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Original poster

La Vuelta a Espana - The MN Pro-cycling Peloton rides again!

133 replies

MaillotRojoPan · 21/08/2015 18:54

The third Grand Tour of the year, following the Giro d'Italia in spring and the Tour de France in summer. It's always a tough ride and this year's is a beast.

If you've seen pro-cycling on tv for instance, or witnessed local rides and been a bit curious about the hows and whys we have such a spectacle of endeavour, tactics, sacrifice, strops and often pointless 'break-a-ways' then be curious no more - the committed MN peloton members will ride with you and chat as we go. Some members will be distracted by so many fit young men with bulging thighs, but be kind to them.Bike

Next up, a course outline, timings and general stuff about La Vuelta.

Bike
OP posts:
msrisotto · 25/08/2015 17:38

Why don't you like Peter Sagan? He's popular on the tour apparently.

So, do you think Froome is deliberately being low profile? In interviews he's not been speaking confidently about winning. He said he's definitely not in the form he was for the Tour. And Quintana?

bikeandrun · 25/08/2015 18:04

I do like peter sagan, he seems very funny, brave and likeable but his behaviour towards podium girls( was there a bottom pinching incident?) is a bit off. Me and DD get riled by podium girls full stop!

msrisotto · 25/08/2015 18:20

Yeah I wasn't very impressed by him pouring champagne in their hair yesterday. he strikes me as immature.

DoctorTwo · 25/08/2015 20:05

Due to work and not having the Eurosports I only get the highlights on ITV4. Don't think Froominho's going to win. Maybe if he'd done the Giro instead of the TdF he'd piss it, but IMO it's too soon after. In fact, if I was Froome or close to him I'd get him to do that next year.

Original poster
MaillotRojoPan · 25/08/2015 20:22

Sagan - feelings ambivalent about him. Fantastic rider BUT needs a shave.Hmm Funny and irreverent BUT pouring champers over the podium girl was just not cool and reverts back to the bad old days of being an immature arse.

OP posts:
MrSlant · 25/08/2015 20:30

I don't know why! I think a little bit because I LOVE Cav having watched him come up the ranks (and he smiled at me once Blush) and Sagan started stealing his wins, immature I know. But also I think because he is cocky as hell and his attitude to women is straight out of the 70's. I admire his bike skills immensely he has heaps of talent but the man I'm not that bothered with or his facial hair.

Great finish today, was interesting watching the change of pace from ordered lines of teams to URK big corner giant hill! Am I allowed to be a little in love with Esteban (in a purely maternal way I promise) that huge grin of his is just fantastic. He looks like he is enjoying every minute.

MrSlant · 25/08/2015 20:32

Oh and Spartacus has gone again, not his year at all is it? Who else is more mature talent that I can follow? Feel I should support the more mature riders.

Original poster
MaillotRojoPan · 25/08/2015 20:35
OP posts:
MrSlant · 25/08/2015 20:43

He was in the break away again yesterday Grin.

MrSlant · 25/08/2015 20:43

Sorry, he was an escapado Grin Bike Grin

Original poster
MaillotRojoPan · 25/08/2015 20:53

muchos gracias, Senora.

OP posts:
MrSlant · 25/08/2015 21:04

De nada Pan.

Doctortwo you don't think he is biding his time until the mountains really start then (is that stage 6,7?). I think there was a lot of stress being in yellow for so long with the tour. I am ever the optimist though! There don't seem to be many ahead of him (apart from Quintana's 4 seconds) that could be a huge problem, or am I missing something? That's not a sarky 'am I missing something' either, I still need a world of education with cycling Smile.

DramaAlpaca · 25/08/2015 22:10

I want Froome to win, but I think Quintana will. Quintana will have learned from Le Tour, when Froome got away from him on one of the early mountain stages

MrSlant · 25/08/2015 22:28

I think my 15 year old could pick him up like he does DS3! He does look very young, mad to think he is a few weeks older than Quintana.

Sagan is growing on me, he is obviously a real charachter which is great for cycling. I just need a bit more time to let his character bed in with me. Or I can just admire his cycling and never warm to the man.

Have just got Netflix and there was the documentary of the Armstrong downfall, DS1 was raving about it, I showed him my 'copy' of the film for ever paused at 8 minutes because I don't care if it documents his hubris and downfall I cannot watch that man on screen.

bikeandrun · 25/08/2015 23:02

If you have Netflix watch clean spirit, even if it just for the kittel hairdresser scene!

DoctorTwo · 26/08/2015 04:39

I honestly don't think there's time between the TdF and the Vuelta to recover properly in the age of pan y agua to win both. I would love to be wrong and Froome gets the win, but looking at him yesterday, I'm not so sure. On that final climb he let people get ahead of him, something he was reluctant to do on the Tour.

barkingtreefrog · 26/08/2015 05:36

Ooo, a vuelta thread! Grin.

I had nibbles on my velogames fantasy team so was gutted when he was dq purely for selfish reasons!

I'm a massive Sagan fan, mostly for his bike handling skills which I'm totally in awe of. And he's also on my velogames team so I was very happy to finally see him get a stage win yesterday!! Not impressed with his podium antics but I like his honesty in interviews.

Is is just me who really dislikes David Millar? He took drugs, I don't care if he's a reformed character, he cheated and as a result he deprived clean riders who could have taken his place. Why is he now on TV all the time? Why not get Nicole Cooke on and even the gender out a little? rant over

I've been dying to talk to someone about the race, DH won't even feign interest.

So, sticky bottles - in my opinion if they're going to ditch nibbles they should have ditched the guy in red yesterday as well as much as I hate to agree with Millar because he was really taking the piss right in front of the cameras.

barkingtreefrog · 26/08/2015 05:37

And totally agree on Froome. Which is unfortunate as I didn't have him on my velogames teams for the TdF but I do for the Vuelta.. Angry

He might suprise us yet, but Roche is actually looking stronger.

FelicityLemon · 26/08/2015 07:24

No barking you are not the only one who can't stand David Millar. While he is repentant he only made the most limited admissions rather than coughing up the full story. Interestingly it was David Brailsford, who was with him when he was arrested, who championed his return to cycling after the ban and then went on to work with some rather murky people at Sky (Geert Leinders, Sean Yates, Servais Knaven). Of course many teams have associations with some people with dodgy pasts and riders who have question marks over them.
I was sorry to see one of my favourite riders quite high up the leaked suspicion index in 2012 www.cyclingnews.com/news/ucis-suspicious-list-leaked-from-2010-tour-de-france/
But despite all that I still love watching the sport and the amazing feats of endurance and skill

VeryPunny · 26/08/2015 07:31

Quintana's problem is Valverde - is he going to be happy to ride all out for Quintana? Think it would be unlikely for Froome but Quintana also raced the Tour...

EndoplasmicReticulum · 26/08/2015 07:36

Felicity not seen that list before, some surprising names with quite high scores there.

I can't work out who i think is likely to win yet, as they've not done any proper mountains.

msrisotto · 26/08/2015 12:12

Felicity, if you're talking about Geraint Thomas rated 6 out of ten, me too. I would be gutted if it turned out that he was doping.

barkingtreefrog · 26/08/2015 13:28

No!!! Not G!!!!

I tend to pick favourites for the win (and put them in my velogames team) and then they crash out, get ill, or in the case of nibbles, dq, so I'm saying nothing!

Original poster
MaillotRojoPan · 26/08/2015 19:17

Millar - I'm sort of not totally convinced. I'd read his auto-biog a couple of years ago and left it with unsorted thoughts. IN large parts he let himself of a big hook.
What doesn't help is the allegiance to the Rapha/Jaguar set of West London, which has nothing to do with the 99.9999% of the riding population.

Also because he is v tall, handsome, very rich and well-informed I may be negatively swayed through jealousy.BlushGrinBike

OP posts:
msrisotto · 26/08/2015 19:43

I thought his special features during the TdF were utter shit. He has the most monotone boring voice in the world.