Carlos Betancur discussion thread

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Valv.Piti

Valv.Piti

Aug 3, 2015
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Re:

Escarabajo said:
How do you keep a professional on a short leash? forcing him?
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Dno. Try to let him train with someone, race a few races here and there and not let him completely out of sight. Its ridiculous, if you didn't know better you'd think I talked about a little baby, but its the reality when it comes to this guy.
 
Popchu

Popchu

Mar 14, 2011
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Re:

Escarabajo said:
Form looks decent.
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He was looking good on the climb yesterday, being part of the first group when the split occurred.

Looking forward to more mountains. :)
 
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search

Aug 29, 2009
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well, he said finishing high up in GC here is his main goal (before the Vuelta) months ago, so him not making any splits like that would be a huge disappointment. Given the poor competition, a Top 5 should be the target, I think.
 
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Popchu

Popchu

Mar 14, 2011
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For the first time since his GC victory in Paris-Nice, which is more than five years ago, Betancur finishes in the GC top ten of a WorldTour race.

It was a very nice sight to see him climbing in the high mountains with the best, although he is missing something to fight for the win at this level. Maybe I was expecting a bit more after a good build-up with enough racing kilometers and a training camp in Andorra, but let's focus on the positive: his level was very decent.

And now, up to the Vuelta. If he's willing to live like a pro for two months, nice thing are awaiting for him in Spain. But another option is that he throws away his good form and arrives with +5 kilogram in August, or worse, he disappears again and does not race for the rest for the season. But let's hope for the best!
 
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shalgo

Aug 11, 2010
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Nice to see Betancur in good shape. That said, he has the annoying habit of never pulling when he is in a small group. Pozzovivo had a good reason not to pull today with Dennis up the road, but Betancur had no reason. He is not making himself any friends in the peloton.
 
Escarabajo

Escarabajo

Apr 16, 2009
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He is definitely in good shape. That was a hard mountain stage. Very rice and consistent riding.
Now prepare for La Vuelta.
 
Popchu

Popchu

Mar 14, 2011
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He is not going to win the Vuelta. :rolleyes:

After Tour de Suisse, where he finished 8th in the GC, I thought everything was going to fall into place for him this year, with a nice program towards the Vuelta. Not to win of course, but a top 10 and aiming for a stage win should be within reach, I thought. However, in Austria he was riding anonymously, while he could have won that race given the competition, if he had the same climbing legs as in Suisse. And now he finished the Tour de Pologne, where he was not exactly impressive, to say the least.

Next is Burgos, than probably Vuelta. The best we can hope for is Betancur being a good domestique for Carapaz / Quintana / Valverde, but I doubt he will be of much help.
 
staubsauger

staubsauger

Jul 27, 2009
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Maybe everyone including Betancur himself just came to the wrong conclusion. If he's struggling that much with homesickness & motivation, maybe the best solution would have been for Betancur to live, ride and train in Colombia wouldn't it?

Focus on Tour of Colombia, Tachira etc

Now he's either sitting in Spain and misses Colombia or enjoying live in Colombia and barely trains... Of course that doesn't work off!
 
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Koronin

Koronin

Oct 14, 2017
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According to Movistar Betancur will not be racing in Burgos and his next race will be in Granada. (Posted on Movistar's twitter feed).
 
Escarabajo

Escarabajo

Apr 16, 2009
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Popchu said:
He is not going to win the Vuelta. :rolleyes:

After Tour de Suisse, where he finished 8th in the GC, I thought everything was going to fall into place for him this year, with a nice program towards the Vuelta. Not to win of course, but a top 10 and aiming for a stage win should be within reach, I thought. However, in Austria he was riding anonymously, while he could have won that race given the competition, if he had the same climbing legs as in Suisse. And now he finished the Tour de Pologne, where he was not exactly impressive, to say the least.

Next is Burgos, than probably Vuelta. The best we can hope for is Betancur being a good domestique for Carapaz / Quintana / Valverde, but I doubt he will be of much help.
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A rider get limited opportunities and they need to take advantage of them. In his case, I think he had many opportunities during his life so far.
A pity.
 
hrotha

hrotha

Jun 10, 2010
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In fact, Betancur is explicitly included in the roster for Burgos in the first tweet.
 
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shalgo

Aug 11, 2010
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Given the wild swings of form that Betancur has shown in the past, this season he really has been the epitome of mediocre professionalism.

Starting with the Fleche Wallonne in April, Betancur has had 39 race days. In that time, he has finished between 6th and 62nd on every stage and one-day race and between 8th and 43rd on GC. In fact, if you drop his top three finishes (6th, 8th, and 8th) and his bottom three (62nd, 62nd, and 53rd), his 39 stage/one-day race/GC results during that time are all between 11th and 50th.
 
Popchu

Popchu

Mar 14, 2011
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His last race, Plouay, was pretty good actually, his result does not reflect the race he rode. Maybe he can surprise in Canada with another good performance? ;)
 
Popchu

Popchu

Mar 14, 2011
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His performances in Bretagne and Canada should have been enough to be selected for the Worlds...

Overall, he had a decent year, but it was not enough to contest for victories at WorldTour-level. Still his best Movistar-year.

1 - Klasika Primavera
15 - Liège-Bastogne-Liège
11 - Tour de Romandie
8 - Tour de Suisse
23 - Bretagne
34 - Quebec
15 - Montreal

Hopefully, he will get the chance to ride some of the Italian Autumn Classics, then hopefully announcing a WorldTour contract for 2020. He is not the rider he used to be, but he deserves another contract.
 
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