Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2025, Stage 9: Alfaró – Estación de Esquí de Valdezcaray (195.5k)

[T-Nielsen]

Ayuso just saving energy so he can help more in week 3.

Ayuso just saving energy so he can help himself more in week 3.

 

[noob]

Maybe you are too young but LA was the most popular rider 20 years ago...

Spoiler: Is this where I write something to hide a spailer?

I always assumed you were young too. I'm baffled by ages on this forum constantly

 

[Samu Cuenca]

It's pretty funny if we really only got the first proper GC action just because Vingegaard didn't pay attention to how long was left of the stage.

On a different day he might have called it off when he saw Ciccone in his wheel, Visma wouldn't have had to tow Træen to the line to avoid getting the red jersey, Ayuso wouldn't have been any less popular than he already was, and Soler would have won the stage with a late attack.

 

[Netserk]

Spoiler: Is this where I write something to hide a spailer?

I always assumed you were young too. I'm baffled by ages on this forum constantly

What do you think the number in his username refers to?

 

[Oldman]

Maybe you are too young but LA was the most popular rider 20 years ago...

Until he wasn't. The damage to US cycling in general is catastrophic, still.

 

[noob]

What do you think the number in his username refers to?

His age. As @Ilmaestro99 🤣 But I realised they might also be cyclist names I haven't heard of.

 

[E_F_]

His age. As @Ilmaestro99 🤣 But I realised they might also be cyclist names I haven't heard of.

Do you think @Ilmaestro99 is 99 years old!?

 

[RedheadDane]

Do you think @Ilmaestro99 is 99 years old!?

Birth year probably more accurate.
After all @Ilmaestro99 joined in 2021, with that name.
If he was 99  then just think of how old he must be  now!

 

[tobydawq]

Birth year probably more accurate.
After all @Ilmaestro99 joined in 2021, with that name.
If he was 99  then just think of how old he must be  now!

103

 

[Samu Cuenca]

His age. As @Ilmaestro99 🤣 But I realised they might also be cyclist names I haven't heard of.

Who knows with Ilmaestro? He may just have spelled his own name/birth year wrong.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

If you sit behind another rider, the drag resistence is reduced, and thus you have to push less power to propel you at the same velocity. It thus requires less effort to maintain a certain pace if you are not riding in front.

Sure, there is some logic, but then the fact that we've had a great many riders say that kind of thing after stages, who are supposedly always "on the rivet" and unable to do a turn or make an attack, yet always have the level to respond to other peoples' moves, means I tend to greet such comments with cynicism.

 

[HashRouge]

Well that was an entertaining end to the stage. I agree with whoever said that it was bad for the race overall, although realistically I don't think there was ever any chance Almeida would be stronger than Vingegaard here.

I am finding the UAE/ Ayuso drama far more entertaining than I should do. There is absolutely no way that Ayuso needed to drop when he did today. Even if he's not in top shape, there is no way a rider of his calibre can't stay with basically the whole peloton as soon as the road starts to go slightly uphill. It's a clear indication that he doesn't care about helping Almeida in GC, and puts his own desire to win stages way ahead of anything else.

I do feel a bit sorry for Almeida, but this is the problem with the way UAE has stacked their team with top talent. They won't all be happy to ride as domestiques, all of the time.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Spoiler: Is this where I write something to hide a spailer?

I always assumed you were young too. I'm baffled by ages on this forum constantly

94 is a special number for me. First win of Orlando in Volta a Portugal. My first love in cycling.
Peyroteo was a famous football player from Portugal who played for SCP.

 

[tobydawq]

Sure, there is some logic, but then the fact that we've had a great many riders say that kind of thing after stages, who are supposedly always "on the rivet" and unable to do a turn or make an attack, yet always have the level to respond to other peoples' moves, means I tend to greet such comments with cynicism.

Fortunately, there is no requirement for riders to pull in equal measure. I would expect Almeida to be quite a bit better than Pidcock on a slog like this, so it checks out that Pidcock was on his limit. He also had a lot to gain by keeping with Almeida compared to if he was dropped and as soon as the director thought it a prudent idea to only film them from behind, they were never going to catch Vingegaard anyway, so there was little to gain by risking to be dropped.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1962180867771466186

View: https://x.com/VelonCC/status/1962180867771466186?t=0HG1tNQNrsiRt--6eBlGjA&s=19

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Fortunately, there is no requirement for riders to pull in equal measure. I would expect Almeida to be quite a bit better than Pidcock on a slog like this, so it checks out that Pidcock was on his limit. He also had a lot to gain by keeping with Almeida compared to if he was dropped and as soon as the director thought it a prudent idea to only film them from behind, they were never going to catch Vingegaard anyway, so there was little to gain by risking to be dropped.

Sure, but then when he sprints around him at the end, it just leaves a different impression.

He's not a rider that has made a habit of that, but we've heard it so many times before from riders that have that I take his comments with more than a pinch of salt.

Making Almeida throw a tantrum about not having a favour done for him is pretty funny, however.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

His age. As @Ilmaestro99 🤣 But I realised they might also be cyclist names I haven't heard of.

Umm...just to clear the air, I'm not an actual moose.

 

[tobydawq]

Sure, but then when he sprints around him at the end, it just leaves a different impression.

He's not a rider that has made a habit of that, but we've heard it so many times before from riders that have that I take his comments with more than a pinch of salt.

Making Almeida throw a tantrum about not having a favour done for him is pretty funny, however.

If he had a lot of power in reserve, there was absolutely no reason not to ride.

I think his quotes after match exactly what I was thinking during the stage (and he actually did take some pulls, so I don't really know what the issue is? He is an explosive rider, so the fact that he managed to pass Almeida in the end can't prove that he was sandbagging (which, again, he would gain nothing for)).

 

[tobydawq]

Umm...just to clear the air, I'm not an actual moose.

Next thing you guys will tell me is that Netserk is not an actual Netserk.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

If he had a lot of power in reserve, there was absolutely no reason not to ride.

I think his quotes after match exactly what I was thinking during the stage (and he actually did take some pulls, so I don't really know what the issue is? He is an explosive rider, so the fact that he managed to pass Almeida in the end can't prove that he was sandbagging (which, again, he would gain nothing for)).

Like I say, he's not somebody who's made a habit of this, but the comments themselves brought me out in hives as we've heard them a million times before, usually from riders who add nothing to races but mere existence as a justification for riding in a negative manner. Strong TTers (if there is even any call for them anymore) at least have the excuse of hanging tight to gain time in the chrono, but for a lot of riders it's the hallmark of a race strategy consisting of nothing more than falling backwards as slowly as possible. I think Tom Pidcock has a lot more to offer than that, so that's a road I'd rather not see him go down.

 

[tobydawq]

Like I say, he's not somebody who's made a habit of this, but the comments themselves brought me out in hives as we've heard them a million times before, usually from riders who add nothing to races but mere existence as a justification for riding in a negative manner. Strong TTers (if there is even any call for them anymore) at least have the excuse of hanging tight to gain time in the chrono, but for a lot of riders it's the hallmark of a race strategy consisting of nothing more than falling backwards as slowly as possible. I think Tom Pidcock has a lot more to offer than that, so that's a road I'd rather not see him go down.

You still ignore the main issue: why on Earth wouldn't he pull fully if he was not on his limit? It just makes no sense at all.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

Just had the opportunity to watch final 25k. Nice surprise on final climb!

And the post race interviews with Jonas and Jorgenson (edit: and Grischa also) were even better!

Wonderful, wonderful that pro cycling at highest level anno 2025 can be so spontaneous and unconsidered and "unread" by a GC favorite.

A wish to the genie: Let Mørkøv stick Jonas some roadbooks with errors for upcoming stages - with finish line displayed closer than factual line - perferable an entire mountain pass too early!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

You still ignore the main issue: why on Earth wouldn't he pull fully if he was not on his limit? It just makes no sense at all.

We had bizzane asking why on earth he would give Almeida a turn earlier. But as you say, if he isn't on his limit, it makes no sense not to contribute (and I indeed then subsequently argued that).

But I'm inherently suspicious of riders who don't contribute claiming they were at their limit when they are comfortably able to respond to other people's moves or to sprint to the line, because of a number of past precedents where this has been the go-to explanation for countless riders across many Grand Tours, who add nothing to the race and who the race wouldn't even notice if they were gone. Think early career Meintjes for an ultimate example.

Pidcock isn't that type of rider and I don't want him to become one, so when he starts speaking like that, I'm wary of it. He may be being genuinely truthful, but unfortunately enough people have used that terminology euphemistically in the past that it instantly sounds dishonest to me.

I'm well aware that's a me problem, and I'm also well aware you are a lot more forgiving of the kind of rider I am referencing there than I am.

 

[AlpRaid]

Maybe you are too young but LA was the most popular rider 20 years ago...

um...not with people who actually knew the sport.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

We had bizzane asking why on earth he would give Almeida a turn earlier. But as you say, if he isn't on his limit, it makes no sense not to contribute (and I indeed then subsequently argued that).

But I'm inherently suspicious of riders who don't contribute claiming they were at their limit when they are comfortably able to respond to other people's moves or to sprint to the line, because of a number of past precedents where this has been the go-to explanation for countless riders across many Grand Tours, who add nothing to the race and who the race wouldn't even notice if they were gone. Think early career Meintjes for an ultimate example.

Pidcock isn't that type of rider and I don't want him to become one, so when he starts speaking like that, I'm wary of it. He may be being genuinely truthful, but unfortunately enough people have used that terminology euphemistically in the past that it instantly sounds dishonest to me.

I'm well aware that's a me problem, and I'm also well aware you are a lot more forgiving of the kind of rider I am referencing there than I am.

Over such huge distance with low gradients, little Pidders had a HUGE advantage by sitting in the shelter of the big locomotive Almeida. If same slopes had been a mountain ITT then Pidcock would have been distanced by huge margin.
What I observed when studying Pidcock's struggles alongside Almeida corresponded well to his words in his post race interview, completely honest answer.