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Current Top GT Riders

Page 2 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.

Who is the 4th best GT racer?

  • Kruijswijk

    Votes: 4 4.3%
  • Aru

    Votes: 22 23.7%
  • Landa

    Votes: 5 5.4%
  • Nibali

    Votes: 44 47.3%
  • Porte

    Votes: 2 2.2%
  • Van Garderen

    Votes: 1 1.1%
  • Rodriguez

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Valverde

    Votes: 6 6.5%
  • Pinot

    Votes: 7 7.5%
  • Other

    Votes: 2 2.2%

  • Total voters
    93
Re: Re:

Hugo Koblet said:
CheckMyPecs said:
Add up all the World Tour points earned by these riders in GTs over the last couple of years. Rank them by the number of points. And presto, you have your list.
Here we have it: The definitive list (based on 2014 and 2015):

1. Contador: 2284 (3/4)
2. Aru: 2194 (4/4)
3. Valverde: 2187 (4/4)
4. Nibali: 1933 (2/3)
5. Froome: 1848 (2/4)
6. Quintana: 1804 (3/4)
7. Rodriguez: 1272 (4/5)
8. Pinot: 864 (2/3)
9. Landa: 795 (4/4)
10. Kruijswijk: 524 (3/4)
11. Van Garderen: 384 (1/3)
12. Porte: 203 (2/3)

Just added the completion rate to add some perspective. From those at the top, only Aru and Valverde know how ride their bikes and managed to complete all GTs they entered.
 
Nibali by a long shot, since he was on the same level or almost the same level in 2013/2014, plus incredible all-rounder and guts.
I don’t think he’s declining yet, just need fresh air.

Then Aru has already proven his skills, looks having the ability to improve further.
Landa showed huge potential and if his TT skills have really improved can have an interesting future.
 
Talent wise he is the 4th best by a long margin. He has beaten Froome & Contador. His Palmares is very rich w.r.t GTs. However his form is suspect since 2014 and with Slongo as his preparatore and too many objectives in his mind, thinking himself to be superman, underestimating his opposition, i think it will continue to be so
 
Re:

Jancouver said:
My favorite TLMRP made this list? Hahaha that is funny.

You should put Zubeldia there instead as he has seven TOP 10 and Porte only one.

Porte is more likely to win a grand tour than Zubeldia though, as on his day he can compete with the top riders. He's shown no signs of being able to maintain form over 3 weeks, but he has shown serious climbing and time trialling ability several times
 
Re:

Cance > TheRest said:
In my opinion many of the riders on the list are hard to judge, i.e. Pinot and Kruijswijk. Last year Pinot completely failed at the Tour, while so far he's been looking very good in 16'. Kruijswijk hasn't yet won the Giro and apart from that there's not much to suggest he is in the same league as Nibali, Aru or Landa.

Valverde and Rodriguez are consistent, and you always know what to expect from the two. Yet it seems like both lack that one day where they can just crush their rivals (Aru: Cortals D'Encamps 2015 Vuelta; Nibali: every MTF in 2014 Tour; Landa: Finestre+Aprica 2015 Giro). Rodriguez had those legs in 2012 (and parts of 13'), but not since. Valverde won his Vuelta in 09' mainly through damage controlling and sometimes winning small seconds at the finish, but he never really managed to drop his rivals for good.

Then there is Porte and Van Garderen. I think they've had their chances to proof themselves and only Van Garderen has shown potential in GT's with 2x top 5 in the Tour. However, he doesn't really seem to be capable of anything more than that, regardless of the high thoughts he has of himself. Porte just isn't a GT contender in my opinion. It's really telling that the best result he has in a GT is still that 7th place in the 2010 Giro, where he was handed a 12 minute advantage on the L'Aquila stage.

Certainly true but in fairness, Porte still finishes top 10 without those 12 minutes.
 
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Re: Re:

PremierAndrew said:
Jancouver said:
My favorite TLMRP made this list? Hahaha that is funny.

You should put Zubeldia there instead as he has seven TOP 10 and Porte only one.

Porte is more likely to win a grand tour than Zubeldia though, as on his day he can compete with the top riders. He's shown no signs of being able to maintain form over 3 weeks, but he has shown serious climbing and time trialling ability several times

Nope, I dont agree.

On a paper, Zubeldia has a better chance of winning a grand tour than Porte. Zubeldia has already shown that he can climb over three weeks with the best. He already has five Top 10 at the TdF with 4th being his best result. On the other hand, Porte's Tour results are 72, 89, 19, 23, 48.

Again, this talk is about three weeks grand tours and Porte has no business here regardless of his success in one-week races. Please don't mix apples with oranges.
 
Re: Re:

Jancouver said:
PremierAndrew said:
Jancouver said:
My favorite TLMRP made this list? Hahaha that is funny.

You should put Zubeldia there instead as he has seven TOP 10 and Porte only one.

Porte is more likely to win a grand tour than Zubeldia though, as on his day he can compete with the top riders. He's shown no signs of being able to maintain form over 3 weeks, but he has shown serious climbing and time trialling ability several times

Nope, I dont agree.

On a paper, Zubeldia has a better chance of winning a grand tour than Porte. Zubeldia has already shown that he can climb over three weeks with the best. He already has five Top 10 at the TdF with 4th being his best result. On the other hand, Porte's Tour results are 72, 89, 19, 23, 48.

Again, this talk is about three weeks grand tours and Porte has no business here regardless of his success in one-week races. Please don't mix apples with oranges.
At this point in their respective careers, Porte has a way better chance of winning though. The bookies agree. Porte's odds are generally between 15-25 to 1 and Zubeldia's are between 300-1000 to 1.
 
At the moment Froome and Quintana seem to be at the top of their game. Meanwhile we have a number of older guys who seem to be on the way down (Nibali, Valverde, Contador) and then several young guys who seem to be on the up-and-up but whose full potential possibly hasn't been seen yet (Aru, Pinot, TJVG).
 
Re: Re:

Jancouver said:
PremierAndrew said:
Jancouver said:
My favorite TLMRP made this list? Hahaha that is funny.

You should put Zubeldia there instead as he has seven TOP 10 and Porte only one.

Porte is more likely to win a grand tour than Zubeldia though, as on his day he can compete with the top riders. He's shown no signs of being able to maintain form over 3 weeks, but he has shown serious climbing and time trialling ability several times

Nope, I dont agree.

On a paper, Zubeldia has a better chance of winning a grand tour than Porte. Zubeldia has already shown that he can climb over three weeks with the best. He already has five Top 10 at the TdF with 4th being his best result. On the other hand, Porte's Tour results are 72, 89, 19, 23, 48.

Again, this talk is about three weeks grand tours and Porte has no business here regardless of his success in one-week races. Please don't mix apples with oranges.

Nibali has won 3 Grand Tours, including the Tour. Meanwhile Quintana hasn't even finished within a minute of the winner of the TdF. Therefore Quintana has no chance of beating Nibali in the Tour this year if Nibali is there in July.

But neither stands a chance against the 51yo Indurain if he makes a comeback to the peloton in July
 
As much as I like to speculate and find ways to argue my favorite riders over others (e.g. Contador over Froome), I think the palmares/recent viewing of form indicates that right now, it goes:

1. Froome
2. Quintana
3. Contador
4. Aru
5. Nibali (Crushweak if he continues to dominate the Giro)
6. Landa
7. Valverde

Pinot utterly failed in the Tour, having multiple meltdowns and choosing to flip out rather than hop on a fresh bike and put in work. LRP is LRP. TJVG has only managed a couple fifths and a couple drop-outs.

If Crushweak continues to dominate this Giro, I would move him to the 5th slot.

The Tour could seriously shake all this up, with Contador, Aru, Landa, Pinot, TJVG, and LRP the most to gain.
 
Billie said:
yetanothergreenworld said:
It's an interesting question, because at the moment there's no GT specialist who is clearly at the peak of his game

Surely both Froome and Quintana are at their peaks. Or atleast very very close.

Wow. I have no idea how they slipped my mind. Note to self: don't make sweeping generalizations about the state of cycling before your first cup of coffee in the morning. :eek:
 
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Re: Re:

PremierAndrew said:
Jancouver said:
PremierAndrew said:
Jancouver said:
My favorite TLMRP made this list? Hahaha that is funny.

You should put Zubeldia there instead as he has seven TOP 10 and Porte only one.

Porte is more likely to win a grand tour than Zubeldia though, as on his day he can compete with the top riders. He's shown no signs of being able to maintain form over 3 weeks, but he has shown serious climbing and time trialling ability several times

Nope, I dont agree.

On a paper, Zubeldia has a better chance of winning a grand tour than Porte. Zubeldia has already shown that he can climb over three weeks with the best. He already has five Top 10 at the TdF with 4th being his best result. On the other hand, Porte's Tour results are 72, 89, 19, 23, 48.

Again, this talk is about three weeks grand tours and Porte has no business here regardless of his success in one-week races. Please don't mix apples with oranges.

Nibali has won 3 Grand Tours, including the Tour. Meanwhile Quintana hasn't even finished within a minute of the winner of the TdF. Therefore Quintana has no chance of beating Nibali in the Tour this year if Nibali is there in July.

But neither stands a chance against the 51yo Indurain if he makes a comeback to the peloton in July

It's funny how all the Richie's fans always start pointing fingers the other way when they run out of reasonable arguments. This talk was about Porte's chances of winning the Tour, or at least being 4th behind the Top dogs.

We all know his chances of being at least 4th are exactly ZERO because a three weeks grand tour is not a Tour of the Corkscrew Hill.

As per bookies, I'm sure they are happy the Aussie fans are dumb enough to donate their cash by betting on this donkey. :D
 
Re: Re:

Jancouver said:
PremierAndrew said:
Jancouver said:
PremierAndrew said:
Jancouver said:
My favorite TLMRP made this list? Hahaha that is funny.

You should put Zubeldia there instead as he has seven TOP 10 and Porte only one.

Porte is more likely to win a grand tour than Zubeldia though, as on his day he can compete with the top riders. He's shown no signs of being able to maintain form over 3 weeks, but he has shown serious climbing and time trialling ability several times

Nope, I dont agree.

On a paper, Zubeldia has a better chance of winning a grand tour than Porte. Zubeldia has already shown that he can climb over three weeks with the best. He already has five Top 10 at the TdF with 4th being his best result. On the other hand, Porte's Tour results are 72, 89, 19, 23, 48.

Again, this talk is about three weeks grand tours and Porte has no business here regardless of his success in one-week races. Please don't mix apples with oranges.

Nibali has won 3 Grand Tours, including the Tour. Meanwhile Quintana hasn't even finished within a minute of the winner of the TdF. Therefore Quintana has no chance of beating Nibali in the Tour this year if Nibali is there in July.

But neither stands a chance against the 51yo Indurain if he makes a comeback to the peloton in July

It's funny how all the Richie's fans always start pointing fingers the other way when they run out of reasonable arguments. This talk was about Porte's chances of winning the Tour, or at least being 4th behind the Top dogs.

We all know his chances of being at least 4th are exactly ZERO because a three weeks grand tour is not a Tour of the Corkscrew Hill.

As per bookies, I'm sure they are happy the Aussie fans are dumb enough to donate their cash by betting on this donkey. :D

I'm not a Porte fan, I was merely pointing out the flaws in your reply. And his chances of being the 4th best may be very low, but they're still higher than the likes of Zubeldia, or even Hesjedal
 
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Re: Re:

PremierAndrew said:
I'm not a Porte fan, I was merely pointing out the flaws in your reply. And his chances of being the 4th best may be very low, but they're still higher than the likes of Zubeldia, or even Hesjedal

Hesjedal? :eek: Why do you bring that Donkey out?

Look, we can argue all day about who has the better chance. That is just an opinion vs opinion and there is no winner but I still think Porte's chances are 0.0000% and Zubeldia's are at 0.0001% :D
 
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Re: Re:

Jancouver said:
We all know his chances of being at least 4th are exactly ZERO because a three weeks grand tour is not a Tour of the Corkscrew Hill.
Incorrect.

There is a non-zero probability of a meteor hitting every rider in front of him in GC on the stage to the Champs-Élysées. :p
 
Thing about Porte is that he's ridden exactly one GT fully prepared and as the designated leader. I agree that he's not in the same category as the others, because all have delivered results after 3 weeks.

But - don't think we've really seen enough to say 'impossible.' We've seen him ride well into the 3rd week before, but as a domestique.

The internet hatred and the reality getting a bit conflated methinks.
 
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Re:

The Hegelian said:
Thing about Porte is that he's ridden exactly one GT fully prepared and as the designated leader. I agree that he's not in the same category as the others, because all have delivered results after 3 weeks.

But - don't think we've really seen enough to say 'impossible.' We've seen him ride well into the 3rd week before, but as a domestique.

The internet hatred and the reality getting a bit conflated methinks.

Chris Horner always rod as a domestique and when nobody expected he won La Vuelta. So Porter can win a GT specially now that he is not a domestique anymore. Of course his chances of winning the Giro or Vuelta is bigger than winning the Tour...
As Justin Bieber says (lol!): "Never say never!"
 
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Re:

The Hegelian said:
Thing about Porte is that he's ridden exactly one GT fully prepared and as the designated leader. I agree that he's not in the same category as the others, because all have delivered results after 3 weeks.

But - don't think we've really seen enough to say 'impossible.' We've seen him ride well into the 3rd week before, but as a domestique.

The internet hatred and the reality getting a bit conflated methinks.

While you are technically correct about the leadership there is still zero chance of Porte winning any gt.

Even if he wins the Dauphine, which is more than possible, he will never win a three weeks long race ...
 
Re: Re:

Jancouver said:
The Hegelian said:
Thing about Porte is that he's ridden exactly one GT fully prepared and as the designated leader. I agree that he's not in the same category as the others, because all have delivered results after 3 weeks.

But - don't think we've really seen enough to say 'impossible.' We've seen him ride well into the 3rd week before, but as a domestique.

The internet hatred and the reality getting a bit conflated methinks.

While you are technically correct about the leadership there is still zero chance of Porte winning any gt.

Even if he wins the Dauphine, which is more than possible, he will never win a three weeks long race ...

What's the reasoning though? Curse of the dreaded 'will always have at least one catastrophic day'?

Definitely seems to be afflicted with this.

I reckon he's quite similar to TVG in that respect. There's always gonna be one nasty climb somewhere deep (or in Portes case, early) in the race where it all goes pear shaped. And they'll always be some kind of virus or bug which is the real cause...

Interesting to compare the two actually, given their shared leadership this year. I'd rather one peach than two lemons, but......you never really know do you?