collegeskier

Anton seemed in exceedingly good spirits for a guy that crashed hard and was dropping out of the Vuelta while leading it.

VT Biker

I was quite shocked as well. Who knows how one would react, but as my wife said, I would be pounding my fist.

However - one thing to keep in mind: did he cause the crash, and therefore, was so embarrassed, as he felt more guilty about what he did to the other rider versus losing the red?

Caretaker

From the video it certainly looked like Anton was the first rider to go down.

In his post race interview he accepts he hit a hole or something on the road that caused him to go down.

Great video of crash and stage finish on Steephilltv for those who haven't seen it.


https://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/

OrionKhan

Hard to say how one would react to crashing out while wearing the red. Anton might have been a little embarrassed. I don't know how his personality is. He could just be one of those happy go lucky guys that can smile during the worst of times.

I'm surprised nobody went down during some of the descents on the wet roads today (stage 15). Nibali had a real sketchy moment (almost rode off the road).

chasm54

Or it might have been relief. Pretty horrible crash, he'll have been shocked and possibly just grateful not to be more seriously hurt.

paperbackwriter

I think that many people would react similarly. He was probably kind of confused with all the things going through his mind and also pain, and above all somehow resigned- after all, it's not the first time something like this happened to him, this Vuelta was actually his first real occassion to prove himself after crashing on Angliru in 2008 (not to mention, that it also happens all the time to his teammates- Soler, Txurruka, even Samu's TdF results were possibly influenced by his crash). When you feel so helpless about something that keeps haunting you, at some point you often don't even feel angry anymore. He said later: "Unfortunately, I'm getting used to it".
Another thing is, he's of different kind than guys like Evans, he won't whine about how he lost the GT which he'd already almost won, he'll just say he's coming back next year to do even better.

MondoDave

Great quote from Stage 15 Winner Carlos Barredo (Quick Step)

Hailing from nearby Oviedo, Barredo was particularly emotional on winning in the region. "I got my first road bike as the result of a bet I made with my father, who told me that if I could ride from our house to Lagos de Covadonga and back on my mountain bike, he'd buy me a road bike," he said. "Today, so many years later, I've won here. That's why today is the greatest win of my career from a sentimental point of view."

https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/65t...age-15/results

rogwilco

Hmm, where did Schleck find his form all of a sudden?...

paperbackwriter

I guess few things contributed. It's normal that he's improving day by day, considering how his preparation looked like. It's the type of climb that suits him more than, for example, Rodriguez. And also not many people were interested in chasing him- certainly not Kreuziger, who didn't see him as a threat for Nibali and probably knew that the person who'll suffer most from closing this gap of 13-15 seconds is his leader himself, Purito was afraid to go too early again (and as I said, it's the worst type of climb for his style), I only don't know what Mosquera was thinking (possibly he was too tired himself). As for people who followed him- well, Danielson is for sure worse climber than Frank, no surprise he couldn't follow. And for Sastre it's already a big achievement to come more or less together with other leaders, it's his third GT after all.

Purito Rodriguez is riding a very, very impressive race. He's more than likely to lose it in ITT, though I really hope he won't lose more than he can make up on Bola del Mundo (this finish suits him, but that's assuming he'll still have legs on last 3 kms). But, however this race wouldn't finish for him, he was fully competitive so far- and we can say the same about all the races he's been in since March. That's a long season. And here, every day I read predictions that he'll lose minutes and the only stage in which he failed is the one to Andorra, but it was more down to stupid tactical decision (sure, his fault, but he learned well). It's a shame that it's only now he's been given the leadership.

chasm54

Another entertaining stage today, which is quite a compliment to some very tired riders. I haven't enjoyed the GTs this much for years - the Giro was the best I can remember, the TdF was full of incident - especially in a remarkable first week - and this is the liveliest Vuelta for ages. Anyone agree? And if so, how do you account for it?

collegeskier

I wonder if Rodriguez is more then content with a podium finish at the Vuelta. Sure he would love to win, but without looking through all the UCI rules and points he is closing in on the number 1 ranked rider in the world. Sure winning the Vuelta will propel him to the top and the win is huge in and of itself but if he completely blows up he could finish far down in the the Vuelta and not be able to take over the number 1 ranking. Just a thought.

The Vuelta has been interesting although the big long climbs don't have as much attacking as early as I was expecting given the other stages. Maybe enough guys have blown up that they are playing it more conservative, but there is still firecrackers on every final climb it seems.

paperbackwriter

I think Rodriguez is not really sure what he'd be happy with himself. He was done by Unzue quite a few times in the past, being told he'll be able to ride this and that race for himself, then it was taken back or promised under stupid conditions. Now for the first time he's the leader, he's already had a great "debut" season and one side of him knows that, but the other wants everything at once.
Just look at his interviews before the Vuelta- once he says he'll be more after stage wins, going for the GC would be complicated and then he suddenly changes his mind and is super-confident about his chances to win. This confusion is also visible in the way he fighted for the red jersey. He wanted it in Catalunya, okay, understandable, but at the same time it made wearing it in Madrid less likely- he put pressure on himself and his team very early, he measured his efforts wrongly etc.
Anyway, I think that at this point he'll be dissappointed if he doesn't win, because it's such a good chance for a pure climber to win a GT. Most of good TTists fall back in the GC, Nibbles is relatively easy to drop in the mountains and can TT, but not outstandingly. I think if Rodriguez targeted Vuelta and took it easy earlier this season, he'd have comfortable advantage by now (speculation, of course). But though he has few seasons left at the top, this situation won't repeat year after year, if for example Contador goes for Tour/Vuelta in 2011 and who knows who else enters the Spanish GT. So, he'll probably be angry that this occasion came in the year when he was using his freedom and trying a bit of everything, and couldn't give it his absolute best.

HorsCO

Anton=Typical Spaniard. Can't ride a bike for **** and crashes every time he gets a chance. I will never grasp how the best riders in the worlds are spaniards and every other professional spaniard climbs like a scalded monkey but can't descend a mountain worth two ****s.

C'mon Danielson, step it up, *****.

Caretaker

Igor Antón is a Basque and he certainly wouldn't agree.

Caretaker

Stage 17

After todays ITT it looks like a battle on La Bola del Mundo come Staurday between Nibali and Mosquera.

paperbackwriter

Wow, what a madness. Cancellara being beaten by two guys- one who seemed to be in a bad shape for the whole race (I know that Cance himself didn't exactly seem too strong and supposedly had few nights out, but still) and the other who sort of came out of nowhere (okay, people were actually expecting Velits to do well, but not THAT well, I'm not sure, but I don't think his previous results suggested this; he also had a bad day on Monday, so hard to assume that he was exceptionally strong this late into the race).
I'm sorry for Rodriguez, but I guess it was predictable, I just wished he'll do "a little" better thanks to the red jersey. But, Saturday should be really spectacular. Mosquera should be able to make 40 seconds on Nibali, he's a better climber and if he finally gets the stage win too, he'll only need 20 more seconds. (I'm assuming Xacobeo will be strong enough to catch the break, but then again, there are other teams who may be interested in chasing too.) Also, there are many riders who are in contention for podium, as I expect Velits to crack. It's pretty possible that some Spaniards will be willing to work with Mosquera against Nibbles- likes of Purito, Tondo, Sastre (the person who said he's not having a good Vuelta, might have changed his mind today), maybe (less likely) even Lulu Sanchez. And such hard mountain stages don't really suit Nibali, because (as I've partially said before), he's a good, but not great climber, he may crack like he did on Monday and last 3 kms of Bola del Mundo are very, very far from an easy finish (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB2sZTtkUB0).

Caretaker

Things are really tight outside of the top three.

Only about 30 seconds between Schleck in 4th and Sastre in 9th position so if Velits does crack there'll be some scramble for the last place on the podium.

daytonian

Karma for past deeds


https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bos-...-in-time-trial

Kayce

Punishment for making a mistake in his first season riding in a group more than 10. Thats pretty harsh of you.

VT Biker

100% agree - all three races have been exciting. But this Vuelta has changed my mind about this race. With Contador riding next year, I hope this race gets more exposure in 2011.

daytonian

try and keep up, Sparky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8K_7bJQaaI

Kayce

Im a track racer, and have followed Bos's career very closely.

That is exactly what I was talking about(this is second season road racing). More over, is there really any need to be insulting, especially since you are wrong in you assessment?

daytonian

try these - or ask Daryl Impey



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daryl_Impey

HorsCO

^one of the worst crashes ever.

Anybody else turn on the T.V. expecting to watch la Vuelta, and instead see Bill the Neigh The Sciene Guy on Universal Sports? I'm not gonna, lie this **** brings me back, but c'mon.

Edit: and I retract my previous comment about Spanish riders, completely uncalled for. I was just shocked at how bizzare and unreal the situation was. Crashing out of the red jersey like that.

collegeskier

Interesting finish to the stage today. I was surprised by Farrar. Another interesting stage finish for the Vuelta, I hope ASO takes some of the stuff from setting this years Vuelta to the TDF next year.