Chris Froome confirmed for Vuelta a España roster

bikeboy76 wrote:

What is he risking? Coming second for the third time? A suspicious hematocrit level *cough* I mean a World TT Bronze? Greatness by doing a double? Next years tour (I doubt it.)

People always wondered why Bjorn Borg didn't play in Australia; it looks like an omission in retrospect. As there are only three Grands Tours in cycling it makes it all the more important he takes his chance whilst he can. You still haven't clarified what is 'at risk.'

injury, burn-out, that sort of thing! Who was the last Tour winner to ride the Vuelta the same year? When you,ve worked that out, who was the last before him? There's a reason for the lack of Tour-winning Vuelta riders - it's not worth the risk!

And you've proved my point with Borg - how many times have I heard any tennis fan go on about Borg's lack of Australian titles? - never!

The only Vuelta cycling fans will still talk about in years to come in relation to Froome is the one which saved his Sky career, when he transformed into a contender!

Must be Mad wrote:

The Vuelta has a rather higher profile than the one week races Froome and Porte raced in the build up to their campaigns at the Giro and Tour. If the risk didn't worry Sky then, why should it now?

....erm, I think the answer to that is obvious!

daddyELVIS wrote:

Must be Mad wrote:

The Vuelta has a rather higher profile than the one week races Froome and Porte raced in the build up to their campaigns at the Giro and Tour. If the risk didn't worry Sky then, why should it now?

....erm, I think the answer to that is obvious!

Again, we are not privy to the inner workings of your mind dE. Just spit it out, there is no need to be coy. I will watch with glee knowing that every Froome spinning attack will bring you exquisite angst which you will not be able to resist venting on an indifferent forum.

bikeboy76 wrote:

daddyELVIS wrote:

Must be Mad wrote:

The Vuelta has a rather higher profile than the one week races Froome and Porte raced in the build up to their campaigns at the Giro and Tour. If the risk didn't worry Sky then, why should it now?

....erm, I think the answer to that is obvious!

Again, we are not privy to the inner workings of your mind dE. Just spit it out, there is no need to be coy. I will watch with glee knowing that every Froome spinning attack will bring you exquisite angst which you will not be able to resist venting on an indifferent forum.

The obvious answer the week-long stage races before the Tour are necessary to build Tour form. Therefore it is a necessary risk since without them the likelihood is you won't win the Tour. To then put the recent Tour champion in the Vuelta is a risk too far in my book!

No strange thinking going on in my mind - quite rational really - what are you getting at?

Must be Mad wrote:

Quote:

- Has major financial penalties in rider contracts if caught doping (2 points)

Should this not be -2 points?

Also, how many points for volunteering to speak to the CIRC?

You are right on both counts...many thanks...

graham_f wrote:

Does anyone know if ITV are showing Vuelta highlights again this year?

I believe so - they mentioned it at the end of their TDF coverage.

Ian Allardyce wrote:

He actually lost time to Quintana in the mountains and had won the tour in those opening day cross-winds. All the haters (and French) seemed to have overlooked that fact.

..and the route looks quite well suited to Quintana (and others) rather than some of the longer drags in the TdF (assuming he stays on and the team works together). Hope he gets the win he deserves and would be interesting to see if TJ can get on the podium too. Stage 11 looks a blinder...

daddyELVIS wrote:

Sky looking to rub salt in the wounds of the other teams! This could back-fire!

What else should they do - ride at 90% and gift the win to gain kudos?

Looking forward to it even more now, IMHO a Froome win is not a foregone conclusion.

Simon E wrote:

daddyELVIS wrote:

Sky looking to rub salt in the wounds of the other teams! This could back-fire!

What else should they do - ride at 90% and gift the win to gain kudos?

Looking forward to it even more now, IMHO a Froome win is not a foregone conclusion.

No, just suggesting that Sky arrogance may be getting the better of them! It's one thing to go for a Giro / Tour double (such a feat holds major kudos), but the Vuelta?? - really?? It ranks nowhere near the Giro or Tour, so why put your TdF star and reigning Champ into that race? When I say 'back-fire', I mean what if Froome gets a major injury racing in a 'nothing' race. If he wins, it is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme, if he doesn't then he was tired from the Tour. Surely this should be a race for an alternative leader so they can test their future options.

Unless he's not the leader for this race, in which case why's he even there?

daddyELVIS wrote:

Simon E wrote:

daddyELVIS wrote:

Sky looking to rub salt in the wounds of the other teams! This could back-fire!

What else should they do - ride at 90% and gift the win to gain kudos?

Looking forward to it even more now, IMHO a Froome win is not a foregone conclusion.

No, just suggesting that Sky arrogance may be getting the better of them!

Come on, come on.. I know you have a 'thing' about Sky but don't you think you might, juuuust possibly, be over-egging things a bit ? I know we can't go back and see what would have happened, but it's possible that barring a couple of team cock-ups on the flat for Movistar we could be talking about them putting the TdF winner in the race... would you be saying their "arrogance may be getting the better of them" ? I'd hope not - they're racing teams doing what racing teams do, and the higher the quality of rider the better, surely ?

daddyELVIS wrote:

It's one thing to go for a Giro / Tour double (such a feat holds major kudos), but the Vuelta?? - really?? It ranks nowhere near the Giro or Tour, so why put your TdF star and reigning Champ into that race?

That's a bit harsh on the Vuelta IMO, each to their own however, but as for not being major kudos to do the Tour and the Vuelta double ?... respectfully, bollocks Sir.

fukawitribe wrote:

daddyELVIS wrote:

Simon E wrote:

daddyELVIS wrote:

Sky looking to rub salt in the wounds of the other teams! This could back-fire!

What else should they do - ride at 90% and gift the win to gain kudos?

Looking forward to it even more now, IMHO a Froome win is not a foregone conclusion.

No, just suggesting that Sky arrogance may be getting the better of them!

Come on, come on.. I know you have a 'thing' about Sky but don't you think you might, juuuust possibly, be over-egging things a bit ? I know we can't go back and see what would have happened, but it's possible that barring a couple of team cock-ups on the flat for Movistar we could be talking about them putting the TdF winner in the race... would you be saying their "arrogance may be getting the better of them" ? I'd hope not - they're racing teams doing what racing teams do, and the higher the quality of rider the better, surely ?

daddyELVIS wrote:

It's one thing to go for a Giro / Tour double (such a feat holds major kudos), but the Vuelta?? - really?? It ranks nowhere near the Giro or Tour, so why put your TdF star and reigning Champ into that race?

That's a bit harsh on the Vuelta IMO, each to their own however, but as for not being major kudos to do the Tour and the Vuelta double ?... respectfully, bollocks Sir.

If Quintana had won the Tour, - reckon Valverde would lead team in Vuelta (also, too much emphasis has been put on the Movista errors on flat stage - the almost alien Sky performance on first real mountain stage has been conveniently forgotten about!)

If Froome wins Vuelta, ironically it'll hardly even register in the UK!

daddyELVIS wrote:

fukawitribe wrote:

daddyELVIS wrote:

Simon E wrote:

daddyELVIS wrote:

Sky looking to rub salt in the wounds of the other teams! This could back-fire!

What else should they do - ride at 90% and gift the win to gain kudos?

Looking forward to it even more now, IMHO a Froome win is not a foregone conclusion.

No, just suggesting that Sky arrogance may be getting the better of them!

Come on, come on.. I know you have a 'thing' about Sky but don't you think you might, juuuust possibly, be over-egging things a bit ? I know we can't go back and see what would have happened, but it's possible that barring a couple of team cock-ups on the flat for Movistar we could be talking about them putting the TdF winner in the race... would you be saying their "arrogance may be getting the better of them" ? I'd hope not - they're racing teams doing what racing teams do, and the higher the quality of rider the better, surely ?

daddyELVIS wrote:

It's one thing to go for a Giro / Tour double (such a feat holds major kudos), but the Vuelta?? - really?? It ranks nowhere near the Giro or Tour, so why put your TdF star and reigning Champ into that race?

That's a bit harsh on the Vuelta IMO, each to their own however, but as for not being major kudos to do the Tour and the Vuelta double ?... respectfully, bollocks Sir.

If Quintana had won the Tour, - reckon Valverde would lead team in Vuelta

We'll never know, not sure what would stop Movistar wanting to put Quintana in if he had finished those 3 weeks some 73 seconds faster ? (they seem to value the race somewhat higher than you).. and the fact that they're putting the 2nd and 3rd placed finishers of the Tour in La Vuelta is fine, whilst the team putting forward the person just ahead of them is arrogant ? There's some weird logic going on there...

daddyELVIS wrote:

(also, too much emphasis has been put on the Movista errors on flat stage - the almost alien Sky performance on first real mountain stage has been conveniently forgotten about!)

Firstly, go and look at the numbers from the first week - Quintana was over a minute and a half down by the end of stage 2. Secondly nothing has been forgotten, the numbers have been chewed, opinion debated, experts consulted and nothing we've seen suggested that the performance was anything like reported initially nor 'almost alien'. Quintana was isolated and double-teamed and yet only lost a minute.

A fair chunk of the commentary I saw also seemed to be that some teams had a shit day rather than Sky doing anything ridiculous.

.. but we've been here before and it's all been discussed ad nauseum in these very pages and has very little to do with La Vuelta.

daddyELVIS wrote:

If Froome wins Vuelta, ironically it'll hardly even register in the UK!

I'd doubt that myself, perhaps we'll find out although personally i'd much rather Quintana took it...

Don't rule out the Astana boys - they'll be up for the Vuelta! In fact,I'd quite like a Nibali win - love the way he races!

daddyELVIS wrote:

Don't rule out the Astana boys - they'll be up for the Vuelta! In fact,I'd quite like a Nibali win - love the way he races!

..i'd also like to see TJ up on the podium and enjoy watching Purito race, so i'm looking forward to it myself - even if it doesn't amount to a hill of beans

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to it - always enjoy the Vuelta (seems to encourage more free and open racing compared to the other GT's). I'm just questioning Sky's thinking in putting Froome in the race!

The Vuelta stage in 2013 where Tony Martin was caught on the line, after being on a solo break-away for the whole distance, is still one of my favourite GT stages of all time!

Also loved Contador's surprise attack in 2012, that took the Red Jersey off Rodriguez!

Bring it on!

dafyddp wrote:

Should be great. I love the Tour's unashamed pomp - the tradition and dark history; but the Vuelta is pure last-man-standing stuff. Competitors that have already done the Tour are clearly damaged, so the drive to win must come from somewhere so much deaper. Not sure either will, but I hope Valverde and Contador are up for it too.

Not sure what Movistar are playing at- surely it would have been better to play Quintana in the TdF and Valverde in the Vuelta. If Quintana was going to win the TdF should have been able to do it without an uber-domestique and what is the point in Valverde slogging round France for 3 weeks to come second at best?