Vuelta 2021 - more of the same of something different ???

[foo on patrol]

Foo

[DavidS]

Brutal stage last night but looks a bit boring tonight.

Feel for Valverde, what a horrible accident.

Great win by Storer.

DS

[MichaelB]

Brutal stage last night but looks a bit boring tonight.

Feel for Valverde, what a horrible accident.

Great win by Storer.

DS

+1 to that.

Great ride and brutal last climb!

As much as I’m not a Piti fan, that was a nasty crash. Wonder what the issue with Carthy is/was ? Great to see Bardet fighting as well.

Time to catch up on some past stages tonight

[stevenaaus]

Nice result for Storer!
Also, SBS has highlights of the Race of Norway on at 3 pm today.

[Warnesy]

Been some really interesting racing. Typical sprint stage last night. Storer was great, also think Jay Vine has been doing well but that could be my Canberra bias. So many Aussies mixing it with the worlds best is great to see.

[MichaelB]

Well, 1st week is over, and for me the only real surprise is how well Movistar have been doing !

Apart from Piti crashing out, they were actually looking quite strong and tactically doing rather well, but there is still 2 weeks to revert to normal transmission.

Ineos seem to be a bit lost, both tactically and rider strength wise. Haig doing well, and hope that he continues to do so. It seems once again, that it's Roglic's to lose, and there is plenty of riding left to go.

After the rest day, this beasty of a stage awaits



Then stages 11-14 are really lumpy days for the breakaways before the mountains return with Stage 15 & 16

[find_bruce]

Well, 1st week is over, and for me the only real surprise is how well Movistar have been doing !

Apart from Piti crashing out, they were actually looking quite strong and tactically doing rather well, but there is still 2 weeks to revert to normal transmission.

Choked on my morning coffee when I read that Movistar emphasise that teamwork is critical if Roglic is to be beaten at Vuelta a España. I am wondering how many years it took them to figure that out and will be pleasantly surprised if it's actually put into practice.

Ineos seem to be a bit lost, both tactically and rider strength wise. Haig doing well, and hope that he continues to do so. It seems once again, that it's Roglic's to lose, and there is plenty of riding left to go.

I would have thought that Ineos would realise that their tactic of using their team strength to burn off the domestiques only works if their leaders are stronger. ATM all they are doing is helping Roglic & JV

[MichaelB]

Ineos seem to be a bit lost, both tactically and rider strength wise. Haig doing well, and hope that he continues to do so. It seems once again, that it's Roglic's to lose, and there is plenty of riding left to go.

I would have thought that Ineos would realise that their tactic of using their team strength to burn off the domestiques only works if their leaders are stronger. ATM all they are doing is helping Roglic & JV

Agree with the Movistar comment - maybe they are learning from the women's team ....

And with Ineos, about the only successful attack that Carapaz seems to have done since his last Giro win (apart from the 1 stage at the Vuelta where Movistar helped Roglic) was at the Olympics.

He tried the other night, got a 10m gap then lost 9min (min you, probably realised it didn't work and then kicked the clutch in). Yates came close, but just doesn't seem to be strong enough, or was their some hesitancy waiting for Bernal and by then it was too late ?

Either way, it was a good stage, and like to see Mas do well.

[MichaelB]

Seems that I got the stage profile ( or CT did) for Stage 10.

Another great win !!

I’ll leave it at that until people have had time to watch it

[stevenaaus]

Awesome uphill sprint today.

Magnus Cort looked like winning but came in 25th, comically zigzagging the final tough finish.

Mass and Roglic are pretty chummy. Nice to see the goodwill.

[Warnesy]

How good was Storer that was a great stage win. Last night was good. Primoz got him this time. Amazing how narrow those climbs have been at times.

[DavidS]

Storer was great, geez that last little climb was brutal. Massive steepness seems to be something they like on the Vuelta route, fun to watch!

DS

[MichaelB]

Storer was great, geez that last little climb was brutal. Massive steepness seems to be something they like on the Vuelta route, fun to watch!

DS

Must have been a bugger for Cort, as his tank was Empty ! Had to paperboy his way up at the end !!

[Warnesy]

Storer was great, geez that last little climb was brutal. Massive steepness seems to be something they like on the Vuelta route, fun to watch!

DS

Must have been a bugger for Cort, as his tank was Empty ! Had to paperboy his way up at the end !!

He must know a good petrol station!

[warthog1]

Well I might sit up and watch a bit tonight.
The current climb looks harsh.

Taylors special release shiraz and gorgonzola cheese n bickies.
Bloody good night with good viewing

[Warnesy]

Good stage to stay up, I couldn’t do it. What a ride from Jay Vine after the self inflicted pain.

[Thoglette]

Good stage to stay up, I couldn’t do it. What a ride from Jay Vine after the self inflicted pain.

I crashed with 14km to go...off to Cycling news for an update

[warthog1]

Good stage to stay up, I couldn’t do it. What a ride from Jay Vine after the self inflicted pain.

I crashed with 14km to go...off to Cycling news for an update

Around the same.
Red wine and gorgonzola cheese in front of the fire.
Woke up about 0215.

[Sharkey]

Amazing to see Jay Vine not just get back on the bike after that crash but to fight back to the group and be in contention for the stage was incredible.
I liked seeing Romain Bardet win the stage though. I can take or leave Carlton Kirby but had to laugh at his line as Bardet was approaching the finish line...

What have the Romans ever done for us? Well, Romain Bardet has given us a phenomenal performance.

[stevenaaus]

Kirby drives me a little crazy. He's probably capable-enough for 5 hour commentary filler, but give him a break and spare us the mindless stuttering when it comes to the highlights.

Great stacks by Jay, and that guy from a leading trio, who totally cooked a corner, and more or less put paid to all three's chances.

[Thoglette]

Well with 12.5 to go it’s fascinating!

[MichaelB]

The last few mountain stages will be interesting for IG as they have lost two mountain domestiques in Carapaz (arguably buggered from a hard TdF and Olympics) and Navarez, and now Yates only 13 sec behind Bernal.

La Covadonga will be interesting to see, but wonder if there will be a stalemate in GC and whether anyone can really distance Roglic

[find_bruce]

I wondering when / if Eiking & Martin are going to crack. Neither have much form against the clock, but surely the contenders will want to shed them before the time trial & on the form they have shown so far, stages 17 & 18 are the only likely ones left.

Bernal doesn't look to have the form to gain 2 minutes on Roglic, with Yates the stronger of the 2, but I can't see him doing it either.

As for a stalemate in the GC - apart from anything else I can't see Roglic being willing to risk being mugged in the final time trial for a second time.

The real question for me is whether Mas or Lopez are willing to go all in for the win at the risk of losing.

Haig is doing a great job but he looks to be hanging on with the aim of a podium. I'd be real happy to be wrong about that.

[MichaelB]

...

The real question for me is whether Mas or Lopez are willing to go all in for the win at the risk of losing.

Haig is doing a great job but he looks to be hanging on with the aim of a podium. I'd be real happy to be wrong about that.

Movistar tactics will revert to normal, and assist Haig into gaining that podium spot.

QED

[MichaelB]

Stage 17

The profile for this stage looks like a zoomed-in photo of a chainring. There’s an early Cat 3 climb (5.3 km at 4.7%), then two ascents of La Collada Llomena (7.6 km at 9.3%), which top out at 98 and 56 km to go. There are bonus seconds available after the second of those ascents.
There’s a long downhill from there and then it’s into the final, stage-ending, HC climb to Lagos de Covadonga (12.5 km at 6.9%)

Then one more monster day in the mountains on Stage 18 !!

There are two Cat 1s as an appetiser: the Puertu de San Llaurienzu (9.9 km at 8.6%) and the Altu de la Cobertoria (7.9 km at 8.6%). The Cat 2 Altu la Segá o del Cordal peaks 22 km from the finish line (12.2 km at 3.8%), and then it’s into a true monster: the Alto d’el Gamoniteiru. This stage-ending climb is 14.6 km long at an average of 9.8% with most of the climb rising at more than 10%.

Who will crack tonight and then who won't crack tomorrow ? Who'll be in Red tonight ?