Vuelta Spoilers

[MattTuck]

Just reading the text updates, but seems like some drama. Contador attacking, Froome crashing...

Will have to watch the replay tonight.

[kramnnim]

Going to miss Contador next year.

[oldpotatoe]

Just reading the text updates, but seems like some drama. Contador attacking, Froome crashing...

Will have to watch the replay tonight.

Watching replay now...70k to go, first cat 1 climb and all 9 sky guys on the front of the pelOton....yikes....:eek:

[Quilts]

Going to miss Contador next year.

Indeed, very few riders seem to animate a race quite like he can. Hoping he's able to pull out a few more surprises before the Vuelta ends.

[Keith A]

Watching replay now...70k to go, first cat 1 climb and all 9 sky guys on the front of the pelOton....yikes....:eek:Where do you see the full reply like this?

[Scuzzer]

Watched it earlier, my first and perhaps only stage I'll see this Vuelta and I can say I was entertained.

[rousseau]

Going to miss Contador next year.
Me too. He has always been fun to watch. And never minding the results voided by the clenbuterol thing, which as best as I can tell was a bogus overreach, he's been the greatest Grand Tour and major stage race cyclist since Indurain, and arguably even surpasses the Big Mig on that score, at least according to the number of wins he tallied up.

[OnceFast]

Seems to be very little interest in the Vuelta on the board. Too bad, as I find it has been much more entertaining than the Tour so far. Today was great, but weird that Froome could fall twice and still only manage to lose 20 seconds on the Nibali group. Guess three determined riders are better than 17 disorganized ones.

[ultraman6970]

It was a good stage, bad that contador couldnt get more time, all that work for 30 seconds or so. Anybody noticed that contador is not as thin as he was at the tour?? He is getting the legs back, sad is at the last race he does.

I thought nibali's group was going to pull harder, they insist in racing for and losing the race to froome eh?

Saturday and sunday will be insane and totally see contador tearing the peloton appart tomorrow aswell.

Sky is disintegrating, I do not think they will last for the next week, pretty much the same than the other teams, the best of this is that the only 2 that know how to race alone are Nibali and Contador.

[Keith A]

Did you guys see the fan push the racer off his bike on one of the climbs?

[Clean39T]

Did you guys see the fan push the racer off his bike on one of the climbs?

I missed that - but I did see a neutral wheel moto run over a dumba$$ fan..

[monkeybanana86]

Did you guys see the fan push the racer off his bike on one of the climbs?

From what I read, the guy has down syndrome and his father was unable to grab him in time.

[Vientomas]

I missed that - but I did see a neutral wheel moto run over a dumba$$ fan..

Dumba$$ cop pushed the fan...

https://twitter.com/Laura_Meseguer/status/903305095936401408/video/1

[oldpotatoe]

Where do you see the full replay like this?

NBC Gold..bought it before the TdF..good thru the spring classics next year..really great coverage..no commercials.

[weisan]

From what I read, the guy has down syndrome and his father was unable to grab him in time.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/belkov-wont-take-action-against-vuelta-a-espana-spectator/

[oldpotatoe]

It was a good stage, bad that contador couldnt get more time, all that work for 30 seconds or so. Anybody noticed that contador is not as thin as he was at the tour?? He is getting the legs back, sad is at the last race he does.

I thought nibali's group was going to pull harder, they insist in racing for and losing the race to froome eh?

Saturday and sunday will be insane and totally see contador tearing the peloton appart tomorrow aswell.

Sky is disintegrating, I do not think they will last for the next week, pretty much the same than the other teams, the best of this is that the only 2 that know how to race alone are Nibali and Contador.

Really? All 9 still in race, all 8 lieutenants with froome on first climb, 3 left at second..

[ultraman6970]

Ok... two little climbs before the big one, attacks will start in a few kms or they will wait for the big one at the end?? to me looks like the attacks will start quite early today.

ps: contador cracked? :?

[cadence90]

This Vuelta is quickly turning into Le Tour....:(

[ultraman6970]

No the vuelta always will be different... the problem is that nobody has team to pull full gas pretty much 75% of the race just as contador did years ago at the vuelta. But at come point everybody is waiting for Froome to have at least one bad day... his team did not look super today, other teams did the chasing but at the last climb they did not look as strong, IMO is a mere thing of time for several of them to have a bad day.

Nibali is chipping seconds here and there but IMO he will need like 3 extra weeks to get back those 50 seconds from Froomey.

Lets see what happens tomorrow, long day...

[jlwdm]

It is a different race because none of the top GC contenders try to peak for this race. Sky does not have a real strong team at the Vuelta but stronger than the other teams. The other teams pulling yesterday helped Sky as Sky was not concerned with the break or with winning the stage.

Numerous days of climbing, including some really steep climbing, can cause riders to have a bad day at some point. Froome and Sky are really good at not panicking when another contender makes a move. They just slowly pull the moves back. Reacting to hard and fast can lead to a bad day.

The other riders need to attack Froome today as he will pick up time on the 40k time trial coming up.

Jeff

[OnceFast]

So are any of you watching today live on NBC Gold getting a herky jerky video, or is it my connection?

[ultraman6970]

Its you... :P

[OnceFast]

Yeah, at my daughter's place with a lousy wifi connection. Also, seems there is a lag between the streaming coverage and the cyclingnews updates.

[ultraman6970]

Great win... contador putting a show as usual.

[regularguy412]

Just wanted to post the penultimate and ultimate climbs on Wednesday's stage.

Note a couple of _25%+_ ramps in there on the last climb. Kinda makes ya wonder just how much some will want to put into the time trial on the day before.

And then, of course, the Angliru beckons on Saturday.

Mike in AR:beer:
http://www.steephill.tv/2017/vuelta-a-espana/profile-17.jpg

http://www.steephill.tv/2017/vuelta-a-espana/finish-17.jpg

http://www.steephill.tv/2017/vuelta-a-espana/profile-20.jpg

http://www.steephill.tv/2017/vuelta-a-espana/finish-20.jpg

[Clean39T]

The climbs Sat and Sun were ridiculous already!

[regularguy412]

The climbs Sat and Sun were ridiculous already!

Yeah. I just can't imagine...........:help:

Mike in AR:bee:

[jlwdm]

The climbs Sat and Sun were ridiculous already!

And a number of the GC contenders were riding the climbs in the big ring. When no one is able to really ride away on these climbs it is easy to forget how great all these climbers are.

Jeff

[oldpotatoe]

So are any of you watching today live on NBC Gold getting a herky jerky video, or is it my connection?

My coverage is smooth, no issue...the Vuelta, because of where it sits in the calendar, will always be a bit 'different'. Too close to end of TdF and to the Worlds. But it's an interesting race, froomie's strength, right after winning the TdF, with a 'b' team around him....well he's just astounding.....:cool:

[denapista]

I never understood these people who want to run next to the racers, or slap them on the backs when they're in the red on an 17% climb. Do we run out on the NFL field and butt slap our favorite RB after a big run? Leave these guys alone and just sit and spectate. *** is wrong with people? Have you ever been on a long climb and had an annoying fly or bee hover around you while climbing? Imagine that feeling with some dweeb in costume when you're trying to race full gas to provide for your family, based on your results.

[djdj]

The Vuelta crowd has been much more "controlled" than the TdF crowd -- perhaps because the police have been much more aggressively protective of the riders.

[ultraman6970]

THe TT was nice today, havent seen pistolero to TT like that in years...

[MattTuck]

The Vuelta crowd has been much more "controlled" than the TdF crowd -- perhaps because the police have been much more aggressively protective of the riders.

as they should.

It's a disgrace that these events have allowed it to get as bad as it has. These are professionals at the pinnacle of their sport, at the limit, and you have some nutbag in a speedo running alongside you waving a flag and yelling in your ear. This kind of behavior would not be tolerated in any other sport.

I believe it was on Sunday's stage when the crowd actually forced riders to take a sub-optimal line through a difficult corner.

No functioning rider's union, weak teams, powerful race organizations. The reasons we are in the current situation are not hard to understand.

[jlwdm]

The Vuelta crowd has been much more "controlled" than the TdF crowd -- perhaps because the police have been much more aggressively protective of the riders.

I think it is because the crowds are smaller and the spectators have not been there for as long to get a good spot to watch - so less hanging around drinking all day.

Jeff

[MattTuck]

Great stage today. First real weakness we've seen from Froome. Hard to tell what was going on, as he seemed to take a bottle of water and drink it right after the finish without too much trouble... didn't appear way out of breath like the stage winner.

Maybe just riding within himself, knowing the gaps he has to play with.

[ultraman6970]

Said it at the tour, Froome cant go in really steep climbs and this year eventhought there's steep climbs hasent been like years before, where he pretty much lost minutes in all of the steep stuff.

The next mountain stage is steep but is like TDF steep, they wont get time back from him there, unless all the teams and the GCC guys start attacking to each other just to isolate him, pretty much or you die or I do type of race... IMO tomorrow will be a criterium type of race.

Good for contador, dude still have bullets on him, the problem IMO is that the dude is getting way too thin for the tour, for this vuelta he looks not as thin as for the tour and he is giving them a run for their money to everybody.

[hokoman]

I am really pulling for Alberto to podium.

[justindcady]

Given Froome's relative weakness on the super steep stuff...I'm willing to bet the climb up the Angliru will be interesting.

:D

[jlwdm]

Steep climbs and day after time trial seemed to hurt Froome. When you are falling behind and have 4 teammates still with you it is not a good day.

I'll bet Nieve has a sore neck from constantly looking back at Froome to see if Froome was still with him.

Still hard to bet against Froome.

Jeff

[rousseau]

Today's nugget from Carlton Kirby: Apparently Julian Alaphilippe has individually named his legs after his first two girlfriends. One is Bernadette, but Carlton couldn't recall what the other one was called. The story goes that he shouts at them on climbs.

Cycling is great.

[kramnnim]

He later corrected himself- it's Pierre Latour with the weirdly named legs.

[rousseau]

He later corrected himself- it's Pierre Latour with the weirdly named legs.
Heh heh...I'm currently watching today's stage on Eurosport, so I must have missed that while skipping ahead to the climbs.

Edit: I heard the correction just now at 16.5 km to go! Pierre Latour calls his legs Brigitte and Bernadette.

[ultraman6970]

Tomorrow's (today) stage is one of the favs for pistolero... anybody remember the assault to Purito un 2012 i believe??? Actually he have used this route a few times already so Im cheering for him to do the same again.

[msngr]

Have to admit that I am rooting for Contador to do something crazy and good.

Nibali, too. Not that I have any love for Nibali -I just want this to be interesting. I think Froome is one of the most exciting riders out there, he is just on a team that uses boring tactics (and is ridiculously good at it).

So hoping for some action today, some tightening of the GC, and for Contador to move up and give the locals something to cheer about.

[MattTuck]

On the topic of Froome, I've always thought that dominant grand tour winners were a mystery. Are they really physiologically that much better than everyone else for a period of time? Is it a relative lack of competing talent? Is it their team that is the deciding factor? Are they on the bleeding edge of training methods, and have a competitive advantage before those methods spill to the rest of the peloton. (And I don't use "training methods" here as a euphemism for doping. That is a whole other discussion. You had big time champions before blood vector doping.)

I study competitive advantage, so this is a topic that I think about a fair amount.

The discussion during the tour about Landa is a great example of what I'm talking about. On a dominant team, a super domestique can begin to look like a GC contender. It will be interesting to see what happens next year.

[Bwana]

Anyone using NBC Gold? Today's stage isn't showing up on the list. I only see a replay of yesterday and Stage 19 scheduled for tomorrow. :confused::mad:

edit: Looks like they know it's not showing up, hopefully it gets fixed soon. https://twitter.com/NBCSportsGold/status/905781024436703232

[sitzmark]

Anyone using NBC Gold? Today's stage isn't showing up on the list. I only see a replay of yesterday and Stage 19 scheduled for tomorrow. :confused::mad:

Same. Have been emailing "Linda" at NBC Gold zen desk about logon/subscription snafus. She admitted to problems but said they were "fixed" and that I try a different browser.

Have been booted from iOS app and had to re-logon a few times during Vuelta but OS/X Safari wouldn't recognize subscription yesterday (even though iOS did). That was finally resolved. Today neither apps nor browser work.

[OnceFast]

Not showing up on my Roku.

[LJohnny]

I got the alert of the start of transmission, however, it's not showing on the iPhone app as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[jlwdm]

On NBC Gold now.

Jeff

[sitzmark]

iOS apps working ... (Safari) browser not (yet) - stage option shows but subscription logon not working.

[Alan]

I am on my ipad and working very well. Another good day of racing. Yesterday was great.

Alan

[LJohnny]

What a great finish!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[ultraman6970]

At some point pistolero got sky against the wall, the problem is that nobody could follow and then the group just stopped, if they had follow they could have done something.

Thats life :D

[justindcady]

Looks like we only have the Angliru stage to really shake up the GC fight. Unfortunately, there's just SO much time between Froome and the only other ride I've seen give him a decent fight over the last few days (Contador). Aru had a pretty good long range attack going until 1. I realized how far back he was on time, and 2. How much he faded during the last couple KMs.

[PQJ]

I can't see Contador gaining that much time off of Froome but it would be nice to at least see Alberto on Step 2 or 3 of the podium.

[cadence90]

At some point pistolero got sky against the wall, the problem is that nobody could follow and then the group just stopped, if they had follow they could have done something.

Thats life :D

Looks like we only have the Angliru stage to really shake up the GC fight. Unfortunately, there's just SO much time between Froome and the only other ride I've seen give him a decent fight over the last few days (Contador). Aru had a pretty good long range attack going until 1. I realized how far back he was on time, and 2. How much he faded during the last couple KMs.

I can't see Contador gaining that much time off of Froome but it would be nice to at least see Alberto on Step 2 or 3 of the podium.

Unfortunately this thing has turned into either the Vuelta de France or the Tour de Espana. This edition has been pretty boring and predictable, with just a few (unsuccessful in the end) anti-Sky sallies...even a monster stage like the Angliru will now most likely be pretty anticlimactic. Too bad...but at least the Giro is the next GT on the docket.

[ultraman6970]

Nothing will happen in the angliru, is not steep enough, sky team will go to its tempo and that's it.

As for tomorrow, well is a up and down stage... and IMO all the top 10 teams and riders need to go in kamikaze mode, or they die or I die type of thing. The only thing I hope is that tomorrow nobody pulls for f... sky...

2 more days of battling....

[cadence90]

Nothing will happen in the angliru, is not steep enough, sky team will go to its tempo and that's it.

As for tomorrow, well is a up and down stage... and IMO all the top 10 teams and riders need to go in kamikaze mode, or they die or I die type of thing. The only thing I hope is that tomorrow nobody pulls for f... sky...

2 more days of battling....

I do hope tomorrow is interesting, and something happens to at least shake Sky up a little.

I was not able to see the entire stage today, but there is a big debate going on in La Gazzetta. When Moscon finished pulling for Froome, did he then veer off and intentionally block and slow Nibali down, rather than just move off to the side like usual? Some people are saying he did so, and that it was a bush-league move.

[jlwdm]

...

I was not able to see the entire stage today, but there is a big debate going on in La Gazzetta. When Moscon finished pulling for Froome, did he then veer off and intentionally block and slow Nibali down, rather than just move off to the side like usual? Some people are saying he did so, and that it was a bush-league move.




I cued up the end of today's stage, and Moscon did nothing. Nibali did not have the legs. He was not able to hold his position near the front.


Jeff

[jlwdm]

Nothing will happen in the angliru, is not steep enough, sky team will go to its tempo and that's it.

....

?????

Averages 10% grade (and the first half is only 6%) plus there are at least 6 ramps over 20%. The climb is known to be one of the toughest there is because of the changing gradients.

Not that I think anyone has a chance to beat Froome.

Jeff

[LJohnny]

?????



Averages 10% grade (and the first half is only 6%) plus there are at least 6 ramps over 20%. The climb is known to be one of the toughest there is because of the changing gradients.



Not that I think anyone has a chance to beat Froome.



Jeff



You do realize that you are talking to Ultraman, don't you?


...this can be taken in many ways [emoji56] [emoji12]

[ultraman6970]

LOL... was ultra7 I would be cooler :D

I know the climb is pretty steep the problem is that is not the type of punchy steep stuff that will eave froomey isolated at all, that's what I meant with my comment. IMO sky shouldnt have problem controlling again...

[oldpotatoe]

LOL... was ultra7 I would be cooler :D

I know the climb is pretty steep the problem is that is not the type of punchy steep stuff that will eave froomey isolated at all, that's what I meant with my comment. IMO sky shouldnt have problem controlling again...

Short stage(to Sky's advantage) but 2 cat 1 before the butt-buster ..if anybody is gonna do it, it'll be on the second cat 1 climb..then survival shuffle at the finish..Don't see any of the top 4 others really challenging Froomie, team or not. 'Maybe' Contador to try to get onto the podium....gonna be good regardless.

Watching today's stage replay, good thing no time lost for being ugly on the bike, otherwise froomie would be in trouble..:cool:

[djdj]

I think Alberto will be going for the stage win. It is super tough, but a short stage, so huge gaps will be unlikely.

[oldpotatoe]

Stage 20 on now...here

http://tiz-cycling.stream/

Announcers just mentioned 2018 GT, 8 riders per team..didn't know that. Announcer likes 7 per team.

[rustychisel]

I'll miss Contador and his attacking. A fitting way to go out.

[galgal]

i'll miss contador and his attacking. A fitting way to go out.

+1

[Keith A]

I'll miss Contador and his attacking. A fitting way to go out.Agreed. I've had mixed feelings about him in the past, but I've found myself pulling for him lately. Too bad he didn't make it on the podium.

[weisan]

.

[Keith A]

Who is that guy in the blue? I don't think I recognize him :rolleyes:

[weisan]

Who is that guy in the blue? I don't think I recognize him :rolleyes:

Keith pal, I was waiting for you to bring your whole family to come over and stay at my house for a couple of days...and do some riding together.
What's your ETA? :rolleyes:

[Keith A]

Keith pal, I was waiting for you to bring your whole family to come over and stay at my house for a couple of days...and do some riding together.
What's your ETA? :rolleyes:That would have been great. But we are in hunker down mode getting ready for this storm. Fortunately for us, the prediction has changed from the east coast of FL to the west coast. I hope everyone on the west coast is ready for this one...it could be pretty bad
:crap:

[echelon_john]

That was nice to gift Contador the stage win today.

[ultraman6970]

This had been a fine vuelta.

[djdj]

That was nice to gift Contador the stage win today.

Ha Ha. You think it was a gift? No way.

[MattTuck]

Nice that Froome has his own Derny to pace him around Spain. Oh, that was Wout Poels, my mistake.

Great for Contador. Glad he had enough in the end. Was worried about him with ~3K to go... but he pulled it out. 20 seconds off the podium, too.

[echelon_john]

Almost like he and Froome planned it!

; )

Nice that Froome has his own Derny to pace him around Spain. Oh, that was Wout Poels, my mistake.

Great for Contador. Glad he had enough in the end. Was worried about him with ~3K to go... but he pulled it out. 20 seconds off the podium, too.

[cadence90]

What a gutsy race and stage win by Contador; I do wish he had made the podium though.

Does anyone know who will replace him as Trek-Segafreddo GT leader next season?

[MattTuck]

What a gutsy race and stage win by Contador; I do wish he had made the podium though.

Does anyone know who will replace him as Trek-Segafreddo GT leader next season?

I'm not really sure he was Trek's GT leader this year. lol. I mean, he was.... in theory. But I never liked the decision. If you are trying to build a team to compete in grand tours, I'd advise finding someone like 2 or more years away from retirement. ;)

[chengher87]

What a gutsy race and stage win by Contador; I do wish he had made the podium though.

Does anyone know who will replace him as Trek-Segafreddo GT leader next season?

They'll probably lean back on Bauke Mollema. He looked good at the Giro this year and took a Tour stage victory. Though I do not think he has enough TT or climbing to seriously contend. A jack of all trades and master of none type rider, but not really good ENOUGH of a jack of all trades.

[ultraman6970]

Mollema has been around for many years already, I do not think he will last too more years either, Probably trek needs to find themselves a new LA or something.

[rousseau]

At 11.3 km to go, Carlton Kirby says this to Sean Kelly: "Alberto Contador doesn't look like he's going to get that elusive stage win in this race, Sean."

And Sean says: "No, it's not looking good here..."

Heh. Turns out they thought he was behind the red jersey group when he was actually in front of them.

http://i.imgur.com/wPxx7aB.jpg

[cadence90]

Mollema has been around for many years already, I do not think he will last too more years either, Probably trek needs to find themselves a new LA or something.
Yes, Mollema hardly seems to be the guy.
Isn't CF the new LA? ;)

At 11.3 km to go, Carlton Kirby says this to Sean Kelly: "Alberto Contador doesn't look like he's going to get that elusive stage win in this race, Sean."

And Sean says: "No, it's not looking good here..."

Heh. Turns out they thought he was behind the red jersey group when he was actually in front of them.
If tomorrow is the last time I have to hear Kirby it can't come too soon. He really annoys me in general, and specifically with all the over-the-top emotional stuff. Was he actually crying today when he realized Contador was going to win the stage? :rolleyes: Jeez, man, get a grip....
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[rousseau]

If tomorrow is the last time I have to hear Kirby it can't come too soon. He really annoys me in general, and specifically with all the over-the-top emotional stuff. Was he actually crying today when he realized Contador was going to win the stage? :rolleyes: Jeez, man, get a grip....
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You have a black heart. I would happily listen to Carlton Kirby recite the phone book, and one of the heaviest regrets of September for me is that the Grand Tour season is over and I'll have to wait until May to hear his voice again.

He's love for racing is infectious. Though I'll miss this guy even more.

http://i.imgur.com/jUH58bj.jpg

[cadence90]

You have a black heart. I would happily listen to Carlton Kirby recite the phone book, and one of the heaviest regrets of September for me is that the Grand Tour season is over and I'll have to wait until May to hear his voice again.

He's love for racing is infectious. Though I'll miss this guy even more.

:D

Will you give me grey, not black? Because I thoroughly enjoy Kelly. Also, I grew up listening to cycling on RAI, and still do whenever I can get RAI commentary in the US (only the Giro and maybe some classics), and for me RAI is the best. Interestingly, Italian sports commentary is often very calm and matter-of-fact, which I like.

I will definitely take Kelly/Kirby over P/P, but Kirby really is just too histrionic for me.

I will miss Contador too; I always enjoyed him, even during the "bad beef" days. It was fantastic to see so much love and respect for him by the Spanish fans today. Victory (GC) was too much to ask for, but I really wish he had been able to podium. 20 seconds...:crap:

And how can anyone not love this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHs0whbqQHw
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[cadence90]

You have a black heart. I would happily listen to Carlton Kirby recite the phone book, and one of the heaviest regrets of September for me is that the Grand Tour season is over and I'll have to wait until May to hear his voice again.

He's love for racing is infectious.
Odd. Maybe Kirby just bothered me this race, or maybe it's when he's with Kelly, because I just stumbled by chance across this 2017 Andalucia stage, and Kirby seems a million times better in this commentary. (The music is annoying but of course not Kirby's doing.)

:confused:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjTmOYYAgwA
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[Climb01742]

Not a fan of Froome taking part in the final sprint today. His 11th place kept Trentin from the green jersey. What other grand tour winner does that? Gee, Chris, one jersey not enough? Classless, IMO.

[ultraman6970]

Sure he wants to be known as the best stage rider ever and honestly he is one of the best ones, the problem is that he wont be able to pull up contadors or Hinaults hat trick ever and that is a big problem as a rider because makes him boring. He can't ride a tour w/o a really good team and as a support rider he sucks aswell like for example the disaster the UK team got years ago.

Hinault when needed minutes he was going attacking even the motorcycles from the get to and pretty much SOLO... Several of contador's wins in tours had been w/o a team, his teams sucked all the time. Put Froome under those conditions and as a rider he looks really weak.

He is anger to show what is capable of... this year he was not climbing like before, even at the tour, guys are catching up with him. IMO next year probably will be his last tour to win if the dutch Giro winner doesnt take it from him.

Good win for Froome nevertheless.

[Mr. Pink]

I have that damn J.G. Wenworth song stuck in my head. Damn you J.G., damn you.

[jlwdm]

Not a fan of Froome taking part in the final sprint today. His 11th place kept Trentin from the green jersey. What other grand tour winner does that? Gee, Chris, one jersey not enough? Classless, IMO.

The green jersey in the Vuelta does not impress me. Four of the top five in the category were top GC riders.

I thought Trentin lost the green jersey because he did not have enough points coming in to today. I don't believe in gifting jerseys.

Jeff

[rousseau]

:D

Will you give me grey, not black? Because I thoroughly enjoy Kelly. Also, I grew up listening to cycling on RAI, and still do whenever I can get RAI commentary in the US (only the Giro and maybe some classics), and for me RAI is the best. Interestingly, Italian sports commentary is often very calm and matter-of-fact, which I like.

I will definitely take Kelly/Kirby over P/P, but Kirby really is just too histrionic for me.

I will miss Contador too; I always enjoyed him, even during the "bad beef" days. It was fantastic to see so much love and respect for him by the Spanish fans today. Victory (GC) was too much to ask for, but I really wish he had been able to podium. 20 seconds...:crap:

And how can anyone not love this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHs0whbqQHw
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Does RAI have English broadcasts?

Funny you mention Sean Kelly. I know he's knowledgeable, but he's not the smoothest of speakers. Seems like he uses several sentences with tortuous syntax to deliver information that could be presented more concisely.

Then again, that does make for a compelling contrast between the two presenters, and that adds to the experience. Any other duo sounds vanilla by comparison.

[Elefantino]

If tomorrow is the last time I have to hear Kirby it can't come too soon. He really annoys me in general, and specifically with all the over-the-top emotional stuff. Was he actually crying today when he realized Contador was going to win the stage? :rolleyes: Jeez, man, get a grip....
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Dis not my buddy Carlton! :no:

[FlashUNC]

Kirby and Kelly are the best.

[kramnnim]

The green jersey in the Vuelta does not impress me. Four of the top five in the category were top GC riders.

I thought Trentin lost the green jersey because he did not have enough points coming in to today. I don't believe in gifting jerseys.

Jeff

This.

[oldpotatoe]

The green jersey in the Vuelta does not impress me. Four of the top five in the category were top GC riders.

I thought Trentin lost the green jersey because he did not have enough points coming in to today. I don't believe in gifting jerseys.

Jeff

This...froomie, amazing. First double, back to back since Pantani(?)...

[Climb01742]

Trentin won four stages. In the Tour, that would almost certainly earn a rider the points jersey. The difference is, the Vuelta has a funky scoring system. Bob Roll talked about it being out of whack yesterday. And I'm not asking Froome to 'gift' Trentin anything. Just don't be a d**k and grab points on the final day you don't need. Again, show me another grand tour winner who's done that on the last day?

[kramnnim]

He had the green jersey. He wanted to keep it. He did what he needed to do to keep it.

And no, winning 4 stages in the Tour would not mean you win the points competition. Look at the 2015 results.

[CaptStash]

Not a fan of Froome taking part in the final sprint today. His 11th place kept Trentin from the green jersey. What other grand tour winner does that? Gee, Chris, one jersey not enough? Classless, IMO.

What other Grand Tour winner? Do you really think Merckx wouldn't have done that? Why do you suppose they called him the Cannibal? And yeah right, Pantani would have graciously eased off to let someone else get Green. Doubt it. Froome is a bike racer. He had the chance to win a Green Jersey, why on earth wouldn't he go for it? It's not like they changed the rules mid-stream to favor him or something.

Racing is racing, and he just did something incredible. Just because he has a shall we say, "quirky", personality, doesn't make it any less impressive.

CaptStash....

[jlwdm]

One year in the Tour Merckx won the overall, sprinter's and climber's jerseys.

Jeff

[cadence90]

Does RAI have English broadcasts?
No, only Italian. The commentators are all expert/outstanding imo.
Cassani was very good before he left to be the ITA national team coach, after Bettini.

Funny you mention Sean Kelly. I know he's knowledgeable, but he's not the smoothest of speakers. Seems like he uses several sentences with tortuous syntax to deliver information that could be presented more concisely.

Then again, that does make for a compelling contrast between the two presenters, and that adds to the experience. Any other duo sounds vanilla by comparison.
Understatement of the year! :D

http://i.imgur.com/662EKPJ.jpg
Dis not my buddy Carlton! :no:
Sorry! :) Great photo.
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[MattTuck]

My fantasy football team is called "Tird and Tree"... what I imagine Sean would say if he were a football commentator.

[echelon_john]

Love it! "He's in Turd place, which is a bit of an improvement on Tursday's Turtieth place. Like all the lads, he gets quite tursty to add to his pointifications...


No, only Italian. The commentators are all expert/outstanding imo.
Cassani was very good before he left to be the ITA national team coach, after Bettini.


Understatement of the year! :D

http://i.imgur.com/662EKPJ.jpg

Sorry! :) Great photo.
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[54ny77]

i'll take Kelly ALL. DAY. LONG. Over pretty much anyone else.

Heck, I prefer watching the Belgian streaming broadcast more than I like listening to Phil & Paul.

Besides, even if listening in the background, when something big happens, the Belgians go "Scherga Verga Bork Bork Bork!" and then you can flip to the action.

[cadence90]

.... ..

[ultraman6970]

That thing is just pure genius!!! :)

Love it! "He's in Turd place, which is a bit of an improvement on Tursday's Turtieth place. Like all the lads, he gets quite tursty to add to his pointifications...