Managed to stay awake to see Castrillo win the stage and Ben to come in with the Peleton.
Helped by some stunning natural scenery of Galicia.
3 Likes
Perhaps the hardest ârampasâ to finish a stage at this yearâs Vuelta tonight. OâConnor likely to drop a bit of time Iâd expect.
1 Like
Not sure if Spainâs incompetent barriers on mountain roads were a good thing in this very particular case.
Yikes.
GROVES ENFORCES AUSSIE RULES
LA VUELTA 2024 | STAGE 14 | VILLAFRANCA DEL BIERZO > VILLABLINO
Kaden Groves (Alpecin Deceuninck) survived many climbs, again on stage 14, to take his second win in La Vuelta 24, on Saturday in Villablino. Two weeks after he powered to victory in Ourem (stage 2), the Australian star went over the longest climb of this edition - the 22.7km Puerto de Leitariegos, summited with 16.5km to go - to sprint for victory. It was a tight battle against an unleashed Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) but Groves narrowly edged his Belgian rival, who was hunting a fourth stage win in this edition. Ben OâConnor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) made it safely over the summits of the day to retain La Roja on the eve of a gruelling finish at Cuitu Negru.
2 Likes
Groves climbs exceptionally well for a climber. I wonder about him renewing at Alpecin as how will he get to ride the TDF.
The mens ITT at the Olympics. We know that Plapp was down 4 seconds at the halfway mark of the ITT, and apparently he was down by 2 seconds a km later and then he crashed. he was on for a medal.
Jayco sign Bob Donaldson of the UK. Very much a classics style rider who was 2nd in PR. if he is up to the level, then he could nearly be Jaycoâs best Classics rider. The late signing, also suggests someone is leaving the team.
3 Likes
Isnât he just replacing that rider (AndrĂ© Drege) they signed that got killed in that tragic accident?
OâConnor still has a 43 second lead on Roglic after the worst climb of La Vuelta.
1 Like
Actually he has 1 minute and 3 seconds after Roglic gets cops a 20 second penalty for drafting his team car.
Not sure thatâs the worst climb at the Vuelta. The Cavadonga next up after the rest day is legendary in its difficulty.
2 Likes
Booooooooo.
Though I thought today might be enough to lose the lead, and it wasnât.
After the bike swap?
I wonder if they would think differently if it was a mechanical?
Yes. Generally they allow a bit of tolerance, but the swap wasnât done for mechanical reasons I understand, it was for a lighter bike?
2 Likes
Yes, he had a dinner plate in use at the rear.
1 Like
Suspect if he really did have a mechanical, he wouldnât have got the penalty.
I think he did two bike changes, one for a special gradient on the climb, then he went back to the original bike.
It was so misty towards the finish it was hard viewing.
I suspect that Ewan is gone. He has three options - Stay with no confidence from the team, join Astana or retire. Itâs been a tough year for the team and its leading riders. Youâve had Ewan under-performing, lacking grit in the finals of races, and losing the faith of management and riders, then you have Matthews suffering from a crisis of confidence which has affected his performances. Then you have riders such as Oâbrien who have not developed at all, while Harper has not been the same after crashing at the Tour of the Alps and Dauphine. Despite, 22 wins this year, so far, the team has underperformed to my expectations. I doubt that the riders recruited for 2025 will turn the needle much. Will say that neo-proâs De Pretto and Foldager have been impressive and hopefully will continue to develop in 2025.
Vuelta - The team has performed reasonably well so far. Schmid has surprised me with how well he is climbing and could still win a stage. Dunbar is going good, however, the team wants him to stay in GC, which could make it hard to get in a break. Zana has been OK and can feature this week. Scotson has struggled with the level of the race, while DeMarcheâs form is OK, except he canât get into a break, while Englehardt is riding well but is not ideally suited by the parcours. Harper and Berhe are out of the race. I would not take the latter to another GT in the near-future. The GC is still wide open. OâConnor is fading, while riders like Roglic, Mas are not dominant. I suspect Roglic is lacking base after his injuries, hence, why he is struggling on longer climbs. Finally, its great to see VWA doing his thing at the Vuelta. One can only hope he rides the Giro and Vuelta in 2025.
1 Like
No brownie points for Groves?
The mythical Cavadonga tonight.
Roglic has done so well here before. Last raced in 2021, Roglic won by over a minute and a half.
He was probably in better form then, but the field was also stronger.
1 Like
Oh no, WVA badly injured, abandons
Itâs sad to see such a classy rider who has been the best performer in the race, crash out, through no fault of his own.
1 Like
Ben hangs on by 5 seconds
2 Likes