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Discovery Channel - TdF 2011
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 07-11-2010 21:11
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Can't wait for the Angliru.
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| Squire |
Posted on 08-11-2010 11:31
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@Freitas & janne: Castaño is definitely on good form, and if he keeps this up, he has a podium chance. Afterall, the only riders with a higher MO stat is Valverde, Pereiro & Kreuziger (and D.Lopez (EUS), but he seems to be completely off the mark form-wise).
@Pellizotti: It's coming up shortly  |
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| Squire |
Posted on 08-11-2010 12:44
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10.09.2010: Vuelta a España
Stage 12
Leon - Alto del Angliru: 180.0km
Tactics meeting
Today a rider will have his name solidly written in the history books. It's the fifth time the Angliru is used in the Vuelta, and previous winners here include top climbers like Simoni, Heras and Contador. The climb is ridiculously steep, with gradients above 20%. The route leading to the Angliru is not exactly flat either. Pereiro and Kreuziger will face a tough test of character!
He's either completely insane or feeling insanely strong. Alejandro Valverde attacked the favourites on the medium sized penultimate climb. His burst of speed was so amazing that nobody could even think about following him.
On top of the climb, he caught the breakaway. He had opened up a 2 minute gap on the favourites already, and the riders hadn't even started the Angliru.
Valverde rode with the breakaway until the foot of the Angliru, where he left them all behind as soon as the road tilted upwards. His gap back to the favourites was now 1'15, as the peloton had gained some time on the descent.
The favourites group behind Valverde rode together for a while, then yesterday's winner Tondo attacked with Gomez Marchante on his wheel when 7km remained. Good luck on catching Valverde, he was 2'30 ahead now.
The red jersey were absolutely flying up 16% gradients. This was turning out to be a walk in the park for Valverde. What a performance!
A kilometer after they attacked, Tondo had distanced Gomez Marchante by quite a lot and was 2nd on the road. Gomez Marchante is probably missing the sort of legs who got him the win on Mt. Ventoux in the 2009 Tour.
Gomez Marchante was really suffering now, and Kreuziger's steady pacing brought Pereiro up to the Cervelo man. This group had a 1'10 deficit to Tondo, and an astonishing 3 minutes to Valverde!
Kreuziger couldn't handle the 20% gradients that hit him hard 4km from the top. He dropped back from Marchante & Pereiro, and was caught by a fighting Lövkvist.
Pereiro had found his rhythm by now, and grinded out a gap back to Gomez Marchante. There was no chance of getting near Valverde, but maybe Pereiro could catch Tondo?
1km from the top, that seemed unlikely as well. Tondo was still a minute ahead. Valverde had now increased to 3'30 in front of Pereiro!
Valverde crossed the line to complete a legendary performance! Rarely have we seen such absolute domination.
A shattered Pereiro fought his way to a solid 3rd on the stage, 1'18 behind 2nd placed Tondo and 3'41 behind the rampaging Valverde.
Kreuziger impressed with a 5th place, after he had clinged to Lövkvist's wheel for the last kilometers. They had passed Gomez Marchante, who blew up when Pereiro left him. Roman drops from 3rd to 5th in the overall standing, while Pereiro takes over his 3rd spot. Valverde has now opened up some serious time gaps!
Today's winner
Results
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 5h16'24
2 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 2'23
3 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 3'41
4 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road + 4'23
5 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 4'36
6 José Angel Gómez Marchante Cervélo Test Team + 5'04
7 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 6'07
8 Iker Camaño Fuji - Servetto + 6'42
9 Juanma Gárate Astana Cycling Team + 6'42
10 Egoi Martínez Discovery Channel + 7'04
GC
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 45h04'01
2 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 6'52
3 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 7'02
4 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 7'06
5 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 7'50
6 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road + 8'25
7 José Angel Gómez Marchante Cervélo Test Team + 10'01
8 Ángel Vicioso Andalucía Cajasur + 13'10
9 Iker Camaño Fuji - Servetto + 14'12
10 Kai Reus Rabobank + 14'58 |
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| janne_837 |
Posted on 08-11-2010 13:00
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Amazing performance from Valverde... This victory was really impressive. |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 08-11-2010 15:33
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I was right. Valverde is unstoppable.
Nice 3rd place with Pereiro.
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| miggi133 |
Posted on 08-11-2010 19:39
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Keep the mountains coming! And a slippery descent so that this doper Valverde drops out of the Vuelta
And actually: For the first time cyanide got it right and included doping into the game^^
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| Squire |
Posted on 08-11-2010 20:04
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@miggi: There are no proper descents in this Vuelta  But there is a brutal last week, with successive MTFs. If Valverde has a bad day there, or if his form is declining, who knows what may happen. No sign of any cracks yet, though.
Regarding the doping, you're right! Just take a look at the Tour de Suisse this season for another example  |
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| Squire |
Posted on 08-11-2010 20:49
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11.09.2010: Vuelta a España
Stage 13
Oviedo - Alto del Naranco: 169.0km
Tactics meeting
Following two brutal mountain top finishes, we have another uphill finish today. The Naranco climb features in the one-day race Subida al Naranco in May, and should be familiar for a lot of the Spanish riders. 2nd placed Xavi Tondo even won that race in 2008. With no long climbs, this stage could present possibilities for Peter Velits.
Egoi Martinez was once again in the break to extend his lead in the King of the Mountains competition. He was caught on the second to last KoM classified hill.
On the last hill before the Alto del Naranco, most domestiques were shed. Valverde assumed the responsibility that comes with the red jersey, and set a ferocious tempo. Kreuziger and Pereiro and a few others followed in his slipstream, but all of them were hurting.
On the top of the penultimate climb, Valverde had broken everybody without even attacking. Pereiro and Kreuziger had tried to follow his wheel for as long as possible, but they eventually had to let him go.
Being a good descender, Pereiro took all sorts of risk on the downhill section, and brought himself and Kreuziger back to the red jersey! Just before the Naranco, these three had a gap of 1 minute back to...
...the rest of the GC bunch, led by Camaño and Lövkvist. Velits was far behind, so the stage turned out to be too tough for him.
On the lower slopes of the Naranco, with 5km remaining, Valverde attacked our Discovery duo. He had no problems getting away.
2km from the line, with Valverde riding off into the distance, Lövkvist and the others made it up to Kreuziger and Pereiro. Our two top climbers had destroyed themselves trying to keep up with Valverde, and were now paying the price for it.
Alejandro Valverde was never seen again, and won his fifth stage so far in the Vuelta! Will this man's domination never end? This victory even brings him past Kreuziger in the ProTour rankings, so Valverde now has the lead there as well.
Lövkvist was the freshest of the pursuers, and got away from Kreuziger and Castaño during the last kilometer. Tondo was losing quite a bit of time today, and would lose his 2nd overall.
Pereiro battled his way to 5th on the stage, just behind Kreuziger and Castaño. Our leader lost another 1'21 to Valverde today. The Vuelta victory is all but wrapped up for Valverde already. Huge gains are possible in the last week, but with this massive lead going into it, Valverde can probably afford a few bad days. The battle for the other podium spots is open though, with Castaño, Pereiro and Tondo looking to fight it out. Also Kreuziger and Lövkvist are in with a chance with a good showing in the last week. Two sprint stages now follow, before all hell breaks lose.
Today's winner
Results
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 4h10'18
2 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road + 55
3 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 1'08
4 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 1'08
5 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 1'21
6 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 1'34
7 Iker Camaño Fuji - Servetto + 1'34
8 José Angel Gómez Marchante Cervélo Test Team + 2'18
9 Óscar Pujol Cervélo Test Team + 2'18
10 Jaume Rovira Pous Andalucía Cajasur + 2'18
GC
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 49h13'59
2 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 8'34
3 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 8'43
4 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 8'46
5 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 9'10
6 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road + 9'28
7 José Angel Gómez Marchante Cervélo Test Team + 12'39
8 Ángel Vicioso Andalucía Cajasur + 15'48
9 Iker Camaño Fuji - Servetto + 16'06
10 Kai Reus Rabobank + 17'36 |
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 08-11-2010 21:39
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8389
Joined: 08-09-2009
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Boring Vuelta all thanks to Valverdope!
But at least make sure you get a podium! |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 17:43
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 08-11-2010 21:50
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World Champion
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Didn't Sammy Sanchez win like a kagillion stages in the Vuelta last year (in your story of course) and still not win?
If so we can always hope...
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 08-11-2010 21:57
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But Samu never got to be leader (if my memory doesn't trick me) and never had + 8 minutes from the second. |
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| Squire |
Posted on 08-11-2010 22:47
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Sammy Sanchez won five stages if memory serves my right, but that was after he had lost something like 5 minutes on the Xorret del Cati
Valverde has equaled that already, and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets more wins. The Vuelta isn't won until Madrid though, but it's looking very good for Valverde, regardless of performance during the last bunch of mountain stages.
Another stage coming up shortly, I'm feeling productive at the moment 
EDIT: Expect lower quality pictures from now on. I'm a few thousand kms away from my usual computer (until christmas), and my cheap laptop automatically sets forest details and spectators down to 1 (been using 2 on both settings for the last year of the story).
Edited by Squire on 08-11-2010 23:19
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| baia |
Posted on 09-11-2010 00:33
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5398
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Nice one,i can smell testosteron here...
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| Squire |
Posted on 09-11-2010 17:11
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12.09.2010: Vuelta a España
Stage 14
Cangas de Onis - Santander: 153.0km
Tactics meeting
We're moving east along the northern coast of Spain, and the Pyrenees are getting closer. This stage however, stops in Santander, for what could be another chance for Ciolek to grab a stage win.
5km from the line, our train was nicely placed on the wheels of Valverde and Herrero.
Valverde opened his sprint early, and Vaitkus (with Eisel and Ciolek behind him) tried to get around him. Pereiro kept sticking to the wheel of Herrero, who had an ideal position on Valverde's wheel.
Vaitkus faded fast, so Eisel and Ciolek had a lot of ground to make up when they passed the red kite. Herrero made his move on the inside, and Pereiro was still there!
David Herrero got his second stage win! Ciolek eased up in the last meters to let Pereiro get 3rd, and therefore some bonus seconds. Valverde's bonifications brings him further ahead in the GC though. Our goal of five stage wins looks a bit unlikely now, with only tomorrow left for Ciolek to grab his second win.
Today's winner
Results
1 David Herrero Xacobeo - Galicia 3h21'10
2 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 0
3 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 0
4 Gerald Ciolek Discovery Channel + 0
5 Bernhard Eisel Discovery Channel + 0
6 Ángel Vicioso Andalucía Cajasur + 0
7 Tomas Vaitkus Discovery Channel + 0
8 Xavi Florencio Cervélo Test Team + 0
9 Hayden Roulston Cervélo Test Team + 0
10 Alexandre Usov Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 0
GC
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 52h34'57
2 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 8'46
3 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 8'47
4 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 8'58
5 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 9'22
6 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road + 9'40
7 José Angel Gómez Marchante Cervélo Test Team + 12'51
8 Ángel Vicioso Andalucía Cajasur + 16'00
9 Iker Camaño Fuji - Servetto + 16'18
10 Kai Reus Rabobank + 17'48 |
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| janne_837 |
Posted on 09-11-2010 17:22
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 897
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Another second place by Valverde... Will he ever get tired? |
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| baia |
Posted on 09-11-2010 17:42
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5398
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Wow..that second place overall is really in front of you...
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| Squire |
Posted on 09-11-2010 18:05
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13.09.2010: Vuelta a España
Stage 15
Santander - Burgos: 183.0km
Tactics meeting
This is the last flat stage before we enter the horrific last week. We would really like to see Ciolek get another win, so we hope that Vaitkus is more reliable today. Yesterday, Eisel and Ciolek had too much ground to make up after having been launched by the Lithuanian.
Things were going a lot better today! 2.5km out from the line, Vaitkus was doing a perfect lead-out.
Vaitkus swung off under the red kite, but there wasn't much room for Ciolek to get around Eisel. Anyway, we couldn't possibly mess this one up!
Or could we? Herrero and Valverde came surging through on the inside!
And guess what? David Herrero got his second win in two days, and his third in total! That's five stage wins for the Xacobeo - Galicia team. They're having an awesome Vuelta! Tomorrow is the second rest day.
Today's winner
Results
1 David Herrero Xacobeo - Galicia 4h24'23
2 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 0
3 Gerald Ciolek Discovery Channel + 0
4 Bernhard Eisel Discovery Channel + 0
5 Jurgen Roelandts Silence - Lotto + 0
6 Matthew Goss Team Saxo Bank + 0
7 Erik Mohs Team Milram + 0
8 Mark Renshaw Team Columbia - High Road + 0
9 Gustavo César Veloso Xacobeo - Galicia + 0
10 Damien Monier Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 0
GC
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 56h59'08
2 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 8'58
3 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 8'59
4 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 9'10
5 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 9'34
6 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road + 9'52
7 José Angel Gómez Marchante Cervélo Test Team + 13'03
8 Ángel Vicioso Andalucía Cajasur + 16'12
9 Iker Camaño Fuji - Servetto + 16'30
10 Kai Reus Rabobank + 18'00 |
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| baia |
Posted on 09-11-2010 18:13
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But still great result..
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 09-11-2010 18:17
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Where are the sprinters?!
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| Squire |
Posted on 09-11-2010 19:56
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There are basically no sprinters in the Vuelta. So I don't think 3rd with Ciolek is a particularly good result. |
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