La Vuelta (Spoilers!)

[Elefantino]

Someone was watering their garden, which put water on the road, which caused several crashes, including the favorites.

What an opening TTT.

[oldpotatoe]

Someone was watering their garden, which put water on the road, which caused several crashes, including the favorites.

What an opening TTT.

NBC gold, guys(really good, BTW)..didn't know where the water came from..really stacked Jumbo/Lotto..Great coverage..gift giving at the end a little over the top(Tissot watches YO!!)..the beer part was funny..gotta keep the sponsors happy..Kinda reminds me of the 70s Paris-Roubaix where they shove a bottle of Perrier in the guys hand when all he wants to do is sit down..

[Elefantino]

This morning it was confirmed that the water came from ... washing fish at a seafood restaurant.

[oldpotatoe]

More AMBAR beer..what a hoot..one little sip and then into that green trash can..

[rain dogs]

credit where credit is due.... Quintana looked pretty savvy with that win and almost enough to take Red.

He often looks like he lacks any punch or "spirit" but he played today pretty perfectly, especially on a day that likely had Valverde penciled in.

[Elefantino]

credit where credit is due.... Quintana looked pretty savvy with that win and almost enough to take Red.

He often looks like he lacks any punch or "spirit" but he played today pretty perfectly, especially on a day that likely had Valverde penciled in.
It looked like a Valverde stage until the 20k mark.

Strong rides by Roglic, Uran and, surprisingly, Aru. Too bad the former and latter lost time in the fishwater crash yesterday.

[Elefantino]

Holy crap. What a day today.

Tejay crashed badly with 23k to go and finished the race, apparently, but is not certain to start tomorrow.

[RKW]

Holy crap. What a day today.

Tejay crashed badly with 23k to go and finished the race, apparently, but is not certain to start tomorrow.

Sigh. Tejay being Tejay...

Shame, but the smartest thing EF could do is dump him. He's consistently proven to make bad decisions. If you rewatch the coverage, it doesn't show the crash, but before he went around the bend (and out of camera coverage), he was in a tuck and looking to rotate off the front, for what its worth.

[Elefantino]

At one time he had million-dollar legs and a ten-cent head.

Now he just has the ten-cent head.

[FlashUNC]

At one time he had million-dollar legs and a ten-cent head.

Now he just has the ten-cent head.

I'm reminded of the Secret Pro column discussing e-racing where he mentioned if it was all just a wattage contest, Joe Dombrowski and Teejay would take on all comers, but racing's a bit more complicated than that.

[Elefantino]

Tejay started but abandoned early on in the stage. Broken middle finger on his right hand, other injuries.

[ultraman6970]

Havent follow the vuelta this year, it looks like will be changing red everyday eh?

Looks like nairo is vanishing again eh?

[Elefantino]

Movistar announced this morning that Valverde is the team's GC leader.

Valverde is 5 seconds behind Quintana on GC right now.

So long, Nairo, have fun at Arkea-Samsic.

[572cv]

Tejay started but abandoned early on in the stage. Broken middle finger on his right hand, other injuries.

Sending out 'Born Under a Bad Sign' by Albert King, to TeJay. Also well wishes for the recovery and a change of fortune: no more crashes.

[torolu]

I had Tejay in the TdF fantasy league I do. Granted, he was a 7th-round pick or something. But even that pick was wasted. Sigh.

[FlashUNC]

Movistar announced this morning that Valverde is the team's GC leader.

Valverde is 5 seconds behind Quintana on GC right now.

So long, Nairo, have fun at Arkea-Samsic.

Way Movistar's year has gone Nairo's going to end up winning the thing in the most awkward way possible for the team.

[jlwdm]

Not enough GC contenders to be of any interest to me. I will probably watch the replays of the bigger mountain stages.

Jeff

[oldpotatoe]

WOW!! Another huge shout for the Old Farts!!

What a finish!!

[Elefantino]

WOW!! Another huge shout for the Old Farts!!

What a finish!!
And Nairo actually worked for him. He will be able to eat at the team table tonight.

[trener1]

as much as everyone like to dump on both Movistar as a team and Nairo as a rider, they executed perfect team tactics today and Nairo looked super strong.

As far as the long game, In my opinion it's a 2 horse race between Lopez and Rglic and at the moment it is VERY hard to pick between them, they both look really good, and both have strong teams.
And them I am going to pick Nairo to round out the podium.

[Elefantino]

This (almost) just in:

"Police in Catalonia seized a haul of marijuana after helicopter footage of the Vuelta a España revealed rooftop plantations of the drug being grown in the town of Igualada."

Hilarious (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/sep/04/helicopter-rooftop-marijuana-plants-vuelta-spain-catalonia-race).

[RKW]

as much as everyone like to dump on both Movistar as a team and Nairo as a rider, they executed perfect team tactics today and Nairo looked super strong.

As far as the long game, In my opinion it's a 2 horse race between Lopez and Rglic and at the moment it is VERY hard to pick between them, they both look really good, and both have strong teams.
And them I am going to pick Nairo to round out the podium.

Absent any exogenous factors influencing things, if Roglic loses at this point, his entire team should be fired.

[deechee]

what a nail biter today

[denapista]

Roglic has a pretty strong team to usher him into a Vuelta win.
I'm just bummed that a single TT ride can determine a winner of a GT.

[Elefantino]

In Indurain's five wins, he won 8 of 10 TTs. And one he lost was a pure climber's TT.

[Jaybee]

Roglic has a pretty strong team to usher him into a Vuelta win.
I'm just bummed that a single TT ride can determine a winner of a GT.

Roglic crushed everyone in the TT to move into red, but he is also not getting crushed in the mountains by all the tiny Colombians and Spaniards. Both are equally important to his lead.

[prototoast]

Roglic has a pretty strong team to usher him into a Vuelta win.
I'm just bummed that a single TT ride can determine a winner of a GT.

This is pretty much how things looked after the time trial at the Giro earlier this year. Roglic finished third in GC.

[RKW]

Lawson put in a hell of a ride the past two days...perhaps trying to audition for a better deal outside of EF.

[denapista]

Roglic crushed everyone in the TT to move into red, but he is also not getting crushed in the mountains by all the tiny Colombians and Spaniards. Both are equally important to his lead.

What I was alluding too, is the lack of strong teams that attack and try to get into the break and make marginal gains. I know it's the Vuelta and end of the season, but I can never understand how everyone just sits in and then looks for minimal gains the last 3k. Movistar could have done way more damage to Roglic, as they had 3 guys in the front of the race in a break where he finished with them. I mean... You had (3) guys on your team to soften him up before the TT. I know.. Easier said than done, but still... You had Valverde, Quintana and Solare and Roglic isolated.. That shows the lack of cohesiveness with Movistar.

[Jaybee]

What I was alluding too, is the lack of strong teams that attack and try to get into the break and make marginal gains. I know it's the Vuelta and end of the season, but I can never understand how everyone just sits in and then looks for minimal gains the last 3k. Movistar could have done way more damage to Roglic, as they had 3 guys in the front of the race in a break where he finished with them. I mean... You had (3) guys on your team to soften him up before the TT. I know.. Easier said than done, but still... You had Valverde, Quintana and Solare and Roglic isolated.. That shows the lack of cohesiveness with Movistar.

Yup - Movistar gonna Movistar. I feel you on how conservative most of these guys (Maybe Lopez aside - he might still be in 2nd if he hadn't crashed on the gravel) are, and how little strategy there seems to be to try and isolate a rider like Roglic.

There are many climbs left, it's the Vuelta so they are steep and steeper, and there are still 4 summit finishes left, including Los Machucos which finishes at a ridiculous 25%. A diesel like Roglic could easily get gapped on these types of finishes, though his extremely stacked team makes it a little less likely. I think it's going to be extremely close between Roglic and MA Lopez - no one has been able to respond to this point when Lopez attacks on climbs.

[jlwdm]

Roglic has a pretty strong team to usher him into a Vuelta win.
I'm just bummed that a single TT ride can determine a winner of a GT.

The Vuelta is not just climbs - like the Giro and Tour. TT is part of the race and everyone needs to prepare for it.

Like others have said the problem for the climbers is that they are not gaining time in the mountains. Not a super strong field of climbers either.

The TDF has really cut back on TTs. I like to see a long race of truth. The first TDF time trial in 1934 was 90km. Stephen Roche won an 87km TT when he won the Tour in 1987.

I will never forget seeing Indurain fly by LA in Lance's first Tour I think. He just flew by. He was an unbelievable time trial rider and a good enough climber to win the Tour over and over again.

Jeff

[Veloo]

Just saw on the news. Too freakin funny!


This (almost) just in:

"Police in Catalonia seized a haul of marijuana after helicopter footage of the Vuelta a España revealed rooftop plantations of the drug being grown in the town of Igualada."

Hilarious (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/sep/04/helicopter-rooftop-marijuana-plants-vuelta-spain-catalonia-race).

[trener1]

I dont think that some of you are giving Roglic enough credit as a climber, it's not like they are smoking him on the climbs and then he is making them back in the TT, even before the TT he was in second place by like 6 seconds or something, so he was already ahead of both Lopez and Valverde and only down on Qunitana by like 6 seconds.
So he can climb and even outclimb the best "climbers" and them dust them in the TT, what is wrong with that?.

[jlwdm]

I dont think that some of you are giving Roglic enough credit as a climber, it's not like they are smoking him on the climbs and then he is making them back in the TT, even before the TT he was in second place by like 6 seconds or something, so he was already ahead of both Lopez and Valverde and only down on Qunitana by like 6 seconds.
So he can climb and even outclimb the best "climbers" and them dust them in the TT, what is wrong with that?.

Nothing wrong with that. At this point he is better than everyone else. And probably will be better at the end of three weeks.

Jeff

[mhespenheide]

I dont think that some of you are giving Roglic enough credit as a climber, it's not like they are smoking him on the climbs and then he is making them back in the TT, even before the TT he was in second place by like 6 seconds or something, so he was already ahead of both Lopez and Valverde and only down on Qunitana by like 6 seconds.
So he can climb and even outclimb the best "climbers" and them dust them in the TT, what is wrong with that?.

And let's not forget that if Lotto-Jumbo hadn't crashed on the stage 1 TTT, Roglic would have probably another 30-40 seconds in hand, at which point he would have had a lead going into to the ITT. Yes, crashes are a(n unfortunate) part of racing, but those 30-40 seconds lost on stage one weren't due to weakness or lack of fitness. During the first week, Roglic was keeping up with the climbers on the climbs. The real question at this point is whether he gets tired in the third week and subsequently becomes more vulnerable.

[nalax]

This looks brutal (from cyclingnews)

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qfPL26Lw9WogSUBXZZHQQF.jpeg

[Jaybee]

I dont think that some of you are giving Roglic enough credit as a climber, it's not like they are smoking him on the climbs and then he is making them back in the TT, even before the TT he was in second place by like 6 seconds or something, so he was already ahead of both Lopez and Valverde and only down on Qunitana by like 6 seconds.
So he can climb and even outclimb the best "climbers" and them dust them in the TT, what is wrong with that?.

Well, I guess we won't be making that mistake any more. What a bad ass.

[denapista]

I just think Roglic has flown under the media/fan radar, but if you research his performances, you'll see he's been right up there with the top of the GC riders. He's won some races and was even on the TDF podium until Froome overtook him in a TT race for 3rd on podium.

Maybe this is his coming out GC party.

After today, I think people are going to be racing for the rest of the podium places.

[kramnnim]

Astana did a great job working for Slovenia today.

[Jaybee]

I just think Roglic has flown under the media/fan radar, but if you research his performances, you'll see he's been right up there with the top of the GC riders. He's won some races and was even on the TDF podium until Froome overtook him in a TT race for 3rd on podium.

Maybe this is his coming out GC party.

After today, I think people are going to be racing for the rest of the podium places.

This might be based solely on the third week of this year's Giro, but I always had the impression that he wasn't quite ready for prime time - he would manage to have one or two bad days in the 3rd week of a GT and end up somewhere 3rd-6th. He is owning this Vuelta so far though. I fully expected him to give 20-30 seconds back today on those crazy ramps.

[mhespenheide]

I just think Roglic has flown under the media/fan radar, but if you research his performances, you'll see he's been right up there with the top of the GC riders. He's won some races and was even on the TDF podium until Froome overtook him in a TT race for 3rd on podium.

Maybe this is his coming out GC party.

After today, I think people are going to be racing for the rest of the podium places.

"Coming out party"? In the sense of Grand Tours, maybe, but I'd have to argue that he did that in the Giro before fading to 3rd place in the third week. In terms of GC, don't forget that in the spring, he won the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico, and the Tour de Romandie (along with the points jersey beyond the overall).

[denapista]

Correct, this could be a coming out in the form of GT races..
We all know these guys are measured by GT wins.

[Jaybee]

So next year, correct me if I'm wrong, Jumbo-Visma will have Roglic, Dumoulin, and Kruisjuik? And Ineos will have Bernal, Thomas, Carapaz and Froome? Who am I forgetting?

[MattTuck]

The Vuelta is not just climbs - like the Giro and Tour. TT is part of the race and everyone needs to prepare for it.

Like others have said the problem for the climbers is that they are not gaining time in the mountains. Not a super strong field of climbers either.

The TDF has really cut back on TTs. I like to see a long race of truth. The first TDF time trial in 1934 was 90km. Stephen Roche won an 87km TT when he won the Tour in 1987.

I will never forget seeing Indurain fly by LA in Lance's first Tour I think. He just flew by. He was an unbelievable time trial rider and a good enough climber to win the Tour over and over again.

Jeff

Those were the good old days. They used to have mountain stage time trials. Just go out and ride up and down the mountains on your own. The tour today is so sliced and sanitized today. Wouldn't be a bad thing to see some longer TTs, IMO.

[mhespenheide]

...

Stepping aside from the Vuelta for a moment, can we briefly acknowledge the Tour of California? It's not taken seriously (and it probably deserves some of that criticism), but in the last five years, the winner of the ToC has gone on to:

2014: Wiggins --> set the Hour Record, multiple World/Olympic titles
2015: Sagan --> multiple World Titles, multiple monuments, multiple points jerseys in the TdF
2016: Alaphilippe --> multiple classics, Milan-San Remo
2017: George Bennet --> no further wins, but still up-and-coming; a serious lieutenant in the mountains in recent grand tours
2018: Bernal --> win the TdF
2019: Pogacar --> two mountain stage wins and gunning for the podium in the Vuelta

[Mattre]

What a ride by Sepp Kuss today. There's some GC potential there.

Why didn't Jumbo bring this group to the TdF riding for Roglic?

[Jaybee]

What a ride by Sepp Kuss today. There's some GC potential there.

Why didn't Jumbo bring this group to the TdF riding for Roglic?

This is a good question. Seems like they wanted to take a real stab at green with Groenewegen, wanted to give WvA his first GT experience, wanted to give Kruijswijk one more chance to be the guy, and Roglic was always planned for a Giro/Vuelta season instead of Giro/Tour or Tour/Vuelta. Beyond not having their best guy in France, they also seemed to suffer from a mix of competing priorities.

[jlwdm]

Roglic said he was pretty tired after the Giro. He was the favorite and came in third.

Jeff

[Buzz]

I’ve really enjoyed following the Vuelta the last couple of years. Lots of beautiful scenery and good quality bike racing action with all the climbs.

Sepp Kuss has been fun to watch and is obviously on a very hot team these days.

http://www.steephill.tv/players/youtube3/?title=Winner%27s+Interview+from+Stage+15&dashboard=vuelta-a-espana&id=v7SWCkuqWEw&yr=2019

Reminds me of a young Hampsten in his mannerisms and attitude.

[Elefantino]

He earned this today!

[Clean39T]

Loved watching Sepp at the Tour of Utah a couple years ago. It's great to see him win. Seems like a kid who just loves riding his bike.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Clean39T]

Another great stage today, but what stood out for me is that Brambilla is riding a Trek Domane on these climbing stages..... Marginal gains of smoothing out the rough Spanish roads? I guess if you can build it all up to be under the weight limit, why not?

[jlwdm]

Another great stage today, but what stood out for me is that Brambilla is riding a Trek Domane on these climbing stages..... Marginal gains of smoothing out the rough Spanish roads? I guess if you can build it all up to be under the weight limit, why not?

That would be to be just over the weight minimum; or higher.

Jeff

[Elefantino]

Another great stage today, but what stood out for me is that Brambilla is riding a Trek Domane on these climbing stages..... Marginal gains of smoothing out the rough Spanish roads? I guess if you can build it all up to be under the weight limit, why not?

When we were at the Vuelta what struck me was how smooth the roads were. Spain spends a lot of money on infrastructure, and not just on the roads for the Vuelta.

[oldpotatoe]

Sat down at 'puter' looking for next stage..rest day!! interesting that it comes mid last week..but the Vuelta people always want to do something different. 2 stages coming up will determine the overall..Valverde?? I think this rest day can only help the tired old guy:)

[ultraman6970]

The best of valverse is that he is constant... he will do the same ever, no bad days, no good days but always the same and im almost sure they are waiting for a bad from the top guys, if a bad day comes Valverde should win this thing.

[denapista]

When we were at the Vuelta what struck me was how smooth the roads were. Spain spends a lot of money on infrastructure, and not just on the roads for the Vuelta.

The architecture influence and engineering of that country is amazing. When I watch those shows about "Amazing homes", most of them are in Spain.. Those roads are buttery smooth too..

RAD RACE did a tour group race/ride from southern Spain to Barcelona. The roads looked amazing!

I've been wanting to do this route/trip since 2015. Hopefully next year on a bike for travel, so that I can load up on the tour.

https://vimeo.com/159193735

[Clean39T]

When we were at the Vuelta what struck me was how smooth the roads were. Spain spends a lot of money on infrastructure, and not just on the roads for the Vuelta.

Really? A lot of the steep goat-track climbs I've seen have been filled with potholes, broken concrete, and even intentionally rough concrete on some of the steeper pitches... I don't doubt there are nice roads, but the last few stages have not been on pristine tarmac from start to finish.

[trener1]

From what I heard on those crazy steep small roads they intentionally make the road a bit rough to help with traction, no idea if it's true or not....

[Elefantino]

Really? A lot of the steep goat-track climbs I've seen have been filled with potholes, broken concrete, and even intentionally rough concrete on some of the steeper pitches... I don't doubt there are nice roads, but the last few stages have not been on pristine tarmac from start to finish.
Of course there are some of those. The finale of the Bola del Mundo climb in Navacerrada is on a steep goat track that looks like it's been pockmarked by shotgun fire. And the Angliru has dirt. But in general, the roads that they spend the most time on are really nice!

[Jaybee]

Having driven on some similar concrete with added texture roads in central Mexico, let me say that the texture is nice. It’s unnerving when your vehicle is still sliding downhill despite full application of the brake.

[denapista]

Years ago after the infamous Angeles Forest fires, Caltrans repaved highway 2. I remember climbing up to Clear Creek after work, and hitting 50mph on the descent without pedaling. It was butter smooth. I then saw them ripping that smooth pavement up for the current chip seal gravel style road. I stopped and asked the CHP why it was happening. He stated there were numerous cars going off of the road after the smooth pavement was laid down. Cars simply couldn't stop on the smooth stuff. BUMMER!

[fiamme red]

Today's stage took the Ruban Jaune, at 50.63 km/hr over 219.6 km: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruban_Jaune.

[Buzz]

Ruban Jaune. That is some really obscure knowledge. Learn something new everyday here.

[beeatnik]

The ultimate Strava KOM.

[El Chaba]

Yesterday's stage is yet another reason why the Vuelta is consistently the best stage race of the year. Take what should be a relatively flat sprinter's stage and add a little wind and voila! As fast as the stage was, the entirety of the Vuelta has been fast....and Movistar was playing chess as their GC opponents were left playing checkers....

[denapista]

Movistar is in a position to win considering they have 2 wildcards to possibly win. I would keep trying to stick either guy in a break, and using their team to soften up the peloton. It drives me wild to see team think they'll be able to gain 2min deficit in the last 3k of a race.

Yesterday showed you how you bring back time. You get in the break!

[jlwdm]

I don't think the top riders are that concerned about Quintana. I am guessing he will lose time on Saturday.

I don't think Movistar has a chance of winning unless there was a bad crash.

Jeff

[prototoast]

I don't think Movistar has a chance of winning unless there was a bad crash.

Jeff

Agreed. There's always so much talk about Movistar's tactics, but depth and tactics can't make up for strength. Valverde is consistent and very strong, but has never been in the highest tier of GC riders. Quintana used to be the best climber in the world who would struggle in time trials, but for the past few years, he's been a solid climber, but not the best, and his time trial hasn't gotten any better.

Roglic has clearly been stronger than anyone on Movistar so far, and all the tactics in the world won't help if you can't climb faster.

[denapista]

Agreed. There's always so much talk about Movistar's tactics, but depth and tactics can't make up for strength. Valverde is consistent and very strong, but has never been in the highest tier of GC riders. Quintana used to be the best climber in the world who would struggle in time trials, but for the past few years, he's been a solid climber, but not the best, and his time trial hasn't gotten any better.

Roglic has clearly been stronger than anyone on Movistar so far, and all the tactics in the world won't help if you can't climb faster.

100% agree.. I've yet to see someone make up 2min in a race to win, unless there was a crash and the front field kept the foot on the gas. This race was perfect for Roglic, and Jumbo and he agreed to skip the Tour and target this race.

[Jaybee]

I don't think the top riders are that concerned about Quintana. I am guessing he will lose time on Saturday.

I don't think Movistar has a chance of winning unless there was a bad crash.

Jeff

If Jumbo was actually worried about Quintana, they would have pulled back another minute or so in the wind yesterday.

[trener1]

I would have disagree, Jumbo pulled as hard as they could, in fact with 40k to go the were all blown out of the front group, and Roglic was left isolated, VERY lucky for him Lopez also missed the move and Astana had their whole team pulling very hard for the last hour + of the race, if not for that Quintana would have taken the jersey.

[denapista]

That seems to be what the commentators are saying... Astana basically saved the day because Lopez was in that group. Astana was saving his podium place and no way Movistar was going to get on the front of that with a potential red jersey in grasp. I wish that would have happened to make an interesting last few stages. Change the Quintana narrative.

[Clean39T]

Happy to see EF get the win today :beer:

[denapista]

Other GC were dropped, including Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates), Nairo Quintana (Team Movistar), and Carl Fredrik Hagen (Lotto-Soudal).

Roglic crossed the line 1:01 ahead of Quintana and Pogačar, reshuffling the battle for the overall. Quintana fell to third place overall and Pogačar fell to fifth.

[kramnnim]

I really hope Superman and Pogi can push Movistar off the podium...

[ultraman6970]

Looks like the guy is not having a bad day eh...!

[oldpotatoe]

I really hope Superman and Pogi can push Movistar off the podium...

HA..'maybe' Quintana but not Valverde..2 days left..tomorrow we'll see but I think he has the second step sewn up.

[GregL]

Crosswinds, rain, crashes, and echelons. Today's stage is proving to be challenging...

Greg

[nalax]

If 2nd or 3rd GC crashes, will they wait for him?

[denapista]

Drama today!

[trener1]

Not the good kind

[Clean39T]

Peak Movistar.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[kramnnim]

Now I really hope Movistar gets bumped

[kramnnim]

Well, at least Quintana is off the podium now. :banana:

[weisan]

This kid is something else I am tellin' you...

[jlwdm]

Spectacular ride for the podium spot.

Jeff

[mhespenheide]

That shows some serious panache for a 20-year old. Exciting times for racing, with all the new and young faces this year.

[mhespenheide]

And the award for the most-overused phrase of the Vuelta: "full gas".

[kramnnim]

And the award for the most-overused phrase of the Vuelta: "full gas".

Have to ride full gas to get the bonifications.

[Clean39T]

Now I really hope Movistar gets bumpedPrayers answered.....mostly.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Elefantino]

The podium. A great race.

[Clean39T]

The podium. A great race.

It really was a great race from this fan's perspective. The roads, the action, the drama - it had everything. I'm all-in on wanting to visit Spain and do some riding around this time next year...

And I hope all who went down will be back up soon. The EF gang. Tony Martin. Et. Al.

[merckxman]

It was a real eye opener how beautiful and diverse Spain is. Terrific racing too.

[Buzz]

Another Vuelta fan here. The last couple of years have been fun to watch. Lots of action, drama and wonderful scenery.

[ultraman6970]

Never thought roglic was going to be able to stand such ammount of climbing. He climbs ok but against all of the other guys?

Great for him, valverde as usual right there and for his age the guys is just superman, you cant deny that.

And Nairo, well... IMO Nairo has the same problem all the colmbian riders have. 2 or 3 years on top and then downhill from there. There is anotehr option tho.... they told him not to race. Who knows.

[jlwdm]

The stage 1 team time trial put Pogacar and Roglic behind Movistar and Astana.

Astana: won the TTT

Movistar: 16 seconds back

Jumbo Visma: 40 seconds back because of a crash due to the water on the road in one corner which also cost them Kruijswijk. With Tony Martin on the team they should have had a great time trial. Kruisjwijk might have been the biggest challenger to Roglic depending on team tactics.

UAE: 1:07 back of Astana and 51 seconds back of Movistar.

Makes it even more impressive what Roglic and Pogacar did.

Jeff

[mhespenheide]

I thoroughly enjoyed this year's Vuelta, and Roglic is clearly a deserving winner. No reservations there.

But part of me wonders, idly, what the race might have been like if Carapaz, Dumoulin, and GThomas had lined up to start... (Just fun speculation for more fireworks, not taking anything away from Roglic.)

[oldpotatoe]

and...for big dan..5 out of the top ten..sponsored by Campagnolo..FORZA!!

:)

[Big Dan]

and...for big dan..5 out of the top ten..sponsored by Campagnolo..FORZA!!

:)


You are so sad man.
What a joke you are.

[oldpotatoe]

You are so sad man.
What a joke you are are.

:):)'hare' 'hare'..teehee...

[Big Dan]

:):)'are' 'are'..teehee...

That's all you got?
Get some help old man.

[oldpotatoe]

That's all you got?
Get some help old man.

sure thingy sonny...:)

[Elefantino]

I don't recall seeing a lot of Shimano tattoos.

:bike:

[oldpotatoe]

I don't recall seeing a lot of Shimano tattoos.

:bike:

Doing a search for bike tattoos..some really keen and interesting ones..The first is a shimano hub, I think. Couldn't find a sram tattoo...:)

[Elefantino]

Found one...

http://nextluxury.com/wp-content/uploads/hunting-and-fishing-pole-tattoos-for-men-on-ribs.jpg

[oldpotatoe]

Found one...

http://nextluxury.com/wp-content/uploads/hunting-and-fishing-pole-tattoos-for-men-on-ribs.jpg

Ouch, on the ribs, bet that hurt. Nicely done tho...thought I saw some tattoos on Roglic...might have been a Campagnolo tattoo, not sure tho..
DOH!