Vuelta a Espana 2011 Stage 6: Úbeda - Córdoba 196,8 km

[Tank Engine]

Wow. Crazy finish. Leakygas get four guys on the front, seem to play it perfectly by isolating Lastras at the back. Lastras somehow holds on. Sagan played it correctly by marking Lastras, but how Nibali missed out on any bonus was a big fail. What was Agnoli thinking?

 

[royalpig180]

Sagan needs to smile more when he wins

Impressive riding by Liquigas there aside from the mild Agnoli-fail. If Lastras hadn't been there it would have been truly epic. Nibbles probably would have taken the 20 seconds in that situation though so i guess I'm glad Lastras was there so Sagan could win.

 

[kurtinsc]

Should Liquigas have conceded the stage to get Nibs 2nd (without confusion)? Or should they have gone for the stage win regardless and just taken 3rd with Nibs (again, assuming they hadn't screwed up).

 

[Frosty]

Anton finished in the 23 seconds group.

Not heard much about Bruseghin yet he's quite well up there.

 

[wirral]

DS failed to give clear orders. Result = confusion amongst the team & p**sed off Nibali.

 

[El Pistolero]

Pretty impressive team time trial from Liquigas. 5 guys in the leading group of 6!

And no I didn't get my numbers wrong.

 

[Tank Engine]

Should Liquigas have conceded the stage to get Nibs 2nd (without confusion)? Or should they have gone for the stage win regardless and just taken 3rd with Nibs (again, assuming they hadn't screwed up).

If Agnoli had let Nibs past, they would have played it perfectly, so option 2

Edit: They couldn't have been sure of Nibs beating Lastras.

 

[hrotha]

Sagan? Strange. Why would they ride that hard for those few seconds just to give away the bonification?

They wanted the 20" for Nibali. When that proved impossible because Lastras was going to win, they had to choose: stage victory for Sagan + 8" for Nibali, or 12" for Nibali. Are 4" worth a stage win? Of course not.

Then Agnoli screwed up.

 

[Ferminal]

Siutsou has now appeared in the timing after not being there initially, +23s.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Crap, missed the stage

Can anyone tell me what Agnoli did?

Edit: oh ok, I guess he just took 3rd ahead of Nibali. lol. Can understand if Nibali is angry!

 

[kurtinsc]

If Agnoli had let Nibs past, they would have played it perfectly, so option 2

Edit: They couldn't have been sure of Nibs beating Lastras.

Yes, but if they only had Nibs sprint for it, the winner would be either him or Lastras. He gets 2nd place time bonus in the worst scenario.

By having Sagan mark Lastras, the ensure they get the stage win for the team, but the worst scenario (if Agnoli hadn't messed up) was 3rd place bonus.

Would a lesser change of a stage win be worth the extra bonus seconds for the leader from 3rd to 2nd (again, assuming Agnoli hadn't messed up).

 

[Fetisoff]

Crap, missed the stage

Can anyone tell me what Agnoli did?

Sprinted for third ahead of Nibali, with noone behind them

 

[VeloMaster]

Reminds me of the Rabo 'echelon of death' some years back in the Spring classics. Ahh, those were the days. Nice one, Liqui!

 

[Frosty]

Crap, missed the stage

Can anyone tell me what Agnoli did?

Liquigas broke away on the descent having 4 in the break of 5. In the sprint to the finish Sagan took the win but Agnoli pipped Nibali for third depriving him of 8 bonus seconds.

 

[El Pistolero]

Super Liquigas. Contador tried the same to Pinerolo but only had Sanchez with him. (But the flat was longer and descent shorter too, maybe?)

Sagan is a rockstar. How many podium girls is he gonna bag in his career?

The difference is that at the Tour the level is a few levels higher than in the Vuelta.

 

[cineteq]

They wanted the 20" for Nibali. When that proved impossible because Lastras was going to win, they had to choose: stage victory for Sagan + 8" for Nibali, or 12" for Nibali. Are 4" worth a stage win? Of course not.

Then Agnoli screwed up.

Agnoli didn't screw up, it was the team's lack of communication. C'mon ask a domestique to make a split sec. decision like that?

 

[hfer07]

Agnoli took 6 seconds off Nibali. No wonder he's pi*sed.

Imagine if Nibali loses the Vuelta due to the lack of those precious time bonuses?
LOL.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Not sure WTF Agnoli was thinking there.
However, Nibali needs to HTFU. He's going to depend on Agnoli a lot in the coming days so there is no need for him to whine about 8 seconds.

 

[happychappy]

Sprinted for third ahead of Nibali, with noone behind them

Peter Noone?

 

[hrotha]

Agnoli didn't screw up, it was the team's lack of communication. C'mon ask a domestique to make a split sec. decision like that?

Considering Agnoli was looking at Nibali and apparently encouraging him to keep going to get the stage win, and that Sagan clearly waited until Lastras managed to get out of the box and pass Nibali to launch his sprint, it's pretty clear they were riding with the time bonus in mind. So yes, Agnoli did screw up.

 

[boomcie]

Siutsou has now appeared in the timing after not being there initially, +23s.

Duarte as well. Too hot for accurate results apparently.

 

[Gingerale]

that was great fun watching the descent and finish!!

sagan appeared subdued in the interview, not smiling like he should having just won a GT stage.

anyway, cheering liquigas though i guess it was a goofed finish.

 

[Escarabajo]

Duarte as well. Too hot for accurate results apparently.

Almost had a heart attack. Just kidding.

 

[hfer07]

Lastras must be laughing to dead after the Liquigas embarrassment on that sprint-they really fvcked Nibali up good with that lack of coordination-LOL

 

[Climbing]

Lastras must be laughing to dead after the Liquigas embarrassment on that sprint-they really fvcked Nibali up good with that lack of coordination-LOL

Not much to laugh, considering he didn't win anyway...