La Vuelta 2010: Parcours Announcement
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 16, 2009 9:41 AM EST
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PrintUse this as a live chat. Actual route details shortly. Please say there's a fashion element to this event... Update! Not to rant or anything, but what kind of a sorry-ass grand tour unveils its route without a live gathering of any consequence? Cyclists rarely get out in public for anything fun -- the odd swim shot in Curacao or another November vacation, and these route announcements. This is a precious opportunity for them to show they can don nice threads, accessorize, and gel their hair to look like an American cardinal. And I would think pretty much anywhere in Spain is a perfectly acceptable locale for just such a gala. This would also serve the Vuelta's interests by drumming up a little more attention and creating some buzz. So what does the Vuelta do? Details are sketchy, but I believe they slipped a piece of paper under the door of the Unipublic offices to a waiting AS reporter at lunchtime on a Wednesday. This paper, it was said, contained the URL that the reporter could use to look up the Vuelta route. Feel the drama as the AS reporter manually types in the address -- a situation that just begs for a typo and one of those "get bent" messages that Explorer does so well.
Morons! [audio ~nsfw]
Another UPDATE! Apparently there was a presentation. Some nice suits and whatnot. So I kinda sorta take back my rant.
Stages:
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The route details are all on CN. Looks climby but there are no profiles or anything helpful like that.
I considered posting something proper but post-prandial apathy got the better of me.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/vuelta-2010-route-announced
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/65th-vuelta-a-espana-his/stages
no live presentation for la vuelta... announcement already made in sevilla
http://www.lavuelta.com/index_in.html
http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/
dang, chris, ya beat me to it…
mountains mountains and more mountains
6 mountain top finishes
2 time trials (night-time TTT and a 46km ITT)
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
i likes the la vuelta website updates
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
Love the link bar that lets you see miniprofiles of every stage at once
Makes it so easy to pick and choose.
Letour.fr could take a few pointers from these guys and also from the Giro website.
by Mr 60 Percent on Dec 16, 2009 12:21 PM EST up reply actions
the french suck at websites
but they are really crazy about those little emoticon thingies that jump all around. When are we getting those on pdc chris?
hey those were great!
My used-to-be-before-i-introduced-her-to-computers-and-interwebs-luddite girlfriend still had one when i met her, oh, 4-5 yrs ago. And it still worked. And worked really well. Thing was ancient. Discovering that old thing in france was kinda like going to a museum and being amazed at the technological accomplishments of ancient civilazations. But I bet there are geezers here who still use them.
gah
the punctuation exuberance is a bit eyecrossing. i actually kind of enjoy the bouncing emoticons.
i like em too mostly
but they sometimes go a bit overboard here. But it’s funny that they really can’t live without em – total necessity for french people.
the internet
equivalent of hand gestures, I suppose. I really can’t survive without the assorted smileys in internet speech – you don’t have the context of a more lengthy formal bit of writing, and it’s hard to convey the tone of things without them.
Gav loves 
espresso 
oh yeah 
We so have to make a Schleck gif..
a Cyclist who can’t make the corner. Go the barrier. Look rigt and left and than drop like a stone down only leaving us with some whoosh thing down…
I would so heart that!
Right, thanks
This isn’t really worth the time but I’m here anyway and christmas holiday is almost here … I used these:
http://images.fok.nl/s/static.gif (cheerleader)
http://images.fok.nl/s/loveys.gif (kisses)
http://images.fok.nl/s/koffie.gif (non-ani coffee)
http://images.fok.nl/s/yes_new.gif (nodding)
These come up with a big 'Forbidden' on my computer :(
I love the bananas!
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Because they blocked the referrer, apparently
If you must see them, copy the link and paste into new window/tab.
I can live with just the bananas...
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
pancake flat ITT
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
No fashion parade?
How terribly disappointing. How can the Vuelta compete with the TdF and Giro without lots of riders in stylish suits for the presentation?
best of the best, ya know
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Dec 16, 2009 11:00 AM EST up reply actions
thanks much, katiek
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Dec 16, 2009 11:01 AM EST up reply actions
funny
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Dec 16, 2009 11:17 AM EST up reply actions
sanchez
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
28 august - 19 september
"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 Portugal?
I kid, I kid…
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 16, 2009 9:53 AM EST up reply actions
No one told me there'd be geography!
Bah! Why do you hate Portugal Chris?
Just seeing
if you’re awake Sempre…
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 16, 2009 12:32 PM EST up reply actions
Basque Country
So weren’t they going to have a stage in the Pais Vasco? I am not seeing one. I thought this was the big symbolic gesture of the 2010 Vuelta??
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 16, 2009 9:55 AM EST reply actions
CN seem to reckon they are going into to the Basque Country
but if this is so it must only be for a couple of kms fractionally inside the border. But looking at the map I don’t think it even does that.
Lame
nice half-arsed “symbolic gesture”. Ranks right up there with DS Little Bear apologizing to his little brother because I made him.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 16, 2009 10:44 AM EST up reply actions
maybe some of the locals did not appreciate the gesture
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
Was it not actually more of an idea rather than a plan for next year?
I’d have thought that by the time the vote went through the Basque Parliament, most of the Vuelta route for 2010 would have been agreed anyway.
Red leaders jersey!!!!
Maybe I missed that and I have yet to actually see it but I like the idea of changing the leaders jersey to red.
I wonder if there is red ochre?
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
I like the change to red as well.
Much bolder color. Very Spanish to me with the red cape and bravery thing going on.
No horn, watch for finger.
Prediction
someone is going to hit the first week hard, and take the leaders jersey by the third stage and make lots of noise about keeping it all the way….then blow up spectacularly.
"It looks like talking, but it’s just words that comes out"
~ Andy Schleck
I like this idea
OK folks… predictions? And of course I don’t mean the final GC. Anything else.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 16, 2009 10:31 AM EST up reply actions
gesink will fall off his bike in one of the latter stages will in red and have to abandon the race
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Dec 16, 2009 11:16 AM EST up reply actions
My prediction
Someone is going to bump someone else off his line in a sprint, precipitating a big argument.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 16, 2009 10:30 AM EST reply actions
my prediction (/wish)
Chris Horner takes his first grand tour.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
Can I offer you
some frankincense?
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 16, 2009 12:54 PM EST up reply actions
Oh yay to adding that little monster of a climb they had this year
on stage 8. Seems the Vuelta has gone down a more Giro route next year. Not too much to make a difference the first two weeks and then a lot of climbing in the last 8 stages.
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
Dear Race Organizers...
… real maps with real time tables would help for those of us who actually use those things to know more about your race. Perhaps you could have a look at a Michelin Guide or a Thomas Guide or, you know, Google Maps (Psst… that last one is free to use) to see what a real map looks like.
Besos a todos…
CrashDan
"Jens! is my favorite rider. I love watching him handing out plates of hot, steaming suffer!" - Mahatma Gandhi
look what crawled out from wherever he was hiding
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Dec 16, 2009 12:25 PM EST up reply actions
I keep waiting for the six day threads...
… but I have no reason to stand up yet. Those things are eaaasssyyy to map :)
"Jens! is my favorite rider. I love watching him handing out plates of hot, steaming suffer!" - Mahatma Gandhi
oh, and the real maps and time tables will be included on the website (as has been for the last several years) closer to the race date
the same as with the giro and le tour websites
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Dec 16, 2009 12:26 PM EST up reply actions
sorta
The Vuelta time tables were poopy and showed up like the day the race started. Bah Vuelta website!
i saw them at least two weeks before the race started
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Dec 16, 2009 12:51 PM EST up reply actions
I found the Vuelta website
truly hopeless during the race, easily the worst of the three GTs. But perhaps that’s just me.
Fittingly...
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 16, 2009 1:45 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah... they had the stage profiles, and they had the time tables...
… but they had no actual stage maps, only the massive overview. The time tables were nearly unreadable, the time tables for the first stages listing turning directions in Spanish with everything else in Dutch. The time tables were also written in a fashion like your grandmother was giving you directions to Old Uncle Fred’s house in the country resulting in Crashdan interactions somewhat like this…
Crashdan reads: “go that way for 25km, make a right, go 13.2km, make another right. When you get to the roundabout. Go left at the intersection”
Crashdan thinks: "Wait… do I go right at the roundabout? Which exit? There are three!?? Or is that the intersection you’re talking about?? Do you mean “go to the roundabout and make a 90º left turn by driving 270º around it?”
Crashdan does: “Oh poop… just tell me what city were ending up in and I’ll let Google Earth approximate where we go.”
Literally, the timetables and mapping were so bad, I had to spend a weekend at Oktoberfest to recover. Honest I did.
"Jens! is my favorite rider. I love watching him handing out plates of hot, steaming suffer!" - Mahatma Gandhi
Giro did that night prologue in 2005
Only 1 K as I recall. Lancaster won by nanoseconds or something like that. Ok more than that but really…
Yep
That thingy was pretty sweet actually. But that was individual. A night team time trial has far more potential for mayhem.
Ahem, not to bust on your rant Chris, but according to CN
Today’s presentation can best be billed as epic, taking place in a huge auditorium (the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de Sevilla), and featuring stirring video segments complete with soaring music, dramatic slo-mo images and glitzy graphics. The opening clip focussed on the history of the race, underlining that this 65th Vuelta is an important anniversary for the event.
Black and white film of the riders on crude road surfaces segued into more colourful shots, taking those present on a chronological journey through the years and featuring many of the great champions and big battles. Images of the 2008 and 2009 editions were then followed by the real meat of the launch; namely the details of next year’s route, and an insight into what kind of race it should be.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/gruelling-vuelta-a-espana-promises-action-and-unpredictability
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
OK
gala pictures??
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 16, 2009 5:32 PM EST up reply actions
Click the link, there are some
also some have been posted further up in the thread.
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
Personally - I'm delighted
Know people with holiday homes in Sevile, Marbella and Malaga. Best Vuelta since 06.
Yay!
What? – It’s not all about me?…..
Menchov
still undecided, per Rabo Sport. Giro or Vuelta seems like the choice. He likes to do the Tour plus one other.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 17, 2009 11:13 PM EST reply actions
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