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Vuelta a España - Week 3
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 03-09-2012 19:31
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issoisso wrote:
cio93 wrote:
cactus-jack wrote:
Froomebot attempts command: Climb
Cannot compute. Another program is running.
Close program "Contador.exe" to continue.
Error, error. Froomebot has reached maximum capacity.
Emergency shut down.
Internet Explorer has stopped working.
I think the guys at Microsoft programmed the Vuelta GPS.
"Gap is 5 seconds.....12.......15 seconds.....35 minutes........2 seconds...."
Anyway, when a guy comes into a GT short on racing form like Contador did this time, he always gets worse in the 2nd week and much better in the 3rd. There's only one climb in the last week, but with a good day the 25s gap might be possible. Maybe.
We'll see. It's not over yet.
I was thinking about that quote today, Purito lost 23 seconds on Bola Del Mundo last time, and although he's a different rider this year, Mosquera is no Contador.
 [url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182] Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
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| Aquarius |
Posted on 03-09-2012 19:32
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Smoku wrote:
Wow, how boring is TdF in comparison. Bonus seconds monsieur Prudhomme!
Rules on bonus seconds are the same as uphill/downhill finish, or big mountains close or far too the finish.
By some aspects it makes riders do nothing and wait for the finish line, but by some other aspects it adds more spectacle.
You enjoy it when Rodriguez sprints his heart out everyday in the last 300 m to create a marginal (erm, that's not him, make that a minimal instead) gap and take bonus seconds ? Fine.
What if he would attack from farther and create a bigger gap on the road, because the bonus might not be enough for him ? That could be more exciting. I'm not saying J.Rod. is a rider who would do that, but such a case is possible.
Bookie wrote:
I'm sure it provides a nice spectacle, but a climb like this has little to do with cycling. It's artificial, cheapish - something Zomegan would love.
Not a fan.
Agreed. The point of using a bike is that it makes you travel faster than walking. What's the point of sending riders on slopes where most of them would better walk than cycle ? And I'm not even mentioning what would happen to random cyclists on such roads.
Semi-mountains then insanely steep roads are not my cup of tea either.
***
On an unrelated note, according to Fred Grappe (FDJeux coach), Contador's performance on the last mountain today was 8% inferior to his Tourmalet 2010 performance (in terms of Watts probably - Contador did 425 W there in 2010, so that'd be 390 today), for equivalent climbing times.
Also, Froome was only 20 Watts weaker than Contador on that ascent (probably around 370 then), but that resulted in a huge gap.
Edited by Aquarius on 03-09-2012 19:40
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| cactus-jack |
Posted on 03-09-2012 19:39
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I am strictly against bonus seconds. I certainly don't want to see them in the Tour, nor in any other race for that matter. Even though the Vuelta so far has been exciting, most of the time it will cause fewer attacks. Riders will wait untill the very last moment to gain a few seconds by sprinting for the line.
Without bonus seconds many riders would be forced to attack earlier out. Besides, the whole point is to see who can ride the fastest. A perfect race for me would be a race with no bonus seconds and two TTs; I believe it would force riders like Andy and (maybe) Rodriguez to attack from further out.
At the moment, Contador has been the fastest rider, yet he is in 2nd place.
There's a fine line between "psychotherapist" and "psycho the rapist"
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| Michal4444 |
Posted on 03-09-2012 20:07
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cactus-jack wrote:
I am strictly against bonus seconds. I certainly don't want to see them in the Tour, nor in any other race for that matter. Even though the Vuelta so far has been exciting, most of the time it will cause fewer attacks. Riders will wait untill the very last moment to gain a few seconds by sprinting for the line.
Without bonus seconds many riders would be forced to attack earlier out. Besides, the whole point is to see who can ride the fastest. A perfect race for me would be a race with no bonus seconds and two TTs; I believe it would force riders like Andy and (maybe) Rodriguez to attack from further out.
At the moment, Contador has been the fastest rider, yet he is in 2nd place.
If Contador is fastest how come that Purito was in every stage before him?   |
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| issoisso |
Posted on 03-09-2012 20:10
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Michal4444 wrote:
cactus-jack wrote:
I am strictly against bonus seconds. I certainly don't want to see them in the Tour, nor in any other race for that matter. Even though the Vuelta so far has been exciting, most of the time it will cause fewer attacks. Riders will wait untill the very last moment to gain a few seconds by sprinting for the line.
Without bonus seconds many riders would be forced to attack earlier out. Besides, the whole point is to see who can ride the fastest. A perfect race for me would be a race with no bonus seconds and two TTs; I believe it would force riders like Andy and (maybe) Rodriguez to attack from further out.
At the moment, Contador has been the fastest rider, yet he is in 2nd place.
If Contador is fastest how come that Purito was in every stage before him?
He wasn't
And with no bonus seconds, Contador would be leading by 14 seconds. Take out the TTT and it's 13 seconds.
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
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| cactus-jack |
Posted on 03-09-2012 20:29
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Michal4444 wrote:
cactus-jack wrote:
I am strictly against bonus seconds. I certainly don't want to see them in the Tour, nor in any other race for that matter. Even though the Vuelta so far has been exciting, most of the time it will cause fewer attacks. Riders will wait untill the very last moment to gain a few seconds by sprinting for the line.
Without bonus seconds many riders would be forced to attack earlier out. Besides, the whole point is to see who can ride the fastest. A perfect race for me would be a race with no bonus seconds and two TTs; I believe it would force riders like Andy and (maybe) Rodriguez to attack from further out.
At the moment, Contador has been the fastest rider, yet he is in 2nd place.
If Contador is fastest how come that Purito was in every stage before him?
Did you not see the TT? Without bonus seconds Contador would be leading. I can understand bonus seconds in races such as Oman, but here I think it's idiotic.
They are racing to see who is the fastest in the whole Vuelta, not to see who is the fastest in the last 100 metres.
There's a fine line between "psychotherapist" and "psycho the rapist"
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| kumazan |
Posted on 03-09-2012 20:30
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Aquarius wrote:
Bookie wrote:
I'm sure it provides a nice spectacle, but a climb like this has little to do with cycling. It's artificial, cheapish - something Zomegan would love.
Not a fan.
Agreed. The point of using a bike is that it makes you travel faster than walking. What's the point of sending riders on slopes where most of them would better walk than cycle ? And I'm not even mentioning what would happen to random cyclists on such roads.
Semi-mountains then insanely steep roads are not my cup of tea either.
I don't mind them. In fact, they could provide very good racing at times. What I don't like is the overuse of that kind of climbs, like in this Vuelta. Plus they shouldn't be in the very end of a stage. The stage of the Mirador de Ézaro would have been much better had it been a downhill finish with 5ish flat kms.
Likewise, the Muro di Sormano being far from the finish could break the race making it really exciting and open for the next 85 (!) kilometers, while Cuitunigru and Bola del Mundo provide nothing new, and discourage previous attacks or tactical moves.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 03-09-2012 20:44
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issoisso wrote:
Michal4444 wrote:
cactus-jack wrote:
I am strictly against bonus seconds. I certainly don't want to see them in the Tour, nor in any other race for that matter. Even though the Vuelta so far has been exciting, most of the time it will cause fewer attacks. Riders will wait untill the very last moment to gain a few seconds by sprinting for the line.
Without bonus seconds many riders would be forced to attack earlier out. Besides, the whole point is to see who can ride the fastest. A perfect race for me would be a race with no bonus seconds and two TTs; I believe it would force riders like Andy and (maybe) Rodriguez to attack from further out.
At the moment, Contador has been the fastest rider, yet he is in 2nd place.
If Contador is fastest how come that Purito was in every stage before him?
He wasn't
And with no bonus seconds, Contador would be leading by 14 seconds. Take out the TTT and it's 13 seconds.
and last year when Froome finished ahead of Cobo without bonus seconds...
they are terrible in a GT!
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Posted on 25-11-2024 14:51
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 03-09-2012 21:25
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So, I just watched the stage, does Contador seem lopsided to anyone else?
I wonder if his knee is still giving him problems.
As far as bonus seconds go, they made this Vuelta better, forcing Contador to attack, so I'm not complaining.
[url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182] Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
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| deek12345 |
Posted on 03-09-2012 21:32
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wtf was checking startlist and Damiano Cunego is riding this years vuelta; havent heard him mentioned once,did he retire from race? |
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 03-09-2012 21:40
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deek12345 wrote:
wtf was checking startlist and Damiano Cunego is riding this years vuelta; havent heard him mentioned once ,did he retire from race?
Nah, he's just making a bad figure of himself. Isn't he going to the worlds? Because with this form, they could a Conti rider that would make better than him. |
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| Montolivo |
Posted on 03-09-2012 21:41
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deek12345 wrote:
wtf was checking startlist and Damiano Cunego is riding this years vuelta; havent heard him mentioned once ,did he retire from race?
He is building form for the Worlds and other races this fall (Giro di Lombardia etc.).
I do agree he hasn't done anything really though. |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 03-09-2012 21:53
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He isn't allowed to ride the worlds, since he is under investigation.
So if he's preparing for another race, it's more likely that it's Lombardia.
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| Smoku |
Posted on 03-09-2012 21:54
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sorry - produced a double somehow 
Edited by Smoku on 03-09-2012 21:58
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| Smoku |
Posted on 03-09-2012 21:55
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Domestique
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Smoku wrote:
[quote]Aquarius wrote:
You enjoy it when Rodriguez sprints his heart out everyday in the last 300 m to create a marginal (erm, that's not him, make that a minimal instead) gap and take bonus seconds ? Fine.
What if he would attack from farther and create a bigger gap on the road, because the bonus might not be enough for him ? That could be more exciting. I'm not saying J.Rod. is a rider who would do that, but such a case is possible.
This looks sensible when read, I admit,
But then you take a look back to the story of direct battle for the race wins in GT's in last couple of years and compare the theory against the practice.
And? Somehow Giro and Vuelta are able to produce some unexpected results and diehard battles. While in TdF it is all about the main fauvorite talking other guys into not being worth the effort to try match him - like this year.
Is it just the coincidence that the emotions behind TdF have faded after introducing the no bonus seconds rule? I'm very far from stating something like that.
Yeah - there are boring stages on Giro and Vuelta. And yes- there are some exceptions - like Andy's long attack on Galibier. It's just about how many of them are there really?
In the end I am just missing the spirit of fighting to the very end.
cactus-jack wrote:
Did you not see the TT? Without bonus seconds Contador would be leading. I can understand bonus seconds in races such as Oman, but here I think it's idiotic.
They are racing to see who is the fastest in the whole Vuelta, not to see who is the fastest in the last 100 metres.
Honestly, without bonus seconds Purito might have not produced a stage win in this Vuelta. No point in GC. And then we would nail him even more for wheelsucking.
Edited by Smoku on 03-09-2012 21:59
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| kumazan |
Posted on 03-09-2012 22:12
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Smoku wrote:
Honestly, without bonus seconds Purito might have not produced a stage win in this Vuelta. No point in GC. And then we would nail him even more for wheelsucking.
I know that this Vuelta is Worshipping Contador Time, but the best attack of this whole Vuelta, so far, was done by RodrÃguez, in Barcelona. Sorry to piss on the parade, etc.
Edited by kumazan on 03-09-2012 22:12
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| ruben |
Posted on 03-09-2012 22:16
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I still wonder how the fuck Ryder Hesjedal ever managed to ride away + put pressure on Rodriguez in the Giro.
Either Contador is crap, Hesjedal is a genius, or Rodriguez is on a whole other level this Vuelta than in the Giro |
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| kumazan |
Posted on 03-09-2012 22:19
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ruben wrote:
I still wonder how the fuck Ryder Hesjedal ever managed to ride away + put pressure on Rodriguez in the Giro.
Either Contador is crap, Hesjedal is a genius, or Rodriguez is on a whole other level this Vuelta than in the Giro
You might want to check the parcours of both races, it might give you a clue.
Plus Purito refused to do anything when Hesjedal was struggling in the Colle Molella. They could have dropped him for good then.
Edited by kumazan on 03-09-2012 22:21
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 03-09-2012 22:29
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sutty68 wrote:
I am not a fan of any of the top three, but i really hope Contador will have one attack which leaves Rodriguez struggling, because his wheel sucking is really pissing me off now 
And how is Wiggins better?
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| ruben |
Posted on 03-09-2012 22:30
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Rodriguez has attacked more this Vuelta than Wiggins in his entire career. Yet people seem to forget so easily... |
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
