Busy BH weekend here so not getting to see much of the racing. David de la Cruz keeps the fans happy winning the stage and claiming the jersey. Movistar won't be too bothered given what's to come today and looks like most of the GC just kept tabs on each other.
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A big one today with a finish up the Covadonga...
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Still early days for the Vuelta so one of those days where you probably won't win the race but you can certainly lose it.
Over to [url= http://inrng.com/2016/08/vuelta-stage-10-preview-lagos-covadonga/ ]inrng[/url] for a quick preview...
The Finish: the climb should be familiar to readers and riders alike as a staple of the Vuelta. It’s 12.km long at 7.2% average but a very irregular climb with constantly changing gradients, a staircase climb. The chart says 17.5% at the finish but this looks odd, after the descent by the lakes the road rises and it’s not so steep.The Contenders: Nairo Quintana was the surprise on La Camperona, attacking and then pulling away but it’s still hard to tell who is the best because no sooner does one rider look good they have a reversal on the next mountain stage. Still Quintana and Alejandro Valverde look like the ideal pairing for this stage finish, Quintana can go on the climb proper while Valverde can mark and then use the small uphill ramp to the line to sprint.
Chris Froome has beaten expectations so far with consistent riding even if he’s not the force we saw in July. A stage win here is possible but the uneven climb and the flat portion across the top might not suit. The same for Alberto Contador who surged past Froome two days ago despite being swaddled in bandages but if Contador could do that with his limbs and shoulders resembling a pizza margherita then imagine what a couple of extra days of recovery can do.
Esteban Chaves needs a result. He looked fresh on the Ezaro climb but suffered on La Camperona and can’t afford any more time losses here because he’s behind Quintana, Valverde and Froome overall and they’re all superior in the time trial. If he’s going backwards here then even a podium finish is going to be a challenge. Simon Yates has been erratic but could be close too.
Caja Rural’s Sergio Pardilla is climbing well and is almost four minutes down overall so could have room to go clear.
Can a breakaway stick? Normally no but this Vuelta isn’t ordinary and many moves are staying away so expect lively competition to go clear. Cannondale’s GC hopes have gone so Joe Dombrowski could try from a breakaway,
Wonder if we'll see some Movistar tactical games played today with Quintana and Valverde both looking strong. They seem happy to finish 1-2 at the moment but I'd assume at some point one of them will take the lead.
Well that was quite a good finale. Worth catching the highlights.
Love the Vuelta. Wish le tour had some choppier climbs instead of the typically steady gradients.
caught it live, froome was savage
Awesome finish
Missed this thread
It was a proper days racing today and very interesting to see
Fromme still in it Nairo releasing his legs
Will be interesting when he attacks for real
That was bloody good!
Question - Froome had a different frame to team mates (Black stays on his, team mates on blue stays) and wildly differing front/rear wheel difference.
Did he have a bike change? Mechanical? Or just quirky kit? The latter sounds plausible, given his odd chainring fetish!
Interesting day all round - shame Bertie's hurty; he was my tip for the title
shame Bertie's hurty
Just like Le Tour, he crashed because he can only handle a bike when it's going uphill.
Well assuming it was a calculated tactic, it was a pretty bold move by Froome to effectively time trial the climb. Or was it? Maybe he was just playing to his strength. Great to see shots of my hero Robert Millar at the start of the coverage.
he climbed the hill the fastest way he could
Makes sense to ride at threshold for the whole climb rather than die half
I also think his aim is to stay in touch till the time trial but Nairo is the stronger climber presently
Here's the GC on the rest day...
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Chaves and Contador look out of it. So Quintana v Froome for the next few days.
Bloody hard Vuelta this. Looking at what's coming up they're mostly all either big summit finishes (still 5 more to go) or long tough hilly stages (13 looks exhausting). On current form, if Quintana can keep gaining handfuls of seconds like he has been, it looks unlikely that Froome will be able to stay close enough to still be in contention for next Friday's ITT.
Was an impressive ride by Quintana yesterday. Long hard climb that with some early steep pitches. Contador seemed to pay the price for going early with Quintana. Great work by Froome to stay in contention.
Quintana and Froome showed their class without a doubt with the former obviously the most convincing. I think barring crashes or implosions, both of them will be on the podium in Madrid.
I'd quite like to see Konig get a chance to be up there. It'd make a change for the Froome-era Sky to have someone who can keep up with Froome and stand a chance of getting a podium whilst still supporting the leader.
I'd quite like to see Konig get a chance to be up there.
Not sure he'll get much opportunity. They tend to rotate their domestiques so he'll probably have an easier day or two in the next week where he'll lose a bunch of time (almost certainly on the ITT if Froome is still in contention.)
Rest day, great I'll do catch-up tonight for the last three stages and be back up to speed ready for tomorrow.
I'm just glad that the drugs cheat contador look's like its all over for him. I don't like seeing him racing whilst still getting the benefits from his doping