Froome retains lead as Trentin wins stage ten
night, hoping to get a good run in the No 10 jersey and disprove the doubters who feel he perhaps lacks the attacking dimensions required to be a really top stand-off.
In fairness to Weir, it was something he was clearly working on during the latter part of his time at his hometown club, with an evident shift in style, and that is something he is hoping to continue and develop.
“I probably let others play outside me a bit too often in the past,” he admitted. “It’s now a focus for me that if I see a gap I’ll try my best to take it and get the attack over the gain line. Opportunities
0 Duncan Weir: On a mission. unfold in games. You can’t really prescribe off a certain move that you will do a dummy cut, run the length of the field and put someone in for a spectacular try. You just need to feel the chances. There were a few at the weekend [in the 14-10 pre-season win over Newcastle] where I had some aggressive steps and then a burst of acceleration.”
Weir said it wasn’t a case of Cockerill giving him licence to throw more caution to the wind. “I wouldn’t call it freedom,” he said. “I just feel more explosive and a bit more agile athletically. It’s about getting the balance of when to go. If you can get a run of games you can make better decisions time and again and get a feel of it.”
Cockerill has started Weir in both the pre-season games against Sale and the Falcons, which suggests he will get the nod again in Cardiff. However, his Welsh rival for the No 10 jersey, Jason Tovey, made an impact when he came on (against Falcons) at the Greenyards and the Scotland man knows he has a battle to nail that Edinburgh spot before turning his thoughts to the dark blue.
“I’m just looking to play rugby and enjoy myself,” said Weir. “Richard has given me confidence by starting me in two pre-season games and he has spoken to me about what he expects of his 10 – making good decisions, knowing the play book off by heart and putting the team in the right areas. I feel I can do that.” Italian Matteo Trentin won stage ten of La Vuelta but the day’s racing failed to affect Chris Froome’s position as leader of the general classification.
The four-time Tour de France champion remains 36 seconds ahead of his closest rivals, but did see Nicolas Roche join Esteban Chaves in joint second place after the Irishman gained 29 seconds.
Ascending the Collado Bermejo, Trentin and Jose Joaquin Rojas formed a breakaway before the former ultimately pulled away to win his second stage of the 2017 event.
“For me, I wasn’t willing to take any risks. I am in a good position in the GC and there was a lot of road from the bottom of the climb to the finish,” Team Sky’s Froome said.
“We took it easy with my team-mates and kept everything together. Nico Roche wasn’t a big worry for me.
“As I said, I was happy to stay safe, but he obviously did a great ride. He’s in fantastic shape in La Vuelta, so congratulations to him.”