Vuelta A Espana 2016 the MN Peloton contemplates another glass of Rioja to go with the tapas

[FelicityLemon]

Despite the Olympics still in full swing it is time to turn our attention to the Vuelta.

www.lavuelta.com/la-vuelta/2016/us/parcours-general.html

The stages

1 Team time trial Saturday, August 20th Ourense, Laias Health Resort / P. N. Castrelo de Miño 27.8 km

2 Flat Sunday, August 21st Ourense Thermal Capital / Baiona 160.8 km

3 Hilly Monday, August 22nd Marín / Dumbría. Ezaro Viewpoint 176.4 km

4 Hilly Tuesday, August 23rd Betanzos / San Andrés de Teixido 163.5 km

5 Flat Wednesday, August 24th Viveiro / Lugo 171.3 km

6 Hilly Thursday, August 25th Monforte de Lemos / Luintra. Ribeira Sacra 163.2 km

7 Hilly Friday, August 26th Maceda / Puebla de Sanabria 158.5 km

8 Flat Saturday, August 27th Villalpando / La Camperona. Valle de Sabero 181.5 km

9 Hilly Sunday, August 28th Cistierna / Oviedo. Alto del Naranco 164.5 km

10 Mountain Monday, August 29th Lugones / Lagos de Covadonga 188.7 km

• Rest day Tuesday, August 30th Oviedo / Oviedo

11 Flat Wednesday, August 31st Colunga. Jurassic Museum / Peña Cabarga 168.6 km

12 Hilly Thursday, September 1st Los Corrales de Buelna / Bilbao 193.2 km

13 Hilly Friday, September 2nd Bilbao / Urdax-Dantxarinea 213.4 km

14 Mountain Saturday, September 3rd Urdax-Dantxarinea / Aubisque - Gourette 196 km

15 Mountain Sunday, September 4th Sabiñánigo / Sallent de Gállego. Aramón Formigal 118.5 km

16 Flat Monday, September 5th Alcañiz / Peñíscola 156.4 km

• Rest day Tuesday, September 6th Castellón / Castellón

17 Mountain Wednesday, September 7th Castellón / Llucena. Camins del Penyagolosa 177.5 km

18 Flat Thursday, September 8th Requena / Gandía 200.6 km

19 Individual time trial Friday, September 9th Xàbia / Calp 37 km

20 Mountain Saturday, September 10th Benidorm / Alto de Aitana. Air Force Squadron 193.2 km

21 Flat Sunday, September 11th Las Rozas / Madrid 104.8 km

Apparently it is going to be a tough one: Too brutal for sprinters: Teams prepare their climbers for mountainous Vuelta a España
Read more at www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/#iLVQdFMS6pFLb4wQ.99

Can DS3 join? I mostly made his team so I might claim all his glory if he does well he just wanted to have Cav in a team bless him, he does love that man.

The more the merrier! Always good to encourage the new generation of fans.

He's only 9, just started riding on the drops, wants to be Cav when he grows up. He is stroppy and stubborn and filled with fast twitch muscles so he might just do it!

I'm in! I've missed the Vuelta, but I have managed to enter the Tour of Britain.

Meh. My team did a bit better today, but that lantern sure is heavy .

I'll have a look at the ToB. Can't do any worse than my Vuelta efforts, really.

Serves me right, I probably enjoyed my TdeF win a bit too much

OK, ToB MN League - I'm in!

Well we all seem to have pretty much the same team for the ToB, and tragically not one Caja Rural domestique.

It was easier to pick a team I wanted for ToB. I think they were cheaper? Anyway, didn't have to choose random domestiques I'd never heard of. I couldn't see anyone else's team yesterday.

Valverde really did go backwards yesterday, didn't he? It was the big stick.

Woooot! Go Brambi!

Well I'm not sulking At All at DS3's TOB team. Nope. .

Didn't see any of the racing today, Qiuntana made his mark then? Very glad the commissaires didn't implement the cut off time although that could have been amusing tomorrow .

It was an epic stage I urge you to watch the whole thing.
And Greipel, now he performs after doing jack for me in the TdF 😀

Yes Felicity, I was griping at Greipel too for the same reason.
Didn't enjoy the ToB coverage, I don't like the commentators. One of them keeps saying "you know" and once I'd noticed it it really bothered me.

Try the Bike channel, they have it. Not sure who is commentating but it's not Smith and Porter

So I'm leading the Vuelta but last in the ToB!

It's a cruel sport.

Always in the bloody middle, no lantern rouge, no kudos for team choice. Which I should have in the ToB but DS3 is now claiming it was all his choosing and I had no impact. Damn him for picking Griepel because he looked like a wide mouthed frog . Even his choice of a Team GB cyclist because he liked his name has given him more points than 70% of my team. FGS.

Vuelta turning out to be an interesting race, better than the Tour in some ways although I don't think 99% of the riders would agree!

The Vuelta is often more interesting than the Tour, I think. It would have been even more interesting if they'd implemented the cutoff the other day and sent over half the riders home!

My question of the day is - what did Cav say to that spectator when he stopped his bike for a "chat"?

I missed that, back at school and SPORT has taken over our lives again. No more watching television! Hopefully it was more interesting chat than my garbled 'my kids love you, you are a real inspiration' which I stuttered out and then went bright red whilst in his presence last week .

I think the convo with the bloke on The Struggle with Cav was:

Cav: Why didn't I win the sprint yesterday? It's just like Harrogate all over again. And it's your fault.
Bloke: Ermm..

Grrrr. Recorded the stage on the Bike channel, got as far as 20km to go then the bloody recording stopped

I wanted to see them go up Beast Banks in Kendal, very familiar to me as my grandmother used to live just opposite the finish line.

I've set the highlights to record tomorrow morning so hopefully I'll see it then.

Enjoying the Vuelta, especially the fun & games the last couple of days.

ToB has always been rubbish....

Would that be because you are [cough] bottom of the leader board, Pan?

I can't talk, my Vuelta showing has been shameful

I got to see the end of the Kendal stage, the finish line was just at the end of my grandmother's street. She's no longer with us sadly but I can't help wondering what she'd have made of it all. Being the feisty lady she was I reckon she'd be out there staking her place at the finish & banging on the barriers with the rest of them

Never mind Pan you can aspire to mid table mediocrity like me I'm planning to go on Sunday, hopefully I can get some good pics by stalking the Etixx riders in an unseemly fashion

Part of me wishes the Vuelta organisers had enforced the time cut the other day just for the lolz.

Even Froome agrees with you Felicity. Well possibly without the lolz part .

I like mid table mediocrity which is a good job really

The rest of Sky probably missed the time cut on purpose in the hopes of escaping the team talk later. I suspect relations were a tad frosty that evening.