Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2024, stage 6: Some random Carrefour - Yunquera, 185.5k

[Sciatic]

While being a huge Roglic fan, I find that "giving the jersey away" behaviour rather arrogant. I hope Bora isn't like that. Also, there's more competition than in the past and quite some GC guys are looking for stage 4 redemption, so it would be in their interest to make the race hard, eh?

Undoubtedly, you should have been in their team car!

 

[Sciatic]

Why would Bora bother with o Connor? How would he be an actual threat?

😄

 

[Sciatic]

Roglic literally has trauma from last year where the Vuelta was won because of a breakaway getting time on stage 6

There no way they let a second tier GC hope get minutes

 

[Rackham]

Yeah....no. I think we saw an initial tactic based on 5 previous days of racing in the heat. Bora wants some help and the response got progressively weaker.
KZD said it: While today was a huge performance from O'Connor, I think some are overreacting a bit regarding the GC implications of it. This is one of the hardest Vuelta routes that I remember so 5 minutes is not that big of a gap against someone like Roglič or even Almeida.

O'Connor rode the last 30km incredibly and the teams that did finally attempt to bring him back couldn't, period. Watching almost every rider cross the line was like Dead Men Walking; Bora's reserved approach backfired on everybody but not at the expense of greater exposure in the week to come.
Domestiques relaying bottles in 100 degree heat for the first week puts all protected riders at risk, too. When we get into steeper hills a solo rider that misses those precious feeds will lose minutes, not seconds. Heat/bonk happens instantly in those conditions. That should also be a note to protecting O'Connor with Gall and whomever they have.

Bora didn't once put Vlasov or Martinez to work, even to reduce the gap in the final 2km.

So there's that to consider.

I have my own theory but it's too soon to say definitively one way or another. But I'm absolutely leaning towards the belief RBH did what they did today to make sure Rog isn't the sole focus of everyone else going forward.

 

[Sciatic]

Do teams really think they can chase O'Connor on those roads putting one rouleur at the front of the peloton?

It’s the template they always use whether it makes sense for the situation or not.

 

[Tim Cahill]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1826691709612556332

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

Well, Pereiro was given only 2-3 minutes if I remember correctly. And yet that was enough.

Not quite. It was half an hour.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1826691709612556332

Should have told Lipowitz to mark O’Connor then instead of racing Cristian Rodriguez.

 

[Ricco']

Not quite. It was half an hour.

On the stage, but on GC he ended that day with only 1'29 over Landis

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

Ah, I misunderstood the post!

 

[JosefK]

I'm guessing Horner will have a new video out this evening.

 

[Salvarani]

Yeah....no. I think we saw an initial tactic based on 5 previous days of racing in the heat. Bora wants some help and the response got progressively weaker.
KZD said it: While today was a huge performance from O'Connor, I think some are overreacting a bit regarding the GC implications of it. This is one of the hardest Vuelta routes that I remember so 5 minutes is not that big of a gap against someone like Roglič or even Almeida.

O'Connor rode the last 30km incredibly and the teams that did finally attempt to bring him back couldn't, period. Watching almost every rider cross the line was like Dead Men Walking; Bora's reserved approach backfired on everybody but not at the expense of greater exposure in the week to come.
Domestiques relaying bottles in 100 degree heat for the first week puts all protected riders at risk, too. When we get into steeper hills a solo rider that misses those precious feeds will lose minutes, not seconds. Heat/bonk happens instantly in those conditions. That should also be a note to protecting O'Connor with Gall and whomever they have.

Joke must have flew over your head

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Roglic literally has trauma from last year where the Vuelta was won because of a breakaway getting time on stage 6

There no way they let a second tier GC hope get minutes

Expert analysies thanks

 

[Invicituz]

Brilliant performance by Ben O'Connor, one of the best of the season; now a real contender for the overall.

 

[tobydawq]

Well, Pereiro was given only 2-3 minutes if I remember correctly. And yet that was enough.

Giving O'Connor 5 minutes buffer is dangerous but at least will open up the race.

Pretty poor memory.

He got 29 minutes and 57 seconds.

Edit: Or maybe you meant how much he was allowed to lead GC?

 

[Sciatic]

Bora didn't once put Vlasov or Martinez to work, even to reduce the gap in the final 2km.

So there's that to consider.

I have my own theory but it's too soon to say definitively one way or another. But I'm absolutely leaning towards the belief RBH did what they did today to make sure Rog isn't the sole focus of everyone else going forward.

Interesting theory. Ockam’s razor in this case would point more toward sheer stupidity. But I would prefer your take to be the case.

 

[YavorD]

Pretty poor memory.

He got 29 minutes and 57 seconds.

Edit: Or maybe you meant how much he was allowed to lead GC?

That's precisely what I meant.

 

[ppanther92]

I literally saw the result now - what the hell is Roglic and Red Bull doing? Give the jerseay away - sure, why not. But to O'Connor who finished 4th at the Tour in the exact same way, and who only lost 1 min on the first mountain finish, and when you lost to Kuss also in the same way last year.

I have seen less risky stuff.

 

[saunaking]

It is only Bora. It is their responsibility.

Yeah, UAE and Almedia really showed them!!

 

[ppanther92]

They gave 13 minutes to Kiviliev at the 2001 Tour de France.

We're simply back in that era.

Well, problem might be that O'Connor is way closer to Roglic than Kiviliev was to Armstrong (after all he distanced Kiviliev still by 10min in the final GC).

 

[tobydawq]

That's precisely what I meant.

Yeah, sorry, I should have gathered that.

Anyway, I looked it up, and he only had a minute and 29 second lead after the famous breakaway stage. In other words, he had pissed 28 minutes away before, so the other teams might be forgiven for thinking he was under control.

This seems more dangerous to me than Pereiro.

 

[Izzyeviel]

Anyone hear anything about McNulty? Lost 32 minutes...wtf

Nothing on social media about being injured or crashing etc... there is the possibility that being American he got the red jersey & lanterne rouge mixed up.

 

[Squire]

Yeah, sorry, I should have gathered that.

Anyway, I looked it up, and he only had a minute and 29 second lead after the famous breakaway stage. In other words, he had pissed 28 minutes away before, so the other teams might be forgiven for thinking he was under control.

This seems more dangerous to me than Pereiro.

An interesting thing about the Pereiro gift was that some other GC teams (don't remember who) were riding towards the end of the stage to keep Landis in yellow so he would have to continue defending it and do all the ceremonial stuff etc. And they might also have been more worried than Phonak about the threat he would pose to the high GC positions. The gap could have been bigger if not.

 

[search]

Nothing on social media about being injured or crashing etc... there is the possibility that being American he got the red jersey & lanterne rouge mixed up.

can't see any sign of a crash on his Strava either. It's also not unusual for McNulty to have occasional (very) bad days

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

I literally saw the result now - what the hell is Roglic and Red Bull doing? Give the jerseay away - sure, why not. But to O'Connor who finished 4th at the Tour in the exact same way, and who only lost 1 min on the first mountain finish, and when you lost to Kuss also in the same way last year.

I have seen less risky stuff.

No risk, no glory.