the length of the mountain.

great setup for the last week.

 

[Izzyeviel]

I've seen enough. I'm calling the Vuelta for Remco

 

[Ilmaestro99]

It's amazing how everybody at UAE rides for himself.

They are missing Bettiol dearly in this race

 

[perico]

What a great stage - It was every man on his own
Congrats to Arensman
Great job by Lopez, a bit late, but it was good. Mas sucked wheel as always
Primoz did OK with that last Km sprint and the 15 secs gain, but Remco did really great keeping his loses in check, considering the length of the mountain.

great setup for the last week.

No he didn't. Mas was on the front as much as Lopez after de la cruz was dropped.

 

[Oldermanish]

He sat in the wheels for >10 km before his attack, while Evenepoel was in front most of those km. He wasn't better than Evenepoel.

You have to be kidding. This is stage 15...a few more before more mountains and Evenepoel's team is weakening further. Roglic did what he should do: use Movistar to attack DQS as deep as necessary. He gained time on Remco which is also what he should do. To suggest he's somehow less by only gaining 15 seconds misses the point of a GT strategy when the field is tiring in the last week.

 

[Valv.Piti]

CN is so predictable. Lopez was riding like a dumbass, but Mas gets criticized for wheel sucking despite him working just as much - only difference being that Lopez decided to attack a few times with Mas on the front

 

[SHAD0W93]

I wonder will Ayuso and Pogacar get on if they're in the same GT. Could be the best 1-2 punch ever or could be Contador/Lance cold war 2.0

Dont forget Almeida yo-yoing everyone off their wheel only to finish with them.

 

[benzwire]

I don't think Roglic had much more than Remco today, but he should have tried earlier. I think Remco would have lost a lot more if he was gapped farther out on the climb. Overall Remco handled this well and I think he'll regain some confidence from the loss yesterday. I'm interested to see if he has the stamina in the 3rd week of this Vuelta. It's an unknown for him. It will be fun to watch. Not sure if Roglic can do this. As far as Mas, imo he is just boring and does not have a winner's attitude. Seems just happy to be near the top and afraid to try to improve at the risk of losing his spot. My God I miss Contador. Win or nothing...

 

[Devil's Elbow]

He attacked after like 18km of suckwheeling a lot of which was modest gradients where you can easily save 20-30W.

If he felt good I don't think there's a chance he wouldn't have responded to Mas or MAL

True, but if you really want to win the Vuelta you can still launch that final attack at 3-2k to go. Even if there's a risk it backfires. The safe 15 seconds won't cut it.

 

[movingtarget]

Roglic finishes like a truck anyway but he looked quite fresh and had more in the tank. Really bizarre why he didn't go sooner. Maybe he thought Remco would just blow himself up. Could have had the GC gap below a minute if he just threw caution to the wind. Really lacks that killer bite like Pog

Don't think Roglic trusts his legs to attack from distance at the moment and his signature is late attacks anyway or winning in a group sprint.. The TT is where he usually makes good time on many of his rivals and winning bonuses.

 

[perico]

Remco seems like a pretty good kid. He comes across well in his interviews.

 

[Sciatic]

He had a handful of helpers going into the final climb. But they chose to burn them within seconds...

None of them would have been around on the upper portion of the climb when Roglic could put more pressure on

 

[perico]

CN is so predictable. Lopez was riding like a dumbass, but Mas gets criticized for wheel sucking despite him working just as much - only difference being that Lopez decided to attack a few times with Mas on the front

Bitter Nairo/Superman fans.

 

[noob]

It's amazing how everybody at UAE rides for himself.

To my eyes it looked like JAJA actually did work together taking turns. But also they were told to ride for themselves, if I understood Almeida pre race interview today.

I am very very very interested in what goes on in their team cars though! There must be an inhouse conflict of sorts going on. Or it's just team classification benefits from everyone riding for themselves. But they appear very chaotic to me

 

[SHAD0W93]

You have to be kidding. This is stage 15...a few more before more mountains and Evenepoel's team is weakening further. Roglic did what he should do: use Movistar to attack DQS as deep as necessary. He gained time on Remco which is also what he should do. To suggest he's somehow less by only gaining 15 seconds misses the point of a GT strategy when the field is tiring in the last week.

Absolutely smarter but overall potentially not stronger but the strongest doesn’t always win.

 

[JosefK]

Great defense by Remco riding on his limit. Very good performance by Rog, who clearly wasn't top notch but somehow managed to take 15 seconds on Remco instead of losing time to him. Great job by Superman and Mas, taking a risk and having it pay off a bit. Everyone suffered. Chapeau to Arensman. Great stage win.

 

[Cagalitroso]

Mas is and always be a segundon

that does not justify any bullying to his face but after his retirement his career will be seen the same way he chooses to ride; pusillanimous and grey

 

[Krzysztof_O]

What a brutal finish! 2500 meters of climbing over the last 50 km. Even those shallower sections were difficult given cumulative fatigue and everyone fighting for himself. Arensman - superb performance! Remco passed a difficult test today, he was really strong. JV and Primoz couldn't break him on the steepest section and Primoz only managed to follow his wheel on a more aerodynamic section and thanks to the energy saved he was able to snatch seconds at the end. Lopez and Mas' attack was the moment where the Slovenian should've gone for it but apparently he couldn't do more today. The race is not over but Remco's situation (despite losing some time) is more comfortable than 24 hours ago, given that he has just overcome the biggest obstacle of the race.

 

[Red Rick]

Remco did most of the climb on the front.

Bad strategy for Rog. Went all in on the steep stuff, failed, then could only gain a few seconds at the line.

Rog needs to keep an eye on Mas, if Mas ever decides to be a man and not suck wheel the whole climb

Arensman was the fastest rider in the final 14km or something like that. Roglic would never have maintained his gap.

Ideal scenario would've been to drop Evenepoel on Hazallanas and then have teammates waiting. But both Roglic and his domestiques were too bad for either.

 

[Lexman]

If Roglic was real good he should have gone with Mas...