La Vuelta 2016 **SPOILERS**

[smutchin]

The 2 and a half hours was supposed to be a witty jibe - Marmion got it.

I got it too! My maths comment was supposed to be a subtle hint.

 

[smutchin]

Well, the rule failed to act as a deterrent, allowing riders to take it easy, so it would seem that the regulations don't act as a sufficient deterrent.

The socialist in me is rather happy that the riders are able to assert their rights to fair working conditions over the tyranny of the race organisers.


View: https://youtu.be/DwbzxemJZIc

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

A Fenman or Hollander to win the world championships while everyone else falls over disorientated, then? If you'd like to enjoy riding this very challenging cycling landscape for yourself, our flipping flat Holland hundred on 17 Sep has been posted on the recreational rides forum

I better not, I might crash into a molehill or something.....


Really though they said that on Eurosport

 

[lyn1]

Yes, I was just looking that up myself. The cutoff is dependent on the difficulty of the stage and the speed of the winner. For tomorrow's stage, the cutoff is likely to be +12% of the winner's time.

Full details here (page 8):
http://netstorage.lequipe.fr/ASO/cyclisme/la-vuelta/2016/reglements/V16-Reglamento-ES-FR-EN-v4_.pdf

And there lies one of the problems as it ignores what has happened previously. If you bang together stage after stage after stage that involves tough climb after climb after climb then you have built a race for a dozen or so guys. It is no surprise that a large number of the remaining 180 riders are already heavily fatigued.

 

[roadrash]

if they dont enforce the rules then the rules are pointless, yes it has happened before where sprinters have come in after the time limit but been allowed to continue in the race, but it shouldnt happen , riders and team managers , and the team DS, all know the rules AND the course well in advance.and know how much each rider has put into the season so far.
if you cant take the heat then keep out of the kitchen . ( im in the living room by the way )

i just dont see the point of having rules if they dont enforce them.

tired or not i think sky were just beat by better tactics and racing that day

 

[Aravis]

I hope the organisers consider this carefully for the future. I actually feel quite cheated at not seeing a race where the field is cut in half and where some of the leaders literally would have had no team - quite a spectacle, and refreshingly out of the ordinary. Seems to me they've thrown it away.

 

[cisamcgu]

I hope the organisers consider this carefully for the future. I actually feel quite cheated at not seeing a race where the field is cut in half and where some of the leaders literally would have had no team - quite a spectacle, and refreshingly out of the ordinary. Seems to me they've thrown it away.

In a way, I agree, but it would also have meant, I think, that Movistar would have been pretty much unassailable, so spoiling the possible spectacle

 

[Dogtrousers]

It has indeed happened before - that the grupetto has come in late and been given a reprieve because it is so large (and contains some star sprinters).

But it has also happened that individual riders have been cut very harshly. I remember an American guy (name escapes me - not a star rider) in the Tour a few years ago who missed the cut by seconds, having ridden some of the stage with a serious injury (shoulder or elbow or something) and yet still got booted off. And yet there are counter examples of heroic struggles to the finished being given merciful reward and not being eliminated.

My point being, that if it's left up to the whim of the commissaires, then some cases inevitably end up being unfair. Far better to formulate a rule that actually works. (I don't have any suggestions, btw)

Edit: Done a bit of googling. The American guy I was thinking of was Ted King of Cannondale. He was actually eliminated at the end of a TTT, a slightly different situation. http://velonews.competitor.com/2013...mination-from-tour-sends-wrong-message_293232

 

[roadrash]

but the point is , thers no point having any rules at all unless they are actually applied

 

[smutchin]

Give that man a bunch of keys and a peaked cap.

 

[Aravis]

Although it has happened many times before, and sometimes individual riders have been harshly treated, I can't remember a case where the decision has so profoundly affected the make-up of the race. As it happens, barring misfortune I think Quintana is more or less home anyway, but suppose Froome had kept his losses to around a minute?

 

[rich p]

If they enforced the rule once it would probably be enough to ensure it didn't occur again.
It's possible that they can make the parcours too tough sometimes but that wasn't the reason this incident happened.
I wonder if there would be as much discussion if Sky weren't involved though or Jan Bakelants wasn't on Twitter!

 

[uncle_adolph]

Although it has happened many times before, and sometimes individual riders have been harshly treated, I can't remember a case where the decision has so profoundly affected the make-up of the race. As it happens, barring misfortune I think Quintana is more or less home anyway, but suppose Froome had kept his losses to around a minute?

The 2011 Tour - Stage 18.....nearly 90 riders missed the cut (including Cav who was in the green jersey) but were reinstated and docked 20 points. Cav went on to win the jersey in Paris.

So there clearly is a precedent.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The 2011 Tour - Stage 18.....nearly 90 riders missed the cut (including Cav who was in the green jersey) but were reinstated and docked 20 points. Cav went on to win the jersey in Paris.

So there clearly is a precedent.

Thanks for the reminder. I knew there was a cause celebre involving Cav and the green jersey. Saved me googling.

 

[smutchin]

The 2011 Tour - Stage 18.....nearly 90 riders missed the cut (including Cav who was in the green jersey) but were reinstated and docked 20 points. Cav went on to win the jersey in Paris.

I believe that was the one where Movistar stated the day before that they were intending to ride hard with the specific intention of eliminating Cav, in order to get the green jersey for Rojas.

Great racing tactics but the problem comes when you ride so hard that you put a big chunk of the field OTL. Whether you agree with the reasons or not, they're never going to let that happen.