2017 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, March 20-26, WT

[Tonton]

Re:

lots of idiots upset by Froome's riding style

Not idiots...it's like people who like a nice golf swing, Ernie Els vs. the more sketchy Ray Floyd style .

Style-wise, IMO, Valverde is right there at the top,...again . He's smooth, the posture is perfect, I give him that. I like Nibali's style too. Contador off the saddle is the only thing that competes with my Tibopino mental images when I ride up a hill...I like when he attacks, all-in.

 

[Poursuivant]

Re: Re:

Confirmed where?

http://www.itzulia.eus/en/2017/teams-and-riders/

Chuffed Bardet and Yates are going too

 

[Poursuivant]

Re: Re:

I reckon Sky hang around forums these days to see which riders are gaining in popularity and then sign them up at the end of the season. Kind of a win hearts and minds thing: 'look, we have Landa, Rosa and Kwiatkowski, will you stop throwing urine at Froome now'.

I am convinced they do that, they always sign a few riders I like (this year Rosa and Kenny), but it just makes me hate the team more. Hands off my boys!

Conspiratorial as well as sectarian. It's been a rough day for Flo.

Deserves respect for using the term "conspiratorial." Take an internet pat on the back.

 

[Poursuivant]

Re:

Just watched this.

Sweet, sweet redemption for Balaverde!!!

As usual, got to love AC's fighting spirit. Gonna be a sad day when those two retire.

Not a big fan of Froome but I like his riding style in the sense that I think it's great to see a variety of styles in the peloton. And the guy is not a boring rider, I don't care what anyone says.

I think sometimes people just want him to be boring because he rides for Sky; who have a predictable MO in a stage race

 

[Poursuivant]

Re:

I think Froome's bizarre riding style, head down, elbows out, legs whirring like an out of control fan, is endearing. Then again I also like the riding styles of Mollema, Dan Martin, Zakarin, so maybe I'm some kind of pervert. I draw the line at Aru though.

I completely agree, and I also like the other riders you mentioned. That's probably because I have a horrible, ugly looking style when I am blowing out of my arśe in my various physical endeavours :lol:

People seem to forget that ALL these riders are at the edge of their physical comfort zone, do yous honestly look amazing when yous are?

 

[Valv.Piti]

I think Froome's attacks in TdF were overplayed due to just how boring of a race it was, but nobody else did anything. Generally he likes to put the hammer down and attack when he is strong. I know I can't blame him for the boring mountain stages last year, but I would have liked to see him go full *** just one time on Ax-3, Ventoux or PSM. Thats always entertaining.

 

[Koba80]

Re:

Balaverde!!! (blah) AC's fighting spirit. Gonna be a sad day when those two retire.

That day is going to be a fantastic day for cycling. Can't come soon enough. (Did I nail the ridiculous forum hyperbole tone enough on that one?)

 

[Poursuivant]

Re:

I think Froome's attacks in TdF were overplayed due to just how boring of a race it was, but nobody else did anything. Generally he likes to put the hammer down and attack when he is strong. I know I can't blame him for the boring mountain stages last year, but I would have liked to see him go full *** just one time on Ax-3, Ventoux or PSM. Thats always entertaining.

I don't think he put the hammer down because he simply never needed to, Quintana was weak (relatively speaking) and Porte had lost time already, Contador was out and Yates and Mollema were always going to lose time. This year, with the lack of decent TT, if he is in good form; we might see a big attack. If, of course.

 

[Robert5091]

Love him or hate him, Valverde won - something to prove, I think.
"Then on the climb itself Rubén was asking me again and again if he should go all out. I said to him, 'No, to keep it steady for as long as possible,'" Valverde told reporters afterwards." Wow!

 

[silvergrenade]

Re:

I think Froome's attacks in TdF were overplayed due to just how boring of a race it was, but nobody else did anything. Generally he likes to put the hammer down and attack when he is strong. I know I can't blame him for the boring mountain stages last year, but I would have liked to see him go full *** just one time on Ax-3, Ventoux or PSM. Thats always entertaining.

If Geraint or his other teammates are to be believed, he just wants to attack- everywhere.
Its Team Sky who keeps him in check.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re: Re:

Contador can still win if attacks tomorrow. He has to try.

Froome is clearly building his form here. I'm not so sure about Contador. Valverde has clearly hit a sensational level of fitness in this first part of the season. Unless Valverde has a bad day tomorrow and Contador was just not really strong today, though his performance on La Molina suggests that he just hasn't that super form necessary to make the difference, then it will be impossible to drop Valverde tomorrow.

Need a profile of the climb to see if it is possible. Contador was able to attack on a shallow climb like Eze after all.

Alt de la Musara:

It is almost 40 km from the finish. And there are no difficult climbs before Musara to break up the pleoton.

How is this even considered a climb, let along a Cat 1

Wow at Valverde's form. Could he even do a Horner and challenge for the win at the Tour? When he beats Froome and Contador it is usually just in a sprint and on a murito, but this was 13 seconds on a mountain...

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Contador can still win if attacks tomorrow. He has to try.

Froome is clearly building his form here. I'm not so sure about Contador. Valverde has clearly hit a sensational level of fitness in this first part of the season. Unless Valverde has a bad day tomorrow and Contador was just not really strong today, though his performance on La Molina suggests that he just hasn't that super form necessary to make the difference, then it will be impossible to drop Valverde tomorrow.

Need a profile of the climb to see if it is possible. Contador was able to attack on a shallow climb like Eze after all.

Alt de la Musara:

It is almost 40 km from the finish. And there are no difficult climbs before Musara to break up the pleoton.

How is this even considered a climb, let along a Cat 1

Wow at Valverde's form. Could he even do a Horner and challenge for the win at the Tour? When he beats Froome and Contador it is usually just in a sprint and on a murito, but this was 13 seconds on a mountain...

Valverde has always been a much better rider in one week races than GTs even though he has a GT win. l don't think this will translate to the Tour. Plus he has extra motivation after the TTT debacle.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

lots of idiots upset by Froome's riding style

Not idiots...it's like people who like a nice golf swing, Ernie Els vs. the more sketchy Ray Floyd style .

Style-wise, IMO, Valverde is right there at the top,...again . He's smooth, the posture is perfect, I give him that. I like Nibali's style too. Contador off the saddle is the only thing that competes with my Tibopino mental images when I ride up a hill...I like when he attacks, all-in.

I prefer the Froome tricycle spin with the head moving around and the flaps fully deployed !

 

[Dan2016]

Re: Re:

lots of idiots upset by Froome's riding style

Not idiots...it's like people who like a nice golf swing, Ernie Els vs. the more sketchy Ray Floyd style .

Style-wise, IMO, Valverde is right there at the top,...again . He's smooth, the posture is perfect, I give him that. I like Nibali's style too. Contador off the saddle is the only thing that competes with my Tibopino mental images when I ride up a hill...I like when he attacks, all-in.

I prefer the Froome tricycle spin with the head moving around and the flaps fully deployed !

Froome flaps fully deployed! Haha!

Was a good stage yesterday.

Funny reading some people getting upset and almost taking things personally over riders they don't even know. They're just pixels for the most part. None of our likes and dislikes are logical, demanding they should be is nonsense. It's all just fun and games.

I cannot bear Froome. I'd have him banned for his insult to riding style. I literally can't stand to watch him. He's a total disgrace! (deliberate ridiculous hyperbole)
Valverde is just a...meh. Great palmares but he bores me. His position isn't quite right either, a bit too far forward and too high on the saddle...which annoys me.
And Contador is a total legend, he properly honors the romantic myths of the sport. (it annoys me when he wears black shoes though).

All totally illogical. All part of the fun.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Just watched this.

Sweet, sweet redemption for Balaverde!!!

As usual, got to love AC's fighting spirit. Gonna be a sad day when those two retire.

Not a big fan of Froome but I like his riding style in the sense that I think it's great to see a variety of styles in the peloton. And the guy is not a boring rider, I don't care what anyone says.

Maybe Froome is not a boring rider but he and his team make the races boring. That's enough of a reason to dislike them for me.

 

[SafeBet]

Wow what a win for Bala. Possibly his best ever climbing performance, I'm impressed. He's 37 for God's sake.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

Wow what a win for Bala. Possibly his best ever climbing performance, I'm impressed. He's 37 for God's sake.

I wonder if Valverde is gaining the effects right now from riding at the sharp end of all three GTs last year. There's not a lot that a 37 year old can do to provide new training stimulus to reach another level, but that may be one thing which does force the body to adapt and improve. Whether or not it is a temporary peak or will last the whole season will be interesting to see.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Wow what a win for Bala. Possibly his best ever climbing performance, I'm impressed. He's 37 for God's sake.

I wonder if Valverde is gaining the effects right now from riding at the sharp end of all three GTs last year. There's not a lot that a 37 year old can do to provide new training stimulus to reach another level, but that may be one thing which does force the body to adapt and improve. Whether or not it is a temporary peak or will last the whole season will be interesting to see.

At almost 37 its absolutely insane to out climb Contador and Froome that relatively easily. Especially considering he was sick enough not to take part in Paris-Nice, so thats a month without competition and a far from optimal training period ahead of Catalunya. Yet he comfortably smashes all of them like it was what he was born to do. The 3 GTs can definitely have helped him getting an even more ridiculous base.

He will already began to think about the upcoming plans for the GT's now. To target TdF 100%, maybe one last time, or save a bit for La Vuelta...

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

Wow what a win for Bala. Possibly his best ever climbing performance, I'm impressed. He's 37 for God's sake.

I wonder if Valverde is gaining the effects right now from riding at the sharp end of all three GTs last year. There's not a lot that a 37 year old can do to provide new training stimulus to reach another level, but that may be one thing which does force the body to adapt and improve. Whether or not it is a temporary peak or will last the whole season will be interesting to see.

At almost 37 its absolutely insane to out climb Contador and Froome that relatively easily. Especially considering he was sick enough not to take part in Paris-Nice, so thats a month without competition and a far from optimal training period ahead of Catalunya. Yet he comfortably smashes all of them like it was what he was born to do. The 3 GTs can definitely have helped him getting an even more ridiculous base.

He will already began to think about the upcoming plans for the GT's now. To target TdF 100%, maybe one last time, or save a bit for La Vuelta...

I imagine he'll go 100% at the Tour - at least while he's still in contention for the podium. I guess it depends a lot on Quintana as well; if he doesn't have the shape to go for the overall, then Valverde will get full team support,and although Froome looks untouchable, 2nd place can be up for grabs.

Also, he normally recovers well for the Vuelta after going hard in the Tour, so I guess there is a danger that if he tries to manage his efforts in the Tour, he could end up a bit flat or undercooked for the Vuelta.

 

[elfed68]

Re: Re:

lots of idiots upset by Froome's riding style

Not idiots...it's like people who like a nice golf swing, Ernie Els vs. the more sketchy Ray Floyd style .

Style-wise, IMO, Valverde is right there at the top,...again . He's smooth, the posture is perfect, I give him that. I like Nibali's style too. Contador off the saddle is the only thing that competes with my Tibopino mental images when I ride up a hill...I like when he attacks, all-in.

I prefer the Froome tricycle spin with the head moving around and the flaps fully deployed !

Froome flaps fully deployed! Haha!

Was a good stage yesterday.

Funny reading some people getting upset and almost taking things personally over riders they don't even know. They're just pixels for the most part. None of our likes and dislikes are logical, demanding they should be is nonsense. It's all just fun and games.

I cannot bear Froome. I'd have him banned for his insult to riding style. I literally can't stand to watch him. He's a total disgrace! (deliberate ridiculous hyperbole)
Valverde is just a...meh. Great palmares but he bores me. His position isn't quite right either, a bit too far forward and too high on the saddle...which annoys me.
And Contador is a total legend, he properly honors the romantic myths of the sport. (it annoys me when he wears black shoes though).

All totally illogical. All part of the fun.

Would you agree that Mikel Landa's climbing in the drops is just so good to watch? So so classy!

 

[LaFlorecita]

Just saw the flamme rouge was a guy holding a flamme rouge yesterday :lol:
https://twitter.com/DansLaMusette/status/845573740780044288

 

[CTQ]

Just saw the flamme rouge was a guy holding a flamme rouge yesterday :lol:
<span class="skimlinks-unlinked">https://twitter.com/DansLaMusette/status/845573740780044288</span>

no chance that the Flamme Rouge falls on the riders :lol:

 

[Asero831]

Froome 40 seconds behind already

 

[Asero831]

Movistar hammering the field

 

[Asero831]

Froome now 1 minute behind
Soler to podium