Vuelta Ciclista a Andalucia - Ruta del Sol 2023 (February 15-19)

[Lequack]

He got an ugly statue

 

[Ricco']

He got an ugly statue

Maybe the real reason he skipped UAE in favor of the spanish races is because he is redecorating his house and this is the cheapest way of getting exclusive decorative elements?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

He got an ugly statue

And I thought ilmaestro was the worst troll in cycling.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Let me guess. One of the competitors carved the trophy. And during the race? Or was it a joint effort?

 

[QueenStagiaire]

And I thought ilmaestro was the worst troll in cycling.

I think Ilmaestro is a pretty good troll. And how do you know the trophy is a bad troll. He might be really nice and he (or she?) is even smiling!

 

[Lequack]

Last few kms

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQdOpJxDtbI

 

[RedheadDane]

Let me guess. One of the competitors carved the trophy. And during the race? Or was it a joint effort?

Maybe Pogacar tricked them into doing it.
"Hey guys. There's an extra prize if you carve a nice figure during the race!"
That's why he has that cheeky grin.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Wow, what a route. Seems like every stage is really worth tuning in for.

What happened to Enric guys?

 

[Lequack]

Wow, what a route. Seems like every stage is really worth tuning in for.

What happened to Enric guys?

His quote:
"Mechanical failure. This is part of the game. Even so, happy, happy. I felt pretty good. We knew that Tadej was fine; he left alone and we have to congratulate him. Things happen!"

https://twitter.com/x/status/1625872174266327040

View: https://twitter.com/Movistar_Team/status/1625872174266327040

 

[yaco]

So is Pog gonna win the first four stages or all five? What are those finishes anyway? Why are there back-to-back-to-back muritos? Is every Spanish town on a hilltop? Did Enric Mas pretend to have a mechanical so his result would look better? Is Evenepoel trying to avoid Pog by sticking to his initial schedule? Are Spanish cameramen unpaid interns? Why didn‘t Froome gain 1:30+ on fifth place on downhill finishes in February? Will Mikel Landa ever be truly free? Too many questions in these early-season races!!!

It's the best thing that Pogacar virtually wrapped up GC on day one - It opens up opportunities for other riders to get into breakaways as I doubt UAE will ride hard to win more stages.

 

[search]

in case anyone wants to watch tomorrow's finish again, from 2021:

2021-Ruta_del_Sol_Stage_2_[CanalSur]01

Watch "2021-Ruta_del_Sol_Stage_2_[CanalSur]01" on Streamable.

streamable.com

I remember now that I was almost as confused as the commentators.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

And I thought ilmaestro was the worst troll in cycling.

This was funny enough that I was compelled to react positively to it despite the misinformation

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

He got an ugly statue

That looks like something that should come out of my body to never be touched again.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

That looks like something that should come out of my body to never be touched again.

I'd rather be humiliated by Pog in every race than have a thing of that size come out of me.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I'd rather be humiliated by Pog in every race than have a thing of that size come out of me.

Maybe Jumbo Visma Fan is a woman who had her share of giving birth to ugly babies.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

The commentator was offering jet lag excuses for those who had been in the Tour Down Under: Jefferson Cepeda, as already pointed out, was racing in Ecuador on Sunday late evening (European time) and came 10th here.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

I'd rather be humiliated by Pog in every race than have a thing of that size come out of me.

Of course not of that size

 

[Izzyeviel]

The best competition you've never heard of

 

[yaco]

The commentator was offering jet lag excuses for those who had been in the Tour Down Under: Jefferson Cepeda, as already pointed out, was racing in Ecuador on Sunday late evening (European time) and came 10th here.

George Bennett rode the NZ Nationals on Sunday and three days later appeared at Algarve. Finally, Colleoni did not ride the TDU.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

It's the best thing that Pogacar virtually wrapped up GC on day one - It opens up opportunities for other riders to get into breakaways as I doubt UAE will ride hard to win more stages.

Hard to predict… Just had a look at all five stages. Actually I also could imagine that Pogacar wants to win all five.

Pogacar could do here what Petacchi did in Niedersachsen Rundfahrt, yet.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

George Bennett rode the NZ Nationals on Sunday and three days later appeared at Algarve. Finally, Colleoni did not ride the TDU.

And was a little bit humiliated in NZ NC RR - anyone knows what happened to him?…

 

[Roku]

Watching on my laptop. Maybe I'm too close to the screen, plus I am def sensitive about these things.

I think TV production is the same for all spanish pre-season races (Mallorca, Valencia, Andalucia...) At least the headings and words look the same (i.e. "COMPACT" for peloton).

I recall Valencia camera work was awful either last year or a couple of seasons ago, with extremely shaky images. I haven't felt it that way this year, but maybe it's just me that got used to it.

 

[gregrowlerson]

5 star: Pogacar, Landa
4 star: Mas,
3 star: Buitrago, Geoghegan Hart
2 star: Haig, C Rodriguez, Sivakov, Latour,
1 star: Guirreriro, Fortunato, Teuns

This was actually a pretty good call.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

And was a little bit humiliated in NZ NC RR - anyone knows what happened to him?…

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULGu-idryaU


Pushed the early pace, almost single handedly lead chase to the break that he had missed, was counter-attacked as soon as he caught up by group of 5, 4 from the same team. The others again left all the chasing to him, but he gave up the effort after a while and presumably soft pedalled the last lap or more.

Looks like he made more than just a token effort for most of the race but leant upon and outnumbered. Like so many big names in NC races with no compatriots on the same team.

 

[Earns1985]

Big and strong breakaway:

1		2	MOHORIČ Matej	12:41
2		17	DOMBROWSKI Joe	20:19
3		32	GARCÍA CORTINA Iván	12:41
4		35	OLIVEIRA Nelson	2:41
5		42	COVI Alessandro	11:49
6		54	JUUL-JENSEN Christopher	12:41
7		87	AMEZQUETA Julen	6:08
8		93	BAIS Davide	11:49
9		106	FRISON Frederik	8:14
10		136	MATÉ Luis Ángel	4:43
11		161	VAN POUCKE Aaron	20:03
12		167	COLMAN Alex	11:49

Ineos and Intermarche not happy with it. Difference already over a minute...

If they don´t catch them now, I could see someone winning out of this group today..