La Vuelta a España 2023

[OVERDRIVE]

Rain, and many not wishing Jumbo well. 

[Rowl]

Lekker DSM for the win, poor conditions for a TTT.

[Meezo]

Remco again proving why we "love" him so much

[Koos Likkewaan 2]

2 minutes ago, Meezo said:

Remco again proving why we "love" him so much

Glad DSM won, but this time I have to agree with Remco. Damn, never thought I would say that.🙈

[babse]

Only caught highlights now... I understand can't do anything about the weather but wtf were they riding at night? 

[Zebra]

9 hours ago, babse said:

Only caught highlights now... I understand can't do anything about the weather but wtf were they riding at night? 

Agreed; the numerous reflected light sources from the wet roads, followed by sections of darkness and then back into partial light, it should surely have been brought forward by 1 hour to SOMEWHAT equalise the VERY different starting conditions…

Usually, you cannot accurately predict rain nor wid variances, but DARKNESS happens at a given time every day - SEEMS not well thought though?

Felt for anyone in a visor, with rain on it, in that reflected light, not fun.

Edited August 27, 2023 by Zebra

[Gr3mlin131]

10 hours ago, babse said:

Only caught highlights now... I understand can't do anything about the weather but wtf were they riding at night? 

They said in the commentary that on Friday it was still bright out till after Quickstep were set to finish. The cloud cover must have made it much more dark than usual. 

But with the horrible conditions, glad there were not withdrawals, hopefully no DNS either today.

[peepeekaitjie]

49 minutes ago, Gr3mlin131 said:

hopefully no DNS either today

De Plus (Ineos) DNF yesterday 

[Gr3mlin131]

45 minutes ago, peepeekaitjie said:

De Plus (Ineos) DNF yesterday 

Nothing on the official site yet, but on procyclingstats and highlights it does say he DNF. 

['Dale]

I can understand that deals are made with the city of Barcelona who hosts millions of tourists in the summer break and that road closure could not be easily adjusted for better light. The TTT started in reasonable conditions, however, no one expected the heavy rain clouds and poor light as a result of it. Most of the Mediterranean have been exposed to a heat wave for the last few weeks. 

Cycling is one of the few sports that is so affected by Mother Nature and the weather gods. Not easy to manage. The only real option at the time was to neutralise the TTT. And somehow the organisers did not. 

Team Jayco AlUla went down like a house of cards. Surprisingly, they were using rim brake TT machines as the disc brake version is yet to arrive. Jonas punctured and the team in yellow lost some seconds and, more importantly, came through safely. Ineos will miss one of their most powerful domestiques. Remco is correct with his statements. 

Pic: @Getty Sport Images

Edited August 27, 2023 by 'Dale

[OVERDRIVE]

At Seattle Coffee this morning, I overheard a convo amongst some of the other gents who said the UCI is responsible for organisation, and the health and benefit of the riders. They do not deal in weather. F1, MotoGP, WSBK will red flag, and stop races when the health and safety of the participants is at risk.
 

This gent said, not moving the time up was suicidal, but getting the town council to start earlier was impossible, as well as that is the time the Vuelta runs (is this true?). And this is only news because a “favourite” has been left dark in the rain. Had it been Joe Soap nobody would have cared and champagne would have been flowing (assuming the bottle opened). And, professionals get paid to do a job, hence soccer players will play in -3 degrees. That’s the downside of being a millionaire.

This has me thinking. 
 

Is this (elderly) gentleman confused? Why would the UCI risk one of their prized assets? Is this “unfair”? Why Neutralize as other were lucky to get the better weather due to their start time? The group before Remco also left in the same conditions? 
 

Back to my (second) coffee. 

[babse]

40 minutes ago, 'Dale said:

I can understand that deals are made with the city of Barcelona who hosts millions of tourists in the summer break and that road closure could not be easily adjusted for better light. The TTT started in reasonable conditions, however, no one expected the heavy rain clouds and poor light as a result of it. Most of the Mediterranean have been exposed to a heat wave for the last few weeks. 

Cycling is one of the few sports that is so affected by Mother Nature and the weather gods. Not easy to manage. The only real option at the time was to neutralise the TTT. And somehow the organisers did not. 

Team Jayco AlUla went down like a house of cards. Surprisingly, they were using rim brake TT machines as the disc brake version is yet to arrive. Jonas punctured and the team in yellow lost some seconds and, more importantly, came through safely. Ineos will miss one of their most powerful domestiques. Remco is correct with his statements. 

Pic: @Getty Sport Images

Jaaa I hear you but nope I'm not convinced. 

Race of this magnitude has to have power to make adjustments in schedule with 24-48hrs. 

This forecast was on the cards, surely. Thankfully nothing serious happened but that was crazy dangerous. *Still don't agree with Remco with flippin his tool at the camera.

 

Looking forward to some good racing now...

['Dale]

1 hour ago, babse said:

Jaaa I hear you but nope I'm not convinced. 

Race of this magnitude has to have power to make adjustments in schedule with 24-48hrs. 

This forecast was on the cards, surely. Thankfully nothing serious happened but that was crazy dangerous. *Still don't agree with Remco with flippin his tool at the camera.

 

Looking forward to some good racing now...

Ja nee, ek verstaan. Not easy.

Better race event management today as the storm persists. GC classification to be taken from 9 kms out before the town circuit. Earlier it was 3 kms from the finish. Blown over fences at the finish, lots of standing water on the course, 15 punctures on a descent earlier on in the course, including Geraint Thomas and the Belgian jersey.

After a heatwave of several weeks, it is not just rainy, but also cold.

This morning I went out in 5 degrees. Tomorrow will be a max of 28, followed by max 30 on Tuesday. Yoh!

[OVERDRIVE]

5 hours ago, OVERDRIVE said:

At Seattle Coffee this morning, I overheard a convo amongst some of the other gents who said the UCI is responsible for organisation, and the health and benefit of the riders. They do not deal in weather. F1, MotoGP, WSBK will red flag, and stop races when the health and safety of the participants is at risk.
 

This gent said, not moving the time up was suicidal, but getting the town council to start earlier was impossible, as well as that is the time the Vuelta runs (is this true?). And this is only news because a “favourite” has been left dark in the rain. Had it been Joe Soap nobody would have cared and champagne would have been flowing (assuming the bottle opened). And, professionals get paid to do a job, hence soccer players will play in -3 degrees. That’s the downside of being a millionaire.

This has me thinking. 
 

Is this (elderly) gentleman confused? Why would the UCI risk one of their prized assets? Is this “unfair”? Why Neutralize as other were lucky to get the better weather due to their start time? The group before Remco also left in the same conditions? 
 

Back to my (second) coffee. 

Not being funny but this really doesn’t sound like a safety issue, more like “I wanted to go earlier so I could p*** them” 🤣

[OVERDRIVE]

https://twitter.com/lavuelta/status/1695814575717839254?s=46&t=5H8qskG4N05vXnmexUONXQ

[MongooseMan]

translation:

”Confusion to know the order of passage at the bonus point. The race commissioner asks fans if they have recorded the arrival of the cyclists. ”

😂🙈