Road Bike Racing - Vuelta

This seems to have eluded us...

The last of the Grand Tours.

Astana is loaded to the gills. Big question is, do they cover Contador so he can win his home Grand Tour, or does Levi get a shot?

And it includes my all time favorite mountain top finish. (http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/vuelta08/?id=stages/vuelta0813) The Angliru. (http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/1999/vuelta99/angliru.html) Stage 13. Mark it down. Twenty three percent grade. When Heras won on the Angliru, it was raining and the team cars could not get up the mountain as their tires spun. Riders with 30's in the front and 25 and up on the back. Some even use triples.

Cunego is back from his Tour crash...Sastre for CSC, Valverde, Bennati for Liquigas.

Should be a very good race. I'll be watching.

Vuelta is always very exciting, very aggressive racing throughout.

Angliru last time was absurd, and that stage is absurd. Stages like that (200+KM w/multiple climbs and a mtn. top finish on what might be the hardest climb in Europe) and we wonder why doping is so prevalent.

Yes - I'd have my money on Astana as well. Look at the provisional:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008//vuelta08/?id=startlist

Angliru looks nasty - especially it coming right after a Cat.1 climb...

CSC is using the bench - so is Caisse. I really think Astana's got it... assuming no injuries...

Stage 13 Profile:

http://www.lavuelta.com/08/imgrecorrido/13_perfil.gif

lol?

OH, YEAH!

http://www.bertevers.nl/Pictures/Angliru.jpg

I cant wait of angliru

The final Time Trial on Stage 20 looks like a gay old time, as well:

http://www.lavuelta.com/08/imgrecorrido/20_perfil.gif

Stage 13 Profile:

http://www.lavuelta.com/08/imgrecorrido/13_perfil.gif

lol?

OH, YEAH!

http://www.bertevers.nl/Pictures/Angliru.jpg

Funny that they misspelled it on the stage profile.

Funny that they misspelled it on the stage profile.

At least the riders will still understand the profile, unlike Stage 19 of this year's Tour de France:

http://www.letour.fr/PHOTOS/TDF/2008/1900/PROFIL.gif

My money is on Alberto. Winning the triple crown would be quite an achievement. Block Levi in for a top 10 then watch Johan push him next year to be their GC man so he can score some wins before he retires.

Vuelta is always very exciting, very aggressive racing throughout.

Angliru last time was absurd, and that stage is absurd. Stages like that (200+KM w/multiple climbs and a mtn. top finish on what might be the hardest climb in Europe) and we wonder why doping is so prevalent.


I don't want anopther doping thread, but MDcatV your reasoning is way off base.
Humans are capable of doing quite amazing feats.
Drugs only help us to do it longer, stronger and faster.
Anybody can ride a hard 200k a day.
We just all have limits of how fast.

And yes, La Luelta is always aggressive. Makes a fantastic race.

This seems to have eluded us...

The last of the Grand Tours.

Astana is loaded to the gills. Big question is, do they cover Contador so he can win his home Grand Tour, or does Levi get a shot?


Um, no. Can you imagine the Spanish fans if Levi was getting the nod?

This should be the Contador - Sastre shoot out, but CSC brings no Schlecks. I would have thought that Sastre would have at least wanted Andy.

Um, no. Can you imagine the Spanish fans if Levi was getting the nod?

This should be the Contador - Sastre shoot out, but CSC brings no Schlecks. I would have thought that Sastre would have at least wanted Andy.


i bet he wants both, but i doubt it his decision.

later.

Looking at the provisional:

Contrador wins. Levi finishes second, riding the rear seat of the tandem Trek provided to Contrador for the event. Levi claims he was ready to attack Alberto the entire time but was following team orders.

Sastre smiles a lot and finishes third, often riding alongside Contrador as they compare endorsement deals.

Kloden finishes fourth, but nobody notices, including Kloden.

Gesink and De Gregorio both win mountain stages.

Silence Lotto realizes that Pop'd is their main guy and promptly sends the rest of the team on hopeless flyers while leaving him alone to fend for himself. He's forced to pick up discarded water bottles and fill them from garden hoses along the way.

Cunego says that he has changed his preparation after finishing 22 minutes down on the first mountain stage, but now his legs feel much better. He drops 25 minutes on the next stage. Teammates have taken to mounting portable DVD players on their handlebars while they accompany him on the climbs. Post race he claims to have contracted Chagas disease.
(http://www.cdc.gov/chagas/factsheet.html)
David Millar throws his bike while whining about the difficulty of the Angliru and doping in the peleton. When the journalist doing the interview points out that they are in a restaurant in London and he's not even in the Vuelta, Millar replies "F'man do you think I LIKE talking about this stuff? It's bloody f'n horrible is what it is".

Tom Boonen is asked about everything BUT his cocaine use. He is nipped at the line during victory celebrations 7 times by Friere. Zabel receives documentation from the Chinese saying he is actually 19. The press promptly picks him as the "Next great young sprinter".

Iñigo Landaluze Intxaurraga is found positive for too many vowels and is expelled from the race. When the status of Koldo Fernandez De Larrea is questioned, a post dated medical exemption signed by Eufemiano Fuentes is provided.

Looking at the provisional:

Contrador wins. Levi finishes second, riding the rear seat of the tandem Trek provided to Contrador for the event. Levi claims he was ready to attack Alberto the entire time but was following team orders.

Sastre smiles a lot and finishes third, often riding alongside Contrador as they compare endorsement deals.

Kloden finishes fourth, but nobody notices, including Kloden.

Gesink and De Gregorio both win mountain stages.

Silence Lotto realizes that Pop'd is their main guy and promptly sends the rest of the team on hopeless flyers while leaving him alone to fend for himself. He's forced to pick up discarded water bottles and fill them from garden hoses along the way.

Cunego says that he has changed his preparation after finishing 22 minutes down on the first mountain stage, but now his legs feel much better. He drops 25 minutes on the next stage. Teammates have taken to mounting portable DVD players on their handlebars while they accompany him on the climbs. Post race he claims to have contracted Chagas disease.
(http://www.cdc.gov/chagas/factsheet.html)
David Millar throws his bike while whining about the difficulty of the Angliru and doping in the peleton. When the journalist doing the interview points out that they are in a restaurant in London, Millar replies "F'man do you think I LIKE talking about this stuff? It's bloody f'n horrible is what it is".

Tom Boonen is asked about everything BUT his cocaine use. He is nipped at the line during victory celebrations 7 times by Friere. Zabel receives documentation from the Chinese saying he is actually 19. The press promptly picks him as the "Next great young sprinter".

Iñigo Landaluze Intxaurraga is found positive for too many vowels and is expelled from the race. When the status of Koldo Fernandez De Larrea is questioned, a post dated medical exemption is provided signed by Eufemiano Fuentes.

nice.

This seems to have eluded us...

The last of the Grand Tours.

Astana is loaded to the gills. Big question is, do they cover Contador so he can win his home Grand Tour, or does Levi get a shot?

And it includes my all time favorite mountain top finish. (http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/vuelta08/?id=stages/vuelta0813) The Angliru. (http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/1999/vuelta99/angliru.html) Stage 13. Mark it down. Twenty three percent grade. When Heras won on the Angliru, it was raining and the team cars could not get up the mountain as their tires spun. Riders with 30's in the front and 25 and up on the back. Some even use triples.

Cunego is back from his Tour crash...Sastre for CSC, Valverde, Bennati for Liquigas.

Should be a very good race. I'll be watching.

23% grade, big deal, haven't you read the claims of the posters on this site?
Half the people here claim to eat 23% for breakfast and then tackle the hard stuff after lunch. :rolleyes:

The final Time Trial on Stage 20 looks like a gay old time, as well:

http://www.lavuelta.com/08/imgrecorrido/20_perfil.gif

It'll be interesting to see if anyone actually rides a TT rig. The first 3-4 miles from San Ildefonso are gradual enough where it might make sense. From there on up to Puerto Navacerrada, though, it's just ridiculous (at least for this FL flatlander). Here's a pic from the top of Puerto Navacerrada earlier this year:

http://www.secondhandsix.com/temp/Morcuera_and_Navacerrada%20small%20Apr%2008%20022.JPG

Does anyone know where to watch this in the States? I just checked the listings and didn't see it anywhere. Versus isn't even slated to show a single stage, according to the schedule on my cable company.

If it won't be on TV, is there anywhere I can watch the whole stage (and not highlights) online on demand (aka when I get home from work)?

Thanks.

Sneak into the CIA building and aim the spy satellite cameras at the race?

cycling.tv

Try cyclingfans.com

After taking some time off since the Olympics, I'm ready to watch some serious cycling again! It seems so quiet in here. Is anyone else watching? Or are you all waiting for the mountains?

For those of us stateside who can't watch Eurosport, cyclingfans.com now has some live streaming links, including a beautiful, high quality Danish stream working worldwide. That's the one I'm watching.

http://cyclingfans.com/

Sally

I just subscribed to TVE International (It's an international channel from Spain, according to their schedules they play it live around 10am every day).

Most cable and satellite companies offer this channel btw,

go cricket go :thumb:

go Chavanel go ;)

go Go go.

go Chavanel go ;)

A Frenchie leads the Vuelta...hang on a sec.

(long pause)

Yep, checked Weather Underground for "hell". Forecast is for freezing rain and snow.

Wow. Won't last but good on him.

heck of a season he is having

Not much chatter about pro races on the forum lately. Probably because I keep seeing everyone posting about their personal 2009 plans, even though it's only early Sep.

Anyhoo, Levi gets the lead again. Contador in 2nd. Maybe a Lemond/Hinault type result in the end?

i loved seeing the jersey go from one classics guy to another and I am stoked seeing chavanel hanging in there on these tough stages.

Astana is loaded to the gills. Big question is, do they cover Contador so he can win his home Grand Tour, or does Levi get a shot?

I think they want the win, rather than 'giving' it to someone or another. Although I'm betting they'll let them be co-leaders and let the mountains work out the details.

Or the TT...

Interesting little tid bit from "We Might As Well Win"...

Bruyneel did not want Levi to attack. Just hide and stay steady. Avoid that bad day. Not lose time in the mountains but gain time in the TTs...

Boring as it is, it's a good strategy for Levi.