Vuelta a España 2012 (with spoilers)

[laurence]

i blame Ney for letting the cavalry charge ahead and not wait for infantry support.

just seen the Movistar team boss ranting on ITV4 and lost all sympathy.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Yeah, I have now lost whatever little temporary sympathy I had for the unrepentant dope-cheat.

 

[perplexed]

Movistar moaning about ungentlemanly conduct.

Oh, the irony...

 

[CotterPin]

Roger Hammond on the ITV4 highlights programme (which imho isn't as bad as people make it out to be) suggested that these days there is no one person able to make a decision and impose their will on the entire race when these kind of things occur so everyone makes their own decision in a split second, probably based upon what they are seeing others do around them. And I imagine that goes for the guys in the team cars as well.

PS I have not looked at the Vuelta website but there I always seem to think there is a something a little amateurish about the whole event, like that motorbike being in the way of the coverage of the sprint finish the other day.

 

[montage]

I only caught the end of the highlights today - how was Froome riding? I read that only he and Roche could follow one of Berties attacks?

 

[raindog]

There weren't really any attacks today worthy of the name. In fact, for some reason, Froome and Berto allowed Roche to romp away on his own near the end.

 

[lukesdad]

I know rich, but everyone's saying that he wasn't bothered about losing a few bonus seconds by rolling in fourth behind Froome because he'll make it up on the big climbs. But then why does he think a 2 second bonus is so important. I'm not actually asking the question, I'm just saying that it's got to be one or the other attitude, not both.

Nobody is saying that. He played a card, and it was the right card to play.

 

[lukesdad]

Moviestar have history, pot kettle....

 

[Chuffy]

Not massively fussed either way about the Sky/Valverde polemica, but Froome saying he had no idea and only found out after the stage? That is surely bullshit with a cherry on top.

 

[lukesdad]

I only caught the end of the highlights today - how was Froome riding? I read that only he and Roche could follow one of Berties attacks?

Katusha held it at 9secs so bertie and froome called it quits.

 

[Crackle]

Not massively fussed either way about the Sky/Valverde polemica, but Froome saying he had no idea and only found out after the stage? That is surely bulls*** with a cherry on top.

Well his technical manager was saying he told them all when he knew and not to go full gas, so someone is trying to cover their bottom.Who cares, it's Valverde.

 

[Chuffy]

Well his technical manager was saying he told them all when he knew and not to go full gas, so someone is trying to cover their bottom.Who cares, it's Valverde.

Hmmmm. Someone is surely lying. shifty alien antweasel
And yeah, Valverde.

 

[raindog]

Nobody is saying that. He played a card, and it was the right card to play.

If going for a 2 second bonus one day "because every second counts" and then the next day rolling across the line several metres behind his main rival because "a few bonus seconds don't matter" is playing the right card, then fair enough.

 

[dellzeqq]

Not massively fussed either way about the Sky/Valverde polemica, but Froome saying he had no idea and only found out after the stage? That is surely bulls*** with a cherry on top.

absolutely. It's a bit like 'attack, moi?' Why not simply say 'the race heated up, we were on our way, somebody crashes, not our fault, we, and other teams beside, were under no obligation to wait'.

 

[thom]

absolutely. It's a bit like 'attack, moi?' Why not simply say 'the race heated up, we were on our way, somebody crashes, not our fault, we, and other teams beside, were under no obligation to wait'.

Given that this contradicts Valverde's take on it, how would that play with the Spanish fans that line the route ?
Froome was getting death threats shouted at him last year for daring to compete with Cobo remember...