Vuelta - Stage 12, Thu Sep 5, Maella - Tarragona, **Unmasked Spoilers**

dastardly00

Stage 12: Maella - Tarragona 164.2km

It's a day for the sprinters. There is only one categorized climb, Alto del Collet, which starts after 83km and is 7.5km long with an average gradient of just 3.6 %. Once again, the route leading to the finish line is very technical. There are some sharp corners including a hairpin turn all within the final 5km. The road rises slightly with 2km to go, but flattens for the last kilometre. There is a left-hand 90-degree turn just after the flame rouge, and a roundabout (:rolleyes:) 300m before the finish line.

The usual suspects of Matthews, Meersman, Farrar, Richeze, Boasson-Hagen should battle it out for stage glory. Spartacus could be involved as well. A few of the puncheurs may launch an attack when the road rises up with 2km remaining.




Final 5km:


Betting: M Matthews 2/1; T Farrar 9/2; M Richeze 7/1; G Meersman 10/1.

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

Live TV coverage on Eurosport2 from 3pm.
Highlights on Eurosport1 at 6.30pm and 11pm, and on ITV4 at 7pm.

Live text-ticker will be here.

Darkglasses

Sheesh, even on the flat days the Vuelta organisers don't make it easy. It's like a rollercoaster there's so many turns at the end.

Fingers crossed my boy Nikias Arndt sneaks a stage win, but realistically it's surely Matthews' stage.

Bukman13

Would like to see Richeze get a win, he has a ridiculous amount of 2nd places this year. The sprint trains have struggled so far, so wouldn't be surprised if someone managed to get away late on.

gordongekko

Was going to say Farrar to win but at 9/2 I can't be bothered backing it.

Darkglasses

Talking about Pozzovivo's performance yesterday, apparently the bike he was using was designed for hill climb TTs. Would love to know how it was different. Bit nearer to the weight limit I suppose.



Appears to be a road bike frame with just TT components and wheels.

Chris Horner has a few excuses ready to roll. Got a wasp in his mouth and tried to swallow it, which distressed him. And his skinsuit was too small for him so that he couldn't get into TT position comfortably.

pelevin

Darkglasses wrote: »

Chris Horner has a few excuses ready to roll. Got a wasp in his mouth and tried to swallow it, which distressed him. And his skinsuit was too small for him so that he couldn't get into TT position comfortably.

Trying to swallow a wasp or bee sounds a bad idea. If that stings & his inner throat area, whatever the correct term, swells up, that could be a very serious situation.

wirelessdude01

Darkglasses wrote: »

Talking about Pozzovivo's performance yesterday, apparently the bike he was using was designed for hill climb TTs. Would love to know how it was different. Bit nearer to the weight limit I suppose.



Appears to be a road bike frame with just TT components and wheels.

Chris Horner has a few excuses ready to roll. Got a wasp in his mouth and tried to swallow it, which distressed him. And his skinsuit was too small for him so that he couldn't get into TT position comfortably.

Nico mentioned in his diary today that the skinsuits were very small. He is normally a medium but that even the xl provided by the organisers was too tight on him.

Darkglasses

pelevin wrote: »

Trying to swallow a wasp or bee sounds a bad idea. If that stings & his inner throat area, whatever the correct term, swells up, that could be a very serious situation.

Wouldn't try it myself, but the other old man Jens Voigt managed to eat a bee no bother. Think Frank Schleck did it once too.

Horner should know better, he can't compete their levels of HTFU.

Darkglasses

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Nico mentioned in his diary today that the skinsuits were very small. He is normally a medium but that even the xl provided by the organisers was too tight on him.

Does look a bit small on him actually.

check_six

So, his TT bike was a bit lighter? I don't see how it could have made such a difference, seeing as, knowing AG2R as we do, I'd imagine the first time he had seen the bike was yesterday morning. Although, that may be an advantage, did you ever get that great "new bike" feeling when you were rolling home from the shop and you felt like you were going *way* faster than ever before?

Did anyone get his split times? I'm presuming that he wasn't 5 minutes faster than Cancellara to the first split and then lost time steadily from there. Some people were mentioning transponder glitches on the start and I'd be interested to see if he kept a steady pace compared to the other riders. Great performance if everything is recorded correctly, and great organisation by his team to stinge out on buying a full TT bike (in hindsight)!

check_six

pelevin wrote: »

Trying to swallow a wasp or bee sounds a bad idea. If that stings & his inner throat area, whatever the correct term, swells up, that could be a very serious situation.

He should have followed the old home remedy of swallowing spiders, cats, horses, etc. to remedy his insect problem. Too bad his team were not on the ball enough to bring the required menagerie along.

Never did me any harm growing up.

(Never lost my taste for spider flavoured horse either!)

Darkglasses

check_six wrote: »

So, his TT bike was a bit lighter? I don't see how it could have made such a difference, seeing as, knowing AG2R as we do, I'd imagine the first time he had seen the bike was yesterday morning. Although, that may be an advantage, did you ever get that great "new bike" feeling when you were rolling home from the shop and you felt like you were going *way* faster than ever before?

Did anyone get his split times? I'm presuming that he wasn't 5 minutes faster than Cancellara to the first split and then lost time steadily from there. Some people were mentioning transponder glitches on the start and I'd be interested to see if he kept a steady pace compared to the other riders. Great performance if everything is recorded correctly, and great organisation by his team to stinge out on buying a full TT bike (in hindsight)!

Bit of a mystery for sure. Well, good for him I guess.

Darkglasses

Just gone through the intermediate sprint 15km from the finish, Basso first across and Nico second.

pelevin

check_six wrote: »

He should have followed the old home remedy of swallowing spiders, cats, horses, etc. to remedy his insect problem. Too bad his team were not on the ball enough to bring the required menagerie along.

Never did me any harm growing up.

(Never lost my taste for spider flavoured horse either!)

Lateral thinking, that's what they need.

Go on Tony Martin!!

Rovi

Tony Martin going long again!!!

Marcus Halberstram

Where is Nico?

Colonialboy

check_six wrote: »

.....So, his TT bike was a bit lighter?..... Great performance if everything is recorded correctly, and great organisation by his team to stinge out on buying a full TT bike (in hindsight)!

they didnt even buy him an aero helmet, Pozzovivo doesnt look to be on the 'big ring' either.
Nico looks like he had a power meter also.
Great performance by Nico, I think some riders outside top 10 are already looking to the worlds. I think Nico is one of the nice guys in the peloton and deserves a podium GT finish.

Darkglasses

Marcus Halberstram wrote: »

Where is Nico?

Took a two second time bonus at the second intermediate sprint, now settled in towards the front of the peloton.

wirelessdude01

Darkglasses wrote: »

Took a two second time bonus at the second intermediate sprint, now settled in towards the front of the peloton.

Those few seconds could be invaluable.

DominoDub

I feel there is going to be a few Crashes now ,,thanks to the panic from TM trying this break away.

Marcus Halberstram

Darkglasses wrote: »

Took a two second time bonus at the second intermediate sprint, now settled in towards the front of the peloton.

Great! I am watching a ****ty livestream in portuguese and I haven't a bog what is going on - the commentators start babbling excitedly for no reason whatsoever

Darkglasses

Marcus Halberstram wrote: »

Great! I am watching a ****ty livestream in portuguese and I haven't a bog what is going on - the commentators start babbling excitedly for no reason whatsoever

7km to go, not really going full gas yet but a good bit of fighting for road position. The last 5km are like the rollercoasters we saw a few km down the road at Port Aventura.

Darkglasses

Pozzovivo got a rear wheel puncture, but thanks to the extended buffer zone he won't lose any time. Usually 3km from the finish, today it's 5km.

GetWithIt

I suspect that was a tactical puncture.

Darkglasses

Could be anyone's this...

Darkglasses

GetWithIt wrote: »

I suspect that was a tactical puncture.

Yeah pretty convenient.

Darkglasses

Yeah! Go on Gilbert!

Bukman13

It looked like Horner lost about 12 seconds from a split there. Could be wrong though.

Edit: He was in the first group. Looks like Pinot lost time though.

pelevin

Great win for Gilbert, well deserved it too.

Speak Now

Bukman13 wrote: »

It looked like Horner lost about 12 seconds from a split there. Could be wrong though.

No he was in the bunch I think.

dastardly00

And that's Gilbert's first win in the Rainbow jersey!

Bukman13

Jerry Seinfeld wrote: »

No he was in the bunch I think.

Yea, there was 3 or 4 radioshack riders caught the wrong side of the split so thought Horner may have been one of them.

Speak Now

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Those few seconds could be invaluable.

Couple of points for the green jersey as well

AnotherView

I don't understand why time is neutralised for a mechanical ....silly rule....surely everyone can then stop racing at 5km ( 3 km) and present with a mechanical

Also if 3 GC guys finished 20 secs ahead of 3 other GC guys then what time does the mechanical GC guy get ??? the first GC guys time ....surely that just means there is no incentive for GC guys to race to the end and the race is not really a General classification race .....

People like Possovivo has no incentitive to race at the end of a sprint so why not get a mechanical .......ridiculous rule

kingoffifa

any news on the paddy(frenchman) in the pack?

fair play to him - hope he enjoys it all. must be a great feeling.

Bukman13

AnotherView wrote: »

I don't understand why time is neutralised for a mechanical ....silly rule....surely everyone can then stop racing at 5km ( 3 km) and present with a mechanical

Also if 3 GC guys finished 20 secs ahead of 3 other GC guys then what time does the mechanical GC guy get ??? the first GC guys time ....surely that just means there is no incentive for GC guys to race to the end and the race is not really a General classification race .....

People like Possovivo has no incentitive to race at the end of a sprint so why not get a mechanical .......ridiculous rule

I see where you are coming from, but what other alternatives would you suggest? If you eliminate the rule completely there would be even more crashes than there already is.

The biggest problem is when there is a crash outside the 3km banner (lets say 8km from the finish), and then another crash happens inside the 3km banner, the riders chasing back on from the initial crash could be held by the second crash and they will be given the time in which they cross the line, while the riders in the 2nd crash will get the pelotons time.

Happened to Contador a few years ago in the Tour.

AnotherView

My problem is specifically with mechanicals not crashes

If you are 3km from a mountain top finish and get a mechanical you don't get a neutralised time

Crashes do need some lee way because one can get caught behind them and also they are accidents usually caused by strong racing, road furniture or a careless riders...so I think there needs to be leeway with crashes and general timings

but not mechanicals on flat stages if not on mountain and TT......
And because they neutralise the potential for a sprinter type GC guy to make up tiem on rivals

Bukman13

AnotherView wrote: »

My problem is specifically with mechanicals not crashes

If you are 3km from a mountain top finish and get a mechanical you don't get a neutralised time

Crashes do need some lee way because one can get caught behind them and also they are accidents usually caused by strong racing, road furniture or a careless riders...so I think there needs to be leeway with crashes and general timings

but not mechanicals on flat stages if not on mountain and TT......
And because they neutralise the potential for a sprinter type GC guy to make up tiem on rivals

Roche had a mechanical today with 105km to go, but because the pace wasn't high he was able to get back on, where as Pozzovivo had no chance of getting back on, so why should one be penalised for bad luck and not the other.

I agree that after a mechanical in the last 3km the rider has no incentive to chase back, so can just ease up and save energy while everyone else is sprinting to avoid being in a split, but there is not much you can do about that.

AnotherView

Yes ...there is


Wherever and in what circumstances you get a mechanical you take the consequences
Whether you are Valverde in a cross wind or Evans on a mountain top or 3km for the finish of a flattish stage


And your analogy to Roche today is not comparable because Nico would have to chase back and its just luck they peloton did not speed away

Think I might have a word with Pat

niceonetom

Who wants to see races decided by mechanicals? No one.

A puncture 105km should have no effect of GC as for anyone in GC contention getting back to the bunch should be a formality (and I'm perfectly fine with them using the cars to make this easier, something that Roche Sr. takes issue with for some reason or other).

A puncture 3km from the finish would certainly have an effect on GC as there's no one in the world who can get back on in that time. Not when the bunch is lined out with the trains running it.

You say the 3km (or 5km or whatever the organisers deem it to be that day) can be abused, and indeed it has been tried (the Rás this year had one incident actually) but if you're caught with a mythical mechanical you'll be relegated and fined, possibly even eliminated. If a comm or neutral service sees you with your finger on the valve or whatever they'll investigate it and I can't see any real GC man preferring that risk to actually riding it in.

AnotherView

I don't want races decided by mechanicals but they often are ...think Valverde in this year Tour

I think you are not getting my point ...which is mechanicals neutralised only on a SPRINT stage it is biased against GC guys who can sprint.....

Apply the rule on all stage types or not at all

So I think not at all......

niceonetom

No, I get your point. I just think it's terrible.

AnotherView

Thanks I feel so much better....:pac:

So lets see - you don't want mechanicals deciding races so the neutralising at the end of sprint stage races should stand but you have no problem for mountain stages or TT

if I was impolite I would say that was terrible but since I am not I won't

Henlars67

The rules as they are aren't perfect, but I think they're reasonably fair, and they definitely make run-ins safer, which is by far the most important thing.

Diarmuid

I feel sorry for Pozzivivo after getting that mechanical. I was expecting him to take the sprint today. I heard he had been working on his sprint as well as his TT this year.

Darkglasses

Diarmuid wrote: »

I feel sorry for Pozzivivo after getting that mechanical. I was expecting him to take the sprint today. I heard he had been working on his sprint as well as his TT this year.

I heard he's been practicing his football too, maybe Inter Milan are going to buy him at the end of the year. :pac:

Hermy

niceonetom wrote: »

If a comm or neutral service sees you with your finger on the valve or whatever they'll investigate it and I can't see any real GC man preferring that risk to actually riding it in.

I'm not disagreeing with you but it's funny that a rider wouldn't risk something as innocuous as a mythical puncture, yet many have run the risk of being caught with EPO or other such shyte on board.

AG2R

Nico really is trying to grab this Vuelta by the balls, I for one am glad to see it, he's had an immense year

Bugsy2000

Me that is.

Booked a weeks holiday in Salou at the start of the year. Not long after booking it I checked the route of La Vuelta to see if the race was anywhere near the resort whilst I was there. No joy, not coming anywhere near the area at all - or so I thought.

Last Thursday I decided to take a trip out to the mountains and get in a bit of cycling (had the missus & kid with me so this was easy cycling on converted railway tracks, not road cycling up mountains). On the journey out I noticed some team cars, then team buses, then about 50no police outriders. I asked the guide were we passing by one of the stages only to be told the support teams were taking different roads to the stage end & the main race is passing through the resort today. WHAT!!

It turns out I only needed to sit at the front door of my hotel to watch it all unfold 500m from the intermediate sprint at Port Aventura. Don't ask me how I got it so wrong, I'm assuming that I was looking at last years maps or something. Bummer!

On the other hand, I got in some fantastic cycling in an absolutely beautiful part of the world. We were on the Terra Alta Greenway which is part of the Vias Verdes cycling routes which criss cross Spain. They are old disused railway lines which have been converted to cyling paths. Nothing too taxing but completely remote & devoid of any motorised vehicles.

I'll post some photos & notes in the 'Photos' thread.