Fantasy Vuelta Stage 9: Maximum Maxim

Hello again.  I know what you’re thinking, “Vestan, isn’t it about time you moved that beer over to a secondary fermenter?”  Yes, it is.

Now I’ve got that little job out of the way, you probably thinking, “Vestan, isn’t it about time you did a Giro update?”  Yes, It is………… More rain on Sunday then, and more nervous descending from Wiggins.  He got back to the lead-group eventually though. 

Not so lucky was defending champ, Ryder Hesjedal, who had an off day and conceded a minute or so.

Luckier than the pair of them, was Maxim Belkov, who won the stage with a smart ride out of the early break.

Carlos Betancur was also under the impression he won the stage.  He was mistaken. Sorry Carlos.

Amgen were top dogs for the day, just edging out Mungo.

Rank		Team	Directeur	Score
1		Amgen	Bradley Dean	293
2		Mungo Cycling	Mungo	267
3		Fulgas	Vincent Lavallee	219
4		Bile Beans	Vestan Pance	160
5		Rouleurs	tdm911	156
6		Cat 2 Grupetto	Sherwood	155
7		Zero Resistance	Christopher Rowley	154
8		MDR	Matt Reeve	146
9		Cornerstone Clydesdales	James Patterson	129
10		Team Doodle	RobbieT	127
11		Charmers	Craigatron	120
12		Cofeedis	Tom Fee	112
13		Evil Chan Bots	Evil Dr Chan	105
14		hitfbsuckers	Warwick Anderson	103
15		Return of Reflex	Karlos	102
16		Get Jacked	robert thompson	98
17		Camembert Electrique	Mark	92
18		Dudes Riding Using Great Substances	Drew Stephenson	92
19		Synergy	Adrian Leggett	75
20		Smugblokes	Mark Philo	70
21		Kiwi Nation (no actual kiwis)	Eddy	52
22		Sit up and beg	Denspeck	45

And with the high mountains looming, it's time for a change at the top.  Amgen have taken-over the lead from MDR. 

Rank		Team	Directeur	Score
1		Amgen	Bradley Dean	1773
2		MDR	Matt Reeve	1752
3		Zero Resistance	Christopher Rowley	1611
4		Cat 2 Grupetto	Sherwood	1575
5		Return of Reflex	Karlos	1475
6		hitfbsuckers	Warwick Anderson	1421
7		Mungo Cycling	Mungo	1370
8		Smugblokes	Mark Philo	1370
9		Rouleurs	tdm911	1358
10		Cofeedis	Tom Fee	1339
11		Bile Beans	Vestan Pance	1335
12		Synergy	Adrian Leggett	1335
13		Fulgas	Vincent Lavallee	1273
14		Dudes Riding Using Great Substances	Drew Stephenson	1248
15		Get Jacked	robert thompson	1245
16		Camembert Electrique	Mark	1217
17		Cornerstone Clydesdales	James Patterson	1081
18		Team Doodle	RobbieT	1067
19		Kiwi Nation (no actual kiwis)	Eddy	999
20		Sit up and beg	Denspeck	964
21		Charmers	Craigatron	952
22		Evil Chan Bots	Evil Dr Chan	944

If you thought things had been pretty exciting so far, then just wait till things kick off again after the rest day.  They’ll be right back into it, with the first real mountain stage, which might give us more of an idea who might actually win.  It’s certainly still all to play for.  Can Astana defend the lead? What about Evans and Gesink, they've been sneaking under the radar so far.  And is Wiggins really in better shape than when he won the Tour last year?  Sky are all about the numbers, and apperently his are still good.