Vuelta - Stage 4, Tue Aug 27, Lain - Fisterra, **Unmasked Spoilers**

dastardly00

Stage 4, Lain - Fisterra, 186.4 km

The peloton face another tough day in the saddle with a route that is constantly up and down without any flat sections. The main highlight will be after 152.8km when the riders begin the climb up to Mirador de Ézaro. It may be only a Cat. 3 climb and 1.8km in length, but the average gradient is 13% :eek: *gulp* :eek:
From what we've seen in the last couple of days, any rider who is not feeling good will really suffer up this short climb, and they'll be shot out the back fairly rapidly. There are only 34.4km to go from the top of Mirador de Ézaro, so if the peloton put the hammer down, any dropped riders probably won't make it back. The scenery in the last 5km is going to be spectacular. It's being nicknamed as "the stage to end of the world". The final 2km rises up at a gradient of about 3.5%.

I don't think the finish of the stage is steep enough that we'll see the GC riders attack each other. In saying that though, the peloton will be reduced in size, so I wouldn't be surprised if Valverde or Rodriguez happen to find themselves at the front of the bunch and decide to go for stage glory. On paper, guys like Meersman (OPQS), Gilbert (BMC), and Michael Matthews (Orica GreenEdge) should really fancy this stage. If they manage to survive the Mirador de Ézaro, we should see Meersman et al. feature. There's also no reason why Nico shouldn't be involved in the sprint finish.






Last 5km:



Betting: G Meersman 7/2; P Gilbert 6/1; A Valverde 17/2.

Here's a link to the Irish rider's diary thread courtesy of buffalo.

Live TV coverage on Eurosport2 from 3pm.
Highlights on Eurosport2 at 8pm and ITV4 at 7pm.

Live text-ticker will be here.

Darkglasses

It may be only a Cat. 3 climb and 1.8km in length, but the average gradient is 13% *gulp*

*blink* *blink*

Sheeesh. That's a nightmareish thought.

Still, same as yesterday. Anyone from the same 20-25 riders. Complete roll of the dice.

Darkglasses

Think this is the final hill climb Strava segment? If so, it's not as brutal as it seems. Unless they turn the hairpin at the end and go all the way up to the lighthouse, that's where it's very steep.

http://www.strava.com/segments/2490954

dastardly00

Darkglasses wrote: »

Think this is the final hill climb Strava segment? If so, it's not as brutal as it seems. Unless they turn the hairpin at the end and go all the way up to the lighthouse, that's where it's very steep.

http://www.strava.com/segments/2490954

You might be getting mixed up with the brutal 13% climb that is 34km from the finish and the final uphill section at the finish?

Inquitus

This is the evil Strava segment mentioned in the OP circa 30km from the end - http://www.strava.com/segments/2261370

It was the finish to a stage a year or two ago.

Darkglasses

dastardly00 wrote: »

You might be getting mixed up with the brutal 13% climb that is 34km from the finish and the final uphill section at the finish?

Yes, quite mixed up.

dastardly00

Inquitus wrote: »

This is the evil Strava segment mentioned in the OP circa 30km from the end - http://www.strava.com/segments/2261370

It was the finish to a stage a year or two ago.

The dude who has the KOM on Strava for that climb will be pretty annoyed tomorrow when Laurens Ten Dam sets the new fastest time

BQQ

300M of it at 30% according to Nico.

Ouch. I'd hop off and walk. :pac:

manafana

Don't think this break away is strong enough to stay away, and too many teams who will fancy a rider from their team to do well at the finish as well.

extract of my picks

"Again as pointed out yesterday do not take Gilbert he will be unlikely to get involved again for this and at the prices he is well worth opposing with his knee still troublesome. Writing off Valverde right now is also pretty dangerous hes proven himself twice now and could well be good enough even on a much flatter finish. LL Sanchez had looked pretty strong today right up their with the main riders, he can handle himself in this sort of finish and is worth watching."

Bugsy2000

BQQ wrote: »

300M of it at 30% according to Nico.

Ouch. I'd hop off and walk. :pac:

Description of the hill here

Reginald P. DuM

Speeds of up to 98km ph there on a wide descent.. Kelly said his record in the Alps was 124km an hour.. Exceeding the speed limit on our motorways. Fairly lively alright!!

Pudsy33

This is chaos

Darkglasses

Looking well Nico!

Glass Prison 1214

Did Nico pick up any KOM points there?

Bukman13

Glass Prison 1214 wrote: »

Did Nico pick up any KOM points there?

He got another 2pts there, and has a 6pt lead on Moreno now.

Bukman13

Official site says he got 3rd, which is only 1pt. I thought he got he got 2nd.

Either way, he should keep the mountain jersey until at least stage 8 now.

retalivity

"as the Italians say, Kamikaze..."

??

Lepidoptera

Yeah that was a somewhat bizarre obsession with the origins of kamikaze there for a bit :rolleyes:

They manage to look so calm when they're going at such high speeds, as if they were just going along at 25k

Glass Prison 1214

Moreno takes the stage.

Bukman13

Looks like Roche will lose the points jersey, so he'll have the mountains jersey on tomorrow.

retalivity

nibali back into red

Bukman13

retalivity wrote: »

nibali back into red

I can see can everyone in that group being given the same time. There seemed to be less of a gap than yesterday which was also changed.

dastardly00

Another impressive finish from Nico, 10th place.

Dan was in the middle of the bunch, in 41st place.

Speak Now

Bukman13 wrote: »

I can see can everyone in that group being given the same time. There seemed to be less of a gap than yesterday which was also changed.

Horner lost 6 seconds. First 21 home had same time.

Speak Now

Nico 3rd @ 8 secs

Dan 28th @ 1' 47"

Morena now 10 pts ahead of Nico in green.

Glass Prison 1214

Its probably just a mistake like yesterday with Nibali but Rafa Majka who was 8th in the GC yesterday is no longer listed in the top 106. Anyone know anything on this?

manafana

Glass Prison 1214 wrote: »

Its probably just a mistake like yesterday with Nibali but Rafa Majka who was 8th in the GC yesterday is no longer listed in the top 106. Anyone know anything on this?

he changed bike during race so i would say thats why

Darkglasses

Glass Prison 1214 wrote: »

Its probably just a mistake like yesterday with Nibali but Rafa Majka who was 8th in the GC yesterday is no longer listed in the top 106. Anyone know anything on this?

Majka and Pinot both had mechanicals, and so their spare bikes would not have had transponders on them. They'll probably appear later.