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

[Roku]

Pogacar is such a beast.

Very beautiful final KM. Only feasible for heavily reduced groups though. It wouldn't have looked nice for a +25 rider group.

 

[RedheadDane]

Please spare a thought for poor little Tadej, who was sick on the day in day-care (or whatever the Slovenian equivalent is) when they were taught about sharing.

 

[search]

Unlikely that UAE can control the breakaways three days running, if not, Pogacar has an excellent shot at sweeping all five stages. Only the final one is a question mark. Would be completely unparalleled in a decent-sized race in the past decades.

well, on paper at least, the 4 Jours de Démare are the same race category

edit: but he only won 3/5+gc. I thought he took it all. Was that another race?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Please spare a thought for poor little Tadej, who was sick on the day in day-care (or whatever the Slovenian equivalent is) when they were taught about sharing.

To be fair to him, he did give Mas half of the road on the finishing climb.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

well, on paper at least, the 4 Jours de Démare are the same race category

edit: but he only won 3/5+gc. I thought he took it all. Was that another race?

Démare won all five stages + GC in the 2018 Tour de Poitou-Charentes, that was against horribly weak opposition though - Malucelli was his main competition in the sprints and an almost-retired Chavanel came second on GC. Had come to my mind before posting, but the difference in field quality is too big for it to really compare. Also a .1 race and not a .Pro (or .HC back then) like this one.

He's actually done GC win + every stage bar one on three separate occasions: Mayenne, Eurometropole when it was still a stage race, and another edition of Poitou-Charentes. So 3/5 + GC in Dunkerque is not that special by his standards

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Ah, this Teddy guy. Good that he's chosen a gradual preparation this year so those Spanish aces can finish within the time limit!

 

[hayneplane]

Loved that finale today. Would have been very interesting to see him vs Van Aert on that stage as in peak form Wout could have stayed with the chase group that regained contact but would it have taken too much out of him to then see of Pogacar in the steep cobbled finish.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Congratulations to Tadej Pogačar for a season opening hat-trick.

Was a nice stage to watch. Looks like Bahrain is the strongest team on this race. Today UAE was much less impressive compared to yesterday. Left Pogi isolated rather easily. Against three strong Bahrain riders. On top of that Majka likely accumulated a lot of fatigue today. Spent on fruitless chasing. Bahrain with a couple of tactical ideas that really made sense. That chasing before the final climb. Of the two Intermarché riders. Here i feel Moho should not do that and should rather wait for Pogi to do the work. After to initiate an all out attack. But OK. This likely wouldn't change much overall. Mas was impressive and this year he will be a force to be reckoned with. Looking forward to Vuelta. Going forward i feel that Bahrain can't change much trying with direct fighting. As they have two strong riders still being able to take the overall. I feel they should explore this option. To split them up and put them on two different tactics and after hope for the best. It's not like anybody will blame them if they fail and not take the overall. And to try to take the GC in a mano-a-mano fashion is a bit far fetched idea too. If they could they would do much more damage today. Riding three against one.

 

[CyclistAbi]

As for a bit of critique. His obsession with winning and being prepared to needlessly lose energy. That makes him predictable. And such predictability can be exploited. As seen on stage 11 of the TDF 2022. So at least he still has some room left to evolve.

P.S. Point being technically he didn't need to chase down the breakaway alone. After Landa decided to let go. And as a result he found himself in a three to one situation. That could be avoided. But i know where would be the fun in that.

 

[Red Rick]

Mas looked really strong I don't think he loses 4 seconds if it's normal asphalt. I think Mas is still a bit underrated on Muritos

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Mas looked really strong I don't think he loses 4 seconds if it's normal asphalt. I think Mas is still a bit underrated on Muritos

OTOH Pogacar is maybe not that much overrated on muritos and will finally get some decent result in Fleche.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Mas looked really strong I don't think he loses 4 seconds if it's normal asphalt. I think Mas is still a bit underrated on Muritos

Would like to see him properly target the Ardennes at some point, a peak there shouldn't interfere too much with trying to win/finishing second again at the Vuelta. He's had some good showings there when mostly riding for Alaphilippe.

 

[Red Rick]

OTOH Pogacar is maybe not that much overrated on muritos and will finally get some decent result in Fleche.

I think where Fleche is hard for Pogacar is that the race is too easy to suit him that well, and even the Mur de Huy is a pretty backloaded climb. at that.

Now it could simply be that the two times he's done it he was just over his form peak. Even in 2020 when he coulda won Liege he didn't look too hot on Roche aux Faucons and he got clobbered in Fleche.

 

[ice&fire]

Mas looked really strong I don't think he loses 4 seconds if it's normal asphalt. I think Mas is still a bit underrated on Muritos

True, but his only murito win against a Slovenian has an asterisk because of jet lag.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

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.

Thank you a lot - much appreciated

 

[CyclistAbi]

I feel that Mas upped the game due to Valverde retiring. He is now in the spotlight. And he likes it.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Congratulations to Tadej Pogačar for a season opening hat-trick.

Was a nice stage to watch. Looks like Bahrain is the strongest team on this race.

Bahrain really strong - and in the Top 10 in GC currently only riders from UAE, Ineos and Bahrain (exception is Mas).

But have to admit Ruta del Sol organizers created a nice parcours for 2023. Nice climbing early in the year.

 

[postmanhat]

I feel that Mas upped the game due to Valverde retiring. He is now in the spotlight. And he likes it.

And he and the team were in a relegation fight, so realised they had to do more than a handful of GC races a year now that their cash cow was going out to pasture

 

[CyclistAbi]

And he and the team were in a relegation fight, so realised they had to do more than a handful of GC races a year now that their cash cow was going out to pasture

Due to his close battles with Rogla over the years. I started noticing confidence boost at the end of the last season. At Vuelta he was still a bit hesitant. And he likely knew it might had cost him winning more. But after on how he took on Pogi. Something changed. As it aligns with Valverde retirement. I feel that he took it well. That is moving up and becoming the boss of Movistar. He did it again today against Pogi.

He likes it.

 

[postmanhat]

Due to his close battles with Rogla over the years. I started noticing confidence boost at the end of the last season. At Vuelta he was still a bit hesitant. And he likely knew it might had cost him winning more. But after on how he took on Pogi. Something changed. As it aligns with Valverde retirement. I feel that he took it well. That is moving up and becoming the boss of Movistar. He did it again today against Pogi.

He likes it.

I've nothing against Mas as he seems like a really nice bloke, if a bit boring as a rider until recently. Was just being a bit cynical about him and other Movistar riders suddenly becoming masters of previously unknown domains, just as Valverde vacated them.

 

[Lequack]

Vingegaard is probably laughing at Pog for wasting so much energy on small races, while he is saving it for the Tour.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

How come Landa did not ride in the green jersey today? I understand that a rider can decline to wear it when they are not leading the category if they have a champion's jersey instead, but I didn't think it was permitted to just refuse it. Presumably some sponsor has paid for it to be worn.

 

[hayneplane]

I feel that Mas upped the game due to Valverde retiring. He is now in the spotlight. And he likes it.

I think it took the knowledge Valverde was definitely in his retirement season tour for him to grab centre stage for himself and overcome his shyness. Racing more aggressively has also brought bigger results which is encouraging both for him and us as keen cycling enthusiasts.

 

[Elos Anjos]

Vingegaard is probably laughing at Pog for wasting so much energy on small races, while he is saving it for the Tour.

He's likely having a mental breakdown already.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Vingegaard is probably laughing at Pog for wasting so much energy on small races, while he is saving it for the Tour.

They are still putting the pieces together in some top secret facility so not sure if Jonas3.0 can even laugh at this stage of the season.