Clean Colombians? (Arkea investigation page 27)

[Escarabajo]

Yeah, indeed. Since the argument "Colombians do not stand a chance in the blood doping era since they profit less with their high hematocrit" was frequently used - do we take something away from that? I guess not.

But Lopez looks really bad (and I mean Quintana too but thats not new) - how does this fit with his enormous Ventoux performance not long ago?

Lopez is something different. I am almost certain it doesn't have to do with doping. You simply do not drop off performance like that. Could be crashes, covid, lack of racing, etc.

 

[gmedina]

Tbh I think Quintana's knees are kinda done. In the stage when he took the polka dot jersey, he needed someone to help him walk to get to the control area, it was weird to see

 

[staubsauger]

Tbh I think Quintana's knees are kinda done. In the stage when he took the polka dot jersey, he needed someone to help him walk to get to the control area, it was weird to see

That has to do with the car crash he had last summer though.

Quintana hasn't been as bad as people made him look honestly. 2nd at the 2017 Giro d'Italia. In 2018 he won a stage in the Pyrenees and looked to be on track for a top 5 finish, before he crashed at the Tour de France. At the Vuelta obviously he wasn't in peak shape anymore. He only truly had been weak in 2019. Didn't do much except for his stage win in France, probably with Spain in sight. Only to kinda fail there.

Quintana looked decent when he had his little spring renaissance at Arkea. It wasn't until that car accident and the raid that he completely went out of the picture as a major contender.

The car crash certainly must've been more serious than initially reported!

 

[Escarabajo]

Tbh I think Quintana's knees are kinda done. In the stage when he took the polka dot jersey, he needed someone to help him walk to get to the control area, it was weird to see

That was more related with hypothermia or the cold weather rather than the knees. IMHO.

 

[Pinot's goat]

That has to do with the car crash he had last summer though.

Quintana hasn't been as bad as people made him look honestly. 2nd at the 2017 Giro d'Italia. In 2018 he won a stage in the Pyrenees and looked to be on track for a top 5 finish, before he crashed at the Tour de France. At the Vuelta obviously he wasn't in peak shape anymore. He only truly had been weak in 2019. Didn't do much except for his stage win in France, probably with Spain in sight. Only to kinda fail there.

Quintana looked decent when he had his little spring renaissance at Arkea. It wasn't until that car accident and the raid that he completely went out of the picture as a major contender.

The car crash certainly must've been more serious than initially reported!

He had his best first half of a grand tour in years at TDF 2020 as well before his crash.

 

[Escarabajo]

What is happening to Quintana right now is confusing and could be a combination of various things like: Knee surgery, lack of base training, clinic issues after what happened at the Tour last year, lack of motivation, age, etc.

But he could come back. I have seen riders with less talent than him come back. However I just don't think is going to happen with ARKEA.

 

[Mayomaniac]

What is happening to Quintana right now is confusing and could be a combination of various things like: Knee surgery, lack of base training, clinic issues after what happened at the Tour last year, lack of motivation, age, etc.

But he could come back. I have seen riders with less talent than him come back. However I just don't think is going to happen with ARKEA.

Savio has a new Spanish main sponsor, make it happen!

 

[Escarabajo]

Savio has a new Spanish main sponsor, make it happen!

I feel like he should return to the world tour team. He won't be pressured like in the smaller teams. Look at Uran preparation this year. Do you think that in a small team they would have given him that time to himself? same with Lopez. I know they both had Covid but in the end the teams have ample riders to replace them and give them enough time to recuperate properly. Not in a small outfit. These Colombians have this issue with being close to home.

 

[Mayomaniac]

I feel like he should return to the world tour team. He won't be pressured like in the smaller teams. Look at Uran preparation this year. Do you think that in a small team they would have given him that time to himself? same with Lopez. I know they both had Covid but in the end the teams have ample riders to replace them and give them enough time to recuperate properly. Not in a small outfit. These Colombians have this issue with being close to home.

Maybe Astana? They are really shaking things up atm and need someone for the gc.

 

[roundabout]

I doubt that any team manager would be able to justify a buyout of the last year of Quintana's contract at this point.

 

[Escarabajo]

I doubt that any team manager would be able to justify a buyout of the last year of Quintana's contract at this point.

I agree. And as bad as Quintana has looked, neither party seems interested to break the contract.
Maybe ARKEA gives him more freedom now.