La Vuelta a España 2017

Clive B posted:

I've just finished watching the highlights of today's stage 12. What a superb bike race. And when Alberto Contador is on form, he is the most exciting bike racer to watch. He will be sorely missed.

Clive, i couldn't agree more, but one of the ITV4 commentators got it right when he said Contador's attack on Stage 12 was greatly hindered by Froome's two falling off escapades - the bunch of leading contenders high on CG were more inclined to race away from Froome who was held up behind, rather than try catch Contador up ahead - who ended the race rather unlucky to have only achieved 22 seconds on his pursuers [with the exception of Chris Froome...].

This weekends stages are back to back mountain stages, today [ Saturday ] an uphill struggle all the way to Sierra de La Pandera...

Stage 14:

Sundays Stage 15 looks like a right ball breaker - with oncoming changes to CG and exciting watching ahead! : )

Stage 15:

Looks like Contador's ongoing rise up the GC has been thwarted. He well and truly looses a GC place position to Stage 15 winner Lopez Moreno, and another position to Michael Woods who finished the stage 47 seconds up on Contador, however Alberto gains one GC position back again to GC position 9th after De la Cruz has a bad day in the office and plummets on GC down from 7th to 11th position.

Froome still holds CG no.1 with time cushion of 1 minute 1 second.

General Classification after Stage 15

Monday = Rest day.

Tuesday Stage 16 is a fairly flat 40.2 km individual time trial [among the backdrop of vineyards and wineries]

which will probably bring about more CG drama and change : )

Should be an exciting T.T - Can't see Froome doing a bad one.Probably will  win it.Hope he does.

Brilliant last couple of days of racing.Great to see Contador giving it some in the mountains.Hope he makes the podium but my prediction is between 5-10  on g.c.

Stage 16 time trial results...

The quickest 5 to finish just happen to be the same top 5 in the GC, almost finished in the same places too! : )

 General Classification after Stage 16:

Fantastic performance from Froome, he looked well happy at the finish. I hope the remaining 5 stages goes well for him.

I think the dark horse competitor is 26 year old Wilco Kelderman, Nibali will be looking over his shoulder with only 42 seconds between them. Contador also performed superbly in the time trial, far better than i thought he'd do, but he also will need to check over his shoulder, especially in the two remaining mountain stages, for Lopez who has shown better climbing form than most.

I still hope for some firework while Froome is quite safe, not meaning that I don't want him to win....

I think you will see fireworks today Bert, time is running out for the other GC contenders, but today's route has some steep climbs of up to 28% and will favour Contador, Chaves and Nibali if they still have enough energy.

Just a shame that ITV4 is covering the very boring ToB and not this rather more exciting (on all fronts, quality of riders, scenery, commentary excellence and sheer exuberance of the fans) race.

The coverage of the Tour of Britain on ITV4 is definitely a let down, it is lacklustre ,downbeat and leaves the viewer reaching for the off switch. Although the event came through my area (Scottish Borders) on Sunday, I enjoyed watching the Vuelta coverage far more than the ToB.

There is nothing wrong with the scenery in our very beautiful, green, lush country, and the Scottish Borders is a great area in which to cycle. We just cannot match the scenic grandeur of the high mountains of Spain.

Regarding the exuberance of the race fans, I haven't seen anything on the Vuelta, Giro or TdF which matched the exuberance of the British fans on the Cote de Buttertubs or Cote de Holme Moss when the Tour started in Yorkshire a few years ago. I was there, and was astounded at the support for the event.

shuggy posted:

I think you will see fireworks today Bert, time is running out for the other GC contenders, but today's route has some steep climbs of up to 28% and will favour Contador, Chaves and Nibali if they still have enough energy.

Todays Stage 17 has a 2nd cat climb, a 1st cat climb, and towards the end of the 180 kms of racing - an H cat climb.

The 'H' category must mead it's Horrendous!

A kilometre of steeper than 1:4 is a huge challenge, i wonder what gear size cogs they'll be using?

Alto de los Machucos. Monumento Vaca Pasiega

With regard to the gearing on todays mountain stage with the 25 % gradients maybe something like 28 - 38.

I suppose every rider is difearant but my guess something like the above.Maybe they will be running a triple ?

Can't wait for the riders to hit the wall - literally !

Do you notice that  -1.7% ledge? .....it's for the grabbling irons!  

It never ceases to amaze me how fit and strong these guys are, to race 170 km and then go up a 1:4 

A hill near where i live is 2 km long, average 10.5% with worst bits 14% which has me struggling in my bottom gear of 34 x 32

Don't think i could climb a 1:4 hill these days, not with my old knees 

Of the three big rounds, the Vuelta is for me the most exciting one. Today's stage shows again that the last week can be killing for the riders. Hope to see some more fireworks again tomorrow.

Fantastic race - I really hope Contador can make the podium, he has certainly earned it.

Best stage I have seen on a grand tour for years - Epic !

From what Deb's posted about the gradiant I knew it was going to be steep but OMG never thought it would be quite so punishing.When they hit the start of the climb it looked horrendous but it seemed to get worse.Exciting when Froome started to have a wobble but at least he has 1-06 on Nibali.Think he will be fine today in the mountains with his super drilled Sky team around him.

Enjoyed the stage so much will keep the recording for prosperity  - just brilliant.

Indeed yesterday's stage was exciting to watch, but it's never possible to appreciate the gradients on TV. You just cannot see it properly. The big giveaway yesterday, however, was when we saw Chris Froome standing in the pedals which, although Contador soaks it up, is not something you see Froomey doing very often.

There are several hills around here at 16%, but few that equal 25%. There are some cracking 25% hills in Devon and King Alfred's Tower in the Longleat sportive as well as the climb up to Symmonds Yat (spelling?)  clock in at 25% and there's at least one I know near Bath which makes 30%, all of which provide a great cycling challenge. Cycle those and then download your Garmin and see what speed you were doing. Then you'll really appreciate the effort the pros are putting in. 

I thought Contador was exceptional yesterday. I really hope he can get a podium finish, although I think he's got his work cut out.

The courses of this years Vuelta are making it very special and exciting, for some reason i seem to recall seeing more flat stages on previous Vuelta Tours with endless duel carriageway rides though featureless and boring landscape, but it would seem the organisers of this years Tour have excelled with the planning routes. 

Yesterdays stage was a great spectacle, i felt sorry for Chris Froome who looked such a picture of pain and suffering it made me winch, Alberto Contador with his specialist climber body weight of 62 kilos [some 10 kilo the lighter of Froome] made it look easy as did many others [but i bet their heart rates were maxing out] and hats off to winner Stefan Denifl of Aqua Blue Sport to record their first Grand Tour win. At the other end of the spectrum, ABS team member Connor Dunne currently has the honour of holding the lanterne rouge in this Vuelta [that's if the Vuelta actually has this award].

Team Aqua Blue Sport have to contend with the misfortune getting their Tour bus set on fire in an early morning arson attack before Stage 12 in this Vuelta Tour. 

Todays Stage 18 is not as mountainous as yesterday but still includes climbs plenty tough enough to inspire attacks, and demand expert bike descending skills. The top GC riders will need to be ready at the summit finish which ends the stage with 2 km of hard climbing that could produce more changes in top CG.

General Classification after Stage 18:

Interesting to note that Contador is now only + 1 minute 17  seconds away from winning  a podium position, and he has two remaining chances to succeed; a hilly Stage 19 for Friday, and the final mountain Stage 20 on Saturday with wicked looking summit finish on the Alto de I'Angliru that could upset the CG yet again. The final Stage on Sunday is rather flat all the way to Madrid : )

Stage 20 - The last climb to the summit finish - it's going to be very exciting! : )

Alto de L'Angliru:

Congrats to Contador for winning such an epic stage victory on the Alto de l'Angliru : )

And it looks almost certain that Chris Froome will win this years Vuelta!

Meanwhile just one final stage to go. It's a later start at 17:00 local time [ i think that's 4 in the afternoon UK time] and the 3 hour + race will end in Madrid for the sprinters to battle out....

Quote:

The Contenders: who is left to sprint? Matteo Trentincan win the points jersey back from Chris Froome but only if he wins both the intermediate sprint and the stage and Froome doesn’t place. He’s in good shape and has a strong team but the flat finish on a wide road is not his thing, he’s thrived on the punchy uphill sprints.

Sacha Modolo is the pedigree pick, he’s won stages aplenty in the Giro but has had a quiet Vuelta so he’s not a reassuring pick. J-J Lobato (Lotto-Jumbo)has enjoyed some good wins but like Trentin he tends to win harder, hillier finishes. Adam Blythe (Aqua Blue Sport) has great finishing speed and this stage is his best chance of all the three weeks. Edward Theuns is Trek-Segafredo’s chance now Degenkolb is out. Bora-Hansgrohe’s Michael Schwarzmann may not be the first name to come to mind when citing German sprinters but finish fast. Tom Van Asbroek (Cannondale-Drapac) is quick too, ditto FDJ’s Lorrenzo Manzin and Ag2r’s Julian Duval. Last among the sprinters is Magnus Cort Nielsen (Orica-Scott) who won here a year ago and can count on the whole team to set him up again.

I'll second those congratulations to Alberto Contador for winning yesterday's stage finishing on the Angliru. You could see the pain (and determination) on his face. I guess he threw everything at what would be his last race. I'm sure we'll miss him.

Final general classification for 2017 Vuelta a España

1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, in 82-30-02
2. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida, at 2-15
3. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin, at 2-51
4. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 3-15
5. Alberto Contador (Esp) Trek-Segafredo, at 3-18
6. Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky, at 6-59
7. Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac, at 8-27
8. Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana, at 9-13
9. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 11-18
10. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing, at 15-50

King of the Mountains: Davide Villella (Cannondale-Drapac)

Combined classification: Chris Froome (Team Sky)

Points classification: Chris Froome (Team Sky)

Read more at http://www.cyclingweekly.com/n...#TV31lAEh2ZcWCKFl.99