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

Ooh! I've just looked at Velogames and realised I'm on top of the league for the ToB. Yay! Sorry, cordelia, but it's really close & it's all to play for tomorrow

Velogames really is busted isn't it? They've issued a statement to say there was a 'glitch' in the scoring system.
Fair enough.

Hands over Jersey!

I might even get to watch some cycling today.

Just chilling at the ToB or rather I am shamefully stalking Etixx, I do however have Dan Martin's autograph to show for it 😀

Have a great day Felicity.

yes Felicity and a niffty bit of stalking there!

It's a good job I've been practising riding with no-hands on the handle bar isn't it?

Great day's stalking. I got autographs also from Julien Vermote, Lukasz Wisniowski, Taylor Phinney, Alex Dowsett and Max Richeze. I will post some of the photographs

And not forgetting our beloved Caja Rural

First up DA who once again backs hestitantly into the limelight ...Well done! Dons her into the ToB yellow jersey, zips up at the back, bottle of a Brut champers - air kisses, ticker tape and cuddly toy.

Speech!

Next SignoraFelicity who claims the Vuelta red jersey, dons it, zips up - air kisses, ticker tape and bottle of Rioja! AND wins the Best Groupie prize for going above and beyond!

Speech!

Love the shot of Caja Rural, wonder if we can get MN to sponsor them a bit . My OH looking magnificent there in yellow .

So, that's it then. When the last cava burp fades what do we have to look forward to? Cross season starting for DS or not as he took his bike apart to see if he could put it together again, whoops but what else do we watch?

What's odd is that if ever I get a team KIT I thought it would be Orica's. But now?.....it will be something green with CR on it.

Well, I have to say I am pretty well chuffed to top the podium for the ToB! But you're right Pan I don't much like the limelight, a bit of a wallflower, me . We won't talk about my Vuelta showing, that was clearly a blip

Talking of team kits, on one of the nastier climbs yesterday DH and his pals passed a guy in full Movistar kit, who'd had to resort to pushing his bike up the hill. A little gremlin inside DH wanted to yell out 'what's up, Quintana?' but given the gradient he didn't quite have the breath. Thank god he didn't, he might have got a punch on the nose for being cheeky.

Just goes to show, don't wear a full pro-team kit unless you can walk the walk as they say .

So what's coming up? A few one day races in Italy, including Lombardy, the Eneco Tour, and then the World Championships. So we'll have plenty to talk about.

Only seven months to go until the next Grand Tour

The world championships! How could I have forgotten that. Phew, thought I was going to be left just watching my children or, worse still, having to actually communicate with them in the evenings .

I'm always a bit weirded out by buying team kit, I like the idea of supporting a team but as you say, if you can't walk the walk. I've told all of mine until they get it as a perk of being on the team they can make do with sports direct's best offer! Stealth boast DS3 does have some subsidised football kit from a premier league team but not the full works, then again it's football so pah.

yes team kit..I usually ride daily with a big rucksack with lunch, clothes, some paper work and a bike lock, for 13 miles which is sweaty but not in the way our two-wheeled heroes usually experience!
Kit comes in for Peak District riding, but even then I can't pretend to be a sub-pro!

Club riders can be so funny. I'd have loved to shout the Quintana thing!

I'd like to thank the team that made it all possible.

Hope everyone will stay on board for the rest of the year

Milano-Torino Sep 28
Il Lombardia Oct 1
Paris-Tours Oct 9
UCI Worlds Oct 9-16

I'm on board for all skinny tyre two wheel events, especially Paris-Tours as we camped in Tours once and I have yet to find out how to pronounce it .

I suggested to DS1 he should cycle to school and back (a good 10-15 miles one way up some nice climbs) but he is disdainful at the thought of cycling with a rucksack. Fortunately he is the same size as his cycling mad uncle so we get all his kit as hand-me-downs, although I'm personally a bit ambivalent about sharing bib shorts with someone it doesn't bother him. Eeeeew.

Just wondering what we will do between 7-8 every evening rather than watch cycling.

Children will be happy, anyway.

Just finished getting organised for the week, making lunch thinking 'what time is the stage on today' then the crushing realisation that the next grand tour stage will be on in May 2017. Humph.

I shall wean myself off gradually by watching the women's race tonight which I have recorded. I may have to rewatch stages 9 and 15 😄 then there's some MTB on the bike channel so I will totter through to the 28th.

We'll get through together . Got quite into the MTB watching Sagan, although I found it a lot more boring than 170 blokes riding on tarmac between two points on a map which doesn't really make sense.

I think the problem with MTB is that one problem and you're done. From my limited experience of watching if you puncture you lose five minutes and have lost the race. I'm not sure why they don't just go for solid tyres, there's probably a really good reason and I just need to watch more to find out!

Yeah, I was really into it until that point when I realised he'd just gone through the tyre changing zone and was stuffed for the next lap. I can see the obvious reason for not having team cars but that was just rubbish and I totally tuned out then. Also no team work/alliances or even opportunity to gain time most of the course.

I might see if I can find those ace races on Bike channel where they go down ridiculous courses and either you are amazingly fast OR good at tricks and you have to choose which way to win the race, outpace the other guy or win seconds by spinning in the air a lot. Looks like it's mostly raced in out of season ski resorts. That looked fun.

Not long to wait mondiali.net/45200-giro-ditalia-2017-ora-e-ufficiale-grande-partenza-dalla-sardegna/

(thanks to Firefox translator)
RCS Sport has revealed his cards: the tour of Italy will start in 2017 from Sardinia. This will confirm the rumors circulated in recent weeks that they wanted the return of the race on the island after ten years from the last time. A particular issue, one that we will live from 5 to 28 may: will the Edition number 100 that he will lap the major resorts of Italy, with the noble aim of promoting sport and culture. And we'll start from Sardinia, where the most important event of our country in 2007 were disputed, then three stages: the TTT Caprera-La Maddalena (success of Liquigas and Enrico Gasparotto maglia rosa) and online fractions Tempio Pausania-Bosa (victory of Robbie McEwen) and Barumini-Cagliari (statement of Robert Forster). Will the Alghero to Olbia (203 km) stage 1. Is the fraction that will cross Sassari and will conclude in Costa Smeralda: Great Plains, but the wind along the coast and several small tears will make no easy life to sprinters. Below the altitude.