Vuelta Stage 17: Fireworks, Froome, and a Tight Finish!
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2011 1:18 PM EDT
in Vuelta a España
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The answer you're looking for is Eric Caritoux, 1984, six seconds. That's the narrowest final general classification victory in the history of the Vuelta a España, but this year's edition promises to give that record a good run, as Sky's Chris Froome briefly cracked overall leader JJ Cobo of Geox, claiming a stage victory and time bonus that cut his overall deficit to the Spaniard to 13 seconds. Ten years earlier Jose Manuel Fuente won by 11 seconds, so this year's edition is just on the podium of all-time great finishes, but with three Basque stages and the final circuit around Madrid, perhaps Froome can further narrow things, or even steal the jersey off Cobo's back.
The action was pretty tepid until the final ascent to Peña Cabarga, a nasty little 6km climb with a 10% average gradient and ramps of up to 18%. In fact, it was on the steepest sections, with under 3km to go, where Cobo accelerated, trying to seal his victory, with a ragged-looking Froome on his wheel. But Froome was either having a moment or setting up Cobo, because he unleashed the attack of his life, dropping Cobo and briefly looking like he was riding into the overall lead as the Geox man wobbled. The climb never got very easy, and Froome struggled to close out his victory, while Cobo recovered and got back to Froome, albeit after digging way too deep to contest the stage. Froome took a 1" gap and the 20" time bonus, but Cobo got 12 of those back by taking second. Bauke Mollema took third and closed in on a podium finish, as Bradley Wiggins of Sky sagged back and the former overall leader now has to cling to a 24" lead of his own to hold off the young Dutch challenger for third. The rest of the top ten was filled by guys like Dan Martin, the two Euskaltels Anton and Nieve, Marzio Bruseghin and Jurgen Van Den Broeck, all of whom had taken their shots on the lower slopes of the final climb only to lose contact with the two leaders. Results:
- Christopher Froome, Sky
- Juan Jose Cobo, Geox, at 0.01
- Bauke Mollema, Rabobank, at 0.21
- Dan Martin, Garmin, at 0.24
- Igor Anton, Euskaltel, at 0.27
Just two contenders left on GC:
- Cobo
- Froome, at 0.13
- Bradley Wiggins, Sky, at 1.41
- Mollema, at 2.05
- Denis Menchov, Geox, at 3.48
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The photo is funny to me in a 'mind totally in the gutter' sort of way...
That is all – I missed the live action this morning due to work, so don’t want to spoil it all right at the moment.
Thanks for ruining the photo for me.
I was going to say how much I liked the photo because that is the kind of look we should be seeing on these guys faces right after the finish of these aggressive mtf’s. Saw a lot of those kind of photos at the TdF this year, the signs of hope (or a new generation of actors… I kid, I kid).
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
They have all been taking classes from Voeckler.
All posts are at altitude. Acclimation may be necessary
by mr. rogers on Sep 7, 2011 1:36 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Post race faces and
the fact that quite a few tried to attack today and couldn’t finish the job. Before the top guys would continue in full speed all the way to the line.
I'm going to say it now
That minute there where Cobo was pedaling squares as Froome extended his gap was as close as Froome will ever come to winning a Grand Tour.
Probably
But that attack was badass. Seriously.
All posts are at altitude. Acclimation may be necessary
by mr. rogers on Sep 7, 2011 1:35 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Well that's just a sad way of looking at it, that is.
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
ya geez. one of the toughest Vueltas ever,
the guy spend most of the time working the front for his leader, does an impressive 47km TT, better that almost all the other GC favs, attacks his guts out and even after all that, he has no chance to win another grand tour? Bollocks to that!
Hey, he's on my team too
And he’ll be again at 6 points.
"Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!"
Ugh.
It’s just awful how hard it is to quit some riders. I finally quit Ciolek this year. P Velits on Quickstep? Yeah, that sounds like a winning combination…
But as a digression, I wonder how many young riders who do well in the Vuelta one year, ride the Tour the next and do squat? Be interesting to look back and see…
I am hoping he focuses on one day races and stage wins
He can climb, time trial and sprint. i.e. He’s either the best rider out there or he hasn’t picked a path to focus on. Focus on anything except grand tour GCs.
"Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!"
Wasn't meant as a slight
But as for “toughest ever” I highly doubt it. Every GT seems tough as we watch them but the fact remains that it takes just one look at the top 20 to realize that in terms of pure rider quality this is probably the least competitive GTs that at least I have witnessed these last 10 years.
Now that doesn’t take away from his performance but when you consider Froome’s (a rider barely mentioned in GC-terms before) future chances I think it’s not entirely unlikely that it’s a fair assessment.
fair enough on the depth of field point.
I think the main thing is that we have to see Froome compete solely for the GC. Because we don’t have anything to base our opinions off of yet, I think its premature to say its as close as he will get to winning a grand tour.
Ja, fair enough
Just feel the need to counterbalance the masses of “Next Tour de France Champion!!” cries that are bound to come in the coming days.
Look on the bright side
should take some focus away from Wiggins-the-next-tour-champion
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
what are you talking about!?!?
He’s absolutely the next Eddy Merckx!! ;)
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
Don't you mean the new EBH?
I thought EBH was the new Merckx. Or is that Sagan?
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
I remember when it was Popovich!
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
it was a loooooong time ago.
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
That's before my cycling time I'm afraid
Yes, I’m that young. Or better yet, you’re all that old.
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
I just found this at www.bikeforums.net/archives
“J Popovich is known among the racing community as “the Eddie Merx of the Espoirs”. And that’s because he’s won nearly everything there was to win. Now, some people think that I’ve been critical of Popovich in some things I’ve said. But in fact, I’ve been exactly the opposite. The kid has got enormous talent, there’s no doubt about that. "
btw: who’s “Eddie Merx”?
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
pfft
Sep eats Froomes for breakfast.
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2011 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Not too late to be the next
Andy
"If Peyton Manning crashed onto a barbed-wire fence and returned to a game, you’d never hear the end of it for the rest of your life." Jason Gay
by ELVISGOAT on Sep 7, 2011 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
How would you rate quality of gc contenders
In 1999 tour de France?
by R Mc on Sep 7, 2011 2:26 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Good point, it's similar
but since this involves Lance I will honor him and his style by availing myself of a technical loophole and note that that was more than 10 years ago.
Lame
I want to see you compare 2002-6 Tour fields to the last three Vueltas.
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2011 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions
I like your position there.
More apropos would have been to ask how you rated gc contenders in 1998 vuelta. . .
by R Mc on Sep 7, 2011 2:36 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
or the '57 Giro to the '09 Vuelta!
(equally pointless)
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
Cobo could still crack if Sky can attack him.
His biggest weakness is his mental strength, it was a struggle for him to keep on racing not so long ago. If he does crack i hope he is still capable of fighting back and doesn’t just entirely give up.
There are all these rumors, so there has to be something to it." - Jakob Fulgsang
disagree slightly
the lack of the “stars” has turned it into one of the most competetive GTs in recent years.
The cast of players may be different, but the competition between them has been excellent
Oh, I agree. The timegaps speak for themselves
That is why I said " in terms of pure rider quality". If one were to look up the combined rankings of the contenders here you would get a much higher number than for most GTs. It’s quite simply a weak field and some of the bigger favorites on paper have been sub-par too. There is no denying that.
That is not to say that the racing hasn’t been competitive but it is a factor when trying to assess Froome’s future chances based on this race.
I need a hug!
I agree with Jens…it is creepy. I feel cold.
But yeah, having Nibali, Scarponi, J-Rod and Anton ALL having sub-par races sure changed this Vuelta.
Or to put it another way, imagine this year’s Giro without Contador and Nibs and Scar having poor races. You’d have Gadret as the leader followed by J-Rod, Kreuziger and Rujano. Exciting it would have been but Gadret as Grand Tour winner? Ha.
+1
its an odd race to assess. The parcours is more difficult than normal without necessarily being the “hardest ever”, the race did start in a heatwave (even for spain at that time of year), the cast of riders involved in not the norm, until the Angliru there was no GC contender winning a stage, and still only two stage wins after today, Even the sprints have been contrary to expectation.
This race almost an outlier not just Froome but a lot of other riders future performances
one of the toughest Vueltas ever,
Still ain’t no Giro or Tour.
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
I'm hoping
that Sky will ride for Froome as their protected rider at the Giro next year, so we can see what he is really made of. And if he stumbles they will have Thomas and/or Porte as backup options.
Thomas should be their cobbles back next year
Good talent.
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
yeah
wonder what he’s have done at the ronde if he hadn’t been working for flecha
maybe he and froome can commiserate once the vuelta is over?
Unless him and the rest of Sky decide to get their track legs back
Stay away from British Cycling talent next year I say.
"Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!"
Just know that I shall never reveal the true talents
You shan’t know the next Sep til he destroys all your teams. MUAHAHAHA.
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
Speaking of Sep
He’d be a great buy at 4 or 6.
"Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!"
Oh Sep will be 4 points next year. Count on it.
However if you pick him, his price automatically goes up to 16.
Don’t pick him: 4. Pick him: 16.
Freaky.
Yeah
TIming wise it wasn’t too bad – from beginning June to end of July or something. He was long-listed for the Tour squad. Plus three weeks of the bike with achilles troubles in February, messed up his classics prep a bit.
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
thomas seems less enchanted with the track than before
going through the transition cav did i reckon
yep
I think he needs to seriously think about what he wants to do. At the Tour Chris Boardman said his problem was that in a sense he’s too talented a rider, he could do lot of things, but at some point he needs to focus. But he’s clearly loved it out on the road this year.
"I’m hoping for the Mortirolo-Gavia combination, then we can ride down to Bormio for ice cream." Emma Pooley on the Giro Donne
See the Velits discussion above
I’ve heard the same thing about Barredo too.
Thomas doesn’t seem to suffer from that to me. Sure, there’s the track, but who can resist the Olympics? He has repeatedly stated he’d be OK as Cavendish’s lead out man. And he has no chance when there’s serious climbs.
So he’s left as a rouleur and classics rider. That’s hardly spreading oneself too thin.
If you ever hear the word GC out of his mouth (except for the ENECO tour) you should burn him at the stake though.
"Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!"
I thought for sure
you were going to say that it was the highlight of the year.
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2011 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions
That 20-30 seconds
Of him mashing the holy hell out of the pedals was awesome
All posts are at altitude. Acclimation may be necessary
by mr. rogers on Sep 7, 2011 2:03 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
What a stage. Best action in the Vuelta so far imo.
Today created bigger time diffs than any of the other mountain stages. BIg surprise for me. Chapeau to Froome and Cobo.
Seriously. THAT WAS EXCITING!!
I have really enjoyed this years vuelta. I love the variety of stages (ya I know not many sprints) but lots of stages that we never really new exactly who might win, or what might happen. I much prefer this to a bunch of straight up bunch sprints.
Agree, I got lucky and checked the race just as it was hitting final two km
so I got to watch the last attacks – outstanding. Froome’s attack was badass and so was Cobo’s comeback. I thought for sure he was going to come in tenth when he popped like that.
What is going to be really interesting is to see how everyone recovers tomorrow. A few guys seemed to go really deep today.
Looked like Froome
could have put more time into Cobo by the looks of the helicopter footage of the last 75m. He had an awful lot of punch left when he blasted past and gapped Cobo at the apex of the final corner. I have to thank the Vuelta for producing a moment that had me on my feet, screaming at the TV like some idiot football fan – damn I love this sport.
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
"awful lot of punch left"
Didn’t look like that to me.
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Sep 7, 2011 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions
I didn't think so either until...
I watched it from the air – he had enough snap in his legs to recover from Cobo passing him and counter attack (no easy task given the effort he’d put in up to that point) and open up a measurable gap, all in the final 50m or so.
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
I think it was more because Cobo was way beyond his limit
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Sep 7, 2011 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions
which brings us full circle back to my initial point that perhaps
Froome could have put more time into Cobo
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
But that assumes Froome had more left in his tank
And it certainly didn’t look like he had.
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Sep 7, 2011 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions
his jump at the end was pretty swift
If he had jumped again after he was caught, Cobo may have cracked for good. of course I don’t know for sure bur Froome sure looked good today.
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
yes, another 200 meters
and the race could have been much more up in the air (literally and figuratively)
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
If Froome hadn't been able to sneakily cut through that corner
he wouldn’t have had a hope. He didn’t brilliantly to do what he did, I think.
"I’m hoping for the Mortirolo-Gavia combination, then we can ride down to Bormio for ice cream." Emma Pooley on the Giro Donne
Mollema mentions that when he accelerated in the final km, suddenly "a hundred people" crossed the road.
He rode into one of them, and lost at least 10 seconds. Which, in the light of the current difference with Wiggins, is unfortunate.
hmmm.......a "hundred" huh?
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
Delirium?
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2011 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions
exactly
maybe it was more like “a gazillion”
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
or "an awful lot"
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Sep 7, 2011 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Naturally, it was just a manner of speaking.
The point is: he had nowhere to go, and came to a complete standstill. Which is ridiculous.
by blackswangreen on Sep 7, 2011 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Maybe he's talking all over the world
Only one of ’em crossed the rode right where he accelerated, and he stupidly rode into him.
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
Bad enough
These dumbasses are crowding the riders to the point where they can’t do much but ride single file on the most decive parts of the course. If I had my way they should send a Badger-trained goonsquad just ahead of the peloton to bash some drunks and clear some space for the riders. How fucking hard is it to stand 2 meters back so people can race?
I don't know that Hinault cares enough about the Vuelta anymore
to bother training a goonsquad.
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
ASO have a piece now
He cares. Or at least he’s paid to.
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2011 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Was it the Giro where they had the punching motorbike guy?
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
Agreed completely
They should attach blades to the wheels of a lead moto so there’s a four or five metre wide gap. Spectators would stay back.
Well, apart from on the Angliru where the moto would fall off and all the riders would hit the blades. Hmmmm… Maybe not such a great idea.
I'm forced to the other side of this now...
whether it was a hundred or just one, he can hardly be called “stupid” for a spectator being where he had no business being at a time like that. I’m guessing Mollema was pretty well cross-eyed by that point anyway.
Whenever you hear the word "honor"
be prepared to eat a big bullshit sandwich.
Sorry Albertina, but I have to repost this tweet
@Im_Partial Um, I have a confession to make. I crashed when descending. On foot. Wearing an Euskie cap & carrying a Basque flag :O
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Sep 7, 2011 3:08 PM EDT reply actions 4 recs
Can someone
please make a fanpost of this? I have a meeting to go to.
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2011 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Of course! But fanposting Albertina's carroty shame after a "don't tell" request...?
Some things are beyond a simple DDIFP.
Pfft
Regrets are for Oregonians and Belgians.
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Sep 7, 2011 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Actually the Euskis also crashed today
according to Pinotti in Canada: “I hope the Euskaltel guys who crashed today in training are fine.”
"Beer helps." -- Ant1.
From Lyne in Canada
6 of his teammates crashed this morning during training ride. Last year, 8 of the team crashing in training-Sanchez
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Sep 7, 2011 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions
RTBF has an article up
http://www.rtbf.be/sport/cyclisme/detail_euskaltel-re-chute-a-l-entrainement?id=6715233
Six went down, Miguel Minguez is hurt worse, uncertain for the Canadian races.
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
Hey! It's hard walking down carrying a cyclist in a sack
"...my reverse cyclelogy has paid off." -ant1
Full Results
Here, for your VDS Result updating pleasure.
"If Peyton Manning crashed onto a barbed-wire fence and returned to a game, you’d never hear the end of it for the rest of your life." Jason Gay
Vuelta VDS results until today
http://www.podiumcafevds.com/results.php?y=2011&event=3
Top 10 teams
1. FrenchKheldar La tête dans le guidon 1135
2. CF-TSM De Vuile Aapjes 1120
3. dallsopp Maxpower 1068
4. Davey H Burgi’s Glorious Bastards 1057
5. The%20%20Count The Count 1054
6. FrankV Vlammende Vedetten 1053
7. ontherockz Points on pedals 1003
8. Cyclemania Cyclemania JH 998
9. mirons Leopard team 946
10. karoz55 Indiana Cog Scicling 881
Top 10 riders
1. GEO Juan Jose Cobo 305
2. KAT Joaquim Rodriguez 300
3. KAT Daniel Moreno 270
4. LIQ Peter Sagan 230
5. RAB Bauke Mollema 220
6. MOV Pablo Lastras 192
7. SKY Chris Froome 180
8. GRM Daniel Martin 155
SKY Bradley Wiggins 155
10. LEO Daniele Bennati 136
Cobo is on 21 teams: http://www.podiumcafevds.com/riders.php?y=2011&pid=61&name=Juan+Jose+Cobo
"Beer helps." -- Ant1.
Are there intermediate bonifications in this Vuelta?
Either for sprints or climbs? If so, the remaining stages could be extra-painful for Sky and Geox, depending on what breaks go when.
Sprints, yes
6, 4, and 2 seconds.
Schleckonds.
by dees ees en drama on Sep 7, 2011 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Sprinting climbers
Excellent!
My fruit bowl is full of sex wax--gavia
by Douglas Ansel on Sep 7, 2011 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions
This will come down to the phyysios and the Soigneurs...
Sky vs Geox….
Clearly Froome and Cobo both went deeeeep into the red zone and were fully anaerobic for God-knows how long…The man who recovers better will be in a position to win the Vuelta…
This race will be won in the hotel, but Good LORD that was a helluva finish! Froome had to win that bastard twice in 500m! Extraordinary, and one just cannot say enough about the strength of Froome and the resiliency of Cobo (or vice versa- they really were the class of the field)
I can't recall
seeing two exhausted riders punching like that at the end of a GT stage. Cobo, Froome, Cobo, Froome, all in about 800 meters. I’m sure there must be something like it in the past? But I can’t recall one. Can anyone recall anything comparable?
With the amount of " official motorbikes " available at he Vuelta , could they not be able to be positioned at the start of a crucial climb and move into action in the areas that any " one eyed journo " would recognise as a " Hot point " on a climb ? We all know where the steepest sections are from the " Official race Book " so there is no excuse for saying that the organisers were "SURPRISED "!
Peanuts are always trying to get their Mug on the TV as can be seen from them waving a hand at the passing camera with a phone clamped to the ear as racer passes them . Fact is i wonder why they wait by the roadside when all they want is to be seen rather than aplaud the racers ’ efforts !
Over at the mushroom farm the are debating " Froome’s efforts " , as usual they have forgotten the talent this guy had before joining " Sky " but now he has come out of the " Shadow of BW we will see him treated beter by the team !
Took over 20mb to get this post on with the usual detour thru " "BS " of U S Sport
SKIPPY AN ADVOCATE FOR DISABLED SPORT
by Skippy Mc Carthy on Sep 8, 2011 9:20 AM EDT reply actions
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