# SPOILER : Tour de San Luis



## rich p (19 Jan 2013)

..at last we have some racing to talk about - albeit early season skirmishes and training!
Starting on Monday it includes Bertie, Cav, Rodriguez, Nibali, Sagan; so a pretty decent start list.
May be a good place for Cav to work on the new lead-out.


----------



## User169 (19 Jan 2013)

rich p said:


> ..at last we have some racing to talk about.



This could be a short thread...!


----------



## Snarf (19 Jan 2013)

Contador, Rodriguez and Tejay van Garderen are also riding - it really is a strong field isn't it.

I liked van Garderen in the TdF, he seemed a really strong rider. A leader of his team and a genuine GC contender in the not too distant future.


----------



## raindog (19 Jan 2013)

Yep, back to sanity on monday. 
sick to death of seeing LA's name everywhere at the moment


----------



## rich p (19 Jan 2013)

My guess is that it won't run to 100 pages, DP! Hopefully we can keep it an LA free zone as RD suggests!


----------



## Get In The Van (19 Jan 2013)

Is this being covered on the tellybox/interweb anywhere?
i usually have my vip seat for certain sports


----------



## rich p (19 Jan 2013)

Get In The Van said:


> Is this being covered on the tellybox/interweb anywhere?
> i usually have my vip seat for certain sports


Not that I know of, but there are some resourceful people on here!


----------



## johnr (19 Jan 2013)

Steephill TV usually has a list of available on-line TV coverage (plus other links). I tried to open their link to Tour de San Luis but it wouldn't do it in Internet Explorer!
Here's the link if you've got other browsers http://www.steephill.tv/ or http://www.steephill.tv/2013/uci-world-calendar/#race=Tour de San Luis


----------



## Flying_Monkey (20 Jan 2013)

Try www.cyclingfans.com too.


----------



## montage (21 Jan 2013)

Already annoyed at this race.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/van-garderen-downplays-expectations-at-san-luis

Nibali Contador and Van G all have a good chance here - nobody is going to be in "great form". This making excuses before the race has started attitude is all too common, why can't they just man up and say they are going to try their hardest to win a race that they are going to be trying to win.


----------



## Nearly there (21 Jan 2013)

looks like links aren't working yet

http://www.procyclinglive.com/livestream/


----------



## AndyRM (21 Jan 2013)

montage said:


> Already annoyed at this race.
> http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/van-garderen-downplays-expectations-at-san-luis
> 
> Nibali Contador and Van G all have a good chance here - nobody is going to be in "great form". This making excuses before the race has started attitude is all too common, why can't they just man up and say they are going to try their hardest to win a race that they are going to be trying to win.


 
It's interesting how people interpret things.

The way I see it, he's saying that he's pretty happy with how he's starting, but he's not going to be killing himself to win. For a small race at the start of the season, I think that's probably fair enough.


----------



## Steve H (21 Jan 2013)

It is supposed to be covered on this link although coverage not started yet


http://www.cyclingfans.com/node/6799


----------



## deptfordmarmoset (21 Jan 2013)

These are the 2 procyclinglive links, scheduled for 18:00 this evening

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/canal13sanluistv
http://www.toursanluis.com/vivo/


----------



## oldroadman (21 Jan 2013)

montage said:


> Already annoyed at this race.
> http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/van-garderen-downplays-expectations-at-san-luis
> 
> Nibali Contador and Van G all have a good chance here - nobody is going to be in "great form". This making excuses before the race has started attitude is all too common, why can't they just man up and say they are going to try their hardest to win a race that they are going to be trying to win.


 
It's an early season small stage race. Big players with ambitions for races where it really matters use these as conditioning and as a form guide. It is not a matter of excuses, but reality. There will be one or two riders in good form, but for the majority it's a matter of getting some race miles in decent weather before the big stuff starts. You have to bear in mind that Paris-Nice is not too many weeks away, for example, and for classics riders this is a chance to get some warm race miles before Belgium in late winter - no-one would call late February/early March spring who has ever raced there. Also it's a nice trip to a continent which rarely gets visited, so why not enjoy. No doubt there will be some locals and Columbians eager to show what they can do, which is what these races are all about.


----------



## Herzog (21 Jan 2013)

deptfordmarmoset said:


> These are the 2 procyclinglive links, scheduled for 18:00 this evening
> 
> http://www.ustream.tv/channel/canal13sanluistv
> http://www.toursanluis.com/vivo/


 
Thanks for the links!


----------



## Sittingduck (21 Jan 2013)

I clicked on the links and just got some Spanish TV show


----------



## rich p (21 Jan 2013)

Sittingduck said:


> I clicked on the links and just got some Spanish TV show


 
She's kinda cute, though!


----------



## Steve H (21 Jan 2013)

Well after checking in to the live feed about 10 times over two hours to see if it was on yet, I managed to miss the two minutes of live action that was actually shown. Grrrrr. Also seemed to be no replays. From what I could pick up from the Spanish commentary, I think it was a good result... which I won't spoil for you all in case you have it to watch yet from a different source.


----------



## bobcat (21 Jan 2013)

First road race of the year with a new team, pretty good start !


----------



## Slaav (21 Jan 2013)

Any more details???

(RUshing off to find them myself....)


----------



## Rob3rt (21 Jan 2013)

I know this is not exactly a high profile event that is televised etc, but just for future reference, don't state the outcome of a race in the thread title. State the race title and make it clear the thread will contain Spoilers. Thanks muchly.


----------



## Slaav (21 Jan 2013)

Rob3rt said:


> I know this is not exactly a high profile event that is televised etc, but just for future reference, don't state the outcome of a race in the thread title. State the race title and make it clear the thread will contain Spoilers. Thanks muchly.


 
Have found it but soooo hot off the press that I cannot find any proper details just yet


----------



## Hip Priest (21 Jan 2013)

Pretty strong field too. Petacchi, Sagan and Hushovd all in the Top 10.


----------



## mcshroom (21 Jan 2013)

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/cycling-cavendish-wins-stage-argentina-new-team-204656230.html


----------



## deptfordmarmoset (21 Jan 2013)

Slaav said:


> Have found it but soooo hot off the press that I cannot find any proper details just yet


From the shambolic livestream coverage I saw (1 camera hanging over the railings, missed the finish as it was still looking at the pack...) Cav won by a couple of bike's length ahead of Sacha Modolo, with Attacky Petacci in 3rd. Not sure about this but I think Sagan came in 4th. Echappés got hunted down so it was a bunch sprint.


----------



## Noodley (21 Jan 2013)

This would be the race for which there is already a thread - please take the time to observe some etiquette. And as Rob says, spoilers are good manners. I'm hoping my entire season of racing is not going to be spoiled by people starting threads with the results in the title!!


----------



## Crackle (21 Jan 2013)

Good win for Cav.


----------



## rich p (21 Jan 2013)

...and put SPOILER in the title as the feckwit OP didn't bother doing so.


----------



## Sittingduck (21 Jan 2013)

Oh Rich - I canne believe you started a spolier thread! Shame on you


----------



## rich p (21 Jan 2013)

Sittingduck said:


> Oh Rich - I canne believe you started a spolier thread! Shame on you


What's a spolier?


----------



## deptfordmarmoset (21 Jan 2013)

Sure, the thread should have Spoiler in the title. On the other hand, it's not as though you can hide from the news à la Likely Lads and watch it unfurl on the TV later on. Because as far as I can work out, the only TV coverage was 30 seconds of Galtieri quality camera work that happened to be pointing the camera at the bunch when the winner crossed the line - neither worth watching nor watchable.


----------



## Rob3rt (21 Jan 2013)

deptfordmarmoset said:


> Sure, the thread should have Spoiler in the title. On the other hand, it's not as though you can hide from the news à la Likely Lads and watch it unfurl on the TV later on. Because as far as I can work out, the only TV coverage was 30 seconds of Galtieri quality camera work that happened to be pointing the camera at the bunch when the winner crossed the line - neither worth watching nor watchable.


 
It is good form and sets a precedent! Let's get it right before the big races start coming round eh?


----------



## Noodley (21 Jan 2013)

deptfordmarmoset said:


> Sure, the thread should have Spoiler in the title. On the other hand, it's not as though you can hide from the news à la Likely Lads and watch it unfurl on the TV later on. Because as far as I can work out, the only TV coverage was 30 seconds of Galtieri quality camera work that happened to be pointing the camera at the bunch when the winner crossed the line - neither worth watching nor watchable.


 
Did you miss the thread which was merged with this one, where the title was "Cav Wins!"?


----------



## deptfordmarmoset (21 Jan 2013)

Rob3rt said:


> It is good form and sets a precedent! Let's get it right before the big races start coming round eh?


I agree entirely but I was just arguing that in this case there's no point in withholding the news because there's no highlights to watch afterwards. But certainly, spoiler warnings should be the default approach.


----------



## Crackle (21 Jan 2013)

deptfordmarmoset said:


> I agree entirely but I was just arguing that in this case there's no point in withholding the news because there's no highlights to watch afterwards. But certainly, spoiler warnings should be the default approach.


In this case, probably not, although you don't know and people have many reasons for not wanting to see the results in threads and especially titles, hence the etiquette of the SPOILER thread, so we might as well observe the convention of that and also try to keep it all in one thread as it's easier to follow that way.


----------



## deptfordmarmoset (21 Jan 2013)

Noodley said:


> Did you miss the thread which was merged with this one, where the title was "Cav Wins!"?


No, I saw that thread. My point was that there's no live TV coverage of the highlights so there's little sense in shielding yourself from the news.


----------



## Rob3rt (21 Jan 2013)

We get that............. but people need to learn the etiquette now, before the big races with footage come around! Politely requesting spoiler alerts and telling people not to put the outcome in the thread title now, hopefully avoids some of the nobbery later!


----------



## Noodley (21 Jan 2013)

Fair point, but I do not want to get threads all through the season with excited "xxxx Wins!" every day!


----------



## deptfordmarmoset (21 Jan 2013)

Ok, sorry if I've upset anybody, I was just making a point and now I'll fall back in line!


----------



## claver58 (21 Jan 2013)

Results are here
http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/01/race-results/2012-tour-de-san-luis-results-stage-1_272196


----------



## bobcat (22 Jan 2013)

Sorry all, did not think, will do in future. I had been trying for hours to get some footage so when I saw 20 seconds of the finish was all overcome!


----------



## raindog (22 Jan 2013)

Jesus, not this spoiler crap again where everyone has to grovel and apologise for nothing. 

Looks like Chavanel gave him the final pull. Nice little win that. It'll settle Cav nicely into the team.


----------



## rich p (22 Jan 2013)

An unusually early success for Cav. He normally starts slightly off the boil with teeth, and weight-loss issues.


----------



## Rob3rt (22 Jan 2013)

rich p said:


> An unusually early success for Cav. He normally starts slightly off the boil with teeth, *and weight-loss issues*.


 
He must be on that new fasting diet that they are all talking about


----------



## Sittingduck (22 Jan 2013)

Nice one Cav


----------



## raindog (22 Jan 2013)

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33CBpqosAko


----------



## Flying_Monkey (22 Jan 2013)

Terrible coverage, but looked like business as usual for Cav from last year - scrappy, relying on his own judgment and speed, lead-out train not really lasting until the end...


----------



## raindog (22 Jan 2013)

He went a long way out, didn't he?


----------



## rich p (22 Jan 2013)

Thanks for that RD - I think
Coverage not too bad FM considering it was filmed by one of the podium girls on her i-phone.


----------



## addictfreak (22 Jan 2013)

Is this being covered by Eurosport?


----------



## rich p (22 Jan 2013)

addictfreak said:


> Is this being covered by Eurosport?


 see my reply above


----------



## raindog (22 Jan 2013)

Well, it was better than nowt.


----------



## rich p (22 Jan 2013)

raindog said:


> Well, it was better than nowt.


 True!
Did Cav in the interview forget one of his team-mate's first names?


----------



## RoyPSB (22 Jan 2013)

And slutty looking podium girls - saucy!


----------



## Snarf (22 Jan 2013)

I now realise that the reason the Falklands Islanders do not want to be part of Argentina and the majority of their argument is based on TV coverage.

ITV football coverage looks classy compared to this.

Well done Cav!


----------



## WannabeCyclist (22 Jan 2013)

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F44b1wJtJUE

Better quality, only put the finish, there are highlights of the whole race up. Much harder to pick out cav without his world champs jersey on hahaa


----------



## Steve H (22 Jan 2013)

WannabeCyclist said:


> View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F44b1wJtJUE
> 
> Better quality, only put the finish, there are highlights of the whole race up. Much harder to pick out cav without his world champs jersey on hahaa




Thanks for this clip. Most of the footage I've seen so far is appalling. This seems to be the best clip I've seen. Agree with your comment about Cav and his world champs jersey. Hopefully this also makes it a bit harder from some of the competition to know where he is as well!


----------



## Herzog (22 Jan 2013)

Shocking coverage, good to see Cav back winning on a Venge!


----------



## thom (22 Jan 2013)

Modolo, Cav, Howard for stage 2


----------



## Flying_Monkey (22 Jan 2013)

Nice win for Modolo, who's really developing now - looks like the sprints are going to be competitive this year!


----------



## WannabeCyclist (23 Jan 2013)

Coverage is pretty dire, but heres stage 2


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhEpeYf9CCo

Cav went far earlier than I would normally expect him, OPQS doing well for him though


----------



## raindog (23 Jan 2013)

ta for the vid - that was very impressive from Modolo


----------



## Flying_Monkey (23 Jan 2013)

Very twisty finish without a long straight, so it was all about sustaining power through the corners and positioning.


----------



## Strathlubnaig (23 Jan 2013)

Interesting wee quote from Cavendish post Stage 1 "It is so nice to have a team with me that is 100 percent committed"


----------



## doctornige (23 Jan 2013)

Strathlubnaig said:


> Interesting wee quote from Cavendish post Stage 1 "It is so nice to have a team with me that is 100 percent committed"



I would not think that to be a negative Sky comment, just a positive OPQS one. OPQS have not really shown their cards on this in terms of coming out and saying 'We are after the sprints, and nothing else.' 

Please tell me if my info is wrong though. I can't read all the press on two tours!


----------



## rich p (23 Jan 2013)

doctornige said:


> I would not think that to be a negative Sky comment, just a positive OPQS one. OPQS have not really shown their cards on this in terms of coming out and saying 'We are after the sprints, and nothing else.'
> 
> Please tell me if my info is wrong though. I can't read all the press on two tours!


 They did say that they weren't interested in having a GC contender - which is not exactly the same thing.


----------



## doctornige (23 Jan 2013)

rich p said:


> They did say that they weren't interested in having a GC contender - which is not exactly the same thing.



But pretty close. It could be strategic: Give Cav an early jersey, cement him in the team, get support from him later.


----------



## thom (23 Jan 2013)

doctornige said:


> But pretty close. It could be strategic: Give Cav an early jersey, cement him in the team, get support from him later.


I reckon that they'll be a happy team for him. I think their strategy will be getting a variety of riders stage victories in grand tours and classics. Cav will look for the green jersey in the tour of course but apart from that, I'm not sure they'll care so much. Boonen can't match last season's Classic victories surely, particularly with his arm injury but Chav and Cav should have a lot of fun and get involved aggressively trying to win flat to bumpy stages.


----------



## rich p (23 Jan 2013)

It would be nice if this kick-started Cav into a flat(tish) classics rider.


----------



## thom (23 Jan 2013)

rich p said:


> It would be nice if this kick-started Cav into a flat(tish) classics rider.


I do think this will happen at OPQS - they are a belgian team with a fantastic classics pedigree


----------



## Herbie (23 Jan 2013)

rich p said:


> My guess is that it won't run to 100 pages, DP! Hopefully we can keep it an LA free zone as RD suggests!


 
too late LA has been mentioned already


----------



## rich p (23 Jan 2013)

Herbie said:


> too late LA has been mentioned already


 Louis Armstrong? Liked blowing his own trumpet?


----------



## Flying_Monkey (23 Jan 2013)

Stage 3 (the tough one), won by Alex Diniz, who's just come back from a doping suspension... beating all those top world riders, he's clearly still well-prepared even now he's clean now, eh, readers?


----------



## beastie (23 Jan 2013)

Flying_Monkey said:


> Stage 3 (the tough one), won by Alex Diniz, who's just come back from a doping suspension... beating all those top world riders, he's clearly still well-prepared even now he's clean now, eh, readers?


Hhhhhmmmmmnnn. Quite.

*suspiciously raises an eyebrow.*


----------



## raindog (24 Jan 2013)

Sounded like a really interesting stage that. Tejay looking good.

Loved this on the race....


> It's a far cry from the Tour or any other of ASO's monopoly of riches, and long may it continue. The _salle de press_ is a mini-van, not a concrete jungle or _palais de congres_;


----------



## rich p (24 Jan 2013)

Hmmm, maybe not quite as stellar as Grabowski.


----------



## thom (24 Jan 2013)

Flying_Monkey said:


> Stage 3 (the tough one), won by Alex Diniz, who's just come back from a doping suspension... beating all those top world riders, he's clearly still well-prepared even now he's clean now, eh, readers?


Oh yes, there's nothing suspicious about this:


----------



## raindog (24 Jan 2013)

Jesus, guys, maybe he's clean, maybe he's not, but he jumped early and managed to stay ahead. It's not the first time we've seen that from a rider, give the guy a break till he gets caught again. This place is getting like the Clinic.
"I knew that I had little chance against the WorldTour riders if I stayed with them on the climb so I had to go early and try and hang on. I was sure they would catch me before the finish but every time I looked back I couldn't see anyone coming."


----------



## Flying_Monkey (24 Jan 2013)

raindog said:


> Jesus, guys, maybe he's clean, maybe he's not, but he jumped early and managed to stay ahead. It's not the first time we've seen that from a rider, give the guy a break till he gets caught again. This place is getting like the Clinic.
> "I knew that I had little chance against the WorldTour riders if I stayed with them on the climb so I had to go early and try and hang on. I was sure they would catch me before the finish but every time I looked back I couldn't see anyone coming."


 
He's put in great rides before - but he was proven to have cheated. It's not as if it's all just rumours and jealousy with Diniz. And that was an incredible ride. I mean incredible.


----------



## Herzog (24 Jan 2013)

Flying_Monkey said:


> And that was an incredible ride. I mean incredible.


 
Agree, it was incredible (in the strictest sense of the word).


----------



## WannabeCyclist (24 Jan 2013)

*Michał Kwiatkowski has taken the lead in the GC*


----------



## Get In The Van (25 Jan 2013)

Apologies if already posted, Go Pro footage from the Tour


----------



## Flying_Monkey (25 Jan 2013)

All about local knowledge today - the San Luis Somos Todos squad putting in a great team ride to claim the stage for Guevara and the overall for Diaz. I reckon Van Garderen could still take this on the last big mountain tomorrow though - he's only 17 seconds back followed by Diniz.


----------



## raindog (26 Jan 2013)

Just read the report. Sounded like an epic stage.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-san-luis/stage-5/results


----------



## Flying_Monkey (26 Jan 2013)

Contador today on another hard stage. Diaz second, Diniz third. Which means Diaz is looking pretty safe for the overall now.


----------



## Monsieur Remings (26 Jan 2013)

raindog said:


> Just read the report. Sounded like an epic stage.
> http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-san-luis/stage-5/results


 
17 minute lead. Like it.

Anyone know of a live stream anywhere for tomorrow?


----------



## Flying_Monkey (27 Jan 2013)

Another day, another stage won by a guy just back off a doping ban. Gavazzi gets the stage - Cav got gapped and wasn't in the mix at the end. Diaz easily held on for the overall.


----------



## Sam Cycling (28 Jan 2013)

Flying_Monkey said:


> Another day, another stage won by a guy just back off a doping ban. Gavazzi gets the stage - Cav got gapped and wasn't in the mix at the end. Diaz easily held on for the overall.


 
Completely different story, he was between better spint in Italy, he was ban for more that one time drugs problem, after rehabilitation etc federation give him another chance, he back on race later almost 3 years stop (where he never stop the training also if he didn't know if can back in race) and already win! I think this is great!


----------



## Flying_Monkey (28 Jan 2013)

Sam Cycling said:


> Completely different story, he was between better spint in Italy, he was ban for more that one time drugs problem, after rehabilitation etc federation give him another chance, he back on race later almost 3 years stop (where he never stop the training also if he didn't know if can back in race) and already win! I think this is great!


 
True - I was perhaps feeling a little too cynical after Diniz's performance the other day.


----------



## Strathlubnaig (28 Jan 2013)

Flying_Monkey said:


> True - I was perhaps feeling a little too cynical after Diniz's performance the other day.


Gavazzi was banned for cocaine use, a 2 1/2 yr ban I think, maybe a bit heavy due to his earlier amateur 'crimes' with the white stuff. To my mind, he has problems, but also, and I am not in anyway condoning cocaine use, this seems a slightly less cynical doping method than EPO and blood transfusions etc. Hope he has turned things around for real.


----------

