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Vuelta a Espana - Discussion
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| knockout |
Posted on 03-05-2026 09:29
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Not sure what exactly my team was trying to do here. Plapp dropping back from the break despite apparently having good legs in the end was a bit weird to me. Still, eenkhoorn with a good ride to make this another solid stage for us. Love to see Blums doing well here
Thanks for all the nice reports!
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| ember |
Posted on 03-05-2026 10:22
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The chances for Valter to drop out of the top 10 to then become an attacking rider are becoming lesser and lesser  His ride to defend his top 10 was good, it just doesn’t quite fit what I hoped for when sending him here. Curious to see how the final mountain stages go, they admittedly look far too brutal for Valter. |
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 03-05-2026 11:24
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Strang tactics to send both of Latour’s top lieutenants in the break on what would be a very hard stage, but it looks like we lucked out in the end. Firdaus still had a lot left in the tank when he got caught to help Latour, and Frankiny came close to winning the stage. Latour didn’t end up gaining a lot towards the end with his attacking, but it’s so good to see him riding well. Hopefully he can keep it up. Thanks for the report!
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 03-05-2026 12:34
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Massive performance by Mas! Congrats
Good stage for Dombrowski in the fight for GC's second place. Girdlestone finally broke and he won time on many of the most important challengers. Only negative is the 13 seconds lost to Latour.
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 03-05-2026 22:28
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Thank you for the amazing reports, Ulrich.
A weaker stage 14 for the team with no breakaway appearances and some time losses, with Lopez Nolasco losing even more time on 15 wasn't ideal. But then a good stage from the latter fighting for stage and KoM points, back into top 10th in GC. Four crucial stages coming up with everything to play for, hopefully we can get some more "successes" like in the last stage, with Aular staying around the same gc position as well.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 04-05-2026 03:52
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Expected a lot more carnage on that stage, so a little anticlimactic. I think we all realize that breaks are heavily favored throughout GT's, but still strange that the peloton eased off entirely, even on the final big climb.
Carthy moves barely into the top 10 (for now) and Aranburu was also in the group, so we can't complain. But at this point it seems pretty clear that Carthy will be too far up the favorites list on any given mountain stage to attack, so he's super likely to get jumped by more breakaway guys in the last days. It's a shame that he lost time early on in those silly flat stage splits. We'll hope for the best!
Guess AKA's point jersey stint ends tomorrow as Herklotz should dominate. What a run it was!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 04-05-2026 04:25
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Glad Areruya is once again best of the GC contenders in meaningless stages where no gaps or bonuses are available. Very useful skill.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[PT]  Xero Racing
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| SotD |
Posted on 04-05-2026 05:14
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Giannoutsos decided to listen finally and take a great stagewin. Not enough time on the clock to make up for the rest of the team deciding to sit up and lose a significant amount of depth GC points though.
Fingers crossed that he will do it all over again in one of the final stages to take the KOM and climb into the top 10 GC. That is basically what is needed for a succesful outing here.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 06-05-2026 01:49
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| Heine |
Posted on 04-05-2026 06:00
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Really great reports Ulrich!
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 04-05-2026 06:22
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Leemreize needs to get into these breaks otherwise I don't see us adding anything more from this race. Looks like he might've used up his breakaway luck in the TDF. MTT won't get us anything, so just three more scoring opportunities left for us.
Congrats to the winners and thanks for the reports Ulrich!
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| redordead |
Posted on 04-05-2026 06:47
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Very surprised to see Schlegel actually distancing De Plus in the end, it looked like another 3rd place was on the way. It was cool seeing him going for the KOM, but I have my doubts he keeps it up.
Congraats to knockout, roturn, beagle and SotD on the latest wins.
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| ember |
Posted on 04-05-2026 06:57
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Thank you for the report, UU! They're truly enjoyable 
Fingers crossed that's it for us. Hopefully this means Valter now focus elsewhere than hanging on to the GC guys. Would be great if this can turn around the mentality and racing both from him and JP Lopez, as I fancy both of them to have a go. Admittedly the quality up front in the breakaways in the mountains has been very high here in this Vuelta, but if we don't try, we won't get anything.
Congratulations, SotD! |
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| knockout |
Posted on 04-05-2026 07:13
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Congrats SotD, about time to see you succesful here!
Not a great stage for us with Eenkhoorn being one of the biggest losers on the day. But Plapp is still riding strongly!
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 04-05-2026 08:37
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Champoussin enjoying his holiday in Spain
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 04-05-2026 11:33
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Awesome win by Giannoutsos. Congrats SotD!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 05-05-2026 04:08
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AKA's stint in the point jersey finally comes to an end. What a run it was! Unfortunately it would take some magic to win it back at this point. It was always destined for Herklotz.
GC wise, not much to say here. I have to think the gaps the next two days will be big enough that today is relatively inconsequential. But I guess we'll see! Carthy right on the bubble. Still feels like we're destined for 11-14 place after the breaks shake out, but we have to hope for the best.
Thanks for the report!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 05-05-2026 04:54
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Congrats SotD on a great win for Giannoustous!
Solid ride from Latour, he’s been great so far. Finger crossed he keeps it up.
Herklotz untouchable as you’d imagine in the MTT. Latour as best of the rest is great but the gaps are basically non existent really. Firdaus having a great race so far, so happy to see him get such a great result on the stage as well - an omen for the future perhaps 
Expecting carnage on the last stages - Carthy, Godoy et al. are probably far enough behind to give it a real crack and I don’t think Puma will be strong enough to control them. Nervous couple of days ahead!
Thanks for the great reports as always.
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| knockout |
Posted on 05-05-2026 05:55
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So far it looks like ill be happy with this race but the final days could matter a ton
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| ember |
Posted on 05-05-2026 07:55
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Domination, really. Herklotz doing Herklotz things.
Super excited for the two final mountain stages. They look ridiculously brutal Expect Valter and maybe JP Lopez to fight for breakaway participation. Suspect we need both up front with JP working for Valter if Valter is going to have any chance at fighting for a stage win/stage podium at the end of such stages. Realistically, though, the quality of the breakaway could be too much for Valter to handle, jugend by earlier stages. Expect to see even stronger riders up front now, with such gaps from Herklotz, maybe everyone from TGH and downwards could be candidates being 11+ minutes behind |
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| Heine |
Posted on 05-05-2026 08:02
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Class of his own
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