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2013 Vuelta a Espana - Week 2 (31st August - 7th September)
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 25-11-2024 16:42
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| fickman |
Posted on 02-09-2013 20:57
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I came home exhausted and anxious to see the Stage and....... WTF
Thats it, this is too much for me. Horner should try not to be that obvious and please someone give Horner a contract this sh*** has to end. |
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| Setzel |
Posted on 02-09-2013 21:37
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Peyragudes afraid of what nibbles can do there with basso , valverde showed already he cant handle it , purito is a wheelsucker on this long climbs.
He can put 45 seconds easily on that stage
Eating my daily Breakfast at 9 pm
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| Aquarius |
Posted on 02-09-2013 21:42
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cunego59 wrote:
Regardless of the dope stuff, one has to admit that Horner rides very clever. He times and and executes his attacks really well (unless, of course, he's so strong that it actually doesn't matter when or where he attacks). And his racing adds an element of suprise to the Vuelta, which I like.
Also, I'm of course extremely happy about Nerz performing the way he does. It would be awesome if he could stay in the Top 20.
I was quite stunned to read one of his interviews last week, right after he lost the leader jersey. He said something along the lines of "it doesn't matter, I'll get it back next week in the mountains".
You'd have expected something like "we're far from Madrid but I have good legs, I'll see if I can get it back in the mountains". He was really very cocky, which is quite surprising given he's never won a G.T. before and his age. He was definitely certain that he had an edge over ALL his opponents already then (and it's not like it's a weak field).
And guess what ? What he said just happened today.
Also, this might help for those liking the scientific aspect of cycling :
https://veloclinic...a-stage-10 |
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| issoisso |
Posted on 02-09-2013 22:30
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Betcha he doesn't answer
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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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 02-09-2013 22:38
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Betcha you'll get blocked. |
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| coutas98 |
Posted on 02-09-2013 22:54
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I still think Valverde's gonna win. I'm really hoping for that to happen. |
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| jacobjc88 |
Posted on 02-09-2013 23:04
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To all of you who just say:" Horner is doped":
It doesn't prove he is clean, but puts his "effort" today into consideration.
Don't tell me Horner is a pure dope, when you haven't even checked any of his numbers...On this climb he did less W/kg than Nibali in the Giro. Is Nibali doped too?
Let's take this discussion to a higher level. |
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| Matrix |
Posted on 02-09-2013 23:43
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jacobjc88 wrote:
To all of you who just say:" Horner is doped":
It doesn't prove he is clean, but puts his "effort" today into consideration.
Don't tell me Horner is a pure dope, when you haven't even checked any of his numbers...On this climb he did less W/kg than Nibali in the Giro. Is Nibali doped too?
Let's take this discussion to a higher level.
I saw post that when Honer lost the leaders jersey he was sure he would get it back. Some may call that a rider who dopes all but saying it. Others say its a rider who feels good and has performed well. Knows all the tricks due to how long he has been racing and was just plain confident. You can go either way.
The post I quoted is very true also. In the wake of Armstrong, many top riders are posting alot of information. They are doing it to try to show they are clean, maybe some are.
Froome could of beat Wiggins in 2012, but did his job and helped him. So posts about Froome doping this year are a tad off. He could be, but Porte would also need to be (more than Froome really) as he was how/why Froome could be in a spot to launch and get away from his main rivals. Lance doped, we know that. And he didnt use his team anywhere near how SKY has. Lance would just suddenly go, and nobody could catch him. Froome is lead out by 2-3 riders, and then its him alone with around 2-3km left. That isnt a normal "beat the world" type ride. Thats more of my team put me in position and save my legs for the last part.
Horner is being lead by a pretty strong team. And isnt launching off the front with 20km to go. Lance did stuff like that, hence his 7min average win margin in the TDF. Horner is riding strong, with a team and then picking spots to go.
But to say Horner or Froome or many others are or arent doping. The TDF even with all the new protocals in place (they claim). The stages are still taking less time than they did a couple years back. And the overall, for the 3 weeks of the TDF speed is equal or higher on average than 5yrs ago. So Froome and others maybe doping. But it seems so is alot of riders. Otherwise they would drop the average speed for the full TDF by a few mph/kmph. But that isnt happening. So if it it isnt doping, or we want to say it isnt. Then what is the explantion? Better bikes? That may help a fraction with average total speed in the TDF (and other races)...but it isnt enough to keep pace with speeds from the "doping years". Yet it is happening.
Anyone have an idea why/how?
Pain,Agony,Suffering...Thats why I love cycling!  |
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| Lachi |
Posted on 03-09-2013 01:18
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You have to look at it from the bright side. If a 40 year old can beat Nibali like that, the peloton must be much more clean then 10 years ago.
But I am not sure if Horner is doped. I think he has a motor in his bike. Nobody can ride like that up that mountain. |
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| 547984 |
Posted on 03-09-2013 01:25
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The whole time Cancellara was pacing him, Horner rode along the side smiling, and standing up. Fast forward 5-10 minutes later, his position hasn't changed.
baseballlover312, 06-03-14 : "Nuke Moscow...Don't worry Russia, we've got plenty of love to go around your cities"
Sarah Palin, 08-03-14 (CPAC, on Russian aggression) : "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke"
Big thanks to jdog for making this AMAZING userbar! |
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| Matrix |
Posted on 03-09-2013 01:42
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Lachi wrote:
You have to look at it from the bright side. If a 40 year old can beat Nibali like that, the peloton must be much more clean then 10 years ago.
But I am not sure if Horner is doped. I think he has a motor in his bike. Nobody can ride like that up that mountain.
True...but look at the 3rd place finisher in the TDF. Give him Ill say 2-3yrs max...and he will do just that. Look like he is riding on a flat stage when its an HC climb at 9-10%. I can say that, because barring injury, he almost did it at times this year.
547984 wrote:
The whole time Cancellara was pacing him, Horner rode along the side smiling, and standing up. Fast forward 5-10 minutes later, his position hasn't changed.
Look who was pacing him. Last I looked, Cancellara isnt a climber...ok maybe hills but by no means elite.
Edited by Matrix on 03-09-2013 01:45
Pain,Agony,Suffering...Thats why I love cycling! |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 03-09-2013 05:39
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jacobjc88 wrote:
To all of you who just say:" Horner is doped":
It doesn't prove he is clean, but puts his "effort" today into consideration.
Don't tell me Horner is a pure dope, when you haven't even checked any of his numbers...On this climb he did less W/kg than Nibali in the Giro. Is Nibali doped too?
Let's take this discussion to a higher level.
It's well known that Nibali is a Ferrari client, so comparing Horner to him isn't an indicator of cleanliness. Besides, 6,08 W/kg is still very high.
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 03-09-2013 06:23
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Pellizotti2 wrote:
That's it. Im not watching such ridiculousness
This. I am out of the Vuelta if this obvious doper is not "behind the bars".
Poor König, his first chance to show what he can do in GT GC and he suffers like an animal with some virus, his throat is sore very hard. He said he expected finishing in the gruppeto once he has got on the bike yesterday. In light of that, loosing only three minutes is small miracle. He sounded very sad in interview, saying his body is working against him and he is not able to ride near his expected watts, as his legs are top5 material in his words. 
I hope it will get better, first back problems ruling him out of Giro 2012 and now this.
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| Aquarius |
Posted on 03-09-2013 06:33
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Damn that impossibility to quote multiple tweets in one message :
Anyway, Vaughters :
https://twitter.c...5776126976
Vayer :
https://twitter.c...8862727170
Cherry on the cake, two of my favs characters in cycling :
https://twitter.c...3700308992
edit : I meant to quote Manolo Saiz retweeting the last one, nevermind
Edited by Aquarius on 03-09-2013 06:34
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-09-2013 06:59
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Avin Wargunnson wrote:
Pellizotti2 wrote:
That's it. Im not watching such ridiculousness
This. I am out of the Vuelta if this obvious doper is not "behind the bars".
Poor König, his first chance to show what he can do in GT GC and he suffers like an animal with some virus, his throat is sore very hard. He said he expected finishing in the gruppeto once he has got on the bike yesterday. In light of that, loosing only three minutes is small miracle. He sounded very sad in interview, saying his body is working against him and he is not able to ride near his expected watts, as his legs are top5 material in his words.
I hope it will get better, first back problems ruling him out of Giro 2012 and now this.
Must admit I'm not enjoying it either. Only victory I truly enjoyed was Stybar's  |
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 03-09-2013 07:01
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That win was great indeed Ian.
I almost thought Gilbert got him there.
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| StevenGreen |
Posted on 03-09-2013 10:06
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I am still pretty pissed that they caught martin on the last meters... They really could have given him that win |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-09-2013 10:30
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StevenGreen wrote:
I am still pretty pissed that they caught martin on the last meters... They really could have given him that win
They should've given him that win? No
He should've won? Yes, I agree
Small difference, but important  |
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| CountArach |
Posted on 03-09-2013 15:59
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So I waited all day to finally get a chance to sit down and watch this. I shielded myself from social media and cycling news sites in the hope that I would get to see something epic.
Then I get this shit.
I'm just so pissed off. I said everything that I wanted to the other day but still, I am not at all happy.
Anyway one thing that the stage did make me think was that Pinot should look at concentrating on the Giro or the Vuelta next year (obviously he won't for sponsor reasons, but just bear with me here). Both of them tend to have a number of stages which just finish on a long, steep climb like this one where he performs really well. There generally aren't as many decents, especially in the Vuelta, and so his main weakness is negated. I really think he could stand a great chance of a top 5 result in either one (though obviously we haven't seen what the courses will be). In the Tour, on the other hand, there are lots of multi-mountain days and fewer ____/ days. I'm interested in what Pinot will be like on stage 14, which looks like it could be very dangerous for him.
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| Malkael |
Posted on 04-09-2013 00:53
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Stage 11 - Tarazona to Tarazona (38.8 KM)[ITT]
La Vuelta a Espana resumes after the rest day with a 38.8km individual time trial through the countryside surrounding Tarragona. Whilst the parcours features the Category 3 Alto del Moncayo, at a consistent average gradient of 4.1% it shouldn't prove an insurmountable challenge. With the stage suited more to a constant effort rather than continuous bursts of accelerations, Stage 11 doesn't favour the climbers that greatly.
It will be interesting to see how the peloton recover from the first rest day of la Vuelta a Espana. With some riders notorious for being sluggish in the saddle the day after for whichever unpreventable reasons. While preferable to a challenging mountain stage, the individual time trial could still damage the chances of those slow out of the starting block after the rest day.
The weather should not cause too much of an issue for the peloton. With the heat being their main concern, with temperatures once again forecast to be around 30 degrees (Celsius). The course is exposed to the wind, however, only light winds (20 km/h) are forecast for the stage so far. Though it may cause a few issues should it (the wind) decide to strengthen before or during the time trial.
Whether the wind is strong or light, the riders should benefit from a favourable tailwind in to the stage finish at Tarazona after ascending Alto del Moncayo. Combined with an almost constant and straightforward descent in to Tarazona, the peloton should be able to finish the second half of the stage quite rapidly.
Despite the presence of the Alto del Moncayo, the outstanding favourite for today's stage is the “Panzerwagen” himself Tony Martin. The Omega Pharma – Quick-Step rider has become the man to beat in the individual time trial these past few years. Consistently defeating former arch-rival Fabian Cancellara of Radioshack-Leopard when the two are on a level playing field, with injury and mechanical issues usually the recent reason for an upset.
However, one can hardly write off the Swiss rider, Cancellara, from causing an upset today. Coming after a rest day who knows what kind of weird performances we might witness during Stage 11. Known as “Spartacus”, the Swiss has reportedly decided to focus less on the time trial discipline and place greater emphasis on his career as a major favourite for several of the one day “Classic” and the upcoming World Championships.
There are several other time trial specialists currently riding la Vuelta a Espana, however, it would take something special for one of them to claim the stage victory. With the World Championships looming we should potentially see a strong performance from Italian time trialist Marco Pinotti of BMC. The Italian should be keen to test himself against the clock and his fellow time trial rivals ahead of the massive day in Tuscany.
Personally, I expect Vincenzo Nibali of Team Astana to perform the greatest out of the General Classification contenders. The Italian has been improving his time trial capabilities and is already a great climber and daredevil descender. Despite Chris Horner often being decent against the clock, recent results have been against him when the American and the Italian have come face to face. However, perhaps Horner will deliver another surprising display to fend off the self-styled “Shark of Messina”.
Certainly preferably to an arduous grueling day through the mountains for the peloton. However, that does not preclude at least one rider from displaying adverse reactions to the rest day. With Tony Martin looking the outright favourite can anyone deny him the stage victory?
Whilst the shape of the General Classification will be further defined after the conclusion of Stage 11. Will Chris Horner retain the Maillot Rojo (Red Jersey)? Or will we see yet another change in the race's overall leader? |
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