La Vuelta (Tour of Spain) and The Tour of Britain

[Pan]

Taking a leaf out of my new biking hero Sylvan Chavanel, it seemed a good idea to lead from the front.
Vuelta starts this Saturday, and many of the usual suspects will be in there. The course looks quite climby, so Team Sky have opted for their Columbian rider Sergio Henoa Montoya as leader, tho' an old warrior will be the sprint king.
Useful links are:
A course guide
and
The Start List by Team
As far as I can tell, Eurosport are carrying live action and ITV4 are showing highlights, tho I think that may well be from the action the day before.
The Tour of Britain starts the day the Vuelta ends, 15th September.

Sooo, if you like most things in lycra and whizzing along a road, this is the place for you. As NicholasTeacozy reckons, it's like chess on hundreds of wheels. If you're intrigued but don't know your peloton from your domestique, drop in and someone will no doubt help out.

I am not sure that Waitrose provides the same kind of steak that Sr Contador is supplied with...

HowGood

Oh dear, Eddie beaten into second again...

it's odd isn't it how he was really well placed, and they end up looking at each other whilst Balker Mollimer (sp.) just gets on with it.

I know! They were so busy looking at each other they didn't see Mollema get away, and by the time they'd cottoned on it was all too late.

Today could see where the red jersey eventually ends up. The final climb is up a 1 in 5 hill which will suit Horner and Purito. Unless Nibali has had extra sauce with his steak I expect him to tail off and he may drop as low as 3rd in the standings.

If Horner is riding pan y agua then he's doing a remarkable job.

Yesterday I was shouting at the tv "look, he's gone, aren't you going to chase him?"

My thoughts on The Secret Race

"If Horner is riding pan y agua then he's doing a remarkable job."

Hmm.. this was the subject of much debate last night chez How. DH is convinced that Horner is - ahem - assisted. Horner is only one year younger than DH who is therefore convinced something is up. DH will allow a rider of that age to be a super-domestique (love you Jens) but is very about a GC contender. ANd when you think about the pressure he must be under with no contract next year and having been injured most of the season, you can see that there would be every reason for him to be desperate enough...

I thought it quite a flat stage yesterday - they are all so tired and if it isn't an absolute b**tard of a stage, it seems a bit odd now in this Vuelta of Pain. Poor Eddie Bo is always the bridesmaid and never the bride, isn't he.

Nicholas Teakozy I felt that way about the Secret Race and I also read David Millar's autobiography at the same time. It made me think long and hard about how such talented yet very young men were effectively thrown to the wolves in those days - and perhaps still are. WHo knows? I think Brad was fortunate to have started in the SPorts under the care of the Track team before heading into road racing.

I would also be surprised if he is pan y agua too. He is out of Armstrong's stable and we all know that the understanding of rights and wrongs there are a teeny bit skewed. Plus as you say he is getting older and he is desperate for a contract, you can almost hear the excuses he is using to himself to justify everything. Or he is a talented cyclist who has had a bad year and is pulling it out of the bag in desperation. I await the testing .

Missed a bit this week, new puppy and somehow ended up coaching an under 8's football team (If DS3 doesn't treat me well when he is an adult I will be bringing this up with him). Going to try and watch it live today, I hear that Jens himself will be doing commentary .

I am at all of these ageist comments about my climb riding style guru!
Yes, it did occur to me but I am an eternal naive optimist....

pan y agua - very proud.

Hmmmm...pan y agua? I am an eternal optimist and lover of the sport but it is looking a tad suspect, non?
So desperate for Eddie BH to win - he has been in contention but nothin in for too long.
Re cycling - I'm getting back on my bike, slowly, now the kids are not so full on - we have joined dh's club so I will soon have to start justifying my membership. A tad tempted by the velodrome ATM as dh has been hit twice hard by cars and I'm pretty nervy on the road as a result if I'm honest.

Would anyone know what the red jersey protocol is on the final stage in Madrid? Is it 'okay' to attack the holder, IF the time difference is really small?

I wonder if it is the same for all tours. When I was first starting out watching cycling I was asking a more knowledgeable friend about the last day of the TdF and she turned to me in all seriousness and said 'nobody attacks yellow in Paris' for some reason this pleased me very much then and now . It would make a great film title.

Do they award time bonuses on the last day? If they do, then surely if it is still close, they can't expect the contender(s) not to attack.

Jens commentary!

He's put off retirement for one more year.

oh @Jensie (try it!) Gary Imlach's script writers and Jensie (who def. doesn't have any need of a script writer) on the same show!.

Nobody Attacks Yellow In Paris - an installment of the Pink Panther franchise.
The Red Jersey Protocol - a Robert Ludlum-scripted spy thriller.

There is, of course, every chance Horner is riding clean. La Vuelta is after all his only Grand Tour of the year so his legs are at least 6000 km fresher than the other contenders. I'd really love him to overhaul Nibali and get the win, he's got two uphill finishes before the roll into Madrid on Sunday.

What I have noticed is the top two hardly ever chase down breakaways or cover them. They seem to prefer to keep up a high average speed which deters other contenders from nipping ahead, then they somehow ramp up the speed in the final 10k. If Valverde, Rodriguez or Roche have designs on Red then they have to change their tactics, and they only have two days left. With uphill finishes over the next two stages my money's on Horner. And fair play (ha!) to him, he's an engaging chap as well as being a great climber.

You know I reckon the Pink Panther would be quite handy in the mountains

Really? I find him disingenuous. All that "I have no idea about the route tomorrow. I just know it'll be tough" and then post-race "Well, the last 75m wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated. I should have given it a bit more on the bit where the climb flattened out slightly." Mmm.. that is really not knowing the route, isn't it...

Anyone else noticed Gary Imlach's jazz hands when asking a question? The white tv studio background is well placed to emphasise them.

Just wondering is anyone going to be watching the Tour of Britain in person rather than on tv?

There was a mini meet up to watch the Olympic time trial. . .if anyone remembers the ode? I was thinking of going to the time trial next tues.

Pan DH and I often remark on Imlach's Jazz hands. Love his dry sense of humour.

Tempted to try and get to Caerphilly Mountain on Thursday but I'd have to take all three children out of school. Mind you their uncle is in hospital not far from there, I could take the children out of school to visit him and accidentally park near Caerphilly Mountain on the way home...

Good plan Lost. The tour will be going nearish to DS's school on Wed and they are going to stand by the roadside. I've got to decide whether to stand with them or go to the finish in Llanberis or at Pen Y Pass the final climb up Snowdon. How do you work out the best place to be??

I would take DS with me of course.