La Vuelta a Espana 22/8 - 13/9 2015 (here be spoilers)

[SWSteve]

Today's stage was ridiculous. Everyone looked cooked. It's lucky there's a sprinters day tomorrow...

 

[rich p]

This was a stage that looked exciting in theory but was too tough for anybody to risk going into the red too soon. Counter productive in terms of excitement compared with what has gone before.
So far, it's proving again that it's not possible to do justice to two consecutive tours, so close together. Given that the TdF is the big one, it's making a very good case for either the Giro or the Vuelta to be reduced in size and importance.

 

[Berk on a Bike]

Froome updates us...

 

[mjr]

Whatever happened to musettes? I thought you gave feed bags to horses.

Neigh, they're nose bags.

 

[Mattonsea]

Did you actually watch the stage or are you just trotting out a prepared line?

Anyone who believes anything Astana succeeds at is a mug. May be you missed all the riders in the Pro/Conti teams that have been banned this year or the fact they came pretty close to losing there World Tour License . May be you were watching something else.....

 

[HF2300]

This was a stage that looked exciting in theory but was too tough for anybody to risk going into the red too soon. Counter productive in terms of excitement compared with what has gone before.

Yes, have to say it lived down to my expectations; really, the first climbs were irrelevant, except that they meant the 'attacking' at the end were a process of elimination rather than real attacks (Landa and Aru excepted), and the bulk of the stage was pretty humdrum. Really it was likely to go that way.

I'm not even sure what it proved, other than who had a previous recent GT in their legs. I'm all for making GT stages tough in various ways (after all, they're the pinnacle of the sport); but I'm not sure about selecting your winner by grinding everyone down rather than by the genuine flair, talent and tactics of the competitors.

As for Astana, given the history and scuttlebutt I think everyone views their performances with a healthy dose of cynicism, but certainly Aru didn't seem to have anything that couldn't be explained by not having done the Tour. I didn't see enough of Landa to tell, and you can't really tell from the highlights, but it seemed he gradually crept away with the help of the break rather than waltzing off into the distance - it didn't seem like an outrageous doping performance.

They might be doped to the eyeballs, they might not, but people constantly pointing the finger at anyone who wins by more than a few seconds gets wearing. I'd imagine the Clinic are now dropping Dumoulin and finding someone else to froth about.

So far, it's proving again that it's not possible to do justice to two consecutive tours, so close together. Given that the TdF is the big one, it's making a very good case for either the Giro or the Vuelta to be reduced in size and importance.

I think the Giro and Vuelta organisers might have something to say about that; they don't, and won't, want their races to be reduced in status. Perhaps just separating them out further might be an idea? I also wonder how the way riders prepare makes a difference; the modern trend, as with athletics, is to build your preparation towards a particular target, and it's always said that peaking two or three times over a year or cycle is very difficult. That might argue for a reduced Vuelta and Giro, but then you might get an insanely competitive Tour and a Vuelta and Giro that just become less relevant until they fold. Perhaps the races will just have to be scheduled and placed distinctively and GC contenders decide what they're aiming for in a given year.

 

[HF2300]

Froome updates us...

Interesting. Hope it was a clash of shoulders rather than another moto incident

 

[adamangler]

I dont see anything too special with astanas performance to question it really.
Aru has shown this year hes a match for anyone on his day and since quintana, froome,valverde etc were all off the pace it was no surprise to see him finish 2nd.
as for landa, well he was in the break and hung on, he showed in the giro what he could do and whilst he looked off the pace in the vuelta thus far it was foolish to let him go in the break and think he couldnt win it

 

[sleaver]

......GC contenders decide what they're aiming for in a given year.

How much say do they have compared to the sponsors though? For example, would Froome be allowed to skip the Tour de France to ride the Giro and Veulta next year considering he is the defending champion?

Given the 'status' of the Tour de France, I would have thought the various sponsors would have something to say if most of the top riders decided to target other grand tours.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

How much say do they have compared to the sponsors though? For example, would Froome be allowed to skip the Tour de France to ride the Giro and Veulta next year considering he is the defending champion?

Given the 'status' of the Tour de France, I would have thought the various sponsors would have something to say if most of the top riders decided to target other grand tours.

I may have got my years in a twist but isn't that pretty much what Wiggins did?

 

[sleaver]

I may have got my years in a twist but isn't that pretty much what Wiggins did?

Good point. However, wasn't he going to ride but then pulled out with a knee injury when the whole Froome v Wiggins thing going on?

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Interesting. Hope it was a clash of shoulders rather than another moto incident

I think we'd know if it was a moto incident, I can't imagine they'd keep quiet about it. It's interesting that that early out he didn't have anyone nearby, sounds like he needed protecting if someone nerfed him in to the barrier.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Good point. However, wasn't he going to ride but then pulled out with a knee injury when the whole Froome v Wiggins thing going on?

Maybe. All I can remember is a very wet and slippery Giro with Wiggins retiring. I seem to remember that he was far from confirmed for the TdF before that - didn't he talk about 2 team leaders at first and then, quite a bit later, that he'd ride as support to Froome? There will be people on here with far better memory than me who could answer this.

 

[Rustybucket]

Froome out

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/fro...a-after-checks-reveal-a-fracture-in-his-foot/

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I think we'd know if it was a moto incident, I can't imagine they'd keep quiet about it. It's interesting that that early out he didn't have anyone nearby, sounds like he needed protecting if someone nerfed him in to the barrier.

You're not protected from the side though and this appears to be how he lost it.