2014 Vuelta al País Vasco, Stage 1: Ordizia → Ordizia, 153.4 km

[Cimber]

I think maybe contador made a risk attacking Valverde like that after following him for 2 minutes. If I were contador I wouldn't want to risk alienating Valverde further, as he could be a good ally to have in July.

According to the Secret Pro those two arent really friends as it is. They fight to be the no. 1 Spaniard.

Also remember last year when they had Froom isolated early on and could have taken turns attacking him on the flat sections. Instead Valverder really only rode against Contador.

No, Contador wont lose a possible ally here.

 

[T-Nielsen]

I hear you on that one but Matt Stephens is probably the best analyst out there IMHO.

And yet in just 9 kms he got everything wrong.

 

[ferryman]

And yet in just 9 kms he got everything wrong.

I know but he is

 

[The Hitch]

According to the Secret Pro those two arent really friends as it is. They fight to be the no. 1 Spaniard.

Also remember last year when they had Froom isolated early on and could have taken turns attacking him on the flat sections. Instead Valverder really only rode against Contador.

No, Contador wont lose a possible ally here.

I know they arent carnalitos, and thought in rhd tour, but they weren't always enemies, Valverde used to want to domestique for contador. They seem to be already on better terms.

 

[Red Rick]

I know they arent carnalitos, and thought in rhd tour, but they weren't always enemies, Valverde used to want to domestique for contador. They seem to be already on better terms.

A couple of years ago when there were rumours about Contador going to Movistar Valverde said he wouldn't mind it or something. Also, do you remind DL 2009, they looked like compadres then, trolling Evans together

 

[Beech Mtn]

The Secret Pro got a lot wrong in this latest entry. Never was infallible, but the latest just had stupid errors in it. Seems more like something written by a fan than an actual rider, IMO

 

[BYOP88]

The Secret Pro got a lot wrong in this latest entry. Never was infallible, but the latest just had stupid errors in it. Seems more like something written by a fan than an actual rider, IMO

I'd trust thehog from cyclingnews more than I trust the 'secret pro'.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I'd trust thehog from cyclingnews more than I trust the 'secret pro'.

A Dutch journalist (Thijs Zonneveld) said the same thing.

Edit: about Contador and Valverde, not about thehog and the secret pro.

 

[BYOP88]

A Dutch journalist (Thijs Zonneveld) said the same thing.

So thehog is an insider?

 

[Miburo]

I know they arent carnalitos, and thought in rhd tour, but they weren't always enemies, Valverde used to want to domestique for contador. They seem to be already on better terms.

Yea cause Contador gifted him the dauphine in '09. Imo it wasn't a real gift though, evans was just too focused on Contador on the ventous.

 

[metaCYCLE]

2010: 3rd, Flèche Wallonne, 9th, Liège-Bastogne-Liège
2012: 1st, Milano-Torino

Plus he was 2nd in the nationals on this course in 2011:

Ahahahaha that's brilliant.

I only agree with Milano-Torino, but that was not in question as I was replying to a post that hyped him for the Ardennes. I can't see him winning either one of those three races bar a perfect storm (like Kreuzi's win last year) - in the case of AGR and LBL. FW might be the "easiest" to win, but no Purito on the final ascent. I'd like to be proven wrong though.

 

[Angliru]

The Secret Pro got a lot wrong in this latest entry. Never was infallible, but the latest just had stupid errors in it. Seems more like something written by a fan than an actual rider, IMO

Essentially he can say anything without being questioned for the validity of his info. Slow week, make something up for sake of entertainment. Who's going to catch hell if it's fiction, he's anonymous.

 

[manafana]

bit insane how much of a gap he can get, magic for first time since he came back from his time away.

Surpised valverde cracked but maybe he should have got onto contador to go to front.

 

[cocteau_ireland]

If ur contador, with that form, u have to go for it. He's making statements this spring(to froome). Valverde is a considerable afterthought.

 

[greenedge]

Well my tip about Gerrans for the stage turned out wrong and Valverde for the overall also seems wrong.

Great ride by Contador!
Hopefully Evans can continue to go well here.

 

[movingtarget]

Well my tip about Gerrans for the stage turned out wrong and Valverde for the overall also seems wrong.

Great ride by Contador!
Hopefully Evans can continue to go well here.

Evans was struggling at the finish and his usual good sprint deserted him but this race was not on his schedule before. He is putting in the extra kms for the Giro after having a mediocre race at Tirreno. I thought he looked okay at this stage of his preparation.

 

[kingjr]

bit insane how much of a gap he can get, magic for first time since he came back from his time away.

Surpised valverde cracked but maybe he should have got onto contador to go to front.

Valverde didn't crack he attacked early on and rode a steady pace Contadors attack was just really brutal.

 

[Fzotrlool]

Valverde didn't crack he attacked early on and rode a steady pace Contadors attack was just really brutal.

Yeah, Valverde looked really strong today. At a much higher level than the rest of the favorites. Contador was just untouchable.

 

[Jelantik]

Yeah, Valverde looked really strong today. At a much higher level than the rest of the favorites. Contador was just untouchable.

I have to say Kwiat wasn't that bad either. And I think Valverde said he didn't think contador is the most dangerous one. So I was wondering if he refers to Kwiat and TJ due to ITT? Anyway, now I'm interested to see how he fares against TJ. Round 1 is 1-0 for Kwiat.

 

[spanky wanderlust]

beto's back. i've missed this. watching him win is a thing of beauty. great stuff!

 

[Cimber]

Essentially he can say anything without being questioned for the validity of his info. Slow week, make something up for sake of entertainment. Who's going to catch hell if it's fiction, he's anonymous.

Fair point. But in generel he offers a lot of insight into things that seem quite credible.

Also Valverde's actions in the Tour last year do support his notion.

 

[Cimber]

It is Contador's to lose, they sended their best team for the race, much better than all the others.

No not really. Its a strong team indeed, but not their best possible team (they got a neopro in it, and Roche and Majka arent there)

 

[Cimber]

I know they arent carnalitos, and thought in rhd tour, but they weren't always enemies, Valverde used to want to domestique for contador. They seem to be already on better terms.

Ye I wouldnt call them personal enemies as such, but they definately are fierce profesional enemies. They will fight eachother. I dont see a natural alliance between them based on what we saw last year. I am still annoyed about the fact that they didnt use that situation better against Froome.

In 2011 (iirc) we saw what I would call a natural alliance between Samuel Sanchez and Contador. Sadly Samuel is over the hill.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Nice effort by Caja Rural:

But zero chance against the combined Tinkoff/Movistar train.

 

[The Hitch]

Fair point. But in generel he offers a lot of insight into things that seem quite credible. .

The insanely hypocritical difference between how he treats Ozzie dopers (stuey did nothing wrong) and European ones (santa should be banned from the sport) makes that blog anything but credible.