# Volta Ciclista a Catalunya **Spoilers**



## brommers (19 Mar 2018)

Looking forward to this race with many of the top GC stars taking part. Live daily on Eurosport.

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/volta-a-catalunya/2018/stage-1/startlist


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## ColinJ (19 Mar 2018)

Ah yes, I like that one too. I will watch on catch-up in the evenings


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## brommers (19 Mar 2018)

No time trials - so all on an equal footing in that respect. Dan Martin, etc. would be pleased.


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## roadrash (19 Mar 2018)

There are some strong teams present for this race, should be good,


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## mjr (19 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> There are some strong teams present for this race, should be good,


Movie star and Michelson Scott both have multiple GC hopes covered in the preview. Who else has strong teams there?

Stage 1 all together with the movie star team leading them out, 8km to go.


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## mjr (19 Mar 2018)

6 of the 7 movie stars still on the front, 4km left.

This is only marginally more interesting than a TTT. So glad that I took an hour off to watch it.


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## smutchin (19 Mar 2018)

mjr said:


> Who else has strong teams there?



Sky have got both Henaos and Bernal. UAE have Aru and Martin. EF have Woods, Rolland and Dombrowski. LottoNL have Kruijswijk and Bennett...

Obviously Movistar are going to totally boss it though. As it looks like they are intent on doing, with 4km to go as I write...


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## smutchin (19 Mar 2018)

They're doing a good job of whittling down the peloton. The race won't be won today, but it might be lost...


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## roadrash (19 Mar 2018)

mjr said:


> Who else has strong teams there



michelton scott, U,A,E, look at the start list


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## mjr (19 Mar 2018)

smutchin said:


> Sky have got both Henaos and Bernal. UAE have Aru and Martin. EF have Woods, Rolland and Dombrowski. LottoNL have Kruijswijk and Bennett...


I forgot Martin had gone to UAE. The only EF rider in the preview was Uran. No sky or Lotto


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## smutchin (19 Mar 2018)

Hodeg made that look easy. Well-drilled leadout.


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## mjr (19 Mar 2018)

Hodeg takes it. Quick step get it right and make it look like Cofidis and Bora don't have any sprinters or lead out.


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## smutchin (19 Mar 2018)

mjr said:


> The only EF rider in the preview was Uran.



I wasn't sure if Uran was racing - he was mentioned in a preview I read yesterday but he's not on the startlist on PCS or FC.


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## roadrash (19 Mar 2018)

who will boohani blame for not winning the sprint, good win for the young Columbian Hodeg


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## mjr (19 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> michelton scott, U,A,E, look at the start list


Getting their name in the start list don't mean they've got any form.


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## smutchin (19 Mar 2018)

Pinot, Jungels and TVG could be among the contenders as well. 

The summit finish on stage 3 is likely to be the key one to watch as far as the GC battle is concerned.


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## mjr (19 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> who will boohani blame for not winning the sprint, good win for the young Columbian Hodeg


You mean cynic: Hodeg's lead out man clearly decelerated in front of Bouhani, which was of course completely unexpected behaviour by a lead out(!)


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## smutchin (19 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> who will boohani blame for not winning the sprint



His team-mates, team management, the soigneurs, his mum, his dad. In that order.


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## smutchin (19 Mar 2018)

Hodeg looks interesting. Hadn't even heard of him until a few days ago.

He won a stage of the Tour de l'Avenir last year, where he was up against Kristoffer Halvorsen, who won two stages and the points jersey. But Hodeg beat Halvorsen in the Handzame Classic the other day. Looks like a burgeoning sprint rivalry worth keeping an eye on in coming years.


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## roadrash (19 Mar 2018)

Dogtrousers said:


> I have it on good authority that it is your fault.



it probably is , according to mrs roadrash, everything is my fault


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## brommers (19 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> who will boohani blame for not winning the sprint, good win for the young Columbian Hodeg


He won the Handzame Classic on Friday as well - nice to see a Columbian sprinter, rather than a climber.


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## mjr (19 Mar 2018)

brommers said:


> He won the Handzame Classic on Friday as well - nice to see a Columbian sprinter, rather than a climber.


TMN to @smutchin

And what's Gaviria?


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## brommers (19 Mar 2018)

Sorry @mjr I didn't see that post, but as for Gaviria he's the only other one I can think of.


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## roadrash (19 Mar 2018)

Fernando gaviria has an older sister ,she is no slouch either..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliana_Gaviria


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## mjr (19 Mar 2018)

brommers said:


> Sorry @mjr I didn't see that post, but as for Gaviria he's the only other one I can think of.


Poor Leonardo Duque!


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## smutchin (19 Mar 2018)

Ahem... Col*o*mbian sprinter. 

(Taking up Flying Monkey's job since he's no longer with us.)


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## mjr (20 Mar 2018)

Breakaway 60-90s ahead. They're going behind schedule enough that they got held up by a level crossing, with the peloton being stopped by the comissaires as allowed by the rules. Finish may be about 5pm, apparently.


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## mjr (20 Mar 2018)

Grivko's bridged to the break, making it 4, with Bizkarra, Merino and not sure who. 60km to go.


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## roadrash (20 Mar 2018)

he crossed that gap in short order


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## mjr (20 Mar 2018)

Grivko attacks the break but sheds no-one. Peloton seems unwilling to let the gap go. 45s gap, team cars pulled out of the gap. 59km to go. 30km to sprint points.


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## mjr (20 Mar 2018)

Gesink climbs off. Cummings is off the back and I missed why. Gap 49s, 52km to go.


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## mjr (20 Mar 2018)

Hodeg's blown up, 2.2km to summit, 12.5km to go, peloton leading.


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## smutchin (20 Mar 2018)

I'm watching on ES player with no commentary. It's weird. Not quite sure what's going on but at 1.43 with 8km to go, it looks like the break will win the day.


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## smutchin (20 Mar 2018)

Oh, hang on, that's not a break, is it - it's the Hodeg group that's 1.43 behind the peloton... doh!


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## mjr (20 Mar 2018)

Commentators are mainly whinging about the loss of moto pics anyway.


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## smutchin (20 Mar 2018)

Valverde wins a bunch sprint! Crikey!


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## mjr (20 Mar 2018)

Valvpiti wins. Bennett says something but could be congratulations or complaints.


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## mjr (20 Mar 2018)

Bennett would be unwise to complain too strongly - he was shut out by Valvpiti (as far as I can tell from the front-on shot) but it looked like he shut others out first.

I think commentary said Bennett was unwell yesterday and blamed that for being unable to catch Hodeg.


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## mjr (20 Mar 2018)

Might have been McCarthy not Bennett. I could have sworn commentary called Bennett.

Hodeg finished about 3min down.


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## smutchin (20 Mar 2018)

Was it Bennett or McCarthy? In any case, it looked like he was chucking his bike around all over the shop, Adboujaparov style, so he can't complain about anyone else's riding.

Valverde may be an unrepentant doping git but always good to watch, dammit.


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## smutchin (20 Mar 2018)

Couldn't work out who was the Sky rider up near the front. Looks like it was Bernal - good for him. The Henaos were both right at the back of the bunch going under the flamme rouge.


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## mjr (20 Mar 2018)

Seems like it was McCarthy. Impey quietly got second in between Valvpiti and him.

At least Valvpiti looks like a doping git, all stubbly, looking around shiftily and giving pretty forgettable interviews.


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## brommers (20 Mar 2018)

I saw Stevo Cummings loitering at the back of the peloton sauntering up a hill whilst everyone else were out of the saddle. Expect one of his famous solos. You heard it here first.


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## Adam4868 (20 Mar 2018)

smutchin said:


> Couldn't work out who was the Sky rider up near the front. Looks like it was Bernal - good for him. The Henaos were both right at the back of the bunch going under the flamme rouge.



View: https://twitter.com/taogeoghegan/status/976169318722482176?s=19


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## mjr (21 Mar 2018)

Stage shortened by bad weather:

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/BORAhansgrohe/status/976452802695303168?p=v


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## mjr (21 Mar 2018)

New stage profile:

View: https://twitter.com/Ride_Argyle/status/976193269544693760/photo/1


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## mjr (21 Mar 2018)

5 in the break, including Thomas "More Escapes than Houdini" De Gendt, 1m45 gap with 115km to go: 

View: https://twitter.com/Movistar_Team/status/976454922832171008


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## smutchin (21 Mar 2018)

Interesting. That totally changes the complexion of the whole race.


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## roadrash (21 Mar 2018)

Boo, hiss, rider safety must come first though


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## mjr (21 Mar 2018)

70km to go, gap cut to a bit over 2min then going back out slightly. The cat 1 climb starts about 60km to go.


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## mjr (21 Mar 2018)

De Gendt drops the rest of the breakaway under 1km from the summit. 1m25 gap, 52.5km to go


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## mjr (21 Mar 2018)

De Gendt takes the summit and starts the descent through patchy snow (not on the road), sunshine and shade, extending his gap slightly. Eurosport commentators call it tempofest I think and they go to adverts just before the peloton hit the top


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## mjr (21 Mar 2018)

His team tweets that De Gendt has taken over the KoM lead. Mas and Bizkarra rejoin him on the descent. Gap steadyish at 1m30.


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## roadrash (21 Mar 2018)

De Gendt definitely went the wrong way there


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## roadrash (21 Mar 2018)

nice to see Dan Martin having a go


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## roadrash (21 Mar 2018)

Hell of a ride from De Gendt


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## mjr (21 Mar 2018)

Got out of meeting just in time to see the win. But what happened to Adam Yates, Carthy and others, on the floor a few km out?


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## roadrash (21 Mar 2018)

adam yates staying down after that crash


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## roadrash (21 Mar 2018)

mjr said:


> Got out of meeting just in time to see the win. But what happened to Adam Yates, McCarthy and others, on the floor a few km out?



didn't see it on camera, just the aftermath


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## mjr (21 Mar 2018)

Nothing on tv repeats. Twitter from a few teams says it was in the final km. Also lots of abuse of Movistar for not catching De Gendt, much of it in Spanish.


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## brommers (21 Mar 2018)

Seen the results and they were given the same times as the peloton.


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## smutchin (21 Mar 2018)

Classic Thomas De Gendt. Great win. 

Good ride by Simon Yates, shame about his brother. Pinot and Quintana looking strong too.


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## mjr (21 Mar 2018)

brommers said:


> Seen the results and they were given the same times as the peloton.


http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/adam-yates-crashes-heavily-in-volta-a-catalunya/ reports abandonment and hospital scans.


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## mjr (22 Mar 2018)

Chavez 40s ahead of peloton, 13m30 ahead of GC/KoM De Gendt, 29km to go. Highlights are going to be interesting. They're currently riding ploughed roads among snowdrifts.


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## mjr (22 Mar 2018)

Mohoric attacks and passes Chavez on the descent, Valverde joins him, 25s gap, 20km to go, 11km mountain therein.


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## mjr (22 Mar 2018)

Profile

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/Ride_Argyle/status/976749094495506432?p=v


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## mjr (22 Mar 2018)

V&C caught. 1min gap, 15km to go.


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## roadrash (22 Mar 2018)

movistar are absolutely on fire


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## mjr (22 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> movistar are absolutely on fire


Well, if by that, you mean they turned what was shaping up for an interesting finish into a predictable snoozer


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## mjr (22 Mar 2018)

Another downside of watching an early season stage race is I'm already bored of Autoglass and We Buy Any Car and they'll probably use the same ads until after the Tour.


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## roadrash (22 Mar 2018)

no, that's not what I meant, and I think it was an interesting finish, I enjoyed that, good effort from skys young colombian egan bernal


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## mjr (22 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> no, that's not what I meant, and I think it was an interesting finish, I enjoyed that, good effort from skys young colombian egan bernal


Good effort - hopeless tactics. The result was predictable once Bernal attacked, if not from when the final trio got away.

While I'm grumbling... the highlights showed nothing before 30km to go. Guess we'll have to wait for press reports to find out where De Gendt went.


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## brommers (22 Mar 2018)

mjr said:


> Guess we'll have to wait for press reports to find out where De Gendt went.


They focused on him about 20km out and he was about 12 minutes behind.


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## brommers (22 Mar 2018)

Bernal looks the real deal and a future Grand Tour contender.


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## brommers (22 Mar 2018)

Loads of riders either dnf or where over the time limit today.


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## brommers (22 Mar 2018)

Good to see Hugh Carthy in the mix.


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## roadrash (22 Mar 2018)

disappointed not to see Dan Martin trying his hand, maybe he hasn't fully recovered from his illness in paris nice


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## 400bhp (22 Mar 2018)

How strong is Valverdi. No one close to him currently.

I see a new world order. Move over Sky. Movistar is the new Deathstar.


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## Adam4868 (22 Mar 2018)

400bhp said:


> How strong is Valverdi. No one close to him currently.
> 
> I see a new world order. Move over Sky. Movistar is the new Deathstar.


Bernal was the man for me today,just watched the highlights.


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## mjr (23 Mar 2018)

brommers said:


> They focused on him about 20km out and he was about 12 minutes behind.


But what happened to put him there? Movistar turning up the gas? That's not in the first press reports either but I suspect some of those were only watching TV like us.


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## mjr (23 Mar 2018)

400bhp said:


> How strong is Valverdi. No one close to him currently.
> 
> I see a new world order. Move over Sky. Movistar is the new Deathstar.


That seems a bit premature: Movistar probably regard this as a home race for a strong showing (Valverde, Quintana and Soler!), whereas Sky probably view it as a testing ground (Bernal and Henao). Movistar have had strong squads for years, all the way back to Banesto and arguably Reynolds. Let's wait and see what happens when both bring their first choice teams...


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## Elybazza61 (23 Mar 2018)

mjr said:


> But what happened to put him there? Movistar turning up the gas? That's not in the first press reports either but I suspect some of those were only watching TV like us.



Think he was just pacing it;obviously took a lot out of him and he's not really a GC rider, job done for him with the stage win.

Will more than likely be rolling at the back chatting to Steve Cummings for the rest of the week


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## brommers (23 Mar 2018)

Elybazza61 said:


> Think he was just pacing it;obviously took a lot out of him and he's not really a GC rider, job done for him with the stage win.
> 
> Will more than likely be rolling at the back chatting to Steve Cummings for the rest of the week


Except when Stevo decides to go for one.


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## smutchin (23 Mar 2018)

Adam4868 said:


> Bernal was the man for me today,just watched the highlights.



Missed it yesterday so just caught the highlights myself ahead of E3 coverage starting... Agreed, Bernal's performance was outstanding, especially considering that he's a 21yo neo-pro and was being double-teamed by two of the most experienced and accomplished pros in the peloton.


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## rich p (23 Mar 2018)

Somebody should tell CK that he needs to defer to the expertise of his fellow pundit and not come out with bollox which embarrasses his co-comm.


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## rich p (23 Mar 2018)

According to CK, Hugh Carthy can suck start a Harley. FFS


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## mjr (23 Mar 2018)

rich p said:


> According to CK, Hugh Carthy can suck start a Harley. FFS


Have they been letting CK watch Top Gear again? Or merely giving him some top gear?


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## smutchin (23 Mar 2018)

Nice descending by Pantano.

Mohoric earns his place in the hall of shame of "Third place riders who thought they won"


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## Adam4868 (23 Mar 2018)

rich p said:


> According to CK, Hugh Carthy can suck start a Harley. FFS


Looking good Carthy(biased aswell cause he's local lad)


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## mjr (23 Mar 2018)

Interviews while they were in the tunnel revealed Yates broke his pelvis in the crash but it's a stable fracture. Still... Ouch!


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## smutchin (23 Mar 2018)

Ouch!


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## mjr (23 Mar 2018)

http://www.velonews.com/2018/03/news/adam-yates-catalunya-broken-pelvis_460636


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## smutchin (23 Mar 2018)

Just looking at the youth classification for the race - makes for interesting reading. The top 5 young riders are all inside the top ten on GC - Bernal, Latour, Soler, Carthy, Martinez.

Funny that Carthy is still only 23 when he seems to have been around for ages. And Simon Yates, 5th overall, is only just outside the youth classification.

Daniel Martinez looks a very interesting prospect, but seems to have been slightly overshadowed by Bernal's meteoric rise. 

David "The New Pierre Latour" Gaudu is down in a relatively lowly 17th on GC. 

Slightly ahead of him in 15th is a 21yo Aussie called Ben O'Connor riding for Dimension Data. Not heard of him before but a bit of googling reveals that he only took up cycling at 18, so that's a pretty rapid rise to WorldTour level. Disappointingly, he names Warren Barguil as his idol.


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## brommers (23 Mar 2018)

smutchin said:


> Daniel Martinez looks a very interesting prospect


Is that an English/Irishman racing under his Spanish name?


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## Elybazza61 (24 Mar 2018)

mjr said:


> Have they been letting CK watch Top Gear again? Or merely giving him some top gear?




He's been extremely annoying even by his standards.


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## Dave Davenport (24 Mar 2018)

Elybazza61 said:


> He's been extremely annoying even by his standards.


I've been watching with the sound down, you lose some of the atmosphere but it's better than listening to that muppet.


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## roadrash (24 Mar 2018)

He does my head in, "the rider in front is taking in a big drink of vision" no, hes not you fekin nob ed, hes... LOOKING...its as simple as that, ARRGGHH,..........NURSE, time for my medication..


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## roadrash (24 Mar 2018)

A tad damp and rather chilly for the riders today and the stage being shortened due to snow, Schachmann from quickstep in the breakaway with shorts on


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## rich p (24 Mar 2018)

CK bingo
Embedded
Engaged
bid for glory
...


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## roadrash (24 Mar 2018)

that must for a line, a full house would include,... drink of vision, i'll be bound, cheeky little side bet, false flat and mr bo jangles, to name but a few


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## Adam4868 (25 Mar 2018)

Gutted for Bernal today !! Hes looked something else this race


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## smutchin (25 Mar 2018)

Adam4868 said:


> Gutted for Bernal today !! Hes looked something else this race



What on earth happened? I missed the race, just checked the results and see he's one of a large number of DNF.


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## roadrash (25 Mar 2018)

from twitter..
*Movistar Team* Retweeted


*jose joaquin rojas*‏Verified account @*jjrojillas* 2m2 minutes ago
Mucha rabia por irme al suelo en los últimos kilómetros, había algo de aceite en la carretera y me fue imposible controlar la bici . Mis disculpas a @*Eganbernal*

Translated from Spanish by Microsoft


A lot of anger to go to the ground in the last kilometers, there was some oil on the road and I was unable to control the bike. My apologies to @*Eganbernal*


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## smutchin (25 Mar 2018)

Took out Dan Martin as well...


View: https://youtu.be/U7KgwW-B2Z4


Ouch! Doesn't look good for Bernal.


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## brommers (25 Mar 2018)

A real shame, but still a great stage win for Yates.


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