Teams & Riders Carlos Rodriguez- The Next Great Rodriguez Discussion Thread

[hayneplane]

Carlos Rodriguez was with the favorites until the sprint, finished with Yates, and is fourth overall. I expect big things from him the rest of the Vuelta.

Should be an intriguing battle between him and Ayuso for top young Spaniard in the overall

 

[CyclistAbi]

Great performance today on stage 8.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

Unless he takes the bonus sprint tomorrow, going to be a 7th place GC for him, could’ve fought for the podium if he didn’t crash. Still, the guy has got guts and this is only the beginning.

 

[RedheadDane]

Well fought, young man!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Well, he did great considering his injuries. Big thumbs up. A top 10 at that age is a huge result and much better than guys like Hindley, Hart, Vingegaard... were achieving at that age. And he did it after crashing as well.

 

[RedheadDane]

A top 10 at that age is a huge result and much better than guys like Hindley, Hart, Vingegaard... were achieving at that age.

Yeah, pretty sure that at that age, Vingegaard was still cutting up fish.

 

[StryderHells]

Yeah, pretty sure that at that age, Vingegaard was still cutting up fish.

So Vingegaard was better prepared for GT GC racing?

 

[ice&fire]

Best Ineos rider in the TDF opening. The hype train is ready to depart.

 

[Valv.Piti]

This stage suited him pretty badly. Everything suggests to me that he will just get stronger and stronger throughout a race (his rider profile and his preparation).

Yes, I think a top-3 is realistic. I think he's that good, people forgot how good he actually was last Vuelta before the crash.

 

[HelloDolly]

I suppose INEOS has a leader now

 

[Red Rick]

This stage suited him pretty badly. Everything suggests to me that he will just get stronger and stronger throughout a race (his rider profile and his preparation).

Yes, I think a top-3 is realistic. I think he's that good, people forgot how good he actually was last Vuelta before the crash.

Like 5th best climber in a meh Vuelta field?

He literally doesn't have a single result in his career that makes 3rd in this Tour look plausible.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Nah man, just trust. He's a year older now, and I don't really think that field was that meh.

Also with his prep and his crash, he looked strong towards the end of Dauphine. He's the second coming of Sastre, just more talented.

 

[Big Doopie]

I reeeeeeeeeally like this guy.

Hope he has breakout TDF.

 

[Tim Cahill]

He looks very lean, perhaps it's just the new jersey, really think he can do something here. God knows what's happened to Dani Martinez however.

 

[tobydawq]

Like 5th best climber in a meh Vuelta field?

He literally doesn't have a single result in his career that makes 3rd in this Tour look plausible.

True, nobody gets better than when they were 21.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Yeah, pretty sure that at that age, Vingegaard was still cutting up fish.

Sorry, i never read this reply until now. When Vingegaard had the age Carlos Rodriguez had when he finished the Vuelta in the top 10, that would have been summer 2018, he had stopped cutting up fish, finished 68th in Tour de l'Avenir and signed with Jumbo Visma where he started a few months later.

 

[Red Rick]

True, nobody gets better than when they were 21.

I'm not ridiculing the notion he can get better, I'm ridiculing the notion he's one of the top candidates for 3rd despite having no results indicating so with only his age to go by.

Even going by age + recent results Skjelmose is a much better bet anyway

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I'm not ridiculing the notion he can get better, I'm ridiculing the notion he's one of the top candidates for 3rd despite having no results indicating so with only his age to go by.

Even going by age + recent results Skjelmose is a much better bet anyway

I think regardless of being younger, Rodriguez has given more reason to assume he can survive high mountain stages than Skjelmose so far. That doesn't mean he will finish ahead of him, but i'm not sure what Skjelmose has shown to make you think he is a much better bet. Also don't forget Rodriguez lost places due to his injury in the Vuelta. He could have finished 3rd-5th.

 

[tobydawq]

I'm not ridiculing the notion he can get better, I'm ridiculing the notion he's one of the top candidates for 3rd despite having no results indicating so with only his age to go by.

Even going by age + recent results Skjelmose is a much better bet anyway

I think the fact that he is clearly much better on long mountains than this punchy stuff they have been riding on so far coupled with the fact that he has managed to not lose time on said stuff makes people think that his prospects are quite good.

Skjelmose doesn't have the same aura of endurance at all.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I think regardless of being younger, Rodriguez has given more reason to assume he can survive high mountain stages than Skjelmose so far. That doesn't mean he will finish ahead of him, but i'm not sure what Skjelmose has shown to make you think he is a much better bet. Also don't forget Rodriguez lost places due to his injury in the Vuelta. He could have finished 3rd-5th.

Yes. I'd definitely go Rodriguez over Skjelmose in general, but I'm just a little sceptic due to his preparation to the race. Could have been better for sure, although I don't know that much, we all know he didn't race for a good couple of months and that he crashed in Dauphine. But despite of that, he kept getting better.

Still, I think he's a very solid top-5 shout at this point, but I also think he might come even better in the Vuelta later. Which could turn out to be an absolute great race looking at the field already now.

 

[tobydawq]

Yes. I'd definitely go Rodriguez over Skjelmose in general, but I'm just a little sceptic due to his preparation to the race. Could have been better for sure, although I don't know that much, we all know he didn't race for a good couple of months and that he crashed in Dauphine. But despite of that, he kept getting better.

Still, I think he's a very solid top-5 shout at this point, but I also think he might come even better in the Vuelta later. Which could turn out to be an absolute great race looking at the field already now.

Surely, he will not ride two consecutive Grand Tours at 22?

 

[Valv.Piti]

I think thats the plan, but I could be mistaken.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Would you look at that, he looks to be the strongest climber outside Pogacar/Vingegaard (and Hindley, I guess) in this year's Tour already now.

With Hindley going this strong though, it will be hard to finish on the podium, but you never know. He's just that good.

 

[Netserk]

Would you look at that, he looks to be the strongest climber outside Pogacar/Vingegaard (and Hindley, I guess) in this year's Tour already now.

With Hindley going this strong though, it will be hard to finish on the podium, but you never know. He's just that good.

Yep, very promising performance today!

 

[Devil's Elbow]

He’s almost a shoe-in for a top-5 now, the fact that we’re in an age of prodigies will - undeservedly - somewhat diminish how big an achievement that is at 22. He can challenge for a Giro or Vuelta next year - if Ineos send him there, because with TGH leaving, he will be their only actually-good GC guy when age finally catches up with Thomas.