Colombians in the Amgen Tour of California?

[will10]

Keep dreaming. Colombia had 0 riders in Tour de France last year.

Cycling ≠ Tour De France.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Btw. it's amazing how much people talk about Tour of California these days...

If you go to a Norwegian-language cycling forum, I'm sure the Festningsrittet gets a disproportionately large amount of coverage, too.

 

[profff]

Cycling ≠ Tour De France.

they do not know anything about cycling, they just know the tour because of armstrong.
i really hope rigo uran will show how this arrogant comment are wrong.
i really hope that duarte and betancourt will show how arrogant are the people who do not know anything about colombia and his cyclists.
i really hope i can see in a few years in the tour what I have seen last year in the tour de l' avenir, I mean quintana versus talansky : result will probably be the same.
( ah, i really like talansky).

unfortunately , escarabajo is right: talent is not the only thing needed to blow up the european scene.
we will wait and see.

finally, tour of california is not that important race that americans think.
in the same period there will be the giro, true racing, true mountains, lot of tradition and history, great champions at 100% shape.
let 's hope , dear ryo and escarabajo, that betancur, sarmiento, duarte and maybe monsalve and ruyano have the chance to show real climbing attitudes where racing really counts.

then , i love cycling and i will follow ToC, his huge crowds and look for some american real talent.

 

[flicker]

Then enlighten us alll.....

A few years ago Leipheimer raised the money to have the race start or finish in SR. Race did not happen even though he had the money.

There was an issue with the race going through a town last year, they still wanted it organizers said no dice.

Put the race in another town. I do not want to talk dollars here but the podium cafe , may have their info right about Auburn, however don't believe everything you read on the forum nor the internet.

Someone gave me the scoop and there are a few discrepencies.

 

[roundabout]

they do not know anything about cycling, they just know the tour because of armstrong.
i really hope rigo uran will show how this arrogant comment are wrong.
i really hope that duarte and betancourt will show how arrogant are the people who do not know anything about colombia and his cyclists.
i really hope i can see in a few years in the tour what I have seen last year in the tour de l' avenir, I mean quintana versus talansky : result will probably be the same.
( ah, i really like talansky).

unfortunately , escarabajo is right: talent is not the only thing needed to blow up the european scene.
we will wait and see.

finally, tour of california is not that important race that americans think.
in the same period there will be the giro, true racing, true mountains, lot of tradition and history, great champions at 100% shape.
let 's hope , dear ryo and escarabajo, that betancur, sarmiento, duarte and maybe monsalve and ruyano have the chance to show real climbing attitudes where racing really counts.

then , i love cycling and i will follow ToC, his huge crowds and look for some american real talent.

Yeah, i'm also curious what people like Betancourt would do without Labarta overseeing them.

 

[lucybears]

A few years ago Leipheimer raised the money to have the race start or finish in SR. Race did not happen even though he had the money.

There was an issue with the race going through a town last year, they still wanted it organizers said no dice.

Put the race in another town. I do not want to talk dollars here but the podium cafe , may have their info right about Auburn, however don't believe everything you read on the forum nor the internet.

Someone gave me the scoop and there are a few discrepencies.

I don't "believe everything I read on the forum nor the internet."
- that is why I asked - have you any links to back up your "not true" statement, or do I file it with the Podium Cafe article ?

 

[kurtinsc]

they do not know anything about cycling, they just know the tour because of armstrong.
i really hope rigo uran will show how this arrogant comment are wrong.
i really hope that duarte and betancourt will show how arrogant are the people who do not know anything about colombia and his cyclists.
i really hope i can see in a few years in the tour what I have seen last year in the tour de l' avenir, I mean quintana versus talansky : result will probably be the same.
( ah, i really like talansky).

unfortunately , escarabajo is right: talent is not the only thing needed to blow up the european scene.
we will wait and see.

finally, tour of california is not that important race that americans think.
in the same period there will be the giro, true racing, true mountains, lot of tradition and history, great champions at 100% shape.
let 's hope , dear ryo and escarabajo, that betancur, sarmiento, duarte and maybe monsalve and ruyano have the chance to show real climbing attitudes where racing really counts.

then , i love cycling and i will follow ToC, his huge crowds and look for some american real talent.

I can understand hope for guys like Duarte and Quintana... but I think I'm starting to get off the Uran bandwagon. I've been hearing about him for years, but the guy's been in Europe for 4 years and while he's still young he's starting to strike me as a guy who would excel more at hills then high mountains. Perhaps he'll still develop, but I see him more as a guy to contest races like Lombardia and hilly one week tours.

And TOC is not that important a race... unless you are a US team. Then it is one of your most important races due to it being the best chance to show your sponsors off to the US audience outside of the tour de france.

 

[flicker]

I can understand hope for guys like Duarte and Quintana... but I think I'm starting to get off the Uran bandwagon. I've been hearing about him for years, but the guy's been in Europe for 4 years and while he's still young he's starting to strike me as a guy who would excel more at hills then high mountains. Perhaps he'll still develop, but I see him more as a guy to contest races like Lombardia and hilly one week tours.

And TOC is not that important a race... unless you are a US team. Then it is one of your most important races due to it being the best chance to show your sponsors off to the US audience outside of the tour de france.

Actually it is important in the USA as it showcases cycling. It gets more publicity here than the Tour and promotes racing more than any other race in the USA.

Hopefully it will light some fires in individuals and promoters to run more races. Honestly I do not care who races it, it would be fair to include Latin America and CANADA AS WE ARE JOINED AT THE HIP.

 

[The Hitch]

I can understand hope for guys like Duarte and Quintana... but I think I'm starting to get off the Uran bandwagon. I've been hearing about him for years, but the guy's been in Europe for 4 years and while he's still young he's starting to strike me as a guy who would excel more at hills then high mountains. Perhaps he'll still develop, but I see him more as a guy to contest races like Lombardia and hilly one week tours.

And TOC is not that important a race... unless you are a US team. Then it is one of your most important races due to it being the best chance to show your sponsors off to the US audience outside of the tour de france.

I saw hope left for Uran when he came 7th on the Kronplatz, right after pacing Arroyo first up the Grappa then up the Zonc.

Arroyo himself could only manage 16th. the "next big thing" Richie Porte who according to many on here is destined for gt podiums, and to top 10 the tour on his first attempt, came 1 second further down in 17th.

These guys had something to fight for. Uran had nothing, but he showed them who is the man on the climbs. The only reason he wasnt competing at that point was the 10 minutes he lost to crashes on stage 1. So if Richie Porte is going to be so great then surely Uran, who is clearly way better at climbs, is going to be even better.

And having worked his socks of as Arroyo's superdomestique he then procceded to put up an awesome performance at Suisse, against guys putting the finishing touches to Tour form. Yes he lost it on the final tt, but who didnt.

He was injured for the Vuelta and so did crap.

And as far as the Colombians who havent proved themselves in europe go, im hyping Henao.

To Ryos prediction of Colombian domination i say that the best season for Colombia this year would be
Rujano wins Giro, Uran comes 5th
Soler 4th in Tour
Duarte 4th in Vuelta.

I know Rujano is Venezuelan but it would show that a VUelta a Colombia winner can cut it in europe.

 

[DAOTEC]

I saw hope left for Uran when he came 7th on the Kronplatz, right after pacing Arroyo first up the Grappa then up the Zonc.

Arroyo himself could only manage 16th. the "next big thing" Richie Porte who according to many on here is destined for gt podiums, and to top 10 the tour on his first attempt, came 1 second further down in 17th.

These guys had something to fight for. Uran had nothing, but he showed them who is the man on the climbs. The only reason he wasnt competing at that point was the 10 minutes he lost to crashes on stage 1. So if Richie Porte is going to be so great then surely Uran, who is clearly way better at climbs, is going to be even better.

And having worked his socks of as Arroyo's superdomestique he then procceded to put up an awesome performance at Suisse, against guys putting the finishing touches to Tour form. Yes he lost it on the final tt, but who didnt.

He was injured for the Vuelta and so did crap.

To Ryos prediction of Colombian domination i say that the best season for Colombia this year would be
Rujano wins Giro, Uran comes 5th
Soler 4th in Tour
Duarte 4th in Vuelta.

I know Rujano is Venezuelan but it would show that a VUelta a Colombia winner can cut it in europe.

What a load of crap predictions .... all of them are going nowhere

The big thing is with A e S and there are 5 big Caribbean kings more on the move ...

And as far as the Colombians who havent proved themselves in europe go, im hyping Henao.

Agree, but is not one of the 5

 

[armstrong4ever]

And TOC is not that important a race... unless you are a US team

"We will try to do a good Tour of California" - Kim Andersen, Leopard-Trek

"For Rabobank it's an important race" - Lars Boom, Rabobank

"It’s like the Tour de France" - Carlos Sastre, Geox-TMC

"I would say it is at the level of a Grand Tour, comparable to the Giro d'Italia." - Roberto Amandio, Liquigas

...

 

[Michele]

Leopard-Trek: 2nd main sponsor is american
Rabobank: correct me if Im wrong but Rabobank is based almost everywhere
Geox: they cant ride Tour
Liquigas-Cannondale: 2nd main sponsor is american

 

[The Hitch]

Leopard-Trek: 2nd main sponsor is american

And Kim is probably joking considering how seriously they took it last year. Forget Schleck and Ogrady, Canc came like 7th in the tt ffs. Even if hes not "we will try to do well" means nothing. Im sure they "will try to do well" at the TOB and the Lux nats as well.

Rabobank: correct me if Im wrong but Rabobank is based almost everywhere

Especially in California. They payed though the roof to name some basketball arena the "rabobank arena"

Geox: they cant ride Tour

Sastres comment is just bizzare. A european with poor english who likes 3rd week steep climbs. I think what Carlos is getting at is hes expalining stage racing to 5 year olds. "its like the Tour" in that its more than 1 day of racing.

Liquigas-Cannondale: 2nd main sponsor is american

Doesnt matter. That comment from roberto amadio (if he said it) is just bizzare. Sometimes you have to accept that people lose sanity. It happens now and again that people make comments so stupid you have to question if they havent hit their head. This is one of those.

 

[theyoungest]

And Kim is probably joking considering how seriously they took it last year. Forget Schleck and Ogrady, Canc came like 7th in the tt ffs. Even if hes not "we will try to do well" means nothing. Im sure they "will try to do well" at the TOB and the Lux nats as well.


Especially in California. They payed though the roof to name some basketball arena the "rabobank arena"


Sastres comment is just bizzare. A european with poor english who likes 3rd week steep climbs. I think what Carlos is getting at is hes expalining stage racing to 5 year olds. "its like the Tour" in that its more than 1 day of racing.



Doesnt matter. That comment from roberto amandillo (if he said it) is just bizzare. Sometimes you have to accept that people lose sanity. It happens now and again that people make comments so stupid you have to question if they havent hit their head. This is one of those.

It's just difficult for you to accept that Levi Leipheimer has won the second biggest stage race in the world. Thrice. Just admit it.

 

[The Hitch]

It's just difficult for you to accept that Levi Leipheimer has won the second biggest stage race in the world. Thrice. Just admit it.

Actually for once im not hating on california. And im one of the few on here who doesnt hate on Levi. poor guy deserved a big win imo.

But part of me cant wait for the Giro lineup to be confirmed. What was that about how the Toc will have a better lineup than the Giro?

All the TDF contenders going to be training at the TOC? In case you missed it guys, forget the Tour, theyll all be at the Giro

Time to move the TOC to March so that it can be the "big prep race" for Il Giro. They are going to "take the challenge" to Paris Nice

Ok so it looks like with this post im hating on TOC again. Oh well, its just too easy.

 

[kurtinsc]

"We will try to do a good Tour of California" - Kim Andersen, Leopard-Trek

"For Rabobank it's an important race" - Lars Boom, Rabobank

"It’s like the Tour de France" - Carlos Sastre, Geox-TMC

"I would say it is at the level of a Grand Tour, comparable to the Giro d'Italia." - Roberto Amandio, Liquigas

...

I don't know about Geox... but the other three have name-sponsors who also pay to sponsor the TOC. Rabbobank, Trek and Cannondale are all financing the race.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

These guys had something to fight for. Uran had nothing, but he showed them who is the man on the climbs. The only reason he wasnt competing at that point was the 10 minutes he lost to crashes on stage 1. So if Richie Porte is going to be so great then surely Uran, who is clearly way better at climbs, is going to be even better.

And having worked his socks of as Arroyo's superdomestique he then procceded to put up an awesome performance at Suisse, against guys putting the finishing touches to Tour form. Yes he lost it on the final tt, but who didnt.

In addition to this, Urán had always had half an eye on the KOM, especially once he lost a bunch of time in the wind. He got in the break that Sørensen won from on stage 8. However, after L'Aquila, of course, Caisse d'Epargne's priorities shifted, because they suddenly had the chance to win the race, so Urán no longer had the freedom to go up the road and try to pick up a stage or the GPM... especially with Bruseghin, who would also have been a great superdomestique to have, having dropped out after a crash on stage 3. Urán basically had to superdom. He was with Arroyo all the way on Grappa, and paced him for most of the Mortirolo too. He didn't do as much on the Zoncolán, and Arnold Jeannesson had to step in but struggled to maintain a rhythm. I rate Jeannesson as a climbing domestique, but compared to Urán he was simply not able to offer Arroyo the help he required.

And week 3 of the 2009 Tour, with a 22 year-old Urán in breaks and in the front groups much of the time, tells us he still has that ability. I think that the likes of Andy Schleck and Peter Sagan showing us what they have the second they arrive has skewed our opinions of how quickly a young rider should compete, it could take several years for him to peak.

Actually for once im not hating on california. And im one of the few on here who doesnt hate on Levi. poor guy deserved a big win imo.

2005 DeutschlandTour is bigger than any of the Tours of California Levi won. You could make an argument about the Tour of California now, but when Levi won it it was a warmup race. Levi won atop the Rettenbachferner, a monstrous climb on the highest paved road in the Alps. That's more than anything he's done in California (or has been possible to do in California to date!).

 

[theyoungest]

2005 DeutschlandTour is bigger than any of the Tours of California Levi won. You could make an argument about the Tour of California now, but when Levi won it it was a warmup race. Levi won atop the Rettenbachferner, a monstrous climb on the highest paved road in the Alps. That's more than anything he's done in California (or has been possible to do in California to date!).

Still, not really a big win. And I think by this point we can almost be sure that those Gerolsteiner years were serious clinic stuff.

 

[jaylew]

I disagree. That DT win was a really big win, imo. Your 2nd point is certainly possible but I don't know why we can be almost sure about anything.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Especially in California. They payed though the roof to name some basketball arena the "rabobank arena"

.

they've also sponsored (not main sponsor obviously) the event, thus i am not surprised it is important to the sponsor(rabo).

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Still, not really a big win. And I think by this point we can almost be sure that those Gerolsteiner years were serious clinic stuff.

Bigger than the Tour of California at any point to date, and I'm sure we can say that those Gerolsteiner years were serious clinic stuff, but no more than his 2008 Vuelta where he was outclimbing Valverde and Mosquera.

 

[The Hitch]

Bigger than the Tour of California at any point to date, and I'm sure we can say that those Gerolsteiner years were serious clinic stuff, but no more than his 2008 Vuelta where he was outclimbing Valverde and Mosquera.

Is that the same Alejandro Valverde who won the Vuelta Murcia in March, Liege Bastogne Liege in April, Dauphine Libere in June, several stages And 6th overall in Tour in July, Classica San Sebastian in August before the Vuelta. Like Purito in this years Vuelta, im not surprised he wasnt tip top after that.

Levi got Bronze in Beijing but thats right before the Vuetla, so he its good to have form then. He didnt do the Tour, so was likely at a peak.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Is that the same Alejandro Valverde who won the Vuelta Murcia in March, Liege Bastogne Liege in April, Dauphine Libere in June, several stages And 6th overall in Tour in July, Classica San Sebastian in August before the Vuelta. Like Purito in this years Vuelta, im not surprised he wasnt tip top after that.

Levi got Bronze in Beijing but thats right before the Vuetla, so he its good to have form then. He didnt do the Tour, so was likely at a peak.

Yup, that's the Valverde in question. He still had it in him to come 2nd on Angliru.

Where Leipheimer outclimbed Mosquera. To be fair, when Levi outclimbed Eze on the Puerto de San Isidro it was more a case of Mosquera did his job from Pal again, just riding on the front with top climbers in his wheel, not caring, just trying to break them. And Contador and Leipheimer watched him drop absolutely everyone else, then nipped out to take the 1-2 in the last 200m. The Xaco boss was pretty angry about that.

 

[theyoungest]

Yup, that's the Valverde in question. He still had it in him to come 2nd on Angliru.

And then lost all the time he gained on the other contenders in the next stage, which wasn't half as hard (in theory, at least).

 

[Libertine Seguros]

True, but then he'd already dropped 3 minutes being an idiot and getting a rain jacket at an inopportune moment, then panicking and diving into the gap trying to chase back on solo when his whole team bar Joaquím Rodríguez were in the group behind trying to help him. He went way too deep on Angliru trying to get the win, he and Contador had the agreement that Contador would let AllyVally take the win on San Isidro, but he bonked...