2011 Vuelta a España



steve

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Aug 12, 2001
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2011 Vuelta a España
First held in 1935 and annually since 1955, the Vuelta runs for three weeks in a changing route across Spain. The inaugural event (1935) saw 50 entrants face a 3,411 km (2,119 mi.) course over only 14 stages, averaging over 240 km (149 mi.) per stage. It was inspired by the success of the Tours in France and Italy, and the boost they brought to the circulations of their sponsoring newspapers (L'Auto and La Gazzetta dello Sport respectively); Juan Pujol of the daily Informaciones instigated the race to increase its circulation.

The 2011 Vuelta a España will be held from August 20 to September 11. The race will begin in Benidorm and ends, as is traditional, in Madrid. The 2011 Vuelta will be the 66th edition of the race.
 
STAGE 1 - Benidorm Benidorm: 13,5 km One week earlier than in previous years and the incomparable backdrop of Benidorm's Playa de Poniente (West Beach in English) as the setting, 20 August 2011 will see the start the 66th edition of the Vuelta a España. A team time trial will be the first test for participants as the race returns to Spain's Manhattan after a 12-year absence.

This will be the third time that Benidorm hosts La Vuelta; the first was in 1964 and the second in 1987, which was also a time trial. On this occasion, a very technical 16 K circuit leaving from the beach will test the coordination of the teams.
Stage 1 Map
Stage 1 Profile .
 
going to place my bets on igor anton for the overall win. nibali to take second step. third will be wiggins or menchov. can't seem to pick one over the other.
 
I dunno.

Guys like Denis Menchov will be in contention, as will someone like Kloden.

Riders like Fugslang will feature in top 10 on GC, I reckon.
 
I'd rate Nibali, Rodriguez, Anton, Menchov and Scarponi as first echelon of podium contenders.

Wiggins, Kloden, Brajkovic and Fuglsang could end well thanks to that TT in the middle of the race... It could serve them as tactical advantage, but I'm not sure if they'll be able to match the five above in the mountains. Tony Martin should have been in this group, but his result in TTT and mountainous nature of the race are too much to handle after the Tour.

My impression is that guys who abandoned the Tour are primary riding Vuelta to get a GT in their legs. If result comes - that better.
Having said that, I don't see Van Den Broeck having notable race. His injury was really unpleasant and he doesn't have tactical advantage in TT.

Roche, Taaramae, Kruijswijk, Sorensen could have good race.
 
Watching stage 2 live and the weather looks to be boiling today.

Breeze will be a factor though.
 
well, that didn't take too long. menchov drops a bucket load of time yesterday. anton drops the ball today. so much for my picks. looks like sagan was bleeding time to make his chances of being left alone in breaks better as he goes hunting for stage victories.

sad, but i really did hope for euskie to take a g.t.
 
The Vuelta's first weekend will see some pretty nasty climbs, including today's final cat 3 that hits 28%. I think Rodriguez will make it his second victory, unless a break stays clear.
 
Nice climb to La Covatilla tomorrow... Combined.
First 10 kilometers not so steep, ideal for stronger teams to set sharp tempo. And then, 8 kilometers on 8,5 % (first four of these eight on 10 %).
Liquigas could use their strength, but I'm not sure they will... Nibali has TT to gain time on Rodriguez.
Katusha rode well so far too. Now, they have the jersey to protect and would be useful to gain some time before TT.

I hope it will be interesting, although there will be more riders waiting for TT, than those willing to attack tomorrow.
 
Originally Posted by Andrija .

Nice climb to La Covatilla tomorrow... Combined.
First 10 kilometers not so steep, ideal for stronger teams to set sharp tempo. And then, 8 kilometers on 8,5 % (first four of these eight on 10 %).
Liquigas could use their strength, but I'm not sure they will... Nibali has TT to gain time on Rodriguez.
Katusha rode well so far too. Now, they have the jersey to protect and would be useful to gain some time before TT.

I hope it will be interesting, although there will be more riders waiting for TT, than those willing to attack tomorrow.
Katusha riders sitting at 1 and 2 in the GC gives them some tactical advantages to go on the offensive tomorrow. Taking into account Rodgriguez's TT last year he may need to attack every time there is a mountain top finish. Nibali looked pretty tired today finishing 32 seconds behind Rodriguez. I expected a gap between the two, but not by that margin. I think riders like Scarponi, the Katusha boys and Van Den Broeck may try some serious attacks tomorrow to see how the Italian is faring. All look pretty strong thus far.
 
Originally Posted by pennstater .




Katusha riders sitting at 1 and 2 in the GC gives them some tactical advantages to go on the offensive tomorrow. Taking into account Rodgriguez's TT last year he may need to attack every time there is a mountain top finish. Nibali looked pretty tired today finishing 32 seconds behind Rodriguez. I expected a gap between the two, but not by that margin. I think riders like Scarponi, the Katusha boys and Van Den Broeck may try some serious attacks tomorrow to see how the Italian is faring. All look pretty strong thus far.
Yes.
These are the guys who should try something tomorrow. Others will ride defensively, I think.
Lampre looked good today too.
 
Wiggins looks set to take the leaders jersey in the TT. I'm not sure any of the riders in front of him on GC can keep pace enough to stay ahead of him in the overall during tomorrows stage. Zubeldia and Nibali are in pretty nice positions as well. They can each produce a pretty decent time trial. I'm not sure how some of the other riders like Dan Martin and Fredrick Kessiakoff time trial. Perhaps they will be a surprise.
 
hello! I like to travel.My impression is that guys who abandoned the Tour are primary riding Vuelta to get a GT in their legs. If result comes - that better.
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It will be interesting to see if Wiggins can win this race overall. He's only 55 seconds behind Cobo after stage 16.
Froom is ahead of Wiggins in second place.
 
Stage 17.... wow! That might have been the most exciting stage in any GT of 2011 and it all happened in the final 2k. Froome's attack was just incredible, and I thought he had the jersey when he dropped Cobo. But what a comeback from the Geox rider to not only make it back to Froome, but to almost win the stage. With only 13 seconds seperating them and no more summit finishes, Froome may have to get creative and hope to catch Cobo off guard to pick up some time bonuses. Should make for some interesting stages coming up. I thought the battle for the overall would be just about wrapped up by the end of stage 17.
 
Yes....I agree. Very exciting finish and a great job by both those guys. I thought Cobo was done for and he made a great recovery.

I bet they were suffering hugely by the time they crossed the line.
 
I've been watching but generally haven't gotten too involved in the Vuelta but today's stage was ****ing EPIC. Great stuff.
 
Originally Posted by Yojimbo_ .


I bet they were suffering hugely by the time they crossed the line.
The bit I watched showed a clip of Froome recovering after crossing the line next to the trailer...basically, I was surprised he didn't puke on anyone. Totally gassed.
 
Froome's doing a great ride as is Bradley Wiggins. Apart from that slight wobble on the Angliru, Wiggins has ridden really strongly throughout.

It's been an enthralling Vuelta.