Vuelta a Espana Stage 1: Benidorm TTT 13.5km

[auscyclefan94]

2011 Vuelta a Espana: Benidorm, 13.5km TTT (20/8)

First team's start time: 17:02 CEST
Last team's start time:18:30 CEST

Startlist via steephill

Other Stage Details

Teams
AG2R
BMC
Euskaltel
HTC
Katusha
Lampre
Liquigas
Movstar
Omega Pharma Lotto
Astana
Quickstep
Rabobank
Saxo Bank
Sky
Garmin
Leopard Trek
Vacansoleil
Radioshack
Andalucia Caja Granada
Cofidis
Geox TMC
Skil Shimano

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Phinney ftw.

 

[The Hitch]

Phinney ftw.

Team Time Trial

 

[auscyclefan94]

It is a team time trial ...You never know, BMC could do a good ride especially with not many top TTT teams in this race.

 

[just some guy]

Phinney ftw.

I think you might mean BMC TTT not ITT and not sure they will be much better than 3rd -4 th

 

[The Hitch]

HTC for their final TTT victory of course.

 

[just some guy]

Team Time Trial

It is a team time trial ...You never know, BMC could do a good ride especially with not many top TTT teams in this race.

I think you might mean BMC TTT not ITT and not sure they will be much better than 3rd -4 th

I think thats clear now.

 

[Midnightfright]

It is a team time trial ...You never know, BMC could do a good ride especially with not many top TTT teams in this race.

Well it wouldst be shocking. I'm guna say 1-HTC, 2nd-radioshack,3rd SKY.

 

[theyoungest]

I don't know if those first 3 k at 5% really favour HTC, but since there's no really great time trial teams in the race they might still do it.

 

[Fetisoff]

Team Time Trial

I guess you haven't watched the Eneco tour on Eurosport....

 

[auscyclefan94]

Radioshack will win this. Not many good teams for the TTT this Vuelta. Hopefully that means that there aren't any big time gaps between the gc leaders.

 

[Kvinto]

this is a short team time trial and it suits the sprinting trains like HTC much more than full of strong time trialists RadioShack

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Team Time Trial

Oh god. I'll prolly never see so many quote/replies on one post as this. Next time I'll pay more attention.

 

[Fetisoff]

Garmin will take this... HTC second.

Of the GC teams - Liquigas will probably do the best. Judging from the Burgos TTT with similar teams, Katusha will do better than Geox and the carrottops, Lampre is somewhat tough to call.

Now, I don't really consider Wiggins or any shackers to be GC contenders, but they will do better in the TTT than the teams mentioned above

My prediction is something like

Garmin
HTC
Lay-Oh-Pard
Shack
Sky
Movistar
Rabobank
Liquigas
BMC
Katusha
....
Geox
....
Euskatel
....
Andalucia will be last

 

[Hugo Koblet]

HTC will win - I'll be cheering for them seeing as this is their last TTT.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Now that I've been recalibrated, I'll say either HTC or Garmin. If I had to pick one it would be HTC.

 

[The Hitch]

I guess you haven't watched the Eneco tour on Eurosport....

Yes your right, but how you divulged that from my post I do not understand.

 

[jens_attacks]

the usual suspects:htc,garmin,sky,radioshack.
personally,i hope astana and geox will do very well

 

[Fetisoff]

Yes your right, but how you divulged that from my post I do not understand.

Because Harmon's manlove for Phinney one like you've never seen before. I mean when Tjallingi attacked and Phinney followed (attack which lasted no more than a minute) he was yapping about how great of an attack Phinney put on for the rest of the race.

So, when on3m@n@rmy said "Phinney for the win", what he meant of course, was that the great Taylor Phinney will do an ITT and drag his worthless teammates along in his slipstream to the first place on the stage.

Or at least that's what I thought he meant, and I'm sticking to that

 

[Reverend_T_Preedy]

1. HTC
2. Sky
3. Radioshack
4. Garmin
5. Leopard Trek

HTC look to have a lot of power so will go well in a sort TTT I reckon. Sky look to have some decent TTers (Lofkvist, Wiggins, Cioni, Froome) plus some strong roluers in Arveson and Stannard. Radioshack will also be strong.

Garmin are historically good in TTT's but they don't look to have a particularly strong team in this race.

 

[The Hitch]

Before we each embark on our latest 3 week journey, I would like to take some time to remind everyone of what happened in the last Vuelta.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cNi6HoSpYA

A night time ttt. Some brilliant early finishes.

An epic battle in the mountains. A major turning point an epic one on one showdown that went right to the end.

 

[Parrulo]

i will go with the shack for this

Jani Brajkovic, Matthew Busche, Markel Irizar, Andreas Klöden, Geoffroy Lequatre, Tiago Machado, Nelson Oliveira, Sérgio Paulinho & Haimar Zubeldia

thats a very strong team for a team time trial. they have 4 (bolded) very good itt riders+ a couple of decent ones and a sprinter to guide the team on the turns and get the pace up after them with his kick.

HTC should be their main rival imo

btw ty for the link hitch. the vuelta last year was indeed spectacular even with an arguably lesser field.

 

[virandociclista]

I will go with HTC, they will want to win they last TTT!

1 - HTC
2 - Garmin
3 - Leopard

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

The hill creates a very interesting dynamic - whoever wins is likely to have a pretty decent 7th best climber.

 

[LabMonkey]

Any thoughts on Rabobanks chances? Their team looks good overall - but will it do any good in the TTT?