| Archive for justcycling.myfastforum.org Just Cycling |
| kathy |
Vuelta Stage 9 - Alcoy-Xorret del Catí - 7th Sept
|
||||
| Beasley |
Race to the top, then let gravity do the rest. | ||||
| Biosphere |
Will the final descent be decisive? It looks like it's about 3 km at 7%. Final ascent looks like fun on the other hand 
|
||||
| HuwB |
Just about perfect weather. Not too hot.
|
||||
| HuwB |
Hello?
David De La Fuente (Fuji-Servetto) was top at the summit of the climb ahead of fellow escapees Julian Sanchez Pimienta (Contentpolis-Ampo), Marco Marzano (Lampre), Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) and Stijn Devolder (Quick Step). Gustavo Dominguez (Xacobeo Galicia).... Lead of roughly 6 minutes. If only I'd stuck with Moncoutie, yesterday, I would have had both breakmen... Although, the KOD may have just struck.... De La Fuente DE LA FUENTE RASILLA David (103) is requesting medical attention. The Cantabria native commented he was suffering from strong pain in his knee at the end of yesterday's stage. 
|
||||
| kathy |
break has more than six and a half minutes now. | ||||
| kathy |
My fantasy teams are a real KOD this year. Davis has abandoned 
|
||||
| HuwB |
Go on my son...you can do it! | ||||
| kathy |
looks like the break will make it today.. | ||||
| HuwB |
Yes....I could have looked Fping clever, if I'd been bold, yesterday.
Someone is bound to beat DDLF... |
||||
| kathy |
Taaramae, I reckon. | ||||
| 70kmph |
man...its really steep | ||||
| 70kmph |
Evans out maneuvered | ||||
| kathy |
Now, that's what I call a climb - short and steep! | ||||
| HuwB |
More telling than yesterday.
A disaster! Pipped for a point by the "safe" Piti pickers, after all that hard work and Samu takes a kicking. I could end up cheering for Mr Smiley Evans. 
|
||||
| Slapshot 3 |
I was going to change this morning but left it..... 
|
||||
| HuwB |
Evans moaning about Gesink cutting him up,
not as if he could have contested the sprint with Valverde. Evans may not thank Gesink, but his team should. Valverde has a pretty impressive record, when it comes to winning GT leaders jerseys, only to lose them again, when it counts. Basso the most impressive, along with.............erm.........Danielson. Not his type of climb, at all. |
||||
| Bartali |
Very happy with Basso today. He looked soooo easy on a climb that wouldn't necessarily suit his stye.
Evan's starting to crack emotionally ... again. Samu feeling his injuries. Loved the Caisse train working like a rocket at the foot of the climb. Turning out to be interesting |
||||
| Enchantress |
Looks like familiar circumstances.....
Valverde in gold Evans complaining about something Alejandro will make good on this jersey I think though. It could be the last one he wears on a GT for a long time. None of the others seem like they have anything special in this race. |
||||
| HuwB |
So, that's firmed it up. First 6 with 63 seconds.
General classification after stage 9 # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 36:26:40 2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 0:00:07 3 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0:00:36 4 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:51 5 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas 0:00:53 6 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:03 7 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-NGC 0:02:04 8 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 0:02:24 9 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Astana 0:03:01 10 Juan José Cobo (Spa) Fuji-Servetto 0:03:08 With the Mr "Cloak of Invisibilty", Tadej Valjavec, hovering just outside. |
||||
| Boogerd_Fan |
business as usual... with one exception GO GESINK! WHOOOOOOOOOTTT!!!!!
Interesting how short & steep parcours makes more damage than long and dragging climb! |
||||
| MS |
Disagree with some of the sentiment regarding Basso. He fell off at the top of the penultimate climb as well. Since coming back, we've learned a couple things: His TT'ing is pretty average and he has no answer to rapid accelerations on climbs. He'll have his work cut for him just finishing on the podium. | ||||
| Bartali |
Has Basso ever had an answer to rapid accelerations on climbs? Even 2006 bassp couldn't match a Valverde or cunego. Also think his ITT was effected by the weather. Proogue wasn't that bad. Basically he's a wus! | ||||
| MS |
Sure he has. Piepoli and Simoni hit him fairly hard in that Giro. I recognize when he rode alongside Armstrong in '04 and '05, it wasn't violent accelerations that forced the final selections, but he isn't at that level anymore. |
||||
| Bartali |
Your memory might be better than mine, but didn't they hit him mid climb and he just ground his way back then rode away rather than match the explosiveness pedal for pedal. I do agree though that he is not the rider he was in 06 ... but that is probably a good thing don't you think?
Still ... come the long climbs and i think Liquigas will deal Evans and Valverde a knockout blow. We'll find out soon enough. |
||||
| MS |
My point is that before his suspension, the goats could hit him with a hard dig and he could respond. I don't see that anymore.
I predict he'll drop 40 seconds to a minute on Pandera to two or three contenders, probably including Valverde with Evans attached to his rear wheel. I think Gesink will probably be ahead of him as well. I hold nothing against Basso and he might very well be clean, now. I just think he will have to re-adjust his goals and target one week stage races and races like Lombardy, Giro dell Emilia and Tre Valli Varisene. Everyone seems to think Evans will crack, but look at who his top adversary appears to be. Evans will be very difficult to beat and giving up the gold jersey today is probably a blessing. |
||||
| mayofan |
bassos riding cleaner than any other GC contender. Hence why he now looks like CVV instead of AC. | ||||
| MAILLOT JAUNE |
Was gonna give credit to Evans for getting in the mix, but since it was mentioned that he was moaning after, I'm not so sure.
Fair dues to him - wearing leaders jersey in all 3 GT's But still can;t warm to him. |
||||
| Biosphere |
Had a family function so couldn't watch live. Caught up on highlights now. Enjoyed it. Open race at this stage, but I find it ludicrous that Valverde is in this race with what's hanging over him. Usually we find out during or after a GT if someone gets stripped of their results - this time we've known for years and it almost seems inevitable that the results won't stand. It's f***ked up.
Anyway, Evan's psychological issues continue. From CN: There appeared to be some controversy at the end. De La Fuente looked to be a lock-in for third, but seemed to wait and allow his countryman Valverde to take third – and those necessary bonus seconds. Shortly before Valverde sprinted out of the chase group, Gesink moved close to Evans, with the Australian appearing to argue afterwards that he was pushed into the barriers and hindered. Some reports say that Evans retaliated with a headbutt to the young Dutchman. |
||||
| Enchantress |
Now the headbutt arena is one where unlike his big bike race performances, Evan's is second to nobody. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrpL6BA6PBQ Whinger extraordinaire. |
||||
| HuwB |
What it means to die on the Cati, or perhaps Cadel gave him a Glasgow kiss, as he went past? |
||||
| Bartali |
Valverde sees Basso as his major threat. Personally I agree that Basso is still a likely winner as Valverde is likely to have a bad day, Gesink isn't quite good enough (yet), Samu suffering, and Evan's being mentally fragile.
The long climbs will be interesting and I don't think we've seen the best of his ITT yet. Nicely poised race me thinks. |
||||
| kathy |
People have got chucked out of GT's for less than that. |
||||
| 70kmph |
Cuddles is a real goat | ||||
| Bartali |
Wll he acts like a kid at times ...
... I'll get my coat! |
||||
| 70kmph |
Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) apologised to Robert Gesink (Rabobank) this morning before the stage started. Yesterday the Australia's Evans head-butted Dutchmen Gesink after the race because he believed Gesink blocked him in the finale.
The two shook hands and Evans said, "Sorry, I should not have done that," according to Het Laatste Nieuws. |
||||