2021 Vuelta á España...straight, no chaser
#76
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I don't know his exact frame of mind, but Jakobsen surely doesn't want what happened yesterday to ever happen again, so he makes it a point to communicate what he saw as the mistake made. It's up to Senechal to decide if he's sincere and not bearing a grudge, because if it's his good will toward Jakobsen that's lost, then Fabio's damaged part of the leadout train he needs to not just make it to the end of the Vuelta, but potentially many more sprints in the future.
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I rather liked what Alpecin-Fenix was doing early in the TdF, where Philipsen and Merlier were clearly trying to share the glory. Merlier won that sprint stage on Philipsen's lead out, even though Philipsen is surely the stronger sprinter.
I do recognize that that isn't normal, but if a guy wins a stage of the a grand tour, it's one of the highlights of his life. Give him props and then let him have it on the bus, out of sight of the public.
I do recognize that that isn't normal, but if a guy wins a stage of the a grand tour, it's one of the highlights of his life. Give him props and then let him have it on the bus, out of sight of the public.
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#79
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The way I remember it, Merlier was widely considered to be faster on flatter stages, while Philipsen was more of a threat for the points jersey because he lacked the top speed but could get over the mountains. The pundits excoriated AF for trying too hard to spread the love because they wasted Merlier on leadout duty and missed out on more sprint wins. Unlike Merlier, Philipsen repeatedly showed that he could not beat Cavendish, and the points he got for consistently finishing behind Cav were all for nothing because DQT took full advantage of AF's waffling with their total commitment to Cav for sprints and the green jersey.
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There were 2 bunch sprints before Merlier bowed out that AF wasted thinking they could spread the wins Oprah-style ("you get a stage win, and you get a stage win, and you get a stage win!"). They also wasted their advantage of not needing him to save energy for a full campaign, which MvdP showed could be quite a significant one. I don't think it was ever in the cards for Merlier to slog up many climbs, but if in the unlikeliest of cases they expected him to reach Paris, it wouldn't have made any sense to have him burn his matches on lead-out duty. Cav was able to reach Paris in green through a total teamwide commitment to helping him conserve his energy, carrying everything for him up the mountains, hydrating and feeding him, and making it so all he had to think about was pedaling to make the time cut. Contrast to that, Jakobsen was hung out to dry and do his own work before the Vuelta had even hit the big mountains.
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Nice find, surak , of the hot wash in the post-race control zone.
Here's another one where Jakobsen is all "didn't have the legs" vs. wah wah mechanical. From extremely limited forensics, that "mechanical" thing does seem to be conjecture from various commentators looking for something to say rather than a story that was floated by the real players.
I haven't caught up to today's stage yet so nothing new here, and I won't belabor the prior day any more.
Here's another one where Jakobsen is all "didn't have the legs" vs. wah wah mechanical. From extremely limited forensics, that "mechanical" thing does seem to be conjecture from various commentators looking for something to say rather than a story that was floated by the real players.
I haven't caught up to today's stage yet so nothing new here, and I won't belabor the prior day any more.
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Back to today's stage- Jay Vine continues to impress. I wonder how much of his immediate splash at the World Tour level is due to being an unknown quantity that helps him keep a low-profile and get into situations where he's a real threat. For sure, the rest of the pros will now know that he has immense ability and isn't just a virtual cycling sideshow act. Showing off that level of being right up there at the end of hard stages is bringing him well-deserved attention.
By definition, the Zwift Acad. deal was a 1 year contract. I wonder if he'll stay with Alpecin Fenix?
(Edit: Just read that he's signed a 2 year extension.)
I just found out he's from Canberra- my old stomping grounds. Surely he cut his cycling teeth doing hill repeats on Black Mountain.
Last edited by MinnMan; 08-28-21 at 10:23 PM.
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#84
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I'm not going to start a separate thread, but is anyone also keeping an eye on the Benelux tour? Lots of talent there, and some drama too.
Is Evenpoel just having a bad year or should we relinquish all those great expectations? Maybe he's not fully recovered from that crash, or maybe he won't ever....
Is Evenpoel just having a bad year or should we relinquish all those great expectations? Maybe he's not fully recovered from that crash, or maybe he won't ever....
#85
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covadonga time + two ascents of llomena. ain't no picnic. let's go with miggylo.
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I'm not going to start a separate thread, but is anyone also keeping an eye on the Benelux tour? Lots of talent there, and some drama too.
Is Evenpoel just having a bad year or should we relinquish all those great expectations? Maybe he's not fully recovered from that crash, or maybe he won't ever....
Is Evenpoel just having a bad year or should we relinquish all those great expectations? Maybe he's not fully recovered from that crash, or maybe he won't ever....
last few stages of the vuelta taking up what little energy/attention is available. nice little end of season tour tho.
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Anyone else catch the chick waving her norks at Maxim Van Gil near the top of the first cat 1 climb of stage 15? Just after he got dropped by Aru, and Maijka.
.
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#88
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16 is a killer .... tough climbs, dangerous descents, rain ...... bodies bouncing like bowling pins.
Considering how fast they are really going versus how fast it looks like they are going ...... and it is scary even when they look slow. Those guys are nuts.
I wonder if a couple of contenders are wasting their legs getting a gap before a long flat section? I hope they have enough left for the final climb or the race could go sideways for a lot of riders.
Considering how fast they are really going versus how fast it looks like they are going ...... and it is scary even when they look slow. Those guys are nuts.
I wonder if a couple of contenders are wasting their legs getting a gap before a long flat section? I hope they have enough left for the final climb or the race could go sideways for a lot of riders.
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I'm not going to start a separate thread, but is anyone also keeping an eye on the Benelux tour? Lots of talent there, and some drama too.
Is Evenpoel just having a bad year or should we relinquish all those great expectations? Maybe he's not fully recovered from that crash, or maybe he won't ever....
Is Evenpoel just having a bad year or should we relinquish all those great expectations? Maybe he's not fully recovered from that crash, or maybe he won't ever....
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/r...n-one-day-race
so I had an inaccurate perspective.
Weird stuff- a solo attack interrupted by 15 minutes of neutralization, and then resumed with everybody rested.
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Good for Egan for giving it a shot today. Pretty surprising that Roglic took the pulls he did, but oh well.
Maybe our Adam will flail at it tomorrow. For a 1-2 punch from Ineos. Well, a mild slap.
Maybe our Adam will flail at it tomorrow. For a 1-2 punch from Ineos. Well, a mild slap.
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I enjoyed watching Roglic make it very clear that he's undeniably the best.
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I expected the stage to finish later, tuned in and it was already over. I rewound my stream a bit, saw Roglic was already ahead of Bernal. Rewound some more, same. Surprised how early he attacked, even more surprised when I found out how early Bernal struck out and Roglic went with him.
Then I thought Roglic might have targeted the stage, but in the post-stage interview he said he didn't have a plan, only decided spur of the moment to go when Bernal went. And Bernal wasn't following a plan either.
Then I thought Roglic might have targeted the stage, but in the post-stage interview he said he didn't have a plan, only decided spur of the moment to go when Bernal went. And Bernal wasn't following a plan either.
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#93
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Unbelievable stage yesterday. How in the heck does the peloton let Bernal AND Roglic up the road like that. Roglic is amazing.
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I never fail to be surprised/amused at the goat-tracks the Vuelta organizers think are suitable for racing. It's part of the Vuelta character, I suppose. Today's finishing climb was ridiculous...and epic.
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#97
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an ambitious mountain stage or two that get truncated. tdf always seems to include a few questionable finishes within 3km's.
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A pink lining to a dark cloud? With global warming, maybe we'll get more full Giros.
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