Vuelta a España 2012 (with spoilers)
- Thread starter smutchin
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
I'm sure pretty much anyone could see that. I did specifically not say just that corner you're reading things into my post that weren't there - the wording was deliberate. If you rewind the footage irrespective of line well before that you'll see what I was talking about. You might disagree because you have to take your own timings.
Roger Hammond highlighted what I think was a crucial mistake by Froome on Saturday's tage to Andorra that possibly led to him losing time to all 3 main rivals that he otherwise might not have done. When Froome attacked 1st time and Contador went with him leaving Purito and Val Verde behind he sat up after a relatively short distance seemingly because Contador was refusing to work with him. Froome needed to carry on riding at that point and accept that Contador might beat him at the top but they would most likely have both taken time out of the other 2.
A lot has been made of the superior climbing ability of Froome over Wiggins but it seems to me that he lacks the tactical savvy of Wiggins and that may well be where he falls short in winning his 1st Grand tour.
That said, on the previous unphill finish Froome dropped Contador and Valverde so it might be that this was just a one off.
All the uphill finishes so far have been relatively short and steep which definitely suit the 3 Spaniards over Froome. Will be interesting to see how things develop when we get the longer climbs that allow Sky to just pile on the constant pressure for km after km. I recall last year Rodriguez being highly fancied in the early part of last years Vuelta but when the long climbs came he was distanced by the constant pace of Froome & Wiggins. Purito might have better form this year to prevent that happening of course....
A lot has been made of the superior climbing ability of Froome over Wiggins but it seems to me that he lacks the tactical savvy of Wiggins and that may well be where he falls short in winning his 1st Grand tour.
That said, on the previous unphill finish Froome dropped Contador and Valverde so it might be that this was just a one off.
All the uphill finishes so far have been relatively short and steep which definitely suit the 3 Spaniards over Froome. Will be interesting to see how things develop when we get the longer climbs that allow Sky to just pile on the constant pressure for km after km. I recall last year Rodriguez being highly fancied in the early part of last years Vuelta but when the long climbs came he was distanced by the constant pace of Froome & Wiggins. Purito might have better form this year to prevent that happening of course....
Flying_Monkey
Recyclist
- Location
- Odawa
As I already argued, above...
thom
____
- Location
- The Borough
Agreed. For me Froome can be excused for doing pretty much whatever he wants ! An extraordinary season so far.
It's his first full 3 week tour as leader, he's in second place and he's learning a bit about making his own racing decisions. Cool ;-)
I like his personality and my fingers are crossed that he can do a bit in the coming stages. There are a couple, the last Monday and Saturday where I can imagine him being under pressure relative to the other "Big Favourites" at the end but for the rest of it I'm hopeful he can do pretty well.
OP
OP
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
I've been saying as much since it was announced that he would be team leader. Not that I have any great insight - it was pretty obvious.
Plus it probably wasn't part of Sky's original 2012 plan for Froome to be their man for this race - surely they would never have pushed him so hard in the TdF if they were planning on him being a GC contender at the Vuelta? Entering Froome for the Vuelta appears to have been a late decision to keep him happy and stop him wanting to leave.
d.
Maybe not their plan, but why not give adapt accordingly? Everyone's been babbling on about the TDF and olympics since last year and earlier in some cases. There is and was always still going to be a vuelta and worlds anyway. After already performing outstandingly in those he's had an incredible season. 2nd in the tour de france, a stage win. 4th in the dauphine. Olympic bronze. Worth a punt. Surely whatever happens he'll learn from the experience.
PpPete
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chandler's Ford
WTF?
No coverage on ES Player
Did they decide to have an extra rest day ?
No coverage on ES Player
Did they decide to have an extra rest day ?
Starts on British Eurosport 2 at 3pm.
Think it might be like that later in the week too. The US Tennis Open out trumps coverage for brits of cycling unfortunately.
PpPete
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chandler's Ford
The schedule on the "player" home page is different to the one on the main website....
I can't see the full schedule for the player.
The launching of British Eurosport HD1 and 2 hasn't necessarily been that good for us with the loss of the third channel.
thom
____
- Location
- The Borough
Degenkolb again. Cobo lost time towards the end - not nearly as strong as last year.
that's an understatement
He was off the back of the bunch that was off the back. If I didn't know better, I'd be suspicious of last year's perf.
