Platinum blond Frankie VDB goes deep in the Spanish desert.
The Vuelta is my least favorite Grand Tour. I say this every year, I know. And every year, circumstances make it look an awful lot like I could be wrong about that. Circumstances like, for instance, the fact that the GC almost always comes down to a nail-biting final few days, or someone comes from far down the classification to upset the standings on a transition stage, like Contador did a few years back.
Still, there is no denying that it has the least prestige of the three Grand Tours; any rider who has won the Tour de France would have no trouble finding a contract for years to come, and the same goes for the Giro to a lesser extent. Yet, I can think of two Vuelta winners – if not three – in the last decade who were without a contract the following year or were forced to resign themselves to racing on a lower-ranked team.
I blame my dislike for the Vuelta on Spain’s geography; those rains in Spain that fall mainly in the plains are also the plains in Spain that host stages on roads so flat and straight that you get the idea half the peloton would be happy to wrap a bungee cord around their handlebars and take a nap. Yet, some of the most brutal climbs are found along its parcours and those brutal climbs make for some wildly fantastic racing.
So I’m not saying I’m changing my mind about the Vuelta, but it can’t be worse than the Tour was this year.
Anyway, don’t mind this grumpy old man; prognosticate on the start list, get your picks in, sit back, and enjoy the racing. Good luck!
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Four out of five & none in the correct place. Standard.
Can't even remember my picks. Fairly nonplussed with the top two, but thrilled that Chaves got third. I watch the Orica "behind-the-scenes" stuff and he seems like a really nice guy. Great smile, great attitude.
Great Vuelta for Orica and a bit of a stealthy ride by Talansky with 5th place overall. Hopefully a sign of things to come now that TJvG seems to be emerging as a super-domestique/stage hunter rather than a GC man.
True to form, Quintana transformed himself into the red turd for the final stage to match his pink turd showing from his recent Giro win. The thought of him winning the Tour is too ghastly to contemplate.
Interesting comments by Farrar the other day regarding how hard the race is/was. On one hand, the organizers want a great race with amazing stages that make for dramatic viewing on TV. On the other hand, at some point you drive the peloton to the point of destruction. There's a reason there used to be pure "transition" stages, and a reason why having a patron like Hinault was necessary - it stopped the race from ripping itself to shreds. It's a balancing act for sure.
Oh, I just saw my picks. 3 of 5 and only Bertie in the right spot.
@Randy C
Um, hello?
@DVMR
Not a fan. Of both the bike with yellow fade, stem and tires and of the dude on it.
@Randy C
Get out.
(That was just a joke)
I've got that jersey, bibs, socks, mitts and even the bandana - if I didn't have a full head of hair and weigh two Pantanis I would be his identical double.
@DVMR
Damn - every now and again that bike gets posted and reminds me that I stupidly sold one of those before I saw the light.
@Oli
I think that should be the new, official weight measurement for Velominati. How many Pantanis do you weigh? I'm likely about one-and-a half.