The Daily Race: Vuelta a España Stage 8

by Jen See on Sep 4, 2010 4:20 AM EDT in Vuelta a España

Vuelta a España Podium Cafe

Stage 8: Villena — Xorret de Catí

What is it? Mountainous.
Got Climbs? I'm not sure there's any flat road anywhere on this stage. The final climb hits 22%.
Red Jersey Battle: So on. Bring your climbing legs, boys!
Ideal Rider: Joaquím Rodríguez. It's a climber's party.
@Gavia: Carlos Sastre will win. He's not too old. He's not! He's not!

View Ted's Course Map
View Stage Profile
Alto Xorret de Catí

With this stage, the riders face the first real mountain stage of this year's Vuelta. The profile comprises five categorized climbs, and the finale includes gradients tilting up to 22%. No, that's not a typo. Scarcely any flat ground appears to ease the pain of this all up and down stage. The course maps looks like a road runner, several rounded bits with two legs attached. The riders roll out from Villena and finish in Xorret de Catí which sits just southeast of where the stage begins. Yes, the Vuelta delights in loopy stage traces. The climbs come at relatively regular intervals along the road. Allow me to direct to you the stage information sheet for details. Because really, you don't need me to retype that thing, do you? No, you didn't.

The Vuelta raced up the Alto Xorret de Catí last year, and Gustavo César Veloso of Xacobeo-Galicia won the stage. Alejandro Valverde led a group of favorites that included Ivan Basso, Cadel Evans, and Robert Gesink. Joaquím Rodríguez finished around 30 seconds behind them. This final climb, it isn't so easy. The steepest section, that 22% bit, comes with around 1.5 kilometers to the summit, then it's an easy 13% to the top of the climb. No problems, eh? The Alto Xorret de Catí summits with 3 kilometers left to race and it's a downhill run to the finish. The descent offers a slim chance of shutting down the gaps opened on the climb, but it'll be over before you know it. Last year, Fränk Schleck and Samuel Sánchez dropped 50 seconds to Valverde on this stage. It's certainly a finish to take seriously.

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Taaraeme who met the “man with the hammer”

by Frinking on Sep 3, 2010 2:21 PM EDT reply actions

Linky corrected!

Thanks to Ted for catching the error :D

by Jen See on Sep 3, 2010 3:32 PM EDT reply actions

HILLS!

moo

by Willj on Sep 3, 2010 4:35 PM EDT reply actions

Xorret de Cati 1998

Brilliant climb in the shadow of dr. Fuentes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1F2txM3TTA

by Grzdylu on Sep 3, 2010 6:35 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Lots of up and down.

Ted’s map profile looks brutal.

by ELVISGOAT on Sep 3, 2010 8:03 PM EDT reply actions

Maybe we'll see some gaps open up in the GC.

I'll eliminate you like I eliminate gluten from my diet.
www.battleredblog.com

by tehGrindCrusher on Sep 4, 2010 6:27 AM EDT up reply actions

love the fork and knife symbol

on the profile thing. They stop for a picnic at the top of the mountain? Lovely!

by yeehoo on Sep 4, 2010 5:42 AM EDT reply actions

There was crash in peloton

Gilbert, Cavendish, Arroyo involved

by Grzdylu on Sep 4, 2010 7:04 AM EDT reply actions

Ouch! There's a live thread in the archive...

"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'

by Seahorse on Sep 4, 2010 7:09 AM EDT up reply actions

It's a lot harder to find those these days.

I'll eliminate you like I eliminate gluten from my diet.
www.battleredblog.com

by tehGrindCrusher on Sep 4, 2010 7:12 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree... accident rather than design..

"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'

by Seahorse on Sep 4, 2010 7:17 AM EDT up reply actions

Not that I'm complaining

But perhaps the wise heads at PdC can fix that.

I'll eliminate you like I eliminate gluten from my diet.
www.battleredblog.com

by tehGrindCrusher on Sep 4, 2010 7:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Live race threads can be scheduled to appear automatically so that you can have them early and chat away to your heart's content.

But they can’t be scheduled to link themselves—someone has to be around to edit the link in. I’d have done it sooner, but nobody in the live thread mentioned the link wasn’t live.

If the link isn’t live, there are section links on the main page on the left hand side—look for the one that says Live Races. (That might be what Seahorse means by the “archive.”)

I really do not understand the truth.--Riccardo Ricco (per Google Translate)

by majope on Sep 4, 2010 8:39 AM EDT up reply actions