Saturday, September 10, 2005
Gutting It Out in Covadonga
Another tough mountain stage, another impressive ride for Menchov. But really, the more impressive ride was probably by the man Menchov will beat as the race finishes in Madrid – Roberto Heras. Two days ago Heras was caught in a pile-up near the end of the stage. He injured his knee in the fall, requiring 15 stitches to close the wound.
No one would have blamed Heras for abandoning immediately after the crash (ok, well some would have said he was riding in a spot where he should not have been, but remember, too, that Menchov was not far away and almost caught in the crash as well). And certainly no one would have thought any less of him if after the next day’s stage he decided it was too much to ride hard on it. Dropping out of the race could also let Heras save face: if only, the Spanish fans could argue, he hadn’t crashed, he certainly would have dropped Menchov on the way to Covadonga… But Heras rode the toughest stage of this year’s Vuelta – and put in multiple attacks against the Russian race leader to boot.
His reward? An insult to go with his earlier injury. Asked for his comments after the stage, Heras’s directeur sportif Manolo Saiz, expressed his disappointment that Heras was not able to drop Menchov. Talk about a tough boss to please.
In case Saiz had not been paying attention, no one has been able to drop Menchov since he reclaimed the golden leader’s jersey. He has ridden an incredible race through the Spanish mountains, although his performance is probably undervalued since he hasn’t claimed victory on a road stage. In fact, Menchov seems disinterested in either attacking Heras, or even in contesting the stage finales. It is tought to determine, though, if this is the result of Menchov’s sense of graciousness in the leader’s jersey (he did reportedly tell the riders with him in the first high mountain stage that he would not contest the win) or even a savvy way of appeasing the local teams, press, and fans hungry for a Spanish winner. More likely, though, this is Menchov doing a good job of riding at the limit and following Heras’s multiple attacks. Asking for more from the Russian who is not known as a pure climber – in sharp contrast with just about every Spanish rider with a pro contract – is probably unreasonable. But for the record, Menchov is on my fantasy team, and I could use the extra points from stage wins in my bid to win the season-long competition.
Irrespective of whether Menchov will not or simply cannot drop Heras, he only needs to repeat his impersonation of a mountain goat for tomorrow’s last mountain top finish. After that, assuming he can keep the rubber side down, there appears no further obstacles to his claiming overall victory when the Vuelta rides into Madrid.
No one would have blamed Heras for abandoning immediately after the crash (ok, well some would have said he was riding in a spot where he should not have been, but remember, too, that Menchov was not far away and almost caught in the crash as well). And certainly no one would have thought any less of him if after the next day’s stage he decided it was too much to ride hard on it. Dropping out of the race could also let Heras save face: if only, the Spanish fans could argue, he hadn’t crashed, he certainly would have dropped Menchov on the way to Covadonga… But Heras rode the toughest stage of this year’s Vuelta – and put in multiple attacks against the Russian race leader to boot.
His reward? An insult to go with his earlier injury. Asked for his comments after the stage, Heras’s directeur sportif Manolo Saiz, expressed his disappointment that Heras was not able to drop Menchov. Talk about a tough boss to please.
In case Saiz had not been paying attention, no one has been able to drop Menchov since he reclaimed the golden leader’s jersey. He has ridden an incredible race through the Spanish mountains, although his performance is probably undervalued since he hasn’t claimed victory on a road stage. In fact, Menchov seems disinterested in either attacking Heras, or even in contesting the stage finales. It is tought to determine, though, if this is the result of Menchov’s sense of graciousness in the leader’s jersey (he did reportedly tell the riders with him in the first high mountain stage that he would not contest the win) or even a savvy way of appeasing the local teams, press, and fans hungry for a Spanish winner. More likely, though, this is Menchov doing a good job of riding at the limit and following Heras’s multiple attacks. Asking for more from the Russian who is not known as a pure climber – in sharp contrast with just about every Spanish rider with a pro contract – is probably unreasonable. But for the record, Menchov is on my fantasy team, and I could use the extra points from stage wins in my bid to win the season-long competition.
Irrespective of whether Menchov will not or simply cannot drop Heras, he only needs to repeat his impersonation of a mountain goat for tomorrow’s last mountain top finish. After that, assuming he can keep the rubber side down, there appears no further obstacles to his claiming overall victory when the Vuelta rides into Madrid.
