La Vuelta a Espana

[monkey bidness]

Anybody else watching this? Just one week to go to the end and it is building to a very interesting finish. ITV 4 at 7p.m. Each evening. Great Time Trial today. Withers, are u watching? If not, why not? Coverage & team tactics not as riveting as the T de F but a good second best.

 

[Withnail]

Withers, are u watching?

Claro - i refer the Right Honourable Member to the question i posed some moments ago.

Live stream from (usually) 3pm via the link in the above link - or here,
http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/
- for ease of reference.

Enjoying it greatly - big fan of Nibali after watching the Giro, much more open than the Tour was this year. Funny how the famed 'Sky train' isn't really chugging - i wonder whether it has something to do with Henao having cocked it up, and with Uran, who is leaving them for OPQ at the end of the season, being their best placed rider, they are unwilling to give him the kind of support he would otherwise have had?

There was a good story about Sean Kelly, the Eurosport commentator the other day - but i have already typed far too much...

 

[monkey bidness]

Sorry old bean, I have not been monitoring the TdF topic and missed yr post. Anyway, surely La Vueta deserves its own thread. And what about the stunning scenery?
Don't usually have the opportunity to watch the afternoon coverage, but I get the impression from the evening summary that the cameraworK is neither as extensive nor as slick as the TdF. Nevertheless gripping stuff.
Don't have Eurosport, therefore did not knwo that Sean Kelly was now a pundit. Feel free to spill the beans or point me to a link.
Hasta mañana

 

[Withnail]

Hasta luego.

It was on the beast of a climb on Stage 10.

So the story goes... when he was on a similarly beastly climb, with the temperature as sweltering, riders around him wilting, thirsting for water, he took long and deep draughts from his bottle, smacking his lips with an almighty 'Ahhhhh'.

His bottle was empty.

 

[Withnail]

Don't have Eurosport...

* wonders what is Castilian for 'erm'... *
... nor do i...

It's an internets thing - streaming is available if you don't, which means you do!

One thing i have noticed about the streams available via steephill.etc is that in 'normal' screen they are covered by 'you don't have' s and 'you need x plug-in's to watch - click on the full screen and such detritus disappears.

Did you watch the Poland Tour? I found it baffling - too baffling to get my head around.

The time bonuses in the Vuelta certainly make it worth going for Stage wins - as i alluded to in the Tour link, expect Nibali to go for at least one in the next week if he really wants to actually win it.

After all, he did nothing of note in Poland.

 

[monkey bidness]

* wonders what is Castilian for 'erm'... *
... nor do i...

It's an internets thing - streaming is available if you don't, which means you do!

One thing i have noticed about the streams available via steephill.etc is that in 'normal' screen they are covered by 'you don't have' s and 'you need x plug-in's to watch - click on the full screen and such detritus disappears.

Did you watch the Poland Tour? I found it baffling - too baffling to get my head around.

The time bonuses in the Vuelta certainly make it worth going for Stage wins - as i alluded to in the Tour link, expect Nibali to go for at least one in the next week if he really wants to actually win it.

After all, he did nothing of note in Poland.

Thanks for the heads up on the streaming. I gave up for the reasons you identified - " you don't have this-that-or- the-other thingumminy etc, etc. Will have a go tmw. Poland I bailed out v. early on.

Prescient of you to bring up the time bonus issue. Nicolas Roche appears to be finally coming out of his dad's shadow and had the bottle to snitch those 2 seconds today; laying down his marker?

Finally, apropos yr reference to my French cousins here is an amusing blog which you may care to peruse. http://www.lesaffaires.com/blogues/...outiez-le-singe-en-vous/549998/2#.UijQr8R5mSO
Go seek out, and listen to, your inner Monkey!

 

[monkey bidness]

Hasta luego.

It was on the beast of a climb on Stage 10.

So the story goes... when he was on a similarly beastly climb, with the temperature as sweltering, riders around him wilting, thirsting for water, he took long and deep draughts from his bottle, smacking his lips with an almighty 'Ahhhhh'.

His bottle was empty.

Psych-ops.

 

[Withnail]

Nicolas Roche appears to be finally coming out of his dad's shadow and had the bottle to snitch those 2 seconds today; laying down his marker?

Yer man rather blew it today - three and a halfish minutes lost to Nibbles.

Ouch...

 

[monkey bidness]

True. This was probably the toughest race I have ever watched. These riders who can do 100+ miles a day for a couple of weeks on end were either heroic or profoundly stupid to soldier on in these conditions.
That last descent was suicidal. Almost any other sporting event faced with similar extreme conditions would probably have been suspended. And if the organisers hadn't cancelled, the participants would probably have called a halt. Makes you wonder about the extreme pressure these riders are under to hang on to their contracts. The word 'domestique' suddenly has a resonance I hadn't considered before.

 

[Withnail]

It was beastly all right - they did cancel one of the stages of this years Giro because of ice but a lot of the climbs involved sub-zero temps.

I hear that Basso had to pull out due to hypothermia. Not a sport for the faint of heart, what?

 

[Withnail]

¡Carajo!

I thought i would experiment with translate for the phrase 'tighter than a gnat's chuff' en Español, which gave me -

*apretado que chuff de un mosquito*

- which is nice.

Still watching negocios del mono?

 

[monkey bidness]

Si, con Clavo.
This race has been boiling up nicely for the last few days. Did you ever see a more likeable winner than Horner? As my man is now locked into 5th place I have transferred my support, complete with shouting at the telly, to the Super Vet. I like Nico's earnestness in the interviews but Mr Horner is the cats pyjamas.

Talking of vets, if you have seen recent news items about Graeme Obree's attempt on the World bike speed record, you might be interested in a new book about the rivalry between Obree and Chris Boardman. Available from yr local library (as of tomorrow morning, when I return it).

 

[monkey bidness]

Are you sure 'chuff' is a Spanish word? I seem to remember the word 'culo' being bandied about by Spanish-speaking stevedores.

 

[Withnail]

Talking of books...

Sean Kelly has written an autobiography - Hunger - that if i don't get for Xmas, one is going to be one angry bunny.

There is much talk about the 'miraculous' form of el Horner - let us hope that talk is cheap, what?

Great racing thus far - seconds in it with two days to go - tomorrow will be the settler...

*is excited*

P.S. fairly sure that 'chuff' is not Castilliano.

 

[monkey bidness]

Apropos nothing in particular, "don't give a monkey's chuff" translates into Catalan as "no donen una granota de chuff"

That having been said I do care, and will definitely give up watching all professional cycling if Horner is found to be doping.

 

[monkey bidness]

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness".
Holy, Moley, what a race finish! This is true Mano A Mano stuff

 

[Withnail]

Madre de Dios, how steep was that road?

My admiration for Nibali increaseth - congrats to Horner - amazeballs.

 

[John Marwood]

RiojanRoll

 

[Withnail]

Asturiantics