Young rider classification at the Vuelta

[CheckMyPecs]

The combination classification is hard to understand, generates no fan interest and is always won "in passing" as an indirect consequence of fighting for the overall. Do you agree it should be replaced with a young rider's classification?

 

[PremierAndrew]

I could maybe understand a combination classification at the Tour, but at the Vuelta the points classification is pretty much for the climbers and GC guys already

 

[RedheadDane]

I can see how that could make sense.

Maybe for starters they should find another colour for the jersey, gets a bit confusing when guys like Valverde and Horner has the white jersey. Can't count how many times I've heard commentators remind people that the white jersey is not for the Young Rider Classification.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Short answer? No.

Long answer? The combinada is a long-standing thing, nearly every Spanish race has one. Since ASO bought its stake in Unipublic, while I am happy with the red jersey rebranding, at the same time the conversion of the secondary jerseys to closely reflect the Tour has been somewhat disappointing; as although the Vuelta's secondary jerseys have never really had the same long-standing coherent identity as the Tour's, and the Giro has changed its own secondary jerseys recently (the Giro Rosa retains the traditional scheme), changing to a mere facsimile of the Tour just serves to accentuate the status of the Vuelta as a lesser race. I wish the Giro went back to the Intergiro instead of the best young rider's jersey too, mind. I would honestly rather a metas volantes jersey than the best young rider's jersey (in fact, if they had a metas volantes jersey it could automatically reinvigorate the combinada because it wouldn't just be something won by accident by a GC contender). Is the best young rider jersey really any more fought for? It's something that a young rider almost accidentally gets while fighting out the GC usually, no different to the combinada. And as long as the combinada gives us a slightly unique, different flavour of Spanish cycling that helps the race keep its separate identity, I'm all for it.

 

[hrotha]

The combinada is useless and dull. The metas volantes classification would be better.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re:

...Is the best young rider jersey really any more fought for? It's something that a young rider almost accidentally gets while fighting out the GC usually, no different to the combinada...

I can see how that makes sense.
Since 2006 only Cunego that year, and Andy Schleck in 2008 did not finish in the top-10 in the Tour.
In fact that vast majority of white jersey winners at the Tour in that period podiumed.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Many riders chase the white jersey as a specific goal, but off the top of my head I can't remember a single rider who went into a race with the combinada in mind.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

Who doesn't love the majestic sight of the 6th rider on GC chasing down the 10th rider on GC simply because both of them happened to be born after an arbitrary date ?

 

[Pantani_lives]

Combinada is meaningless. It's always someone in the top 3 who's not riding for it. It's too complicated to follow too.

Young rider classification means something. It means you're a potential GT winner for the future. Many winners went on to have a great career.

 

[SergeDeM]

I can't be bothered to understand how the combinada or the metas volantes work. Best young rider white jersey is clear cut and gives me names to cheer for for years to come.

 

[roundabout]

Re:

Short answer? No.

Long answer? The combinada is a long-standing thing, nearly every Spanish race has one. Since ASO bought its stake in Unipublic, while I am happy with the red jersey rebranding, at the same time the conversion of the secondary jerseys to closely reflect the Tour has been somewhat disappointing; as although the Vuelta's secondary jerseys have never really had the same long-standing coherent identity as the Tour's, and the Giro has changed its own secondary jerseys recently (the Giro Rosa retains the traditional scheme), changing to a mere facsimile of the Tour just serves to accentuate the status of the Vuelta as a lesser race. I wish the Giro went back to the Intergiro instead of the best young rider's jersey too, mind. I would honestly rather a metas volantes jersey than the best young rider's jersey (in fact, if they had a metas volantes jersey it could automatically reinvigorate the combinada because it wouldn't just be something won by accident by a GC contender). Is the best young rider jersey really any more fought for? It's something that a young rider almost accidentally gets while fighting out the GC usually, no different to the combinada. And as long as the combinada gives us a slightly unique, different flavour of Spanish cycling that helps the race keep its separate identity, I'm all for it.

I don't remember a combination classification in the Vuelta in the mid to late 90's. I think it was introduced (reintroduced?) circa 2002?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Yes, let's homogenize everything. After all, that's what cycling needs more of. The metas volantes competition is too complicated to understand? Let's scrap the points and KOM competitions then, since they're calculated the same way, usually more complicated actually since you have differing categorizations. I already resent how much ASO's organizatorial hand is turning the Vuelta into the Tour-lite from that side of things, and don't feel that we should be aspiring to get rid of unique and different features that give the Vuelta its Spanish identity, just so that fans don't have to think when they see a distinctive classification jersey. Let's put polka dots on the Giro GPM while we're at it. Why not? It would simplify things.

 

[Thepirateisgood]

How about an old rider classification?

Oh, wait..

 

[roundabout]

Re:

I can't be bothered to understand how the combinada or the metas volantes work. Best young rider white jersey is clear cut and gives me names to cheer for for years to come.

Combinada is easy. The points are the sum of positions in all other jersey competitions.

At least for the Vuelta.

Now how Savoldelli managed to win the combined classification in the 2006 Giro is still a mystery to me.

 

[roundabout]

Re:

I can see how that could make sense.

Maybe for starters they should find another colour for the jersey, gets a bit confusing when guys like Valverde and Horner has the white jersey. Can't count how many times I've heard commentators remind people that the white jersey is not for the Young Rider Classification.

I still remember the days when the mountains jersey in the Vuelta used to be white.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re: Re:

I can't be bothered to understand how the combinada or the metas volantes work. Best young rider white jersey is clear cut and gives me names to cheer for for years to come.

Combinada is easy. The points are the sum of positions in all other jersey competitions.

At least for the Vuelta.

Now how Savoldelli managed to win the combined classification in the 2006 Giro is still a mystery to me.

The Giro toyed with a points-based combined, which gave something like 15 down to 1 points for the top riders in each of the three major classifications each day. Because Savoldelli won the initial prologue, and that prologue had a hill in it, he led all three major competitions for the first two days, which opened up a big lead in the competition before other GC contenders started to pick up results.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re:

Yes, let's homogenize everything. After all, that's what cycling needs more of. The metas volantes competition is too complicated to understand? Let's scrap the points and KOM competitions then, since they're calculated the same way, usually more complicated actually since you have differing categorizations. I already resent how much ASO's organizatorial hand is turning the Vuelta into the Tour-lite from that side of things, and don't feel that we should be aspiring to get rid of unique and different features that give the Vuelta its Spanish identity, just so that fans don't have to think when they see a distinctive classification jersey. Let's put polka dots on the Giro GPM while we're at it. Why not? It would simplify things.

Sure... as long as these features make the race unique and different in a positive way.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re: Re:

I can see how that could make sense.

Maybe for starters they should find another colour for the jersey, gets a bit confusing when guys like Valverde and Horner has the white jersey. Can't count how many times I've heard commentators remind people that the white jersey is not for the Young Rider Classification.

I still remember the days when the mountains jersey in the Vuelta used to be white.

Chava, la leyenda!

 

[roundabout]

Oh, 10 years on the mystery is solved. I guess I should have been paying attention then.

I doubt many people complained about eliminating a 'combined' competition where 5-5-26 in the 3 major classifications is better than 1-2-2

 

[ice&fire]

Re: Re:

I can see how that could make sense.

Maybe for starters they should find another colour for the jersey, gets a bit confusing when guys like Valverde and Horner has the white jersey. Can't count how many times I've heard commentators remind people that the white jersey is not for the Young Rider Classification.

I still remember the days when the mountains jersey in the Vuelta used to be white.

Current Movistar DS José Luis Laguía won the KOM 6 times in the 80's and he wore jerseys of three different colours:

Green (1985)

...wine red (1983)

...and black (1981)

The points jersey was deep blue (Lejarreta, 1983):

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The points jersey remained blue (including through the ugly fish jersey stage) until 2009 when it went green to match the Tour. Here's GVA modelling the last version of it:

The mountains jersey went white for a spell, then went orange briefly before confusion with the rise of Euskaltel led to it switching back to the deep red that it had been in the early 80s, as shown here by Purito in 2005:

It remained this way until 2010, when the rebranding of the leader's jersey meant that a red jersey was no longer viable. Although ASO moved the leader's jersey away from similarity with the Tour, the KOM was, like the points jersey a year before, rebranded to show greater homogeneity with the Tour.

 

[Cannibal72]

Young riders' jersey is irritatingly pointless: see Quintana winning twice. Should be best debutant.

 

[barmaher]

Best neo-pro.

 

[DFA123]

Every race should have a combination jersey. It basically shows you who is the best cyclist in the race. Usually it goes to the winner, but sometimes, if the winner has just got lucky, or taken loads of time on just one or two stages for whatever reason, the combination jersey will show in the history books, who was the most consistent and rounded cyclist in that particular edition.

 

[veji11]

Young riders' jersey is irritatingly pointless: see Quintana winning twice. Should be best debutant.

best debutant would be quite nice actually. Although I like the classy classic white jersey on the tour.

I don't think all tours need the same jerseys thoug. It's just that the combinada happens to just be accidental whereas a metas volantes would be better to some extent. put the meta volante on an intermediate sprint one day, or on a classified mountain the other, and see if it leads to some interest from some riders.