La Vuelta *** SPOILERS***

[cyberknight]

For me the Vuelta has been the most interesting to watch of the grand tours without the total dominance of the Poginator which of course was great to watch but you just knew he was going to win .

 

[mjr]

Still over an hour until Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) at 18:54 kicks off the top GC group. Has Roglič dodged the poisoning? If not, is this city course tough enough to expose it? We ain't talking an Alpine climb or even Parisian cobbles here.

 

[Mike_P]

Thanks for all the breakaways. Happy retirement TDG

 

[roadrash]

its been a cracking three weeks, and fair play to o connor who held on longer than I think most folk expected, I do hope he keeps second place

 

[TomDW]

Clean sweep of the Grand Tours by Slovenia.

 

[TomDW]

For me the Vuelta has been the most interesting to watch of the grand tours without the total dominance of the Poginator which of course was great to watch but you just knew he was going to win .

Agree, best GT for a while. The KERN Pharma wins, Ben O'Connor upturning everything on Stage 6 , Adam Yates in the sweltering Sierra Nevada, Ed Dunbar having his best legs, Stefan Küng finally get a GT win.

​

 

[Dogtrousers]

It's been really entertaining. Best rider won, but didn't trample everyone underfoot. Plenty of interesting stages.

Big shame about WvA though

 

[Beebo]

It's been really entertaining. Best rider won, but didn't trample everyone underfoot. Plenty of interesting stages.

Big shame about WvA though

I agree but without O’Connor getting that big lead it could have been very boring.

The worst possible outcome for a neutral fan is when the favourite takes a big early lead on the first day in the mountains and never looks to be in trouble.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I agree but without O’Connor getting that big lead it could have been very boring.

But he did. And it wasn't.

The worst possible outcome for a neutral fan is when the favourite takes a big early lead on the first day in the mountains and never looks to be in trouble.

Even if Primoz had been in red for a long time, I thought Wout, Groves, Vine et al were provided plenty of interest for the other jerseys. Until Wout crashed, sadly.

Not to mention the interest provided by Thingummy Phama getting multiple stages.

 

[MasterDabber]

Without the O'Connor big lead I can't help but think we'd have had the usual boring Roglic scenario of winning stages in the last couple of hundred metres or so and picking up the bonus seconds. As it was, he had to ride with a bit of panache.

 

[Aravis]

I agree but without O’Connor getting that big lead it could have been very boring.

The worst possible outcome for a neutral fan is when the favourite takes a big early lead on the first day in the mountains and never looks to be in trouble.

I don't think that's the worst by any means. I saw plenty to admire and enjoy in both the Giro and the Tour this year. If anything I'm team Remco.

The scenario I wish most not to see is where the race is developing nicely, the final outcome in doubt, then one of the contenders gets taken out by illness or injury.

The part of this Vuelta which I found uncomfortable to watch was the Andalusian phase, where I believe there may have been a lot more heatstroke around than anyone really wanted to admit. I understand this can be extremely dangerous.

The situation where realistic GC contenders take a big lead in an early break happens occasionally - the 1990 Tour comes to mind - and tends to distort the race. This time O'Conner inadvertently became Roglic's perfect pacemaker.

 

[Mike_P]

Rumour has it Astana took part, did anyone notice?

 

[Beebo]

Rumour has it Astana took part, did anyone notice?

They must have been keeping Ineos company at the back.

 

[roadrash]

why oh why oh why do people who find grand tours boring, bother watching them

 

[Beebo]

why oh why oh why do people who find grand tours boring, bother watching them

I watch lots of different sport for lots of different reasons. I watched far more of this race than the TdF, because that was pretty much decided after a few days.
No sport is ever 100% exciting, that’s half the reason you watch it, to find out.
But any sport where the level of jeopardy is low will be more boring.
F1 being a prime example. No one wants to see the same team win every race by miles. But if that same team has to really battle to the win against the odds then the enjoyment is higher, but the result is the same.
It doesn’t mean I will stop watching, but it is a fact that a bit of jeopardy makes a sport more exciting.