Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2023, stage 14: Sauveterre-de-Béarn - Larra-Belagua, 156.2k

[Rackham]

Roglič needs to conveniently have a bad day & fall off the podium.

Then Jumbo's DS's will give him freedom to go for a long ranger next week where he'll "accidentally" put 5 minutes into everyone (maybe on Evenepoel's wheel when Remco goes on a revenge mission solo ride).

Cycling is easy.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

As funny as it sounds I actually think that Vingo may pay for today. He went deep and was fading at the end of Tourmalet. To me Kuss and Rogla are top2 favorites (well, Sepp #1 now). Can anybody make JV's life difficult or will they win the race easily? Ayuso and Mas are strong but likely not enough and are too much behind.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Can anybody make JV's life difficult or will they win the race easily? Ayuso and Mas are strong but likely not enough and are too much behind.

Neither of them have a super strong team either. Ayoso have lost Vine, have a sprinter in his team and I can't really see Soler and Almeida completely sacrifice themself in a raid either. Mas have lost Guerreiro and basically have 5 roleurs and Rubio with him.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Actually, Evenepoel is pretty much up there in KOM, he should really try to win that one.

 

[Nick2413]

I don’t think the race is settled yet, plenty of room for anyone to crack.

 

[dobrien]

I don’t think the race is settled yet, plenty of room for anyone to crack.

I think it's settled for a Jumbo winner; all three of those guys aren't going to crack. Other than that, we agree!

 

[search]

Actually, Evenepoel is pretty much up there in KOM, he should really try to win that one.

he should, yeah, but he also has a "won every GT he finished" record to defend...

 

[Tim Cahill]

A sad state of affairs when we've altered our hopes from 'Evenepoel and UAE look alright and the race is wide open' to 'who knows maybe one of Jumbo will crack and they won't occupy all 3 podium spots!' within the space of a day.

 

[JosefK]

A sad state of affairs when we've altered our hopes from 'Evenepoel and UAE look alright and the race is wide open' to 'who knows maybe one of Jumbo will crack and they won't occupy all 3 podium spots!' within the space of a day.

Or, if one is a Jumbo fan, a glorious state of affairs. But yes, I agree the GC battle has lost a lot of luster. Ayuso might yet surprise? ... maybe a little?

 

[CyclistAbi]

Well, stages so far delivered. No real reason for that to not happen again.

 

[Red Rick]

Surely Mas and Ayuso have to just launch on Larrau and just see what the damage is.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Ayuso likely emptied himself on stage 13. So it would be rather naive to believe he can crack JV on this stage. Likely best to try again in week 3, when Almeida will be healthy. For Mas i don't know. He is rather experienced GT rider. Like Rogla he might have left something in the tank. Some team might try something on the descents. Not missing that could make sense. We'll see.

 

[Nick2413]

I think it's settled for a Jumbo winner; all three of those guys aren't going to crack. Other than that, we agree!

Probably but I still think Ayuso has more to show, he’s less than a minute down on Roglic and Vingegaard, and has had a slew of bad circumstances including illness and back pain but has never had a proper bad day. He could have a Pogacar ‘20 moment but just staying hopeful for something other than Jumbo dominance.

 

[hfer07]

Another JVT 1, 2, 3 but in different order

 

[Berniece]

Surely Mas and Ayuso have to just launch on Larrau and just see what the damage is.

They are just riding for top 5 now

 

[YavorD]

They are just riding for top 5 now

I don't think so. For both of them top 5 isn't anything worthy IMO and their only "proper" opponent is Landa (I don't see Soler holding on), who is more than a minute behind.

 

[Berniece]

I don't think so. For both of them top 5 isn't anything worthy IMO and their only "proper" opponent is Landa (I don't see Soler holding on), who is more than a minute behind.

You would be surprised. Most people don’t dare to go all in if the worst case scenario is dropping out of the top 10

 

[saunaking]

Surely Mas and Ayuso have to just launch on Larrau and just see what the damage is.

nah, these guys know the score. Just try and get a stage win in the last km or so
everything else is suicide

 

[Potomac]

So have all the other teams completely given up on the GC win? Will any team make an attempt at overthrowing JV?
Or will other teams focus strictly on stage wins now?

 

[Netserk]

Actually, Evenepoel is pretty much up there in KOM, he should really try to win that one.

I hope Jumbo doesn't allow him in breaks. Better in the long term to break his spirit.

 

[RedheadDane]

I hope Jumbo doesn't allow him in breaks. Better in the long term to break his spirit.

That's mean!

 

[Valv.Piti]

I hope Jumbo doesn't allow him in breaks. Better in the long term to break his spirit.

That would be cruel, and I don't really think any teams think like that, apart from peak US Postal

 

[Miha81]

Depends on TJV orders. Vuelta 2023 is dead for me. Worse than Giro 2023 and am contemplating if it is better to enjoy sunny day and just watch 3min highlights from this point on.

 

[RedheadDane]

That would be cruel, and I don't really think any teams think like that, apart from peak US Postal

Come to think about it; culdn't it also send the signal that "We still consider you a threat. We still take you seriously."?
Whereas just letting him go in the breaks would basically be saying; "Meh... you're not important."

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

That would be cruel, and I don't really think any teams think like that, apart from peak US Postal

Have you forgot about Van Hooydonk on Pogacars wheel at Champs?