La Vuelta Stage 9: Villaviciosa to Les Praeres. Nava (171.4km)

mewso

Another summit finish on the last stage before the second break. Worth a look at this final climb too. Short but sharp. We are an hour in now and Thymen Arensman was in the break briefly before everybody suddenly said what are you doing here? :) So what do we think? Break or Peleton for the win?

retalivity

Break to be caught, someone from Ineos to win

mewso

The coverage has looping audio of somebody woo hoo'ing. Going to drive me mad. Once you notice it you can't unhear it.

Battistella losing the rag there with Janssens 😅

Looks to be Rodriguez as the last man for Ineos there after the crash.

Daroxtar

Delighted to see Remco dropping Mas. I really liked him a few years back but he's been absolutely polluted by Valverde and become an unbearable wheel sucker. Really hard to warm to someone who won't work or try anything, and his pathetic attempt to jump Remco on the line yesterday was very poor form

at1withmyself

I wouldn't be so harsh on Mas, hanging onto Remco's wheel is an achievement and he's not strong enough to help so I think he's riding wise and gaining time on the others.

Fair enough it's not exciting to watch but I think he just can't help and is in the red just trying to keep up.

dastardly00

Chapeau to Meintjes. By far the best on the final climb. It must be tough to be a GC rider who finishes in top-10 of Grand Tours but doesn't actually ever win any stages.

Phenomenal performance from Remco. He'll most likely have a huge lead after the ITT but I still wouldn't put the mortgage on him winning overall.

I'm a bit of a Remco sceptic over 3 weeks, even seeing him go so well this week I'm not 100% certain he can do it, I'd not be unhappy if he does do though.

CantGetNoSleep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119533627#Comment_119533627

It seems that he prefers to protect his top 10 (which he has a few of already) rather than risk anything and go for the win. Will be completely unmemorable once he retires as he will never win a Grand Tour. Hope Remco takes four minutes out of him in the TT.

at1withmyself

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119533671#Comment_119533671

Well if he continues as is and Remco fades in week 3 then he has an excellent chance of taking the lead. While it might not be the most exciting, he is definitely riding smart for now. There is another 2 weeks to go remember.

retalivity

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119533662#Comment_119533662

I backed Remco to win before the Vuelta started, but I do think he is due a bad day. And when he has an off day, it can be a real bad day. The Sierra Nevada stage will be pivotal, climbing to 2500m could put him under pressure

Daroxtar

I think Remco is managing his climbs much better than before. He's setting his own pace and TT-ing up, kind of Froome-esque. If Pog was there or an in form Roglic who would hit him with hard accelerations, it could be a different story. Would he keep his head or blow up trying to chase them? Is there anyone in GC who can do that at the moment, Simon Yates maybe?