Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2024, stage 5: Fuente del Maestre - Sevilla, 177.0k

[Devil's Elbow]

In which the Vuelta attempts to set the record for earliest final full bunch sprint in a GT.

No KOM points, for the first and only time on a road stage this year. The below is the closest thing to a relevant climb the stage has to offer, it is the climb at just over 120k into the stage.

The final real turn comes at 3.6k to go, although the final 500 metres curve left a little. So expect an even weirder sprint than the two we’ve already had.

 

[Red Rick]

You mean earliest final sprint stage?

 

[Valv.Piti]

Around 40 degrees in Sevilla and the last sprinter stage in the race. Cordoba prolly a quite reduced sprint, but yeah, not much more to offer than this. Absolute suicidal misson to go in the break tomorrow, but Equipo Kern and Euskaltel will be there because if they are not, they are not invited next year.

Still dont really know why Caja Rural arent riding instead of Euskaltel tbh. The Vuelta could really use one more wild card team tbh, I dont really care about Burgos, no flame Taxus.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

You mean earliest final sprint stage?

In a normal sprint field, stage 17 could have been considered a sprint stage. Not with just 2 sprint teams, though.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Around 40 degrees in Sevilla and the last sprinter stage in the race. Cordoba prolly a quite reduced sprint, but yeah, not much more to offer than this. Absolute suicidal misson to go in the break tomorrow, but Equipo Kern and Euskaltel will be there because if they are not, they are not invited next year.

Still dont really know why Caja Rural arent riding instead of Euskaltel tbh. The Vuelta could really use one more wild card team tbh, I dont really care about Burgos, no flame Taxus.

The Vuelta doesn't need another wildcard:
A) the Spanish PCTs are the weakest of the home GT wildcard teams anyway
B) the last time Unipublic had three WCs to hand out (2022), they booted Caja even though they were (like every year) the highest ranked of the four, and Burgos, Euskaltel and Kern Pharma proceeded to have the worst collective performance I've ever seen from the home wildcard teams in any GT. So another wildcard still wouldn't mean Unipublic invite the teams they should be inviting.

What is needed is meritocracy. The two Spanish PCT riders you want at the Vuelta are Cepeda and Aular and neither of them are here. That is not because of a lack of wildcards, but because Unipublic are buffoons in this regard. Euskaltel falling short of top-40 in the UCI ranking, thereby rendering them ineligible for GT invites next year, would at least help. Even better would be Burgos and Kern Pharma being ineligible too, so that an actually-interesting team like Uno-X or Tudor could get a second GT invite for the year, but that won't happen until the criterion drops to top-30.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Well, thats kinda your opinion. Im a big fan of the Spanish cycling scene and its a big blow for these PCT teams to not be invited regardless of them not doing too hot usually. After all its by far the biggest race, but I agree with you that Guillén and co. are fools for not bringing Caja. But Euskaltel still needs to be in this race!

 

[tobydawq]

Well, thats kinda your opinion. Im a big fan of the Spanish cycling scene and its a big blow for these PCT teams to not be invited regardless of them not doing too hot usually. After all its by far the biggest race, but I agree with you that Guillén and co. are fools for not bringing Caja. But Euskaltel still needs to be in this race!

I think they're deliberately inviting them in turns so that all the teams should be expected to ride the Vuelta every other year.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I think they're deliberately inviting them in turns so that all the teams should be expected to ride the Vuelta every other year.

Which is a stupid system, because it means there's no benefit to outperforming your wildcard competition on the road beyond a paltry amount of prize money. Thereby limiting the incentive for the Spanish teams to make the most of their resources, and leading to the Vuelta usually having the worst WC teams of the three GTs.

IMO the best Spanish PCT in a given season should always get an invite for the Vuelta in the following season. If you don't want to use the UCI ranking for that, then do what the Giro used to do and make your own version of the Coppa Italia to determine the WC.

 

[zlev11]

i see no reason why there can't be 6 wildcards instead of 4 (at all GT's). the 2002 Vuelta had 206 riders at the start, two more of the Spanish teams would be fine and good for the race. maybe those additional 2 wild cards should be for local teams only to help them sustain and grow.

 

[veganrob]

II guess there's been worse stages.

 

[movingtarget]

Groves v WVA rematch............

 

[Cookster15]

Hoping for Groves but great to see WvA back to his 2020 TdF sprinting level (I think?).

 

[search]

Today is the first real fast, flat sprint, which doesn't really suit either of them, I'd think. The competition is poor, but I still wouldn't exclude a Soupe-like surprise winner.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

i see no reason why there can't be 6 wildcards instead of 4 (at all GT's). the 2002 Vuelta had 206 riders at the start, two more of the Spanish teams would be fine and good for the race. maybe those additional 2 wild cards should be for local teams only to help them sustain and grow.

The drop from teams of 9 to 8 was on the grounds of safety (176 riders rather than 198), so there would be an amount of humble pie in increasing that back to 192. And two extra sets of cars in the fleet as well, when there has been much argument about the need to reduce that number. (Counterargument: they accommodate cars for 25 teams in the classics)

 

[Lequack]

 

[Taxus4a]

Hot today , but no more than yesterday. Caceres is not the hottest part of Spain, but these days It is. Sevilla It is but IS no ot more these days, and on the Sierra of Sevilla It is little bit better...the problem is the hour of the day, and little dhadow at that hour...It is crazy. And they Will face a soft head wind, so that cant do 50 average, but the stage is easy and downhill most of them.

Yesterday a man form Canarian Island ask me here in My town in Burgos how is posible IS still aiugust and there is cold. We were yesterday at 30, but it IS true that at night is cold these days...not in Sevilla.

 

[Taxus4a]

My favourite for today is Pavel Bittner

 

[Lequack]

Nice service

https://twitter.com/x/status/1826211545363169760

View: https://x.com/Eurosport_ES/status/1826211545363169760

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Quick-Step have had to borrow a Burgos bus. Perhaps the T-Rex destroyed their own..

https://twitter.com/x/status/1826205189730177305

View: https://x.com/soudalquickstep/status/1826205189730177305

 

[Rob5091]

Lotto pulling in the peloton? Would think Alpecin & Visma would be there.

 

[tobydawq]

Lotto pulling in the peloton? Would think Alpecin & Visma would be there.

Surely that can't be true?

 

[Lequack]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1826240960642396545

View: https://x.com/BHRVictorious/status/1826240960642396545

 

[Tricycle Rider]

I predict this thread will hit 2 pages with 10km left to go.

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

Surely that can't be true?

Was mentioned on the procyclingstats live ticker. But hard to believe. And if you ask me that ticker is often not really that reliable, expect for the various stats they post.

 

[Lequack]

Fans: How exciting can you make a breakaway today?
Vuelta: One Kern and Euskadi rider coming right up.