Carlos Betancur discussion thread

[Valv.Piti]

Bananito is in some find form. I share your sentiment about skipping the Giro, riding Romandie and some other nice races and then do the Vuelta (possibly the Tour, depends).

 

[hammerthaim]

Huge result today, supporting for a large part of it and cracked the top 15. I'm hyped. La Vuelta top 10 is very doable with this form.

 

[HelloDolly]

Well he beat Alaphilippe today ...who would have thought

but getting excited about a top 10 in the Vuelta ? C'mon

 

[Escarabajo]

He should do the Giro. His type won't have a chance at La Vuelta without doing the Giro IMHO.

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

Well he beat Alaphilippe today ...who would have thought

but getting excited about a top 10 in the Vuelta ? C'mon

If Unzue can keep him away from the Empanadas and continuing to build form, he can do better than top 10 IMO.

Problem is, that is a big if.

 

[Tonton]

I like the hype...then nothing...then a glimpse...then nothing .

Waste. Yes, he could have been. He's not. He won't be. Not that I can't see a big win in Betancur's future, because he has the talent. But for a career, he's a waste. As portugal11 put it a while back, I'm not a belieber, I don't believe in Santa, really what a waste.

 

[Escarabajo]

I like the hype...then nothing...then a glimpse...then nothing .

Waste. Yes, he could have been. He's not. He won't be. Not that I can't see a big win in Betancur's future, because he has the talent. But for a career, he's a waste. As portugal11 put it a while back, I'm not a belieber, I don't believe in Santa, really what a waste.

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-romandie/2019/prologue

 

[Valv.Piti]

I like the hype...then nothing...then a glimpse...then nothing .

Waste. Yes, he could have been. He's not. He won't be. Not that I can't see a big win in Betancur's future, because he has the talent. But for a career, he's a waste. As portugal11 put it a while back, I'm not a belieber, I don't believe in Santa, really what a waste.

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-romandie/2019/prologue

Yeah, thats not really a good counterargument if an argument at all at this point. This level needs to be sustained and built upon for his statement not to be true, not having a decent month doing what you actually are paid to do.

 

[ice&fire]

I like the hype...then nothing...then a glimpse...then nothing .

Waste. Yes, he could have been. He's not. He won't be. Not that I can't see a big win in Betancur's future, because he has the talent. But for a career, he's a waste. As portugal11 put it a while back, I'm not a belieber, I don't believe in Santa, really what a waste.

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-romandie/2019/prologue

That makes him right now as good as Rui Costa, whatever that means

 

[shalgo]

If Valverde is hurt, send Bananito to the Giro in his place!

 

[Popchu]

Tomorrow is the day.

 

[hammerthaim]

5 seconds off Roglic in a prologue. I can smell what Bananito is cooking and it smells gooooood.

 

[ice&fire]

Re:

5 seconds off Roglic in a prologue. I can smell what Bananito is cooking and it smells gooooood.

We saw it last year in the Giro. He's on his way to an almost anonymous top-20 without being of any significant help to his team leader.

 

[Escarabajo]

Relax guys. I know that he needs to keep it up.

And don't expect much from him if he is sent to the Giro. He just needs those hard miles for the Vuelta later on. And if he is in any type of form, he can help Landa somehow.

 

[hammerthaim]

Re: Re:

We saw it last year in the Giro. He's on his way to an almost anonymous top-20 without being of any significant help to his team leader.

He didn't finish 15e at Liege last year though. We'll see today, but he looks good for now.

 

[Koronin]

Hopefully if this form carries through and he goes to the Giro it's good enough for him to be of some help to Landa.

 

[Popchu]

Re: Re:

We saw it last year in the Giro. He's on his way to an almost anonymous top-20 without being of any significant help to his team leader.

He didn't finish 15e at Liege last year though. We'll see today, but he looks good for now.

Last year, however, the weather conditions were much better. We all know Betancur copes very well with cold and bad weather, so maybe it gives a little bit a distorted picture. Nonetheless, you are not 15th at Liege only because of the weather, so yes, his form is there.

In general, he looks better than the previous years. The way he rides through the peloton (I refer to Omloop), his interviews, his win in Klasika Amorebieta, ...

Regarding his program, I see he is on the provisional startlist for the Giro. With Valverde unsure, he will probably start. I'm not too happy about this. In the interview after Amorebieta, he clearly stated: Romandie - altitude - Dauphiné - build up to Vuelta as his program. Was this his own wish, or did the Movistar staff change their minds? If the latter, this is very short term thinking.

 

[Escarabajo]

Popchu don't sweat it. We have seen how training camps or training blocks work for Betancur. As I said before, he would be better off going to the Giro in order to be good at the Vuelta.

 

[hammerthaim]

He has done lots of training blocks this year. I don't know if he gets burn out from spending too much time at races or even in Europe for that matter.

I would send him to Romandie - Dauphine, but you never know.

 

[gospina]

After watching him today, I think he has a good chance of winning the Tour of Romandie. What a turnaround. He is the poster rider of contract year LOL

 

[Koronin]

Re:

After watching him today, I think he has a good chance of winning the Tour of Romandie. What a turnaround. He is the poster rider of contract year LOL

I also think this is one of those, never give him more than a one year contract at a time.

 

[Popchu]

My Spanish is very, very limited but I understand Marca is also torn between the decision whether to send him to the Giro, and take advantage of his current form, or don't overload his program and target other races this year, with a chance of disappearing again and throw away all the work done over the last few months.

But, he's not going to the Giro according to this article?

https://www.marca.com/ciclismo/giro-italia/2019/05/03/5ccacc2ce5fdea607b8b45a4.html

 

[slosada]

They do conclude that the logic dictates he should do the Giro.

Con estos números y las buenas prestaciones que ya ha alcanzado, lo lógico sería que estuviera en la nómina del Giro, lo que le colocaría a 51 días de competición a 2 de junio, en caso de que finalizara la ronda rosa.

But, in general, the writer expressed his concerns how he does great after a block of race days, and then throws away 15k quality Kms by disappearing.
Notice, though, that in the same outlet, Lastras named Amador as Valverde's replacement.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I think you skip the Giro, keep him on a short leash and bring him to TdF. Theres a looong way to the Vuelta

 

[Escarabajo]

How do you keep a professional on a short leash? forcing him?