The Hitch said:Perhaps we should not overlook the fact that if there is less than 5 seconds seperating them on the Bello, someone might try to make Madrid competitive
I think none of them would do that.
The Hitch said:Perhaps we should not overlook the fact that if there is less than 5 seconds seperating them on the Bello, someone might try to make Madrid competitive
khardung la said:I have the feeling that one key point is the right hand curve after leaving Navacerrada, when the cement to Bola del Mundo starts. There is not much space there for many riders, the slope is suddenly 18%, and the cement is in a bad condition. The first 2-3 riders passing there will probably see theirselves some few valuable meters in front of the others....
From there up it is just about suffering. In some parts it will not be easy to overcome other cyclists, specially if it is wet (probably it will rain) and if there are many people on the sides (which is a sure thing). If it rains I think the riders must make the ride up seated all the time, because the grip is awful. I don't know who is benefited by that or if it is important though.
nvpacchi said:Don't know if anyone posted this scenario, but if Purito and Mosquera come to the finish line together. Does Purito gift Mosquera the stage and the bonus seconds?
nvpacchi said:Don't know if anyone posted this scenario, but if Purito and Mosquera come to the finish line together. Does Purito gift Mosquera the stage and the bonus seconds?
That would be a disgrace.nvpacchi said:Don't know if anyone posted this scenario, but if Purito and Mosquera come to the finish line together. Does Purito gift Mosquera the stage and the bonus seconds?
Midnite said:Seeing as Nibali faded in almost every mountain top stage i believe Mosquera has real chances of winning this, even if Liquigas has a much stronger team than Xacobeo.
In a climb like Bola del Mundo, which is longer than any previous mountain in this Vuleta and with the last kilometers hitting gradients of 20% i really don't see Nibali with legs to chase other climbers.
Midnite said:Seeing as Nibali faded in almost every mountain top stage i believe Mosquera has real chances of winning this, even if Liquigas has a much stronger team than Xacobeo.
In a climb like Bola del Mundo, which is longer than any previous mountain in this Vuleta and with the last kilometers hitting gradients of 20% i really don't see Nibali with legs to chase other climbers.
The Hitch said:Those would be a nice blackmail scenario for Purito
Mosquera - let me win
Purito - give me 1 million dollars
Mosquera - no
Purito - adios gt
Mosquera - deal.
I think if Purito works for Mosquera all the way, including having Katusha chase breakaway, and they have a good gap, he gets the stage win as a thanks. Unless its still close in which case the above mentioned scenario comes into place.
royalpig180 said:That's true. So what Liquigas needs to do is keep the pace high enough at the top of the Bola del Mundo (the portion after the Navacerada) to prevent truly explosive attacks from splitting things up.
colmenarejo said:I rode up the Bola del Mundo yesterday and it could be absolute carnage come Saturday. If the weather stays wet then grip may be a major problem, the surface for the 3k is concrete slabs embedded with pebbles. It was only a little bit damp yesterday and my back wheel spun a few times (and I'm 80 kilos with a alu bike!).
Probably the worst thing about the climb is you can´t see the end or the road ahead, you just see up to the next corner, hoping that around that corner it will be flatter but when you get around the corner the gradient is the same or worse and there is another corner 100m away.
Wergeland said:Thanks for the update.
Btw, does anyone remember which thread the photos for Bola del Mundo was posted in?
khardung la said:There http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?p=335897#post335897 onwards there are photos and comments about it. Would be nice to have a thread with all that info. Including for example this http://apmforo.mforos.com/401631/9696076-la-bola-sufrimiento-belleza-dureza-gloria/
Scirea said:Liquigas is weaker in the mountains than Xacobeo, weaker by a lot. They have Kreuziger and nobody else, Zaugg is totally out-of-form. Xacobeo has David Garcia, Rabunal, Marcos Garcia, Cesar Veloso...
The Hitch said:Who?![]()