Vuelta stage 16

Rodriguez
Contador
Valverde
Viviani
Talansky
Marczynski
Anacona
Quintana
Clarke

however I really need Clarke to fall off today as he's killing me in the purist comp. I'm 2nd, 5 points off the lead but Clarke is keeping me at bay

20th yesterday mainly thanks to DeLaFuente who I've been waiting for ages to get involved,although that's probably it for him and Caja Rural now if they celebrated as they should last night after Piedra's storming win.

Clarke's been a revelation for sure and I reckon it's a day for him to grab mountain points today so I have:

Contador
J-Rod
Valverde
Capecchi
Talansky
Marczynski
Landa(for Cesar)to get credits
Clarke(for DeLaFuente)
Anacona(for Sarmiento)

I think I got it a little wrong, hmmm

Contador
Ten Dam
J-Rod
Valverde

Talanksy
Marczynsky
Galdos
Clarke
Cimolai

Moncoutie with the first 3 KoM points of the day, J Moreno in second and Meersman third.

Contador
JRod
Moncoutie(for Valverde)
Ten Dam
Clarke
J Moreno
Astraloza
Florencio
Marczynski (for Talansky)

Nice start for me!

You have no idea how close I came last night to putting De Gendt in my team

Moncoutie(for Roche) Had this stage down for him since the start
Valverde(for Froome):I think Froomey's cooked and it frees up credits
Contador:will switch to J-Rod for shorter punchy climbs
DeGendt:looks fruity in the opening of this stage and improved in the 3rd week of the Giro(Stelvio!!)
Tiralongo(for Mate) misguided loyalty for my favourite rider?
Clarke have to believe he's going up the road for KOM points
Aramendia stopped being so aggressive since I picked him up
Talansky The obvious DS during uphill stages since the start
Astarloza Got to have an Euski on a stage like this

Not good for me

however both De Gendt and Catalso are in my purist team

De Gendt and Cataldo have around 8 minutes now, they could be on for the stage win at this rate!

Joaquin Rodriguez
Alberto Contador
David Moncoutie
Thomas de Gendt (For Viviani) Can't believe my luck , just needed to get rid of Viviani.

Simon Clarke (For Terpstra)
Winner Andrew Anacona
Andrew Talansky
Tomasz Marczynski
Aitor Galdos (For Bouhanni)

Would have brought in Galdos and Clarke yesterday but wasn't in time to do any transfers.

Make that 13 and a half minutes..

De Gendt for the stage win, Cataldo second and I reckon Moncoutie third (having broken off the front going for the HC KoM points) then the GC contenders.

My ideal? Valverde and Clarke to both abandon the purist comp is just too close to call, I need a big day from Contador today.

Hmmmm, My post didn't post......

De Gendt scooping up all the points and the win would do me nicely. Go skipping back up the purist table. But not having any sprinters have left me well out of contention.

What's the chance of De Gendt taking the KoM jersey today?

I think he can only equal Clarke on 38, and that is only if Clarke doesn't get any more points today.

Anyone know what happens if they are level on points?

I assume it'll go to whoever's got the highest points on the highest cat climb but don't bank on that.

Gap under 10 minutes and falling plus:

Quote:

The peloton has now caught GreenEdge pair Pieter Weening and Simon Clarke, who broke clear towards the summit of the last climb in a bid to secure some mountain points for Clarke, the current polka dot jersey.

which hopefully puts and end to Clarke's scoring for today. By the sounds of it the gap is coming down quickly, it could be a close run thing between De Gendt and the likes of Contador/Rodriguez for the stage win if it keeps falling.

Bad news for all you Froome fans:

Quote:

Rafal Majka pulls over for Saxo Bank after a huge turn, and when Jesus Hernandez takes over, he pulls a select group clear with him - Contador, Rodriguez, Valverde and Quintana are all there, but Froome, Gesink and Ten Dam have all been dropped.

Also, Contador distancing Valverde and Quintana, looks like another Contador/Rodrguez showdown for 3rd.

Top of cat 1

De Gendt
Cataldo
Clarke
Weeping
Moncoutie

Slim.
Clarke on 38 after cat 1
De Gendt on 13
with max 25 more if he is over next cat 1(10)and Stage win(15)

Well If De Gendt win's he'll be level. But I don't know how they will work it out. Maybe whoever has lost the least time?

I hope de gendt gets the win. 5 point bonus would be nice!

Oh shit, I knew I was meant to transfer someone in today.....Quintana

Cataldo pulling away!?

Someone give De Gendt a push......

Something i've NEVER seen on the road before. In amongst all the names it kept coming up 39x28.....fan's giving the riders advice on gearing??