maffy
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Vuelta Stage 16 - Tue 15th Sep - Córdoba-Puertollano 170.3km
| yooneepueblique wrote: | The 16th stage, which starts in Cordoba and finishes in Pertollano, will take place on Tuesday 15th September. This time we are almost certain to see a sprint finish and a day of peace for the main favourites to the 2009 Vuelta crown..
The stage, which links Andalucía and Castilla-La Mancha, includes two 3rd-category climbs, Villares and Chimorra, both of which are located early in the route. The final, slightly uphill, kilometres wouldn’t seem to provide a major obstacle to a bunch finish. |
Points standings after Stage 15
1 51 VALVERDE, Alejandro 80
2 171 GREIPEL, André 76
3 154 GESINK, Robert 68
4 121 CUNEGO, Damiano 67
5 161 EVANS, Cadel 67
6 211 MOSQUERA, Ezequiel 58
7 131 BASSO, Ivan 56
8 1 SÁNCHEZ, Samuel 55
9 71 MONCOUTIE, David 51
10 132 BENNATI, Daniele 51
11 202 BOZIC, Borut 41
12 152 BOOM, Lars 40
13 74 DUQUE, Leonardo 37
14 173 BERT, Big 37
15 168 ROELANDTS, Jurgen 33
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...break?  ...
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Enchantress
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Break? I'd have to say not. It looks very very sprinter friendly and the peloton more or less took a rest day today 
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Beasley
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The deciding factor will be whether Greipel and Columbia wish to win the points competition.
3 sprint stages remaining (16, 17 and 21) a MFT, an ITT and a rolling, medium mountain effort.
It's inconceivable that Valverde won't bag big points on the MTF and ITT and, really, can bag minor placings in the sprint stages if he has the inclination. Stage 18 could go any which way, but a big break will likely go.
If Greipel wants the jersey in Madrid, it'll be a bunch sprint.
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Slapshot 3
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this place is as exciting as the race....
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HuwB
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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
33kph.......
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70kmph
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andre the giant
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Enchantress
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The excitement was sooo overwhelming that I forgot to put in an F/P for this stage.
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HuwB
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Me too. I've abandoned!
I have to be honest and say that was the best advert for making the Vuelta into a 2 week race, that I've seen.
I really don't know what the solution is, but we certainly don't need latter stages, which should be increasing the overall tension, being raced off at 33 kph.
It's not just the Vuelta. I think 2009 has had three awful Grand Tours, with few redeeming features.
2009, in general, has been dull, after two pretty good seasons. 
Still, I remain hopeful, for stages 18 onwards.
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Enchantress
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Heh, actually I did put in my pick for stage 16. I was thinking today was stage 17.
See what I mean about excitement?
Sorry to hear about your abandonment. I'll have slightly less company in the F/P laughing group
And yes, I think making the vuelta a 2 week race makes sense. Not only would it have more tension and suspense, but I suspect fewer riders would abandon in preparation for the worlds as they'd have an extra week available.
The only thing left to watch for in this vuelta now seems to be the last ITT.
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Bartali
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Better idea ....
1. If you don't race the Vuelta, you can't race the Worlds.
2. If you abandon the Vuelta, you can' race the Worlds.
Hey presto .... the Vuelta has a first class field and a major GT isn't watered down. Job done.
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Enchantress
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| Bartali wrote: | Better idea ....
1. If you don't race the Vuelta, you can't race the Worlds.
2. If you abandon the Vuelta, you can' race the Worlds.
Hey presto .... the Vuelta has a first class field and a major GT isn't watered down. Job done. |
You know, I was thinking - not quite the same thing - but rather of the cause & effect relation between the worlds & Vuelta.
In short, so many (good) riders drop out of the vuelta to prep for the worlds. Obviously that greatly dilutes the field and lowers the quality of the racing.
What you are suggesting could address that.
FWIW - I like the three week format for La Vuelta. It takes something special to win a 3 week stage race. This year is further proof as despite Don Alejandro being a favorite, everyone still had doubts of him winning a 3-week GT.
About the GT's this year - the Giro was pretty entertaining with Killer & Menchov even to the last km of the final TT
This Vuelta has had its moments too and at least the racing hasn't been nearly so lopsided as it was in TDF.
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Beasley
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Should all cyclists be made to finish P-R?
Each rider to his own, for me. They put in the miles.
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SlowRower
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| Bartali wrote: | Better idea ....
1. If you don't race the Vuelta, you can't race the Worlds.
2. If you abandon the Vuelta, you can' race the Worlds.
Hey presto .... the Vuelta has a first class field and a major GT isn't watered down. Job done. |
Bart,
My guess would be that this wouldn't work in practice, as riders would get a Doc's note to certify they are ill or injured for the Vuelta but they would still turn out for the WC. Thus, riders who want to focus on the WC wouldn't even bother turning up for the Vuelta, rather than the intended outcome of having them turn up and race hard.
All pro sportsmen are less than 100% fit and healthy pretty much all the time, so they can always be legitimately signed off on health grounds.
Think of the number of Premiership footy players who are deemed medically unfit to play an international friendly on a Wednesday but are miraculously healed by the Saturday to play for their clubs.
One could argue that three GTs in a year is one too many in any case, and if riders are making the choice that the WCs are more important then the Vuelta needs to adapt rather than rely on compulsion to get the riders to compete properly.
As something of an outsider to the sport, it's hard to see what a third GT adds in a sporting context that the other two earlier in the year haven't already provided. (Oddities of routes notwithstanding, but the Vuelta shouldn't exist just to provide the exciting racing that the TDF didn't due to its course design.) Obviously, there's a lot of tradition associated with the Vuelta, but that doesn't give it a right to expect riders to turn up and race seriously irrespective of their other considerations.
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Superbagneres
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| Bartali wrote: | Better idea ....
1. If you don't race the Vuelta, you can't race the Worlds.
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Without wishing too be rude I think that's absolute bonkers. To say you need to ride a particular 3 week stage race before you are entitled to ride the Worlds is ridiculous. If you are doing that then why not just make the Vuelta the Worlds?
Far better to make the Vuelta a two week/three weekend race of 15 stages which just has the loose flab cut off it, and which riders want to race.
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Bartali
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I wasn't being that serious .... but the problem here isn't the Vuelta .... its the worlds!
Why tinker with a three week GT (that for SR's info used to be the first of the year) when all you have to do is move the WC?
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Mrs John Murphy
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A better solution would probably be to move the worlds to a different time of year.
I think what annoys people is people using a GT for something that is basically a glorified training ride. Which Beasley is why your comparison with P-R is spurious in the extreme. There is a difference between withdrawing from a race because it is hard/too hard, and withdrawing from a race because you've done your training miles.
It is worth noting that in many other sports such as horse-racing, such practices gets you a fine and a ban.
Riders using the race as 'prep' are effectively not trying.
The riders may put in the miles but the fans are the ones who watch, buy the kit and put the money in the pockets of the riders. No fans, no money, no job for the riders. So the riders do 'owe' the fans.
The point is that mass-withdrawals like this damage the credibility of the race, and paradoxically, the weakness of the field damages the credibility of the riders who do actually win the race. So even if Shiti Piti wins the race, people will look at the race and point out that all he beat was Cuddles Evans, SS and a flatlining Basso.
To be honest the calender is full of shitty boring races over crap parcours for example the ToB and ToI are classic examples of pointless races.
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Bartali
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Agreed. Why not simply move the WC to mid / late August???
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SlowRower
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| Bartali wrote: | I wasn't being that serious .... but the problem here isn't the Vuelta .... its the worlds!
Why tinker with a three week GT (that for SR's info used to be the first of the year) when all you have to do is move the WC? |
Are the Vuelta and the WC closer together than normal this year? Or are there other factors at play?
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SlowRower
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| Bartali wrote: | | Agreed. Why not simply move the WC to mid / late August??? |
Wouldn't that spell the end for the Vuelta, though? If riders did turn up in numbers, they'd be using it as a warm down from, rather than a warm up for the WCs!
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HuwB
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| Bartali wrote: | | Agreed. Why not simply move the WC to mid / late August??? |
As I have previously advocated. Hold it a week after the Tour. Surely can't use that for a training ride?
In theory, the best riders in the world would be in their best form for the "biggie" and wouldn't need to disappear for preparation.....
....or would they?
Anyhow, might even encourage the part timers, such as Berto, Lance and Levi, to wait, before going on their very extended hols.
If the Vuelta continues to haemorrhage riders, the only course left, is a return to Spring.
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