Mike

with all of the bad press regarding doping i'm not sure anyone will continue to follow pro cycling. if you're interested in the vuelta post it in here.

predictions? i'm pulling for tommy d and vino. hopefully disco can pull it together and win a grand tour this year.

astro

If I'm not in it, I don't care

Mike

riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight

let's see if Valverde can stay upright long enough to win.

SodaLuvr

West6MT

I wish I could afford a new bike right now.

That is my contribution.

Mike

i've got a 55cm 99 lemond zurich for sale. how tall are you?

Mike

Hincapie's second place trophy ends up in Zwolle


Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports that George Hincapie's trophy that he received for finishing second in the Eneco Tour has ended up in a bar in Zwolle, The Netherlands. Bar owner Theo Dragt got the trophy from Willem Boverhof, a Zwolse journalist who happened to be parked near the Discovery Channel team in Ans after the final stage.

After what happened in the final sprint, where Hincapie saw his chances of victory disappear after a spectator pushed Stefan Schumacher into the American's front wheel, one of Discovery's soigneurs was thinking of throwing the trophy out of the bus on the way home. Boverhof 'rescued' it from an ignominious fate, and it is now ensconced in a bar in Zwolle.


Azevedo to leave Discovery

mamboking

I need help! I will be riding 150 miles in mid-Sept and I have never been on my bike for more than 3 hours. How much water should I drink and how often, so I don't dehydrate and get cramps. Also, it is just not water but also a sodium balance. Do I eat a power gel every hour or so??

astro

IMO, don't eat any powergels unless you're completely spent and just have nothing left inside of ya!

try to drink at least 1, but better to keep it at 2 bottles/hour. I usually drink 2 bottles of water, to 1 bottle of powerade.

eat a huge carb meal the night before to load up as well.

What is your expected ride time for 150 miles? I did a 152mile ride and it was almost 8 hours of pedalling, which is close to a 19MPH avg.

mamboking

It will probably be around 8 1/2.

astro

what is your typical ride avg speed?

Mike

eat 1 cliff bar and a powergel about once an hour. You should also drink @ least 16 ounces of water per hour if not more. if it's really hot your body can process up to 30 ounces of water per hour. you should never be hungry during the ride. if there are rest stops get some fruit and orange juice. OJ has more potassium etc than bananas do.
i've used gu energy gel and powerbar gel. both taste good and come in multiple flavors. the powerbar gels also have choices in caffeine; either 0, 1x or 2x. it's a good idea to carry something that will have some caffeine for later in the ride. the gels also incorporate eletrolytes.
as far as the powerade goes i wouldn't drink it. first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup which is a highly refined, artificial product. It is created through an intricate process that transforms cornstarch into a thick, clear liquid. gatorade makes a product that utilizes sucrose which is a better choice. lots more info if you google.


http://velonews.com/train/articles/8266.0.html

lastly, if you haven't been training for at least a couple of months to get a solid base in you're going to be hurting. By this point you should have ridden at least one 100 mile ride and one 120 mile ride ~10 days b4 the ride. what's your weekly base mileage?

mamboking

20 mph.



150 miles.


I have been doing alot of mountain biking, but just like 1 1/2 months ago started on my Road bike. I have done 75 miles thus far but not 100 miles. I felt fine after it but I never pulled in my group.

Beelzebub

Valverde is my guess.

He is probably still pissed about the TDF

Mike

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006/vuelta06/

Mike

waiting for the 5th stage....

Stage 5 - August 30: Plasencia - Estación de Esquí La Covatilla (Béjar), 178 km

The first mountainous stage of the Vuelta comes early in the race and there are three nasty climbs on the day's parcours. The two previous times that the Vuelta has visited the ski resort of Covatilla has been in the last week, so this will shake up the GC early in the race. The peloton will have to negotiate the first category Piornal and Honduras before the 12 percent slopes of the Covatilla. Roberto Heras has won here in 2004, so it's one for the pure climbers.

cM3go

I'm usually biking 13-14 MPH on the trail, damn I'm slow

I got a shitty bike though

Mike

my lemond zurich is still for sale

mamboking

Trail, as in "mountain bike" trail??? I can only manage around 12 mph on my mountain bike....

West6MT

Ummmm, 5'9 I think.




Where did this Sports etc section come from???????? When there was talk and argument before about new sections, this is what I was hoping would be made one day.

Mike

great ride today by di luca!

General classification after stage 5

1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 18.37.56
2 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.04
3 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Team 0.18
4 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 0.29
5 José Ange Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.35
6 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.36
7 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.55
8 Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.58
9 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) T-Mobile Team 1.00
10 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.04

astro

big up the Bianchi!

Mike

hehe

robbie is out

Mike

http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/10788.0.html

dude weighs 115 lbs??

Beelzebub

Damd he looks like a stick

astro

wonder what his power/kg is

astro

man, that little guy sure is ripping it up in Spain!!

Vuelta 06 Results Stage 7
1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 4.01.05 (38.33 km/h)
2 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 0.04
3 José Ange Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.06
4 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.07
5 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
6 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Team 0.12
7 Luis Pérez (Spa) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone 0.16
8 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Team
9 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.23
10 Ruggero Marzoli (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 0.29

Vuelta 06 GC After Stage 7
1 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 26.48.27
2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.05
3 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 0.10
4 José Ange Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.22
5 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Team 0.23
6 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.51
7 Ruggero Marzoli (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 1.17
8 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) T-Mobile Team 1.37
9 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 1.47
10 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.27

Mike

good to see vino get the win after yesterday. tomorrow is going to be a bear

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006...ages/vuelta069

astro

way 2 go Vino!

astro

2 in a row for Vino, who's gonna win today??

astro

Astana with a 3rd win in a row!

CSC worked hard today, I wonder what they'll be feeling tomorrow.

Mike

disco runs away w/the win!

Mike

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006...ges/vuelta0616

another day on the job!

Mike

go vino and tommy d!!

Vino takes the jersey in thriller
Danielson big winner in Granada

Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) has taken the leadership in the Vuelta a España after a brilliant ride in stage 17 to finish second behind American Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel). Danielson was the lone leader when Vino attacked on the Alto de Monachil with around 2 km to the summit to drop Valverde and catch teammate Andrey Kashechkin and Saunier Duval's Jose Angel Gomez Marchante. The three were caught by Valverde on the descent, but Vino powered away again and closed the gap to Danielson with 5 km to go, the pair working together to put 1'39 into Valverde at the finish. That was enough to give Vinokourov gold by 9 seconds, setting things up for another great stage tomorrow.

astro

nice job Tommy D, but wow Vino, what a ride!


Vuelta06St17 - Vino And Tommy A Go Go
Wednesday, September 13, 2006 12:04:48 PM PT

by Gordan Cameron

Can the Grand Tours of 2006 be any more exciting? Today, the once impregnable fortress of Alejandro Valverde finally succumbed to the onslaught of the unbelievably aggressive Alexandre Vinokourov. Vino was a big winner, but none moreso than Tom Danielson who came good on heaps of expectations.


Hell, bike racing is easy when you live by this sacred Eastern philosophy: attack when you can, and damn the consequences. Alexandre Vinokourov took his hammer to the Vuelta field and the man who suffered the most was the fabled Green Bullet, Valverde. Vino' smashed him to rip away the leader's gold jersey with one of the rides of the year.

It was the most dynamic day of racing all year (if we politely discount Landis, Basso and co. until all legal arguments have been put to rest). A tough mountain stage with 3 climbs and a rapid descent to the Granada finish.

In a Tour de France stage like this, most years nothing would have happened - the favourites would have let the break go, they'd sit and watch each other until 2 kms to go and trade a handful of seconds.

Today was verrrrry different.



The break that made it all possible...


Most of the contenders had been forced into action as Tom Danielson jumped into a very early break, and the field was in bits before it even reached the first climb (Alto de Albondon). Sergio Paulinho was policing Tommy D's move for Vino's Astana team.

Danielson got up to 4' 30" clear of Valverde's group so he was never challenging the race lead, but he was looking towards a podium place or top 5, so Astana, CSC and Saunier-Duval were getting twitchy.

Caisse-d' Epargne were rolling smoothly looking after Valverde heading into the final climb, the Alto de Monachil, with 30kms to go. CSC came through to lend a hand with Stuey O'Grady and Nicki Sorensen.



It didn't take long for Tommy D to leave his break-mates behind on the big climb.


A couple of kms into the climb and, up front, Danielson has taken the initiative and attacked the break. Behind, Valverde is looking a bit queasy, struggling as the road steepens to 10%. Kashechkin attacks, Saunier-Duval counters and Valverde is gapped.

Danielson focuses on the task in hand and scrapes out a bigger lead. Behind him, Vino' launches an attack! He roars away on the final pitches of the Alto de Monachil. He's up to Kashechkin in an instant, takes a breather, then off again and soon they pick up Paulinho an Astana triple-whammy for Valverde.



Alejandro Valverde probably thought that all was ok when he went over the top of the final climb with Vino...unfortunately for Valverde, Vino forgot his brakes at home.


Valverde manages to up the pace and claws himself up to the Vino'/Kashechkin group, with Sastre sitting on his wheel as the slope dies away.

It's a brave miscalculation from Valverde, though. Not long after he makes the junction, Vino' launches an all-or-nothing attack on the descent. Like a surgeon, the Kazakh makes the incision swift, decisive and accurate.

Vino' rides like brakes were never invented, hurtling down in pursuit of Danielson (who is doing a great ride), and catches him 5kms out. Tommy D uses his head and tucks in, then works.

The gap is growing behind because Valverde has passengers on his back - Gomez Marchante, Kashechkin, Piepoli, Paulinho. The manic descent has gained Vino' 80 seconds on Valverde.



Well that's a way to answer the doubters - Danielson came good in a big way today on so many expectations that have been heaped upon his little frame over the past few seasons.


Into the final kilometre, the gap keeps growing. Danielson is swapping turns with Vino' but jumps him in the last hundred metres for the stage win - a huge Euro breakthrough for Danielson! Vino' shoots over the line and watches the clock - he grabs the overall lead by 9 seconds!

A fantastic race, and let's just hope that this time we don't get any nasty sting in the tail. Valverde has taken a beating today, but he's only 9 seconds behind Vino' overall. And with Sastre less than two minutes back, Astana and Caisse-d' Epargne better keep their eyes on the ball.



Unbelievable performance from Vino today - the huge question now is: can he defend his lead on tomorrow's super tough finish on La Pandera?


Tomorrow we're back in the mountains for one final mountaintop finish, so keep it PEZ for all the action.


Results For Stage 17
1. Thomas Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, 4:09:55
2. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz), Astana, s.t.
3. Samuel Sánchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 1:10
4. Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz), Astana, at 1:39
5. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, s.t.
6. Stéphane Goubert (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, s.t.
7. Luis Pérez (Sp), Cofidis, s.t.
8. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., s.t.
9. J. Angel Gomez Marchante (Sp), Saunier Duval, s.t.
10. Leonardo Piepoli (I), Saunier Duval, s.t.


GC After 17 Stages
1. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz), Astana, 67:29:41
2. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., at 0:09
3. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, at 1:51
4. Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz), Astana, at 2:14
5. J. Angel Gomez Marchante (Sp), Saunier Duval, at 4:32
6. Thomas Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, at 6:09
7. Manuel Beltran (Sp), Discovery Channel, at 6:33
8. Samuel Sánchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 7:25
9. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., at 7:39
10. Luis Pérez (Sp), Cofidis, at 9:04

Mike

we should rename this thread, "mike and robb swap cycling articles"

Mike

16:28 CEST 134.7km/32km to go
The break and the bunch exits the main drag and heads into Monachil. It's a bit windy here is the four working riders continue to drive it. Danielson is using the hands draped over the tops position a lot, which is usually more efficient than riding on the drops.

Caisse d'Epargne has their six riders on the front, while CSC and Astana are also well represented. The rest of the peloton is sitting in the gutter on the left.

16:31 CEST 135.7km/31km to go
the break is working well too, as it nears the day's second sprint. Danielson and Paulinho are the strongest, but their gap is only 3'17.

16:32 CEST 136.7km/30km to go
The road starts to climb and Danielson eases up and Fofonov comes through for a rare turn. The 40 rider GC group is now led by CSC, with Ljungqvist and O'Grady driving it.

16:35 CEST 137.7km/29km to go
The climb of the Monachil starts, and Millar and Landaluze choose to take it a bit easier and drop off the back. O'Grady hammers on the front, then Sorensen takes over. At the sprint banner, the mini-peloton is just 2'28 behind the leaders.

16:38 CEST 138.7km/28km to go
The gradient steepens to 10-11% and Danielson and Paulinho lead the break. Bak hangs on in third wheel.

In the bunch, it's CSC's Gustov working with Cuesta and Sastre. CSC is really working hard. Vino and Valverde are next, with Valverde suffering a bit on the 12% section. Kashechkin looks a bit better.

16:39 CEST
Now Piepoli comes to the front and tries to lift the pace even more as the Valverde group shreds to pieces on this nasty climb. Kashechkin attacks!

16:41 CEST 139.7km/27km to go
Luis Perez reacts with Piepoli, while Valverde hangs back with Vino. Kashechkin looks back and sees he has a gap, and continues to hammer.

Valverde, Sastre, Vino and Devolder are all together, and Valverde has to work until Zandio gets to the front and helps him. Now Devolder is working (?)

Kashechkin has 18 seconds, with several Saunier Duvals coming up to him ahead of Valverde.

16:42 CEST
The first group behind Kashechkin contains Piepoli, Marchante and Luis Perez. Then the Valverde group at 20 seconds. Gomez Marchante now does a turn to bridge up to Kashechkin.

16:44 CEST 140.7km/26km to go
Up front, Danielson has dropped the rest and is hammering away on his own. Paulinho and Goubert are second and third on the road, with the other three further back.

Gomez Marchante hasn't made it up to Kashechkin yet, but he's 10 seconds ahead of Valverde's group which now has just Devolder, Valverde, Vino and Sastre.

16:46 CEST 141.7km/25km to go
Leblacher is the first of the breakaways to be caught and spat. Fofonov and Bak will be next.

Valverde accelerates and Vino gets his wheel, then Sastre. They catch and pass Luis Perez, and Devolder is tailed off.

16:47 CEST
The Valverde trio makes its way through a phalanx of motorbikes and closes in on Marchante and Kashechkin. Not yet though.

16:48 CEST 142.7km/24km to go
Gomez Marchante has finally caught Kashechkin, and the pair have 11 seconds on Valverde's group as they pass Lars Bak. The young Dane holds on for a bit.

16:48 CEST
Meanwhile, up front Danielson is still going strong. He likes the hills, and if he makes it to the summit with a bit of a gap, he could well win the stage. He has 1'15 on Marchante/Kashechkin, and 1'25 on Valverde's group.

16:50 CEST
Fofonov is the next rider to be caught and dropped by the GC men. Valverde is driving the chase, as Vino doesn't have to work today. They catch Bak, who does a big turn to try to close the gap to Kash and Marchante. Not for long though. The two favourites' groups are 20 seconds apart.

16:51 CEST 143.7km/23km to go
Fofonov is now caught by the Valverde group, which has Valverde, Perez, Vino, Sastre and Bak in it.

16:53 CEST
Sastre now does a turn in the Valverde group, which is 24 seconds behind Kash and Marchante. Bak and Fofonov are doing a great job to hang on here.

16:54 CEST
Danielson is holding ground on Valverde's group, while Kash and Marchante are within 1'06.

Vinokourov attacks!! That was a huge move! He gaps Valverde and Sastre!

16:56 CEST 144.7km/22km to go
Marchante looks back and sees Kashechkin suffering, but then a blue and white flash as Vino bridges the gap in about a minute. Holy fiery Kazakhstanis Batman, that was a massive attack.

Sastre and Valverde are working together now, 23 seconds behind Vino's trio, which has just caught Paulinho and Goubert. The Astana Cunning Plan is now revealed.

16:57 CEST 146.2km/20.5km to go
Valverde is now dropping Sastre as they reach a steep section at the top of the climb. But the CSC man clings on. It's about 17 seconds at the top.

Danielson is already over, but has a little uphill and then the descent to go.

16:59 CEST 147.7km/19km to go
The climb goes down a bit and the chasing group behind Danielson splits, with Paulinho and Goubert dropped. Vino is on the front, hammering. They will catch Danielson soon methinks.

17:03 CEST 148.7km/18km to go
Valverde powers away from Sastre on the next uphill section, and bridges up to Vino, Kashechkin and Marchante, who are 30 seconds behind Danielson. Valverde is doing 80 km/h on the descent. He takes a breather as he catches Marchante and Kash, but Vino attacks again on the descent.

17:04 CEST
Marchante works with Valverde in pursuit of Vino, but Kashechkin doesn't.

17:05 CEST 151.7km/15km to go
Sastre has lost out here, as he's behind all the riders that matter. Danielson is still clear of Vino, then Valverde, Kashechkin and Marchante, then Sastre. The gaps are small. Vino is descending like a demon.

17:07 CEST 153.7km/13km to go
This is a fantastic finish as Valverde and Marchante try to close to Vino, who is descending like a loony. He still hasn't caught Danielson.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Sastre is with Paulinho and Goubert, chasing, chasing, chasing...

17:08 CEST 154.7km/12km to go
Vino is 31 seconds behind Danielson, but 13 seconds ahead of Valverde, who is doing all the work in the chase. Sastre is another 21 seconds back.

17:11 CEST 157.7km/9km to go
Vino goes under 9 km to go 17 seconds behind Danielson. Then the Valverde group at 45 seconds. Valverde isn't getting much help as Gomez Marchante is sitting last wheel, and obviously Kashechkin won't work. Sastre's trio is 1'06 behind.

17:11 CEST 159.7km/7km to go
Vino is puffing his way down the descent at 70 km/h, 15 seconds behind Danielson. Less than 8 km to go. Valverde on Vino on Danielson.

17:12 CEST 160.7km/6km to go
The Astana captain powers away, drink cages empty (faster if he had a bidon now). Valverde leads while Kash and Marchante discuss the price of oil in the Middle East.

17:14 CEST 161.7km/5km to go
Sanchez, Bak and Piepoli have joined the Sastre group, which is still 1'00 behind the leader.

Vino bears down on Tom Danielson. There will be no stopping him now. Valverde's group is 44 seconds back.

17:15 CEST 162.7km/4km to go
Vino catches Danielson with 5 km to go and goes to the front. Will Danielson work?

Marchante is working with Valverde, the gap is nearly a minute. The Sastre group is another 10 seconds back.

Vino needs 1'42 to take the jersey...

17:16 CEST 163.7km/3km to go
Marchante and Valverde swap off as Kashechkin checks back to see Perez leading the next group up. That contains Sastre, Paulinho, Goubert, Piepoli, Sanchez and Perez.

Danielson is working with Vino.

17:18 CEST 164.7km/2km to go
Less than 3 km to go, and Vino and Danielson are over a minute ahead of the Valverde group, which is growing in size. Danielson is cooperating fully with Vino, maybe getting the stage win as a bonus, but maybe not. Bonus seconds will be important. And Danielson will improve his GC place.

Sanchez attacks the Valverde group.

17:18 CEST 164.7km/2km to go
Vino has taken 1'17 out of Valverde on this descent! He and Danielson are driving, driving it to the finish.

17:20 CEST 165.5km/1.2km to go
Piepoli works on the front of the Valverde group in pursuit of Vino, Danielson and now Sanchez. The group has Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne), Kashechkin, Paulinho (Astana), Piepoli, Marchante (Saunier Duval), Sastre (CSC), Goubert (AG2R) and Perez (Cofidis) in it.

1'24 is the gap!

17:21 CEST 166.7km/0km to go
Vino hammers to 1 km to go with Danielson in tow. He wants every second possible. Danielson sprints at 100m to go and wins the stage!!!!!!!!

17:22 CEST
Sanchez comes in for third at 1'08, then Kashechkin powers his group home at 1'38. Vinokourov has taken the jersey!!

17:25 CEST
Incredible finish to that stage. Valverde had just bridged up to Vino's group on the descent when Vino attacked and put 1'38 into the Vuelta leader, with Danielson taking a great stage win. That was good bike racing all round.

Vino now has the gold jersey by 9 seconds. Tomorrow's stage is in the mountains, and there's still a TT to come...
Results

Beelzebub

I haven't been following the Vuelta.

But I did watch the US championships on OLN over the weekend.

The road race was great, going down to the last with Hincapi and Leipheimer.

astro

Vino Vino Vino!!!

Astana 1st and 3rd, poor Alejandro didn't have it today.

Mike

or yesterday. vino and kash are riding his legs off!