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Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble
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Saturday on Angliru is looming over everyone's head like a guillotine, but there is more racing in between and the top 10 GC is not really finalized after today's ITT.

Here is tomorrow's stage:



But who builds roads like what we have on the way to the stage finish....Los Machucos on paper is "only 7.2K at 8.7%....but the summary does not tell the tale for the climb with all this 25 and 26% percent climbing with more 15% along the way....bring your 32 tootch cogs folks as this is an HC/ESP climb:



CPT Chaos is predicting a Contador long range attack. A long range attack with Aru, Woods and Bardet "could work" as Sky will not be motivated to chase. It will be on Sunweb and Katusha and Bahrain Merida to protect the GC of Kelderman, Zakarin and Nibali. It is the perfect day for the guys further back in the GC to make a run at the podium. Sky may want to keep its powder dry and race conservatively between tomorrow and Satuday and just mark the closer GC guys to the base of the Angliru...let's see.

GC starting on Wednesday:

1.GBRFROOME Christopher21TEAM SKY62h 53' 25''
2.ITANIBALI Vincenzo151BAHRAIN - MERIDA62h 55' 23''+ 01' 58''
3.NEDKELDERMAN Wilco61TEAM SUNWEB62h 56' 05''+ 02' 40''
4.RUSZAKARIN Ilnur101TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN62h 56' 32''+ 03' 07''
5.ESPCONTADOR Alberto1TREK - SEGAFREDO62h 58' 23''+ 04' 58''
6.COLLOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel136ASTANA PRO TEAM62h 58' 50''+ 05' 25''
7.ITAARU Fabio131ASTANA PRO TEAM62h 59' 52''+ 06' 27''
8.NEDPOELS Wout27TEAM SKY62h 59' 58''+ 06' 33''
9.COLCHAVES RUBIO Johan Esteban41ORICA - SCOTT63h 00' 05''+ 06' 40''
10.CANWOODS Michael91CANNONDALE DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM63h 00' 31''+ 07' 06''
11.USAVAN GARDEREN Tejay38BMC RACING TEAM63h 03' 36''+ 10' 11''
12.ESPDE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David11QUICK - STEP FLOORS63h 03' 39''+ 10' 14''
13.NEDKRUIJSWIJK Steven111TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO63h 03' 42''+ 10' 17''
14.RSAMEINTJES Louis124UAE TEAM EMIRATES63h 06' 09''+ 12' 44''
15.ESPNIEVE Mikel26TEAM SKY63h 16' 45''+ 23' 20''
Last edited by: devashish_paul: Sep 5, 17 18:02
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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I think there is opportunity for chaos the last 4 days. I do think Froome is the strongest, but the steep nature of these climbs are going to shred the Sky train a lot earlier and isolate all of the GC contenders a lot earlier than we are used to seeing. If anyone has a bad day, especially on Saturday, there will be chucks of time lost.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see Froome go into TT mode on some of these climbs and ignore the accelerations to eventually get to the top faster than the attackers.
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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certainly looks like a stage that will provoke some action, look to see what GC teams put riders in the early break for a possible relay off the cat 2

interesting quote from froome on velonews:
“Everyone is at their limit right now,” Froome said. “Anyone who goes very deep in the time trial [Tuesday] will likely pay for it on Machucos [Wednesday’s summit finale]. It’s all razor thin right now.”
i wondered at the fact that he didn't gain as much time as usual in the TT, this suggests he was playing it safe - riding based on splits from his competitors to be sure to pad his lead nicely but no more than he needs to be comfortable while reserving plenty to be able to control these final mountain stages. when its 25% teammates are worthless and its all about whats left in your legs.

would be great to see froome have a bad day to reopen the GC battle but unless that happens it looks down to a battle for the podium which should still be interesting
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [pk1] [ In reply to ]
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I thought Froome looked fresh, confident, and relaxed after his TT yesterday. He discussed the lack of radio updates during the TT from his team (appears the official timing splits couldn't be trusted so they stopped relaying them). I do not get the feeling that he dug too deep into the well. I thought Nibali also looked strong after the TT. Very composed.

So my guess for today is Froome and Nibali keep their powder dry. A few of the top 10 who did not have strong days yesterday will try and force the pace and make a break. I expect Contador to sit with Froome today and spring his attack on a later stage in an attempt to steal a podium when everyone else is red lining. Maybe on Saturday.
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [pk1] [ In reply to ]
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pk1 wrote:
certainly looks like a stage that will provoke some action, look to see what GC teams put riders in the early break for a possible relay off the cat 2

interesting quote from froome on velonews:
“Everyone is at their limit right now,” Froome said. “Anyone who goes very deep in the time trial [Tuesday] will likely pay for it on Machucos [Wednesday’s summit finale]. It’s all razor thin right now.”
i wondered at the fact that he didn't gain as much time as usual in the TT, this suggests he was playing it safe - riding based on splits from his competitors to be sure to pad his lead nicely but no more than he needs to be comfortable while reserving plenty to be able to control these final mountain stages. when its 25% teammates are worthless and its all about whats left in your legs.

would be great to see froome have a bad day to reopen the GC battle but unless that happens it looks down to a battle for the podium which should still be interesting

I expected Froome to gain more time in a 43 min ITT, so maybe he was sandbagging a bit saving himself for the next few days. Let's see.
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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Everyone more or less together with the final 2 climbs left. Yates and Chavez making a go?
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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I have really enjoyed the race so far, AC has animated this race and he will be missed. Froome will have to massively crack to lose but there are some epic days ahead.
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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This is a great stage!
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [Ron_Burgundy] [ In reply to ]
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We'll miss AC for sure, what a show!

I climbed Lagos and Angliru last month, and I was thinking I maybe should go and try los Machucos to top it off but after seeing this, well, I will pass.

Sr. Salitre
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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What a stage! AC went later than I expected, but delivered a huge blow to the guys ahead of him (not so much for Froome/Nibs). I think we are starting to see the cracks as Lopez was human, Kelderman faltered a bit, and the Sky guys looked a bit cooked. The next few days are going to be a cracker!



"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [CPT Chaos] [ In reply to ]
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That was some crazy ass climbing today......a moto had to stop and fell over!
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [Bigringonly] [ In reply to ]
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wow what a stage!! love or hate him, I think anyone watching was on the edge of their seat to see if AC would catch the leader & win the stage!
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [CPT Chaos] [ In reply to ]
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CPT Chaos wrote:
What a stage! AC went later than I expected, but delivered a huge blow to the guys ahead of him (not so much for Froome/Nibs). I think we are starting to see the cracks as Lopez was human, Kelderman faltered a bit, and the Sky guys looked a bit cooked. The next few days are going to be a cracker!

Sevilla Steak tonite for dinner....go Contador!!!! I was in meetings the last 30K so missed the action, so cannot wait till tonite. Honestly watching the Grand Tours have been the hilite of my year (pretty bad when watching others do sport is your hilite, but it is what it is)
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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Man f Sky didn't have 4 guys guiding contador those last few k's, this might have been a whole different story.
And Contodor, WOW, I just don't get the hate.
He always races to win!.

----------------------------
http://www.instagram.com/cyclewise
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [ChrisC42780] [ In reply to ]
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Yep, I was sitting right on my coffee table leaning in on the TV in the last bit of the race!



"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [CPT Chaos] [ In reply to ]
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Amazing, wonderful stage! I am still a little stunned by that. Wow!
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [Misery] [ In reply to ]
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I thought Froome did a great job of limiting his losses. You could see on the flattish section between the insanely steep pitches where he has zero legs and tried to spin through where otherwise he'd load up the gearing a bit and hammer. He was cooked. What a tough dude. Was crazy to see him surrounded by 4 teammates that far up the climb. Money can't buy you love but it can buy you GTs.

AC- pure panache or whatever the Spanish equivalent is.

Woodsy! Oh Canada!!! He'll look good in black and blue next year.

Tejay- another great ride.
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [CPT Chaos] [ In reply to ]
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CPT Chaos wrote:
Yep, I was sitting right on my coffee table leaning in on the TV in the last bit of the race!

I was actually surprised with Moscone (sp?) pacing Froome halfway up the final crazy climb. With Froome "only" gaining ~ 1 min on a 40K TT on Nibali and then losing some time today to Nibali again is Froome having some off days or on a bit of fumes? Contador's ride was one of those rides where he rode on passion and "sensations". Anyone know if he had a powermeter today? It also looked like Contador pulled out the the 32 tooth rear cluster!!!
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [McNulty] [ In reply to ]
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OK, tomorrow's stage on paper could be very interesting (or not). 4 climbs, with one cat 2, the rest cat 3's.

Here is the interesting thing. The final 2K climbs 200m, so 10% grade. it's enough to time gaps and bonus seconds to add up.



All the real climbing tomorrow is in the last 60K so realistically this stage should be 2.5-3 hours of noodling around on the flats and then 1.5 hours of hammerfest. Someone can choose to go from way out and potentially make it stick. Any of the riders from 7th to 25th place are strong enough on a given day to group together and take this stage from way out. Sky won't have to chase them, so its going to be up to Sunweb, Merida, Trek, Katsusha to mount the chase.....or Contador will just chase down a break solo and try to attach and relaunch himself from there if the non Sky GC teams don't chase.

Today, I think Contador really picked his attack point well. It was low on the mountain to make a gap, but it was not like the other day when he went with 25K of climbing to go. Today he "only" had to stay away for 18 minutes.
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [McNulty] [ In reply to ]
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woods to sky??? say it ain't so!
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [buzz] [ In reply to ]
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buzz wrote:
woods to sky??? say it ain't so!

That is the rumour! He will probably go to Sky, lose 10 lbs magically, gain 50 more watts of FTP as one does when they go to Sky and we'll have a big debate about whether Woods could have beaten Froome if they cut him lose rather than protect him. Or, he'll end up in some other team and be pack fodder for Sky (as is everyone else).

Dev
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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Froome said he paid the price for his TT and it affected him today, but he was not really that concerned and felt confident. AC had his SRM but said he taped it over so as to just ride on 'sensations'.

I have mixed thoughts about tomorrow for much of any real attacks from the GC group. Seems they all must be thinking about the Angrilou and how hard it will be considering the pain of today. Would not be surprised if Nibs went as he must sense a bit of weakness and will want to chip more time away if he thinks he can beat Froome. If Lopez goes, I would expect AC to follow but maybe not work with him, hoping to take time, but not overdo it.

Too bad I will be on an airplane to Chat when the race is live!



"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [CPT Chaos] [ In reply to ]
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i can't see anything much happening until the final climb, i'd see a break taking the stage while the gc guys test each other a bit on the final but there won't be big gaps unless someone went too deep today.
contador and lopez might attack earlier just because they can't help themselves but nobody fighting for the podium will (or should) want to waste energy on the flatish lead in to the final. froome will be well protected so even if he is struggling will not be vulnerable until the final.
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [buzz] [ In reply to ]
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buzz wrote:
woods to sky??? say it ain't so!

Just my speculating. I didn't hear that anywhere. It's just that they have the checkbook. I think QS is a better fit, though. I think he could really roll the one days. I had no idea he could climb like this and hang this tough for this long. Amazing dude.
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Re: Vuelta Stages 17-21...Mountains, Angliru and the final GC Scramble [McNulty] [ In reply to ]
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He's said he wants to be on a team that will let him prioritize the Ardennes classics. Sky have purportedly shown interest but I wonder if that's what they'd use him for, or based on this Vuelta, they'd want him to be more of a mountain domestique. Can totally see the appeal in going to Sky in terms of resources and financial stability, but it might not be the best move in terms of his career.

Speaking of Ardennes... today's finish could suit a punchy rider. I could see Valverde licking his chops at a stage like this if he were around.
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