Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2023, stage 1: Barcelona - Barcelona (14.8k / TTT)

[Devil's Elbow]

No vote for the winner of the opener, no?

I haven't been on this forum for as long as some, but I can't remember ever seeing polls in GT stage threads. I can start adding them if enough people are interested, though.

 

[Netserk]

Please don't. Dedicated poll threads are great, but super annoying to have them in race threads.

 

[Rob5091]

Gerben Thijssen already out with covid. Please spare us of this the coming 3 weeks. Sprinters field becoming even more pathetic now.

Yep,something we hoped that would not return from the Giro - replacement är Simone Petilli who should be doing the Deutschland Tour and was at the Giro.

https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling/gerben-thijssen-out-of-vuelta-a-espana-after-positive-covid-test

Edit - add - Olivera withdrew from UAE with "illness", hope it was not Covid.

 

[Lequack]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1695324873231327720

View: https://twitter.com/JumboVismaRoad/status/1695324873231327720?s=20

 

[Berniece]

Please don't. Dedicated poll threads are great, but super annoying to have them in race threads.

What's so annoying about it? Honest question, because I remember that I also proposed this during the Giro, and you were also very much against it, but I never understood why. Does it take in too much space in the beginning when you open the thread?

 

[Wyndbrook]

Obviously not a popular opinion I see, but I love a TTT.

 

[Red Rick]

What's so annoying about it? Honest question, because I remember that I also proposed this during the Giro, and you were also very much against it, but I never understood why. Does it take in too much space in the beginning when you open the thread?

In my opinion a poll doesn't really add anything interesting, but it can devolve into posts about "why is x rider in the poll and why is y rider not in the poll". Plus they're extra work to add so more work on the guys that put in the effort to make threads.

 

[Gratemans]

Obviously not a popular opinion I see, but I love a TTT.

I don't even really love a ttt but I can enjoy them every once in a while.
It's just that an evening ttt is so quintessentially Vuelta to me. It's a tradition.

 

[yaco]

I love TTT's, however they should not be on such a technical course - The course chosen for the L'Avenir was perfect.

 

[KZD]

I also think that the course is too technical for a TTT.

I think its between Jumbo and Ineos. Having a rider like Ganna will help Ineos a lot but Jumbo has the best group of riders so I think they will beat them by a few seconds.

Quick-Step, Movistar, UAE and Bora to lose around 20 seconds.

 

[Nick2413]

I’m seeing a decent chance of light rain on and off starting at 7pm when the first teams go off

 

[CyclistAbi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1695324873231327720

View: https://twitter.com/JumboVismaRoad/status/1695324873231327720?s=20

Beautiful.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Looks like the rain will come in at 7pm at the latest now, that combined with this being done in the evening means we will have either a complete mess or a neutralised waste of time.

 

[Red Rick]

Looks like the rain will come in at 7pm at the latest now, that combined with this being done in the evening means we will have either a complete mess or a neutralised waste of time.

Please go for option A

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Please go for option A

Even a full cancellation would be better than a neutralisation, IMO. We all know that Jumbo or Ineos would win normally, we also know that neither will try in a wet, neutralised TTT, so it would make the stage win lose all meaning anyway.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Of course, the most farcical option of all would be to decide to neutralise this when the first teams are already on the road. And I wouldn't rule that out entirely.

 

[Red Rick]

Even a full cancellation would be better than a neutralisation, IMO. We all know that Jumbo or Ineos would win normally, we also know that neither will try in a wet, neutralised TTT, so it would make the stage win lose all meaning anyway.

Why would the stage loose meaning if certain teams don't wanna take the risks?

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Why would the stage loose meaning if certain teams don't wanna take the risks?

Because it means the winner wins thanks to the neutralisation first, and their own quality second.

 

[houtdffan]

why neutralize it? Riding in the rain is a part of cycling

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Neutralizing any sort of TT would be very weird.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Neutralizing any sort of TT would be very weird.

Not because of rain, but they did just that in the 2015 Vuelta TTT. Between that and neutralising the Champs-Élysées for two drops of rain at the Tour last month, the precedent is unfortunately there.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1695470455820312617

 

[tobydawq]

why neutralize it? Riding in the rain is a part of cycling

Yeah, I don't get that concern either.

 

[tobydawq]

Not because of rain, but they did just that in the 2015 Vuelta TTT. Between that and neutralising the Champs-Élysées for two drops of rain at the Tour last month, the precedent is unfortunately there.

No it isn't. The Champs-Élysées neutralisation is only because it's the last stage of the Tour and there is an understanding that the race is decided by then.

The 2015 TTT was a bizarre parcours including riding on the beach (almost). This is just asphalt.

 

[Riek s]

Not sure if neutralizing is the best word, but more so that some teams wont take any risk at all. (more to loose than to gain)