Vuelta Post-Stage Thread
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2008 11:55 AM EDT
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Lots of action. Not lots of time gaps. But still... fun stage. Reactions?
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levi in the lead..
…team should let him ride his race! if he’s strong enough, he deserves to win for Astana as much as Contador.
Save The Legs!!!
If I were Astana,
I’d want the history of the quickest to win three GTs much more than letting sentiment disrupt their gameplan.
academic
Looks like the race will be decided on the Angliru, where both will be there and the strongest guy will, um, suffer less. So I don’t see Astana having to make any delicate decisions.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2008 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions
I have to agree...
…let’s remember that there’s tons of climbing left to do – e.g. the day after the Angliru there are 2 cat.1 climbs, the day after that 1. My guess is that at some point Sastre or Valverde or someone is going to start climbing so fast that Levi won’t be able to follow; Contador, on the other hand, will (as long as he doesn’t die). Just the way I see things, but I’m betting that there won’t be any major drama in the Astana camp.
by plinytheelder on Sep 8, 2008 12:34 AM EDT up reply actions
GC
Levi
Contador 21
Valverde 47
Sastre 1.27
Mosquera 1.59
Anton 2.12
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2008 11:57 AM EDT reply actions
does not play well with firefox/mplayer on linux *CRASH*
oh well I guess it’s going to be a winter full of DVD’s…. I hate non compatible stuff.
by Christopher See on Sep 7, 2008 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions
CTV, thumbs-up
Jump-ed back on the bandwagon last Sunday and have been watching highlights and as-live. No problems at all with the site. Announcer is the type to “call the race”, keep you up to date, not bad at all. I listen to Eurosport (English) at work, and while I like it OK, sometimes I have no idea what’s going on in the race.
love it
he just talks a blue streak for hours on end. And he knows stuff.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2008 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions
what a blast!
Moncoutie’s win got me all choked up and Valverde was brilliant. and well done, Carlos, for pulling back up there.
and my VDS guys held on – Chav in a respectable 11th place and Cornu still up there… :)
it’s definitely time for another espresso…
WooHooo! David Moncoutie- Born From Jets!
Great to see a win for him.
Carlos Sastre - Tour de France winner - Born From Jets
Phew, everything froze for me......
Great stage and great victory for Moncoutie!!!
So good to have Levi back in yellow!!
Helping a friend move today - and it si supposed to be 103 degrees
She’s moving into her dream home. A double wide mobile home on 3 acres. Don’t laugh! She has 4 horses so it isn’t the home that’s the dream its the property. Property around here is pricey. And the mobile is new so it is quite nice.
Have a nice Sunday all!
hey, manufactured homes these days are nothing to scoff at....
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
if there's no one around to nail a house together
for you then mobile homes are great — I see them around here on acreages all the time.
live to ride, ride to live
Do people really still do that?
Apart from Howard Keel and Russ Tamblyn.
don't forget the other five
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
If she's anything like the horsey people I know
the horses get the best end of the deal.
You are correct. They call it "Horse Poor"
because she has no extra money. All of it goes to the horses.
Gustav Larsson to Caisse d'Eparne?
So says a poster at the DPF.
wha?
why?
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2008 8:25 PM EDT up reply actions
not confirmed yet
report is from Diario de Navarra, a Spanish newspaper. i haven’t seen it confirmed elsewhere yet.
Gavia, you are amazing!
You see all and know all.
Aggressive enough?
There are an ignorant few out there that criticized Contador’s “safe and unagressive” riding in the Giro (you know who you are), and praised the attacking style of Ricco. So witness now, since you seemed to be unaware before, the rested and prepared Alberto. And I’m sure there will be lots more to come.
And glad to see Levi giving it to them at the Vuelta, I hope he can hang with his teammate and take a 1,2 at this Vuelta.
Contador agressive?
Valverde and Anton were simply wheel sucking…pretty much like what Contador did at the Giro. I have absolutely no problem with that. Also thought it was brilliant of Valverde to nip Contador at the line for the second place bonus points.
Ohhhh wait….i am not suppose to criticize Contador or Astana….I almost forgot that Contador is suppose to be given the Vuelta….that’s right he is the annointed one….how silly of me.
I call bullsh*t on this comment
What basis do you have for asserting that “i am not suppose to criticize Contador or Astana….I almost forgot that Contador is suppose to be given the Vuelta”? I don’t see any Astana supporters on this blog saying that their riders are above criticism.
i'm not one...
to praise attacking for attacking’s sake. i thought Contador rode fine today, he was just slightly outfoxed by Valverde. that’s hardly disappointing – it’s what makes cycling exciting.
i’m not a fan of Bruyneel, Astana, or Leipheimer but i wouldn’t begrudge a good performance from any rider, whether it’s done by strategically riding wheels or making attacks. what matters to me is that they used their strengths strategically and to advantage.
whatever the outcome and whoever wins, what i find exhilarating about watching Contador is his sheer “lightness of being” on the pedals and they way he can dance up a hill. it happens that on a good day, like today, someone like Valverde can also show a degree of that lightness, employ some of Contador’s own Giro strategy, and roll in a well-timed burst of power to come out just that bit ahead.
the trigger for me....
…that I as a cycling fan I can’t call out a rider for wheel sucking……regardless of who does it. I fully understand that it is a tactical move. I understood why Contador did it at the Giro, why Evans continuously does it, and why Valverde and Anton did it today.
i think it's worth critiquing
when it appears to be in error. for example, knowing why Evans did so much of it in the TdF this year (and admittedly being a Cadel fan), i was still utterly frustrated in Stage 17 where the sucking was starting to look either like habit or marking the wrong rider, and to me he mis-timed taking the front of the chase. that seemed to me a case of too much riding others’ races and basically losing the GC in the process.
of course, on the flipside, i was getting triggered all over the place because of the constant calling out of Cadel for being a chronic wheelsucker when i could see that in most instances, he was making the most of what he had to work with.
today, what Valverde and Anton did (and I shouldn’t keep missing out Anton) was great strategy and Contador responded as best he could in the moment. so no complaints from me about any of them!
wheelsucking
I guess the difference between bad wheelsucking and good strategy is how a rider feels, what the others are up to, etc… in other words, mostly stuff that it’s hard for people like us to know in real time. Who the hell knows what sensations Contador had in his legs today? So I don’t see anything wrong with negative comments; we fans work with what we have. I think it tends to come out in Evans’ case because of consistent wheel-sucking. Even there, it’s just a best guess.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2008 8:32 PM EDT up reply actions
So, let's define "bad" wheelsucking...
We’ve already established that wheelsucking is bad when the rider should be attacking instead, and loses too much time.
However, when is wheelsucking bad for a rider that takes the win or some other significant advantage? Is it bad when a rider in a breakaway wheelsucks, because his team has a superior position? Is it bad when a rider contesting a sprint wheelsucks from another team or sprinter? Is it bad when a GC rider wheelsucks his way into a top placing?
Cadel has been faulted for wheelsucking too consistently. McEwen has been praised for wheelsucking from others trains. Does it just come down to how likeable the wheelsucker is?
not enough steeps to get rid of av and anton
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
you mean announcers?
Not sure who you mean. Still, I think most people knew Contador wasn’t 100% fit.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2008 8:28 PM EDT up reply actions
I love this quote:
"When Contador attacked, I think he was going 35kph up the climb. It was all I could do to stay on his wheel," said an impressed Valverde, who slipped into third at 49 seconds back. "I couldn’t follow his rhythm and there was no way I could pull through."
Still, Valv beat him to the line. You gotta take what you can get! He’s doing a great job of staying in contention, especially considering he bonked on a mountain stage.
Hi all!
Just got back from my stewarding adventure at the Tour of Britain (fun day in which I didn’t actually do alot!). Looks like I missed some fun after yesterday’s washout!
I'll do a fan post with pics when I get time!
Basically though, didn’t do much stewarding as they ended up with too many stewards! I just flitted around in my ‘high visibility vest’ and used it as an excuse to stand where I wanted. I stood at the start/finish line all day, like right by the archway over the line-Petacchi almost punched me in his victory salute the action was so close! It rained early on but later we actually saw the sun, which was nice. Muchly good day!
sounds great!
i look forward to the photos! i think some people wanted to punch Petacchi, but that’s another story…
i miss London!!
pics of ale-jet????
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
Levi:
Three seasons on from those heady days when he was leader at the Gerolsteiner team, the veteran American says he’s more than happy to be working for Contador, even though his own chances are very much alive.
"I want to be on this team. It’s my No. 1 choice for a team and I am very happy where I am at," he said. "I don’t have any regrets about anything."
Classy guy.
Apologies
If already stated, but what happened to Popo?
27 mins down on GC already, lost 11 mins today.
Not great for the Silence Lotto team leader. Cornu (who?) is their best placed rider on GC. Yet another rider who stops performing once they leave Disco/Astana?
disco
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2008 8:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Cornu very talented.
Keep a eye on him. Won a medaille on the TT World Championship a year of a few year ago
Some say the best things in life, are one the inside.
Surprise to see his allround skills
Thought he was more of a track/TT- beast?
Carlos Sastre - Tour de France winner - Born From Jets
i'll paste this from my other post...
i think Popo sacrificed himself to rescue Matt Lloyd (after yet another crash), who is now managing 35th at 18:34 to Popo’s 54th at 27:15 – chapeau to Popo!
OK, this pic is actually from stage 6
but I’ve been away for the last two days. I love their expressions Contador is thinking “hurry up and take the pic already”, Sastre looks like he’s worrying that he should be somewhere else, and Valverde is all “the camera loves me!”
I just realized
the pic was taken the day Sastre announced his new team, he’s probably thinking “I don’t want to tell Riis the news”
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