2016 'PRO' cycling discussion.

[tymon_tm]

Jeopardy Vuelta Edition

Strategy for 600$ - the answer is 'NOTHING'

question: what does Cannondale do having three guys up in a ~15 men break?

[LeDuke]

At the base of the final climb, Rolland needs to get to the front and drill it for Dombrowski. Who then needs to get away solo, because he's not going to beat anyone if it comes down to a two or three man sprint.

Edit: Now they just need to pray.

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[xena]

Froooooomy does it again [ robot kills] it's becoming almost comical. Quintana IMO again shows a lack of racer instinct and confidence in his own ability. He only had Bertie with him who was over a minute down, why didn't he attack earlier. Instead he played games worrying about Bertie and would have got more Froome time if he had just gone for it. He really needs to get some man beans and stop worrying about other riders and take the race by the horns etc.
Bertie just blew. IMO that had nothing to do with his injury's he just blew. I'm not sure if the Trek deal has been signed. Unless he has a issue we are unaware of and he really can get back to GT winning form then I think he should call it a day. Take a back seat have a few easy days and then go for a stage win and leave us with great last moments. Valverde , I have no idea becouse he his an enigma and this is such a bonkers race that he may try something from a long way out. Did you notice how he would not pull for Quintana " his own man "

[Sacke]

Froooooomy does it again [ robot kills] it's becoming almost comical. Quintana IMO again shows a lack of racer instinct and confidence in his own ability. He only had Bertie with him who was over a minute down, why didn't he attack earlier. Instead he played games worrying about Bertie and would have got more Froome time if he had just gone for it. He really needs to get some man beans and stop worrying about other riders and take the race by the horns etc.
Bertie just blew. IMO that had nothing to do with his injury's he just blew. I'm not sure if the Trek deal has been signed. Unless he has a issue we are unaware of and he really can get back to GT winning form then I think he should call it a day. Take a back seat have a few easy days and then go for a stage win and leave us with great last moments. Valverde , I have no idea becouse he his an enigma and this is such a bonkers race that he may try something from a long way out. Did you notice how he would not pull for Quintana " his own man "

Maybe his future salary is tied to what he manages at the Vuelta...

[tymon_tm]

why would Valverde work for Quintana if he's sitting 2nd in GC just a minute behind? he's got his own game, and it would be silly from his position to waste it for couple seconds (maybe) Quinn would gain.. besides, he finished well today only thanks to Froome, who he followed after getting dropped.

Bertie doesn't look good, maybe it's time to think about stages and/or mountain points jerseys, it appears as GC is too much..

Froome's unbelievable - as always. I can't even begin to understand how his body works, but it does and from nearly a minute down he went to ~25 seconds on the line. I bet if he had a kilometer or two of climbing more he would've chased Quintana down... a truly remarkable recovery.

Quintana attacked and that's a front page story itself. sure he might've dropped Bertie but back then Froome was dying and it seemed good to have someone to work with. he did a good race today and I wish he had ridden like that during the Tour

overally it was a very nice stage. packed with action and plot twists, it was more entertaining than the whole Tour. guys are tired, trains no longer work like they have in july, and the game appears more open. it's a good thing they chased the breakaway down, it added more purpose so to speak and I bet for Quintana himself going for a stage win meant a lot

[tymon_tm]

oh, I forgot. my favourite team - Cannondale - has proven today sometimes the best just don't win. they had three world class guys in the break and a 5 minute advantage. I bet the brilliant strategy was to sit on it - hide somewhere at the back of the group to accumulate energy and attack when rivals fade - pity other guys weren't as good and let the advantage shrink, but what can you do - you don't pick your break companions do you. next time I guess, next time..

[maquisard]

It was like watching a Grand Tour in the mid-90's again, non stop excitement!

[LeDuke]

oh, I forgot. my favourite team - Cannondale - has proven today sometimes the best just don't win. they had three world class guys in the break and a 5 minute advantage. I bet the brilliant strategy was to sit on it - hide somewhere at the back of the group to accumulate energy and attack when rivals fade - pity other guys weren't as good and let the advantage shrink, but what can you do - you don't pick your break companions do you. next time I guess, next time..

I didn't watch the stage, but based on text updates I read:

1) Dombrowski crashed himself out of the break. Didn't he get dropped on a descent in the Giro, too?

2) Rolland can't descend very well, and wasted a lot of energy trying to keep himself in contact with the rest of the break.

Seem like good candidates for dropper posts and 25mm tires.



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[xena]

Froooooomy does it again [ robot kills] it's becoming almost comical. Quintana IMO again shows a lack of racer instinct and confidence in his own ability. He only had Bertie with him who was over a minute down, why didn't he attack earlier. Instead he played games worrying about Bertie and would have got more Froome time if he had just gone for it. He really needs to get some man beans and stop worrying about other riders and take the race by the horns etc.
Bertie just blew. IMO that had nothing to do with his injury's he just blew. I'm not sure if the Trek deal has been signed. Unless he has a issue we are unaware of and he really can get back to GT winning form then I think he should call it a day. Take a back seat have a few easy days and then go for a stage win and leave us with great last moments. Valverde , I have no idea becouse he his an enigma and this is such a bonkers race that he may try something from a long way out. Did you notice how he would not pull for Quintana " his own man "

Maybe his future salary is tied to what he manages at the Vuelta...

Someone said that exactly. [ cant remember where] That the deal is tied in with his Vuelta performance. Hoping someone on here might know for sure.
Bertie said that he should have stayed with Froome. That makes a lot of sense but it would have unleased Quintana to get his head down and ride like he did at the tour the year before. Is it that Quintana only really fly's when he has no competition around him. Do posters think that he tightens up and gets a bit tense and can only unbridle himself when he knows there is no threat around him?
He was so bad at this years tour. I wonder if he feels the pressure when riders are around him and he tightens up. He rode the tour the same has Froome but he looks a class above. WTF is going on with him.
Maybe Q and F will both fade in the latter part of the race but for now Quintana looks top dog even with the tour in his legs. I know Froome fans will mention the Olympics but I don't think that is a issue, in fact it could have been an advantage keeping his race legs on.
What do you think posters does Quintana tighten up under close rider pressure?

[tymon_tm]

oh, I forgot. my favourite team - Cannondale - has proven today sometimes the best just don't win. they had three world class guys in the break and a 5 minute advantage. I bet the brilliant strategy was to sit on it - hide somewhere at the back of the group to accumulate energy and attack when rivals fade - pity other guys weren't as good and let the advantage shrink, but what can you do - you don't pick your break companions do you. next time I guess, next time..

I didn't watch the stage, but based on text updates I read:

1) Dombrowski crashed himself out of the break. Didn't he get dropped on a descent in the Giro, too?

2) Rolland can't descend very well, and wasted a lot of energy trying to keep himself in contact with the rest of the break.

Seem like good candidates for dropper posts and 25mm tires.



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nothing on Joe's twitter, I haven't noticed/heard him having any mishaps (apart from riding in said team, but that's an ongoing tragedy)

the descent wasn't hard I guess, even by Rolland's standards (which are only getting higher BTW since he joined Cad). besides I remember Joe getting caught by Quintana and Bertie (or was it Froome and Valv) on the final ascent so mos def no accidents there.

BTW Quintana had some crash marks on his back, the camera caught it only before the finish, so perhaps it happened early on?

[tymon_tm]

Froooooomy does it again [ robot kills] it's becoming almost comical. Quintana IMO again shows a lack of racer instinct and confidence in his own ability. He only had Bertie with him who was over a minute down, why didn't he attack earlier. Instead he played games worrying about Bertie and would have got more Froome time if he had just gone for it. He really needs to get some man beans and stop worrying about other riders and take the race by the horns etc.
Bertie just blew. IMO that had nothing to do with his injury's he just blew. I'm not sure if the Trek deal has been signed. Unless he has a issue we are unaware of and he really can get back to GT winning form then I think he should call it a day. Take a back seat have a few easy days and then go for a stage win and leave us with great last moments. Valverde , I have no idea becouse he his an enigma and this is such a bonkers race that he may try something from a long way out. Did you notice how he would not pull for Quintana " his own man "

Maybe his future salary is tied to what he manages at the Vuelta...

Someone said that exactly. [ cant remember where] That the deal is tied in with his Vuelta performance. Hoping someone on here might know for sure.
Bertie said that he should have stayed with Froome. That makes a lot of sense but it would have unleased Quintana to get his head down and ride like he did at the tour the year before. Is it that Quintana only really fly's when he has no competition around him. Do posters think that he tightens up and gets a bit tense and can only unbridle himself when he knows there is no threat around him?
He was so bad at this years tour. I wonder if he feels the pressure when riders are around him and he tightens up. He rode the tour the same has Froome but he looks a class above. WTF is going on with him.
Maybe Q and F will both fade in the latter part of the race but for now Quintana looks top dog even with the tour in his legs. I know Froome fans will mention the Olympics but I don't think that is a issue, in fact it could have been an advantage keeping his race legs on.
What do you think posters does Quintana tighten up under close rider pressure?

sounds funny those salary issues, like Froome needs to prove he can win GTs? if it's true then he must have a hell of an agent..

[maquisard]

Rik Zabel off to Katusha next year to join Tony Martin, pretty much confirming all the rumours about it morphing from Katusha into Canyon-Alpecin and being pretty much a German team. Good to see.

Majka off to Bora as well, following Sagan. Another move I'm glad to see, really like Majka.

[tymon_tm]

Majka was pretty much confirmed like a month ago, the big question is what sort of help can he count on - will he be given at least few strong guys to try fighting in GC or will the team target three goals at once - green for Sagan, KOM for Majka and stages for whoever can escape (like Huzarski, Bodnar etc)

IMHO both scenarios work for Bora, Sagan doesn't really need much help to do his job, Majka can fight in mountains alone (he almost won a stage this year, which would mean 3 TdF's with stage win in a row), so there's 7 guys left. focusing on GC is dangerous given how powerful other teams are, plus Majka really needs to upgrade a bit to stay with - not to mention attack - the likes of Froome or Quintana. his TT skills are not in par with his climbing too.

so if they leave those two "alone" and give Bodnar some freedom (dude is strong, fast and def capable of winning a stage from a stage-long break), they might go after the crumbs left from the GC table - but like all of them, at once, sort of repeating what Tinkoff achieved this year.

... and that's just three cards outta nine. something tells me Bora's gonna rock next year

[Frolle]

Quintana with Diadora overshoes over unknown shoes
http://www.steephill.tv/2016/vuelta-a-e ... IS5786.jpg

he joins Spilak, Zaka, Dowsett, Hesjedal and some others who wear sponsored overshoes over other brands

He is wearing Sidi shoes under the Diadora shoe covers.

Just under the Diadora logo you can see through the cover were it says "Sidi"

[xena]

Quintana and Valverde both would like to see power metres banned. Froome said he rides with how he his feeling but admits to looking at the power metre " like we had not noticed "

Personally I would like to see them go. But really all Quintana has to do his not attack so early. It also makes a point about Sky seeming to be the only team to use their numbers in a race. Its a bit strange really that Movie and others are still riding old school.
Instead of moaning all he has to do is just ride alongside Froome then attack say 3k out and he would get a lot more time. Froome tried to follow he would be in danger of blowing up completely. Bertie said yesterday he should have just stayed with Froome and he would not have lost so much time and none to Froome or possibly he may have made some time on Froome like in 2014. Times have been pretty quick at some of these climbs. Bertie has matched or gone quicker than 2014. Obviously conditions are different but they are not Loyal in anyway.
Quintana is ripping it up.