Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2024, stage 16: Luanco - Lagos de Covadonga, 181.3k

[Rackham]

He was fined 20 UCI points for being late, he didn't seem too pleased.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1831030534010765593

View: https://x.com/LeGruppetto/status/1831030534010765593

F***

So close to a 20 second time penalty right there.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

F***

So close to a 20 second time penalty right there.

Yeah, there's pretty substantial evidence for him having been helped by the team car there.

 

[Rackham]

Yeah, there's pretty substantial evidence for him having been helped by the team car there.

Make it a five minute penalty then. That'll teach these riders not be late for the podium ceremony.

 

[topcat]

Result. Roglic gets red. Oh wait he left the mountain already too. 20 second penalty for Roglic. Back to O'Connor

All to benefit Mas. Time for a Spanish winner again.

 

[tobydawq]

So, bottom line, you agree with me he would never initiate a move like that?

I don't think I need to be making concessions on this matter when you're not genuine yourself (with his 2 minute PR comment the other day).

 

[Valv.Piti]

F***

So close to a 20 second time penalty right there.

Come on, give it a rest, will ya?

 

[KZD]

Sad to see one of the figures of this Vuelta having to quit the race.

Deserved win for Soler after all the work he did for Pogačar in the Tour.

Regarding the GC fight, after losing a minute today is almost impossible for O'Connor to win this race and Roglič has a fourth Vuelta title getting closer. Gaudu and Skjelmose perfoming at a high level once again and Carapaz is showing that he still is a force to be reckon with for Grand Tour GC's.

 

[Coffeeplanter]

I don't think I need to be making concessions on this matter when you're not genuine yourself (with his 2 minute PR comment the other day).

I'll take it as a yes.

 

[gunara]

Why did they make Covadonga such a mainstay? Genuine question. I didn't watch any of its stage before the one Piedra won, were there many good ones? Because since then...it's never much of a thrill. Feels like a lazy choice. The familiar feeling of mehness when we got into the descent before important people made important gaps....

 

[Cookster15]

Make it a five minute penalty then. That'll teach these riders not be late for the podium ceremony.

Hmm. Rogla is now just 5 seconds off red, his team is spared another day and is a
lay down misère to win this Vuelta. O’Conner was obviously rushing to get to the podium ceremony and we still want our pound of flesh?

 

[Alien Performance]

He was fined 20 UCI points for being late, he didn't seem too pleased.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1831030534010765593

View: https://x.com/LeGruppetto/status/1831030534010765593

He's such a funny man - after TDF unchained I found him as annoying as most people did but at this stage I just love how he doesn't pretend to hide how stressed and grumpy he is

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

I watched the stage on replay. When Soler dropped del Toro, I wanted to come here to make a post about what a freaking idiot he is...but I didn't because I didn't want to possibly see who won, on the home page, and spoil the rest of the stage...good thing I waited, as I have less egg on my face.

Gutted for WVA, just heartbroken. I was cautiously optimistic about Worlds. 2024 has been a nightmare for him. Here's to hoping for a speedy recovery, and a better 2025.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

He's such a funny man - after TDF unchained I found him as annoying as most people did but at this stage I just love how he doesn't pretend to hide how stressed and grumpy he is

That's a nice way of saying that he is a douchenozzle, who throws tantrums on the reg.

 

[ice&fire]

Why did they make Covadonga such a mainstay? Genuine question. I didn't watch any of its stage before the one Piedra won, were there many good ones? Because since then...it's never much of a thrill. Feels like a lazy choice. The familiar feeling of mehness when we got into the descent before important people made important gaps....

The first arrival in 1983 was awesome. Lejarreta attacked from the bottom and gained more than a minute on Hinault, who was second and highly praised the climb. Note than Hinault previous participation was in 1978 when the Vuelta was still organised by a Basque newspaper, routes didn't have many hard mountains and MTFs were a rarity. Routes started to change when Unipublic took over in 1979 and Covadonga was like a gem discovery in the search for harder climbs to the point that it feaured up to 5 years in a row.
The climb hosted good racing until the early '90s with stage wins by Lejarreta, Delgado, Millar and Herrera.
For me it lost its magic when Jalabert won for the first time in 1994. Since then it's been quite boring with the exception of 2016 (Quintana), 2018 (Pinot) and 2021 (Roglic)

 

[Ricco']

He was fined 20 UCI points for being late, he didn't seem too pleased.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1831030534010765593

View: https://x.com/LeGruppetto/status/1831030534010765593

Like Dumbledore handing out penalties to Gryffindor.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

But even if he didn't break anything, if he's hurt he will of the bike for a bit, and he needs a super form to be worth something at worlds.

So is SVTH going to call up Nys now?

Do we believe Nys is able to do some actual damage? Personally, i don't, and i also don't think he is the best suited for domestique duties. I'd rather call Van Eetvelt, assuming he can get in shape by then, and there was no serious issue why he underperformed during the Vuelta.
I'd pick from Evenepoel, Van Gils, De Plus, Van Wilder, Van Eetvelt, Van Sevenant, Wellens, Benoot, maybe Teuns or Hermans? The local circuit starts at 68km already, with 3km of climbing each lap. I don't know how much use the bigger guys like Stuyven would be.

 

[ppanther92]

He's such a funny man - after TDF unchained I found him as annoying as most people did but at this stage I just love how he doesn't pretend to hide how stressed and grumpy he is

It makes him totally unsuited to defend a leader jersey though.

 

[perico]

He's such a funny man - after TDF unchained I found him as annoying as most people did but at this stage I just love how he doesn't pretend to hide how stressed and grumpy he is

I tend to agree. I find him oddly endearing and compelling.

In some ways he’s a more charismatic, but less talented, Cadel Evans. Remember in 2008 when his dog was relieving itself?

 

[staubsauger]

The first arrival in 1983 was awesome. Lejarreta attacked from the bottom and gained more than a minute on Hinault, who was second and highly praised the climb. Note than Hinault previous participation was in 1978 when the Vuelta was still organised by a Basque newspaper, routes didn't have many hard mountains and MTFs were a rarity. Routes started to change when Unipublic took over in 1979 and Covadonga was like a gem discovery in the search for harder climbs to the point that it feaured up to 5 years in a row.
The climb hosted good racing until the early '90s with stage wins by Lejarreta, Delgado, Millar and Herrera.
For me it lost its magic when Jalabert won for the first time in 1994. Since then it's been quite boring with the exception of 2016 (Quintana), 2018 (Pinot) and 2021 (Roglic)

They also simply didn't have anything better did they?
Sierra Nevada has always been pretty bad.
Angliru only got introduced in 1999.
The Pyrenees stages at the Vuelta a Espana have either been underwhelming or took place in Andorra.

That made Lagos de Covadonga THE Vuelta a Espana mountain stage prior to Angliru. Because initially, like you pointed out. Racing there was actually quite entertaining.

 

[ice&fire]

They also simply didn't have anything better did they?
Sierra Nevada has always been pretty bad.
Angliru only got introduced in 1999.
The Pyrenees stages at the Vuelta a Espana have either been underwhelming or took place in Andorra.

That made Lagos de Covadonga THE Vuelta a Espana mountain stage prior to Angliru. Because initially, like you pointed out. Racing there was actually quite entertaining.

Covadonga was by far the best they had then. But that was a time when their shorter gear was 42x23 and a climb like Pajares shred the peloton to the point that sprinters couldn't catch up even if the finish was 60km away from the summit at León.
Hinault was kicked in the Pyrenees in 1983, losing 1min at la Bonaigua and 2min in a MTT at Panticosa, near Formigal, so they weren't that bad. But wider gear range, better training and shorter stages have rendered many of those climbs irrelevant.
There was a climb to a small ski station at Rasos de Peguera (18km @7.15%) that was used twice in the '80s, but it didn't stick. It's now part of a protected area and apparently they're not willing to take a bike race there. The climb was only used since then by the now defunct Setmana Catalana, but never by the Volta a Catalunya, although they got close this year on the penultimate stage at the Santuari de Queralt, which are the first 5km of the 18km long climb.

 

[staubsauger]

Covadonga was by far the best they had then. But that was a time when their shorter gear was 42x23 and a climb like Pajares shred the peloton to the point that sprinters couldn't catch up even if the finish was 60km away from the summit at León.
Hinault was kicked in the Pyrenees in 1983, losing 1min at la Bonaigua and 2min in a MTT at Panticosa, near Formigal, so they weren't that bad. But wider gear range, better training and shorter stages have rendered many of those climbs irrelevant.
There was a climb to a small ski station at Rasos de Peguera (18km @7.15%) that was used twice in the '80s, but it didn't stick. It's now part of a protected area and apparently they're not willing to take a bike race there. The climb was only used since then by the now defunct Setmana Catalana, but never by the Volta a Catalunya, although they got close this year on the penultimate stage at the Santuari de Queralt, which are the first 5km of the 18km long climb.

Peguera is the Pyrenees climb Eric Caritoux won atop isn't it?

 

[ice&fire]

Peguera is the Pyrenees climb Eric Caritoux won atop isn't it?

Yes, that was it.