Can TGBM win La Vuelta a Espana? - BE SERIOUS!

[Kwibus]

I think he can, but he won't.

There are atleast 10-15 riders that can win the Vuelta, but only 1 will win it.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

It's extremely unlikely that he can win the Vuelta, but it is not entirely impossible. And a top 5 is likely.

All joking aside, it is genuinely exciting seeing Mollema start to deliver on his promise. It's particularly interesting to look at him alongside Dan Martin, who is about the same age and in many ways quite a similar rider. I'd rate Martin as a better out and out climber and as having a better sprint finish. But I'd rate Mollema as being a a better TTer, as being more consistent and possibly (although I'm less sure about this) being better on JRod style short, super-steep finishes.

Of the two, it's hard to know which of them has the most potential. One key difference is that Martin has already displayed an ability to actually win and does so on a pretty regular basis, while Mollema hasn't actually picked up a win since he was an Espoir. Another big difference is that Mollema has already shown the ability to be competitive over three weeks.

I really like both of them, partly because they both have ridiculously inelegant riding styles.

 

[movingtarget]

I think the more seasoned riders still have the edge. He needs to do a good time trial and hope to continue climbing well. Top 5 probably, top three possible but not the win. His best years are still ahead of him.

 

[greenedge]

Not this year. At least he is repaying Rabo's faith in him. I expected Stevo to do better. It's him, Fuglsang, Stevo and Taaramae for the best young riders jersey

 

[craig1985]

TGBM will attack and win by 10 minutes.

No not really, he'll come top 10.

 

[Frosty]

Who is coming second is the real question isnt it?

No, its been intriguing so far with people looking good on some stages but not on others. I agree with Kwibus that there are 10-15 people who are in with a chance of winning although only 4-6 of these have a genuine chance i feel. Mollema is just behind these people IMO.

 

[theyoungest]

It's extremely unlikely that he can win the Vuelta, but it is not entirely impossible. And a top 5 is likely.

All joking aside, it is genuinely exciting seeing Mollema start to deliver on his promise. It's particularly interesting to look at him alongside Dan Martin, who is about the same age and in many ways quite a similar rider. I'd rate Martin as a better out and out climber and as having a better sprint finish. But I'd rate Mollema as being a a better TTer, as being more consistent and possibly (although I'm less sure about this) being better on JRod style short, super-steep finishes.

Of the two, it's hard to know which of them has the most potential. One key difference is that Martin has already displayed an ability to actually win and does so on a pretty regular basis, while Mollema hasn't actually picked up a win since he was an Espoir. Another big difference is that Mollema has already shown the ability to be competitive over three weeks.

I really like both of them, partly because they both have ridiculously inelegant riding styles.

Pardon me???

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Even if it was true, what can victories really account for?

I mean Andy Schleck only had 3 pro victories (one being the national ITT title) before finishing 2nd in the Giro in 2007. Van Den Broeck had 0 victories before finishing 5th in the Tour 2010 and now has only 1 victory being touted as a favorite for this Vuelta.

Sure, victories does say something, but you can't really write off anyone just because he hasn't won that much.

Edit: not saying the Zinoviev is bashing Mollema because he obviously isn't, just wanted to add this

 

[AussieGoddess]

Not this year. At least he is repaying Rabo's faith in him. I expected Stevo to do better. It's him, Fuglsang, Stevo and Taaramae for the best young riders jersey

there is no best young rider jersey.

 

[Amsterhammer]

I would love to see Bauke win, but I voted no because after all, he's Dutch.

This means that he will come second.

 

[theyoungest]

there is no best young rider jersey.

Even if there were one, Fuglsang is too old.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I think no, but he won't be too far off if he can hold this form.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

It's extremely unlikely that he can win the Vuelta, but it is not entirely impossible. And a top 5 is likely.

All joking aside, it is genuinely exciting seeing Mollema start to deliver on his promise. It's particularly interesting to look at him alongside Dan Martin, who is about the same age and in many ways quite a similar rider. I'd rate Martin as a better out and out climber and as having a better sprint finish. But I'd rate Mollema as being a a better TTer, as being more consistent and possibly (although I'm less sure about this) being better on JRod style short, super-steep finishes.

Of the two, it's hard to know which of them has the most potential. One key difference is that Martin has already displayed an ability to actually win and does so on a pretty regular basis, while Mollema hasn't actually picked up a win since he was an Espoir. Another big difference is that Mollema has already shown the ability to be competitive over three weeks.

I really like both of them, partly because they both have ridiculously inelegant riding styles.

And here is where you are woefully wrong.

Nice try.
1 Tour de Pologne 2010, Stage 6 : Oswiecim - Terma Bukowina Tatrzanska 40

(against D Martin, who finished 7th that stage, incidentally)

 

[hrotha]

And here is where you are woefully wrong.

Nice try.
1 Tour de Pologne 2010, Stage 6 : Oswiecim - Terma Bukowina Tatrzanska 40

(against D Martin, who finished 7th that stage, incidentally)

His general point still stands, though. Martin is more of a finisher and packs a greater punch. Mollema is not bad in the punchy department himself so I reckon he'll get to winning more one of these days.

 

[jsem94]

I doubt he'll be able to fight in the third week.

 

[theyoungest]

His general point still stands, though. Martin is more of a finisher and packs a greater punch. Mollema is not bad in the punchy department himself so I reckon he'll get to winning more one of these days.

Nice save there at the end, otherwise the wrath of Dekker_T would have been upon thee.

 

[Angliru]

He looked very good so far. Question is how bad will he be on a bad day. That can be important.

This. He's relatively young and has the Tour in his legs. Chances are his bad day is coming with still more mountains to climb after the ITT. He can win but I don't think he will. He has a very bright future though and seems to be delivering on the all the playful hype that's been going on around here.

 

[greatking88]

And here is where you are woefully wrong.

Nice try.
1 Tour de Pologne 2010, Stage 6 : Oswiecim - Terma Bukowina Tatrzanska 40

(against D Martin, who finished 7th that stage, incidentally)

Incidentally, Dan Martin won that tour

Mollema is obviously very confident in himself.. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mollema-confident-ahead-of-vuelta-time-trial-test

I quite like Mollema, I'm pretty sure if he can TT fine today, he ll finish in the Top 5 and above Martin overall

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

His general point still stands, though. Martin is more of a finisher and packs a greater punch. Mollema is not bad in the punchy department himself so I reckon he'll get to winning more one of these days.

I disagree. Mollema himself also disagrees, he was suprised yesterday and didn't know the last bit was downhill. He says if he started his sprint earlier he was confident of beating Martin.

I don't think Mollema is a worse puncheur/sprinter than Martin. Heck, Mollema even finished top 3 in a bunch sprint in Castilla y Leon in 2008
And this year, he outsprinted all other favorites in Castilla y Leon on top of the only MTF that Tour. He was just unlucky that some CSF guy escaped earlier and held on. Tends to happen to Mollema a lot.

 

[hrotha]

I'm sorry, are you referring to this "bunch sprint"?
http://www.cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/race.asp?raceid=7102

I said Mollema is pretty good himself, but a simple look at Martin's palmares suggests he's better at this (and no, I'm not just going by their palmares, I've seen both race too). Don't worry, Mollema is better at other things.

 

[icefire]

There's gonna be rain for the rest of this week. How are TGBM bike handling skills on wet roads?

 

[theyoungest]

There's gonna be rain for the rest of this week. How are TGBM bike handling skills on wet roads?

Not great. He does, however, consider himself to be a bad weather rider, i.e. he doesn't get much worse when it's really cold.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

And here is where you are woefully wrong.

Nice try.
1 Tour de Pologne 2010, Stage 6 : Oswiecim - Terma Bukowina Tatrzanska 40

(against D Martin, who finished 7th that stage, incidentally)

I should have remembered that win, given that the 2010 Tour of Poland was the first time I noticed Mollema's existence. That was a very good race and the three main movers and shakers (Martin, Mollema, Bole) all had a pretty good day yesterday.

Doesn't really change my basic point. If you start from the premise that Martin and Mollema are broadly similar riders and both have a great deal of potential, one of the main differences between them is that Martin wins a lot more. And another is that Mollema has already shown that he can handle three weeks while Martin hasn't.

I'd like to see Mollema actually win more than he does and I think he's capable of doing so. In fact, I think he's capable of winning a lot of the same sort of races Martin already wins.

Today is likely to be a much better day for Mollema than for Martin.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I'm confused. Is this poll about Mollema going to win this Vuelta?

Then of course not.

 

[theyoungest]

I'm confused. Is this poll about Mollema going to win this Vuelta?

Then of course not.

Lol. Your are funny.

How dare we doubt the great Jurgen Van den Broeck? However, we must immediately dismiss Mollema's chances.