Fantasy Vuelta Stage 17: Mollema Overcomes Wind Problem

Here I am, back in a flash with a Vuelta update only one day after the last one!  As you might have gathered from my sporadic posting, I haven't been watching this year’s Vuelta as closely as I should, so my insights into the race have been minimal.  Luckily, everyone’s favorite CyclingNews commenter ellenbrook2001 has been paying attention and has once again cut through the bullshit to say what I know we have all been thinking.

We've had the rain, today we had the wind. 

And when it gets windy things tend to get strung-out, with the strongmen making the cut and the weaklings left chasing.  The Dutch are famous for being able to ride in the wind, so no big surprise to see Bauke Mollema hanging with the big-boys and sneaking away at the end to take the stage.  Young Mollema would appear to be the new next big thing of Dutch Cycling, after his team-mate Robert Gesink turned out to be the next big underachiever of Dutch Cycling.

In the GC battle, Nico Roche moved up a few spots and is back up to 5^th. I do have a soft spot for Nico, so it’s good to see him doing well.  Back in my bike shop days, I had a customer who met his mum and informed me that at least in the early 90’s, she was a total fox.  

Obviously it would have been nicer to see young Roche doing well while riding for the Bile Beans, but my team was chosen in haste and I never got around to re-picking.  To be honest I can't even remember who’s in my team, I thought I had Mollema, but I guess I don't..... Nor does Drew, but it didn't stop him getting top score.

	Dudes Riding Using Good Stuff	Drew Stephenson	303
	Scibstiques	Paul Scibilia	271
	Red Devils	Warwick Anderson	161
	Bile Beans	Vestan Pance	147
	MungoCyclic	Mungo	119
	Rouleurs	tdm911	75
	Charmers	Craigatron	65
	KLOEFEKAPPERS	Jan Van Belleghem	61
	ENRICO 666	ENRICO 666	58
	Team Chanbots	Evil Dr Chan	54

So Drew remains on top for the foreseeable future.

	Dudes Riding Using Good Stuff	Drew Stephenson	3892
	Charmers	Craigatron	3320
	ENRICO 666	ENRICO 666	3117
	KLOEFEKAPPERS	Jan Van Belleghem	3026
	Scibstiques	Paul Scibilia	3026
	Rouleurs	tdm911	2483
	Red Devils	Warwick Anderson	2416
	Bile Beans	Vestan Pance	2256
	Team Chanbots	Evil Dr Chan	2200
	MungoCyclic	Mungo	1732

More bike riding will be happening tomorrow.  It’s stage 18 don't you know?