2017 Vuelta Espania

[Vader]

The 2017 Vuelta commences this Saturday. SBS will be showing it live, on VICELAND. Coverage of Saturday's stage kicks off at 1:30AM AEST, so it's definitely one for the night owls. Sunday's stage is a little more viewer friendly, with coverage starting at 11:20pm (AEST).

SBS will also be broadcasting a 30 min Daily Highlights package at 4:30pm, on their main channel.

The first stage is a 13.7km Team Time Trial through the streets of Nimes (France). It wouldn't be the Vuelta without a Cat 3 KoM climb in the middle of the stage.

There's a decent lineup of riders vying for the year's final GT - Contador (his final race), Froome, Bardet, Aru, Zakarin, Yates, Yates, Chaves. That's arguably a stronger lineup than the TdF. Should be well worth watching, if you're feeling like you've had too much sleep in the last 3 weeks.

 

[Vader]

Stage 1:

 

[chargers 09]

Always brutal the Vuelta.


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[blue gunslinger]

I have a good feeling this will crap all over Le Tour and Giro for entertainment value

 

[Bigelow]

Any australians in the Orica Scott team ?

Anyone know which Austraians are riding, across all the teams ?

 

[Vader]

Any australians in the Orica Scott team ?

Three - Jack Haig, Matthew Hayman, Michael Hepburn

Anyone know which Australians are riding, across all the teams ?

Other than the previously named Orica Scott riders...
Rohan Denis (BMC)
Simon Clarke (Cannondale Drapac)
Brendan Canty (Cannondale Drapac)
Nicholas Schultz (Caja Rural)
Lachlan Morton (Dimension Data)
Ben O'Connor (Dimension Data)
Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal)
Christopher Hamilton (Sunweb)

Team lists taken from this site: http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/
A few names there that I don't recognise. Don't think I've heard of Schultz, Morton or O'Connor before.

That's a total of 11 Australians starting the Vuelta.

 

[chargers 09]

Three - Jack Haig, Matthew Hayman, Michael Hepburn

Other than the previously named Orica Scott riders...
Rohan Denis (BMC)
Simon Clarke (Cannondale Drapac)
Brendan Canty (Cannondale Drapac)
Nicholas Schultz (Caja Rural)
Lachlan Morton (Dimension Data)
Ben O'Connor (Dimension Data)
Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal)
Christopher Hamilton (Sunweb)

Team lists taken from this site: http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/
A few names there that I don't recognise. Don't think I've heard of Schultz, Morton or O'Connor before.

That's a total of 11 Australians starting the Vuelta.

Dennis is a chance for the opening prologue if he is fit. Very interested to see how Haig will go- any idea what role Orica will want him to play?


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[Vader]

Dennis is a chance for the opening prologue if he is fit. Very interested to see how Haig will go- any idea what role Orica will want him to play?

Probably domestique. They have 2x Yates, and Chaves, so they're well and truly covered when it comes to GC contenders. He might be a GC contender further down the track, but for now it will mostly be a big learning experience.

 

[chargers 09]

Probably domestique. They have 2x Yates, and Chaves, so they're well and truly covered when it comes to GC contenders. He might be a GC contender further down the track, but for now it will mostly be a big learning experience.

Is he likely to be useful in the Mountains? Or is he some way off that challenge?


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[Vader]

Is he likely to be useful in the Mountains? Or is he some way off that challenge?

I'm really not sure where he's at. The guys on Full Cycle (9's Sunday afternoon cycling show) have talked a little bit about him, and they did pose the question of whether or not he could become a GC contender in the future. You can't ride GC if you can't climb - so I guess he's a decent climber. Then again, they've said the same thing about Cameron Meyer & Luke Durbridge in the past, and that's just plain silly. They're desperate to find the next Cadel Evans & Richie Porte.

I think this is Haig's first GT, so we'll have to see what he's capable of. I doubt there would be any pressure or expectation on him, particularly given the Yates, Yates, Chaves GC unit. We'll have to see how long he hangs around when the roads tilt skywards - and when it comes to the Vuelta, they really know how to tilt skywards.

 

[Bigelow]

Rory Sutherland and Nathan Haas not in the Vuelta ?

Any idea what they are doing ?

 

[Vader]

Rory Sutherland and Nathan Haas not in the Vuelta ?

Any idea what they are doing ?

No sign of them on the start list. They might be having time off, or riding another race - possibly the Tour of Alberta, or the Tour of Britain, both of which start in early September. Teams have a roster of around 30 riders, only 9 of which get to ride the Vuelta.

Haas has also recently signed with Katusha-Alpecin for 2018, so his current team (Dimension Data) probably didn't want to "reward" him by selecting him for the Vuelta.

 

[Bigelow]

Haas has also recently signed with Katusha-Alpecin for 2018, so his current team (Dimension Data) probably didn't want to "reward" him by selecting him for the Vuelta.

Thanks for that

 

[Orange Agent]

Is he likely to be useful in the Mountains? Or is he some way off that challenge?


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He'll be very useful. Just won a really tough stage in tour of poland i think it was, solo breaked with about 20+ k's to go and stayed away. He is a genuine climber did a lot of mtb'ing before making the full switch when Orica signed him. Has GC potential. Rode the Veulta last year and finished the 3 weeks.

 

[Orange Agent]

Three - Jack Haig, Matthew Hayman, Michael Hepburn

Other than the previously named Orica Scott riders...
Rohan Denis (BMC)
Simon Clarke (Cannondale Drapac)
Brendan Canty (Cannondale Drapac)
Nicholas Schultz (Caja Rural)
Lachlan Morton (Dimension Data)
Ben O'Connor (Dimension Data)
Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal)
Christopher Hamilton (Sunweb)

Team lists taken from this site: http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/
A few names there that I don't recognise. Don't think I've heard of Schultz, Morton or O'Connor before.

That's a total of 11 Australians starting the Vuelta.

Morton was on Garmins squad years ago before going back to pro-conti level, bit of a weird cat. Won tour of utah i think before getting a pro contract again, pretty sure I read he will be team leader and this has been his season goal.

 

[chargers 09]

He'll be very useful. Just won a really tough stage in tour of poland i think it was, solo breaked with about 20+ k's to go and stayed away. He is a genuine climber did a lot of mtb'ing before making the full switch when Orica signed him. Has GC potential. Rode the Veulta last year and finished the 3 weeks.

Didn't know he is already finished a GT. Australia had a pretty good haul at the Tour of Poland- I think Ewan had a stage victory as well.


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[Vader]

Apparently SBS VICELAND is only showing the Vuelta live in the eastern states. WA, SA & NT get it on delay.

What's the point of showing it on delay? VICELAND's normal programming is completely unwatchable rubbish, with no measurable audience. Surely they wouldn't be disrupting anyone's viewing habits by showing it live?

http://tvtonight.com.au/2017/08/la-vuelta-2017-guide.html

I doubt I'll be watching much of it live. The stages just finish too late for that, other than maybe a Friday or Saturday night mountain top finish.

Note that the Daily Highlights start at 4:30pm on Sunday (SBS HD), then 5:00pm (SBS HD) from Monday onwards. It's only a 30 minute package, so they'll probably only show 10 min of actual racing, by the time they do the intros & awards ceremonies at the end.

 

[eth-dog]

Who wins the points Classification Vader? I'm struggling to find good sprinters for any side, sportsbet even have Chris Froome as the favourite surprisingly. I'm a little surprised that Sagan didn't enter.

For me the overall should go to Chaves, they have a 1-2-3 punch like no other.

 

[Vader]

If you want to know why there are no sprinters - have a look at the stage profiles.
1 - TTT
2 - Sprinters' paradise
3 - Mountains
4 - Sprinters' paradise
5 - Mountains
6 - classified as flat, but has 5x categorised climbs, the last of which is Cat 2
7 - classified as flat, but the finish is 800m above the start, with lots of bumps along the way
8 - Mountains
9 - Mountains
10 - Only one climb for the day - a Cat 1 20km from the finish
11 - Mountains
12 - Mountains
13 - Good finish for the sprinters, but they still go from almost sea level to 800m, and back down again
14 - Mountains
15 - Mountains
16 - TT
17 - Mountains
18 - Supposedly flat, but has 3x Cat 3 and 1x Cat 2 in the last 60km
19 - Nasty Cat 1 climb in the first 30km, but could suit sprinters if they can get over it
20 - Mountains
21 - Sprinters' paradise through Madrid

There's just nothing there to make it worth the sprinters' efforts. They might as well go home after Stage 4, because they're unlikely to win again before Madrid.

This course is set with the true mountain goats in mind. Either that, or pure masochists.

From memory, the Vuelta doesn't weight the points classification towards the flatter stages - as they do in the TDF. Every finish is worth the same number of points. That makes it tough, even for a rider like Sagan.

 

[eth-dog]

If you want to know why there are no sprinters - have a look at the stage profiles.
1 - TTT
2 - Sprinters' paradise
3 - Mountains
4 - Sprinters' paradise
5 - Mountains
6 - classified as flat, but has 5x categorised climbs, the last of which is Cat 2
7 - classified as flat, but the finish is 800m above the start, with lots of bumps along the way
8 - Mountains
9 - Mountains
10 - Only one climb for the day - a Cat 1 20km from the finish
11 - Mountains
12 - Mountains
13 - Good finish for the sprinters, but they still go from almost sea level to 800m, and back down again
14 - Mountains
15 - Mountains
16 - TT
17 - Mountains
18 - Supposedly flat, but has 3x Cat 3 and 1x Cat 2 in the last 60km
19 - Nasty Cat 1 climb in the first 30km, but could suit sprinters if they can get over it
20 - Mountains
21 - Sprinters' paradise through Madrid

There's just nothing there to make it worth the sprinters' efforts. They might as well go home after Stage 4, because they're unlikely to win again before Madrid.

This course is set with the true mountain goats in mind. Either that, or pure masochists.

From memory, the Vuelta doesn't weight the points classification towards the flatter stages - as they do in the TDF. Every finish is worth the same number of points. That makes it tough, even for a rider like Sagan.

Well that makes it more entertaining in terms of GC but tougher to decide who wins what stage. Who are your picks for stages 2 and 4?

 

[chargers 09]

If you want to know why there are no sprinters - have a look at the stage profiles.
1 - TTT
2 - Sprinters' paradise
3 - Mountains
4 - Sprinters' paradise
5 - Mountains
6 - classified as flat, but has 5x categorised climbs, the last of which is Cat 2
7 - classified as flat, but the finish is 800m above the start, with lots of bumps along the way
8 - Mountains
9 - Mountains
10 - Only one climb for the day - a Cat 1 20km from the finish
11 - Mountains
12 - Mountains
13 - Good finish for the sprinters, but they still go from almost sea level to 800m, and back down again
14 - Mountains
15 - Mountains
16 - TT
17 - Mountains
18 - Supposedly flat, but has 3x Cat 3 and 1x Cat 2 in the last 60km
19 - Nasty Cat 1 climb in the first 30km, but could suit sprinters if they can get over it
20 - Mountains
21 - Sprinters' paradise through Madrid

.

* I love the Vuelta.


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[Vader]

Well that makes it more entertaining in terms of GC but tougher to decide who wins what stage. Who are your picks for stages 2 and 4?

I haven't even looked to see which "sprinters" are actually in the race.

 

[eth-dog]

I haven't even looked to see which "sprinters" are actually in the race.

Warren Barguil is the closest thing I can recognize, which says something

 

[Sasquatch]

Rory Sutherland and Nathan Haas not in the Vuelta ?

Any idea what they are doing ?

Could be wrong but there's 3 world tour one day races coming up. One in France and then Montreal and Quebec. All 3 suit him. So I would assume he's going there.

 

[Sasquatch]

Morton was on Garmins squad years ago before going back to pro-conti level, bit of a weird cat. Won tour of utah i think before getting a pro contract again, pretty sure I read he will be team leader and this has been his season goal.

I rate Morton. Has a good future.