Vuelta a España 2018

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Buzzasto DaSilva said:
Was he there for a holiday?

I'm certainly not a Porte hater, but given the amount of money he's on and the fact it's his last tour for BMC, surely he's not just there for the experience?
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He was dropped with something like less than 30k's to go and ended up losing 13 minutes. He is mentally weak, has always dropped his bundle when something does go his way. There is no way the team came here to ride for Roche, he's just making excuses. His media comments just make me lose respect for the guy, he is running out of excuses.
 
Orange Agent said:
He was dropped with something like less than 30k's to go and ended up losing 13 minutes. He is mentally weak, has always dropped his bundle when something does go his way. There is no way the team came here to ride for Roche, he's just making excuses. His media comments just make me lose respect for the guy, he is running out of excuses.
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Out of excuses, yes- but I certainly don't think he's mentally weak. Nobody is an elite cyclist if they are mentally weak.
 
Orange Agent said:
He is no chance on the Worlds course.
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I have not seen the course but I was told it was a punchy course that would be too hard for a Sagan . I figured It sounds like a Valverde type course but still think Porte would be our best hope
 

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Orange Agent said:
He was dropped with something like less than 30k's to go and ended up losing 13 minutes. He is mentally weak, has always dropped his bundle when something does go his way. There is no way the team came here to ride for Roche, he's just making excuses. His media comments just make me lose respect for the guy, he is running out of excuses.
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I disagree about him being mentally weak.I think he is a poor bike handler
 
Downhill Skier said:
I have not seen the course but I was told it was a punchy course that would be too hard for a Sagan . I figured It sounds like a Valverde type course but still think Porte would be our best hope
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The main climb is too far from the finish for the GC guys, the end bit is very much a Mur de Huy type climb. Based on form Haig should be our leader.
 
Stage 3 Viviani wins from Nizzolo, Sagan third must be feeling better.

Trentin 8th for MTS

Porte and Dennis lost another 8 mins
 
Bigelow said:
Stage 3 Viviani wins from Nizzolo, Sagan third must be feeling better.

Trentin 8th for MTS

Porte and Dennis lost another 8 mins
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Maybe they have stage wins in mind, rather than hunting the GC. They now trail by 20+ minutes, which means that the GC teams will give them all the freedom they want when it comes to breakaways.
 
Vader said:
Maybe they have stage wins in mind, rather than hunting the GC. They now trail by 20+ minutes, which means that the GC teams will give them all the freedom they want when it comes to breakaways.
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Has to be the case, I can understand Porte being under done but not sure why Dennis is dropping time as well.
 
Summit finish tonight. While the climb itself doesn't look too hard, the heat will pose a significant challenge
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Stage 4: 161.4km from Velez-Malaga to Sierra de la Alfaguara
On Sunday night the race went up 2500m, and yet tonight is being referred to as the first mountain stage? Welcome to the Vuelta!

Yesterday's stage ended up being one for the sprinters. I wasn't sure they'd make it over the Cat 1 climb with the lead group, but the climb was early in the stage, so the peleton must have been soft pedalling. No such luck for the fast men tonight.

The first 40km of tonight's stage are relatively flat. I hope the riders enjoy it while it lasts... The road starts going up after 42km, but the climb doesn't officially start until 51km. The riders then endure a Cat 1 climb, gaining 930m in 15.7km. That takes them to the KotM point, but the road just keeps climbing for another 14km, peaking at 1330m (270m higher than the KotM point). And that's just the entree.

The last 28km are mostly uphill, though the final Cat 1 climb doesn't officially start until 12.4km to go. This time they "only" gain 675m, so it's a bit more gentle than the first climb.

This is definitely one for the mountain goats. Think Valverde, Quintana & co. I'll tip Valverde.
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Perhaps MTS is making a play for a few days in the leaders jersey

They have been a bit light on for success lately.
 

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Bigelow said:
Perhaps MTS is making a play for a few days in the leaders jersey

They have been a bit light on for success lately.
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Apparently they're only 3 wins short of their best ever season.

** I wish I could find the article where I read that. I'm sure it was published in the last week.
 
Vader said:
Apparently they're only 3 wins short of their best ever season.

** I wish I could find the article where I read that. I'm sure it was published in the last week.
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Well I really meant TDF and since then

but Trentin had a win a couple of weeks ago and obviously overall they haven't gone too bad

Jack Haig doing some good work
 
Found the article I was looking for. It's an interview with Matt White:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...-scotts-matt-white-theres-unfinished-business

This atypical serenity is partly because, after guiding Mitchelton-Scott through the gruelling Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, the 44-year-old Australian is taking a well-deserved break. He is in Spain to mentor another sports director, rather than being in the hot-seat himself. But it is also because, unlike many other teams at the Vuelta, Mitchelton-Scott’s season does not depend on a strong finale. “We are three wins away from this being our most successful season,” he says, having finished his dissection of the Wallabies. “And we still have two months left.”
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Stage 5: 188.7km from Granada to Roquetas de Mar
Last night saw the breakaway succeed, for the first time in this year's Vuelta. Simon Yates proved that he's a slow learner, bolting from the lead group and gaining 27 seconds, moving him up from 12th to 3rd - he's now only 10 seconds behind Kwiatkowski. He's gaining seconds now, he'll lose minutes when he (inevitably) hits the wall in the 3rd week.

Tonight's stage is classified as "Medium Mountains". In other words, the road goes up & down like a yo-yo, with nary a section of flat. There are only 2 classified climbs, but a quick glance at the stage profile shows at least 8 summits over which the riders must pass. The last 26km are all downhill, and the last 10 might even be called flat... almost.

Who wins this? Probably the breakaway. Maybe Sagan, if the peleton decides to chase.
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Downhill Skier said:
Maybe in regards to actual wins they are in a better position but a podium in a GT or a Monument win beats this year IMO. I fail to see how this has been there most successful year
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They had a shocking Tour, but the Giro was a great result for them. They won stages 5 stages (3 different winners) and Simon Yates spent 13 days in pink. The only team which fared better was UK Postal, with FLP taking the overall victory.

Ideally they'd want a podium for Yates in the Vuelta, and no doubt that's what they're aiming for. The Giro result has made it a successful season for them, even if they don't get a great result in the Vuelta.
 
Vader said:
They had a shocking Tour, but the Giro was a great result for them. They won stages 5 stages (3 different winners) and Simon Yates spent 13 days in pink. The only team which fared better was UK Postal, with FLP taking the overall victory.

Ideally they'd want a podium for Yates in the Vuelta, and no doubt that's what they're aiming for. The Giro result has made it a successful season for them, even if they don't get a great result in the Vuelta.
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I think they have had a good year no doubt I just don't think it has been there most successful. I can't see Yates getting a podium, he just cannot push into that third week and falls off a cliff.
 
Simon Clark,Simon Clark ? :)

Good on him.

Mollard has the leaders jersey, how long can he keep it.
 
I doubt Mollard will hold the leader's jersey for long... but anything is possible.

Oscar Pereiro won the 2006 Tour de France after taking back 29:57 by coming second in a breakaway on a stage where the peleton decided to have the day off. He'd lost 28 minutes in the Pyrenees, and the Alps & Ardeche were still to come, so the leaders were happy for him to go. They were even happy for him to take the yellow. Only problem is... once he got the yellow, he simply refused to give it back.

The end result of this was Landis' famous attack, which resulted in him being busted for doping. Interestingly, Pereiro also tested positive (for salbutamol), but was given a retrospective TUE. One wonders if the UCI let him off because they'd already stripped one winner of the title, and didn't want to have to strip a second.

The Vuelta is a very different beast, and there are a lot of extremely nasty mountains to come. Mollard's chances of holding on are slim to non-existent, but I didn't expect Pereiro to hold on either.
 
Lol Nacer at it again, reportedly punched his director sportif and the team car. Guy is the biggest flog
 
Stage 6: 155.7km from Huercal Overa to San Javier. Mar Menor
Last night proved to be another one for the breakaway, with Rudy Molard gaining enough time to take the leader's jersey off the back of Kwiatkowski. I doubt UK Postal will mind though, particularly given tonight's parcours. Molard isn't that good at climbing, and his chances of emulating Oscar Pereiro would have to be remote at best.

Tonight's stage is one for the sprinters. Shock!! Horror!! The Vuelta organisers do actually know that there are non-climbers in the race, who are hoping to win a stage for themselves. Tonight's stage includes 2x Cat 3 climbs, and the highest point in the last 40km is only 85m above sea level.

I'm tipping Viviani to take his second stage for the Vuelta.

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