tigger
Über Member
It certainly isn't the norm... don't know if that's typical for him??
Vuelta a España 2012 (with spoilers)
- Thread starter smutchin
- Start date
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It certainly isn't the norm... don't know if that's typical for him??
Smokin Joe
Squire
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
It didn't do him any favours, GT riders reckon the body starts to shut down if you don't ride at all on the rest day. Either a mistake on his part or he was just too knackered to get on the bike.
OP
OP
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Sounds like there was no reaction to see! And having watched the highlights, I think that was his undoing today - maybe his legs weren't up to it but more importantly, he was let down/let himself down with shockingly poor tactical decisions by himself and the team.
Saxo and Movistar on the other hand played a blinder - and Contador made good use of allies from other teams, eg Tiralongo. It would be easy to jump to conclusions about Contador and Valverde but when you look at the support they got compared to Rodriguez, their performances look a lot more credible. And as FM says, Contador was definitely not doing a Landis today. (None of which proves anything either way, of course.)
And it must have been extremely demoralising for Rodriguez to ride the last 15km or so with two Saxo riders sitting on his wheel.
d.
Monsieur Remings
Guru
- Location
- Yatton UK
Oh, I've no doubt he's clean. He'd be a fool to come back and start over again. Despite the obvious dislike I have of cheating, Contador is a brilliant rider and you're right, both the rival teams to Katyusha - Movistar and Saxobank - appear a lot more organised, supportive and generally stronger.
Yes, very demoralising, no haggling there to take turns on the front!
Monsieur Remings
Guru
- Location
- Yatton UK
Clenbutorade?
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
Aghh, I was quite happy until now (just watched the highlights) that Dirty Berty wasn't winning 
Monsieur Remings
Guru
- Location
- Yatton UK
Nah, deserved winner methinks HLaB. A touch of Hinault about him.
oldroadman
Veteran
- Location
- Ubique
Does not matter how knackered you feel, it's essential to do a couple of hours including some at a good strong pace to keep things moving. Not riding on rest days is highly unrecommended unless you don't mind feeling completely flat next day. Then a stage run at 48km/hr for the first half at least - Saxo/Tinkoff surely wanted to make things happen today, and they did. Plenty of big GC losers.
Strathlubnaig
Guru
- Location
- Alberta
It's an entertaining race right enough, far more so than the TdF this year.
I read that Moncoutié is retiring on Sunday, shame, he's a great rider, stuck with 1 team his entire pro career and is recognized as always totally clean. Chapeau to him and his efforts, especially last year at the Vuelta.
I read that Moncoutié is retiring on Sunday, shame, he's a great rider, stuck with 1 team his entire pro career and is recognized as always totally clean. Chapeau to him and his efforts, especially last year at the Vuelta.
Yes, he's finally on the way out. A bit of a square peg in a round hole. I always liked the bloke.
I'll miss Sean pronouncing his name "Moncooty" as well.....
LOL - didn't he just.
Remember his eyes as he crossed the line? Like he was going to kick an elephant to death.
thom
____
- Location
- The Borough
From Science of Sport :
Very interesting...some stats on power output from Vuelta, using VAM method:
Stage 14 - Puerto de Ancares (last 9 km, 8.2 %, 738 m). Joaquim Rodriguez: 25 min 48 sec, 20.93 Kph, VAM 1716 m/h, 6.09 W/kg
Stage 15: Lagos de Covadonga (Village Covadonga→next 8.0 km ,8.85 %, 708 m). Contador,Rodriguez: 25:01, 19.19 Kph, VAM 1698 m/h, 5.89 W/kg
Then Stage 16: Puerto de Pajares (last 10 km, 7.0 %, 700 m [678 m→1378 m]). Contador, Rodriguez: 27:02, 22.19 Kph, VAM 1554 m/h, 5.75 W/kg.
Obviously,we recognize that VAM on climbs is subject to issues around wind, and that once-off climbs are affected by tactics, but the numbers suggest that we're well below what we used to see (note that these are all quite short climbs, not the 40 min + of Galibier, Tormalet & Alp d'Huez), and it's not higher than this year's Tour. If anyone has SRM data to validate, let me know. These numbers courtesy @ammattipyoraily
OP
OP
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Very interesting. They've definitely looked slower up the climbs, and seem to be suffering more, but it's good to see some numbers to provide a little more objective analysis.
d.
d.
