diphthong

first week (7 stages + rest day) recap! spread between the first and last squad is approx 1300 points. nearly all the teams fairly well grouped together still with week one being a strange one.
week two will be critical...sure...there are two relatively flattish stages in a row with one being the itt but the mountains will come calling. looking at the rosters of the assorted squads,
it seems like everyone is still in the game. Shad with team Shad's Mess has been dominating from the get go. only one esteemed member of the league of distinguished gentlepeople
has opted to make changes and embrace the stage hunter aspect of the game-so far-but expecting that to markedly change-and soon. this will be a fun week. lots of whipsaw action
stage to stage with points scored. oh the scoring 90 points one stage, 750 points the next! here we go!

slcbob

If there was symmetry, I could see a Jay Vines Redux, that symmetrically didn't quite make it to the top step. This is cycling, not hand grenades, close doesn't count.

It's going to be the Remco-Roglic show. I hope Sivakov can hold on. I'd like to prognosticate for Pavel today, but instead I'm going to delusionaly pontificate that Remco gets the better of both of them now, then his jour sans comes later in the race and we wait to see Sivakov on top then.

An early stage hunter? Is he heavier than a duck? Burn him!

USAZorro

I am not a Vines fan. Maybe I just have something subconscious going on when it comes to riders with last names that start with V. Can I blame Vino?

diphthong

nice!

slcbob

Is Sep Kuss, oops, Hugh Carthy, even in this race?

Surely we can't give another one to Remco, or Vines, or Soler, or not quite Fred.

diphthong

carthy is biding his time for the fourth week where he will make his bid for the red jersey on stage 22 and then claim it on stage 23.

slcbob

Hayter is my TT pick.

I'm banking on Remco coming out of the rest day a bit sluggish. Though I wouldn't bet the back 40 and Hop Sing's top knot on it.

slcbob

Oops. Sorry, mate.

Shadco 

Dang Bennett out.



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Shadco 

At this rate will the Rona get the entire field?

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USAZorro

I quit.

diphthong

activating stage hunter team now…

Shadco 

Sivakov, and Yates out due to the rona.

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1sp33d

Watching the highlights on GCN and whoever the guy is doing the announcing needs to be fired asap. It sounds like he's sleeping and I have trouble listening to a full sentence of his.

Every single one of the guys who make the GCN videos would be 100 times better than that guy imo.


Terrible! Worst sports coverage I've ever heard: https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com...e-4-highlights

Shadco 

Now JAP tumbles and out.

Stage Hunter is going to be heavily utilized.

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slcbob

Shad's still got a mess that's hot (as distinct from recent hot messes) and then there Keka -- who is that guy, Sundance?

My Velogames theme song this year:

diphthong

oh twere your theme song “stranded in a limousine”…

Shadco 

On the team bus on the way to the hotel the entire team commented how much louder the hum of tires and clacking of shifters are.

They also welcomed Bou, Pederson, and Rodriguez to the team.

.

slcbob

That was Carlton Kirby. And a bit of hyperbole. Though, to be fair, he didn't sound his normal animated smarmy self at the end of what was probably a long day and a final voice over.

He and Sean Kelly are GCN's A team for the Vuelta. So almost any "single one of the guys who make the GCN videos would be 100 times better."

slcbob

Can anyone begrudge Mads Pederson his stage win today?

Whaddya have to say about that Fred? Danny? Kaden?

Shadco 

Not me.

Seems a little odd that Ayuso tests positive but is allowed to continue.

.

diphthong

week two wrap-up!

remco finally shows some weakness. tomorrow's stage 15 looks like another mountains barnburner and the last rest day to follow. we shall see.

some movement on the classic game overall leaderboard with Grain Brain suddenly in the lead and Tim Underhill along with the long time leader Shad right there. less than a thousand points of light separates the top and the bottom currently
(pretty competitive thru two entire weeks!). in the stage hunter game (that more than a few of us are suddenly more familiar with than we'd like to be), it's a bit more spaced. Shad leads by a decent margin and everyone else is bunched together
with the exception of yours truly-doing cellar dweller things. good luck to everyone in the last week of la vuelta!

Shadco 

My man Bou has been an inspiration to the stage Hunter team.

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GrainBrain

Enjoying my moment before the last few sprint stages that could put me off the lead. They say losing the lead is like a window into your heart, where everyone sees you blow apart. Everyone sees your legs blow.

Hoping Lawson is doing that thing where you go deep, recover for a few days then attack out of the break to win on a cat 2.

Wouldn't be a bad day for Vendrame (feat. Jungle?) either - is he still here? Is O'Conner going to burn everyone for that top ninth maybe, maybe seventh? Pfft Vendrame DNS'd stage 7

Groves for stage 16

diphthong

easy there, ps...er.. @GrainBrain. you've got diamonds on the soles of your (cycling) shoes-a wah a wah-so far...