Dominating Riders of the 2020-2029 decade

[Koronin]

None of his sons are called 'Alejandro', though, are they? (Or is 'Alex' short for 'Alejandro'?)
Just go to PCS, look up 'Alejandro Valverde', and... you might get a little surprise.

Alex is short for Alejandro. His boys are Alejandro (goes by Alex), Ivan and Pablo. Also Alejandro's family and friends call him Alex as he actually prefers Alex.



Ah, a little known rider from Costa Rica with the same name several years younger and very little racing.

 

[tobydawq]

Probably a glitch on PCS.

 

[Red Rick]

LOL. Real Madrid has a player with the last name Valverde, but no idea if he's related to Alajendro or not.

As Alejandro's twins (Alex and Ivan) turn 12 next week, and Pablo turns 10 at the end of the month, it's going to be a few years before they will be pros if they are good enough and want to become pros.

Not only that, Ernesto Valverde is the manager of Barcelona.

 

[Koronin]

Not only that, Ernesto Valverde is the manager of Barcelona.

Yep. He is. I suspect the last name Valverde isn't exactly an uncommon name, just not one of the most common ones.

 

[SHAD0W93]

None of his sons are called 'Alejandro', though, are they? (Or is 'Alex' short for 'Alejandro'?)
Just go to PCS, look up 'Alejandro Valverde', and... you might get a little surprise.

Yes at one time there was another Alejandro Valverde but he was biwitched by the Valverde we know in order to maintain a peak all through the year and a long lasting career. That's why his hair is gone, a side affect of the ritual.

 

[KZD]

LOL. Real Madrid has a player with the last name Valverde, but no idea if he's related to Alajendro or not.

As Alejandro's twins (Alex and Ivan) turn 12 next week, and Pablo turns 10 at the end of the month, it's going to be a few years before they will be pros if they are good enough and want to become pros.

Fede Valverde is from Uruguay so I don't think so ahah

 

[cobblesandstones]

Evenepoel
Simmons
Bernal
Pedersen
Sheffield
Brenner
Pogacar
Philipsen
Gaudu
Bjerg
Wang

 

[GVFTA]

Madigan Munro. Women's CX.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I see RHD borrowed the idea from my post in the other topic. Cool. Came across the topic by chance.

Anyway, some names i've not seen mentioned yet, and deserved a shout, are Andreas Leknessund and Ilan Van Wilder. I think both will become outstanding riders in a few years. Both tempo climbers with a great ITT (both made the top 10 at the Euro's ITT for U23). Van Wilder was second best in the Juniors (and quite easily better than Evenepoel in their first year as junior... but ofcourse, Remco had only just started riding at the time). And he also made quite a splash when he came into the U23 as a first year espoir in 2019, winning the Queen's Stage in Course de la Paix and podium at l'Avenir, as well as a bunch of other 3rd-7th places in stage race GC. The only one where he finished outside the top 10 was Valle d'Aosta/Mont Blanc, where he finished 14th due to illness and a complete fckup by the organizer.
Leknessund is a year older, but was one of the most dominating forces in every GC he rode, overall probably the strongest in the races he entered, winning Course de la Paix and runner up in l'Isard. Both riders have signed for Sunweb, though Leknessund will turn pro at his old team first, before joining Sunweb in 2021. Also Thymen Arensman is one to watch (also joining Sunweb in July i think), but i feel he first first needs to confirm his amazing 2nd place at l'Avenir 2018, behind Pogacar. He's also still in college and focusing on his education... first. So difficult to tell. He's a skinny guy already, but very tall (i think he's over 1m90) so losing weight for him won't be so easy (compared to shrimps like Evenepoel and Van Wilder, who are both strong boys, at 1m71). He's had some bad luck in 2019 and never got around to showing his 2018 form.

I also can't remember the name of Thomas Pidcock being mentioned. Hyped as the heir to the CX throne for years, he's proving to become a very good CX rider, but at already 20 years old, he hasn't quite reached the level that van Aert or van der Poel had at that age. Not to fear, turns out little Tom is also quite the climber, winning Tour Alsace 2019, ahead of guys like Inkelaar, Valter, Verschaeve, Arensman, Kron, Champoussin... some of which were the better U23 GC riders. We also shouldn't forget, wee Thomas also packs some punch when it comes to time trialing, being the junior's world champ ITT in 2017 (the year before Remco). He also won Paris Roubaix for U23. I could see him become a contender in many different races. He can do cobbled classics, but his weight and size (he's tiny) might also help in hilly classics, and even the high mountains. Definitely one to watch. He's quite easily more versatile than van der Poel, but i fear he also might turn out to be a jack of all trades, master of none. We'll see.

Talking about CX, there is a kid who turned 17 last month, who's mopping the floor with the competition in his age bracket, winning 5 out of 5 world cup races so far. Goes by the name of Nys. His father also used to do some mild dominating in the sport.

I can't quite get behind Remco, because I just don't think he'll ever win a GT, which I think in the next decade will be dominated by South American climbers. MVDP will burn out, I'm afraid. I'd be surprised if he races 5-6 more years.

Strange statements. Remco has already made an impression, even without winning a GT. Even if he nevers wins one, there is still plenty of damage for him to do. He could win one week stage races, LBL, Lombardia, or become a De Gendt 2.0 turning into the ultimate stage hunter and become a dominant force as an ITT specialist.

I also don't know why all of a sudden South American climbers (plural) would start to dominate. Or are you talking about just Bernal, or just in the mountains? Or also about other riders as GT winners? They won't all be able to TT or survive windey planes.

And as long as van der Poel continues to have fun, he'll continue to race i think. His schedule is still neately balanced, so as long as they can keep it that way, i don't see a problem. Ofcourse, he turns 25 in a few weeks, so he'll be 30 before you know it but i don't know why he would be more susceptible to burning out.

 

[RedheadDane]

I see RHD borrowed the idea from my post in the other topic. Cool. Came across the topic by chance.

I... don't remember if I did...
It was mostly just a fun little thing. I mean, it's hard enough to find the best rider (and that's just best male rider) of a decade that's already happened - that thread is proof of that - then trying to do it for the future; kinda complicated… then add our general ability at predicting on this forum; our overall success rate at the TdF Game this year… not great…

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I... don't remember if I did...
It was mostly just a fun little thing. I mean, it's hard enough to find the best rider (and that's just best male rider) of a decade that's already happened - that thread is proof of that - then trying to do it for the future; kinda complicated… then add our general ability at predicting on this forum; our overall success rate at the TdF Game this year… not great…

No problem. I was talking about this post i made last week in the "riders of the decade" topic, a few days earlier.

 

[Beobachter]

Hopefully: Marco Brenner and Alexander Hajek!

 

[tobydawq]

Roglic.

 

[RedheadDane]

No problem. I was talking about this post i made last week in the "riders of the decade" topic, a few days earlier.

Yeah, that is probably where I got the inspiration from. But, hey… it was several days ago; my memory is not what it has been.
Actually, it is... it's always been wonky.

 

[DNP-Old]

Xianjing Lyu.

 

[Parker]

By way of comparison, the top 10 under 25 year old riders on CQ Ranking on 1/1/2010 were

1. Cavendish
2. Boasson Hagen
3. A.Schleck
4. Gesink
5. Kreuziger
6. Fuglsang
7. T.Martin
8. Langeveld
9. van Avermaet
10. Rojas

Others...

18 D.Martin
21 Costa
43 Uran
74 Froome
91 Kristoff
131 Sagan
137 Kittel
147 Thomas
179 Degenkolb
409 Quintana

 

[greenedge]

I'll suggest Ackermann, Ewan and Gaviria as well as other riders who should be in the top 10 for the next decade. All of the 3 have the capability to be a WC if there is a sprinter's WC and they seem to be the cream of the young sprinters coming through. How they evolve will also shape how they are seen by the end of the decade.

 

[Davesta]

I also can't remember the name of Thomas Pidcock being mentioned. Hyped as the heir to the CX throne for years, he's proving to become a very good CX rider, but at already 20 years old, he hasn't quite reached the level that van Aert or van der Poel had at that age. Not to fear, turns out little Tom is also quite the climber, winning Tour Alsace 2019, ahead of guys like Inkelaar, Valter, Verschaeve, Arensman, Kron, Champoussin... some of which were the better U23 GC riders. We also shouldn't forget, wee Thomas also packs some punch when it comes to time trialing, being the junior's world champ ITT in 2017 (the year before Remco). He also won Paris Roubaix for U23. I could see him become a contender in many different races. He can do cobbled classics, but his weight and size (he's tiny) might also help in hilly classics, and even the high mountains. Definitely one to watch. He's quite easily more versatile than van der Poel, but i fear he also might turn out to be a jack of all trades, master of none. We'll see.

I was thinking of British riders who fit this topic, and Pidcock came immediately to mind.
Another of similar stock is Ben Tullett - Junior world champ in 2018 and has just joined MvDP at Alpecin-Fenix...

I'm intrigued to see how James Knox progresses in the next decade, after impressing mightily in the Vuelta but being overshadowed by Pogacar.

And on the women's side, it'll be interesting to see what Anna Henderson can achieve. She's been dominating the domestic scene and has signed for Sunweb for next year...

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I was thinking of British riders who fit this topic, and Pidcock came immediately to mind.
Another of similar stock is Ben Tullett - Junior world champ in 2018 and has just joined MvDP at Alpecin-Fenix...

I'm intrigued to see how James Knox progresses in the next decade, after impressing mightily in the Vuelta but being overshadowed by Pogacar.

And on the women's side, it'll be interesting to see what Anna Henderson can achieve. She's been dominating the domestic scene and has signed for Sunweb for next year...

Never been a big believer in Knox, tbf. The guy is already 24 (people seem to put him at the same age of Pogacar etc) and not even in the U23 did he stand out. He fought his way to an 11th spot (with breakaways) in the Vuelta, which was not exactly brimming with GC talent. Should he ride TDF this year, i'd be surprised if he made the top 25.

 

[Squire]

Never been a big believer in Knox, tbf. The guy is already 24 (people seem to put him at the same age of Pogacar etc) and not even in the U23 did he stand out. He fought his way to an 11th spot (with breakaways) in the Vuelta, which was not exactly brimming with GC talent. Should he ride TDF this year, i'd be surprised if he made the top 25.

Very much agree. Knox have been overhyped due to his nationality, the team he's on and his results that look good on paper. Don't see much domination coming from him in the next decade. Pidcock and Hayter are the best bets for British domination, but no guarantees obviously.

 

[Bonimenier]

Also agree with logics post about Knox, however top 25 in TDF should be possible for him if he rides it. 25th place is usually more than an hour slower than the winner. That must certainly be doable.

 

[VDB44]

1 EVENEPOEL
2 BERNAL
3 MVDP
4 POGACAR
5 VAN AERT

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Also agree with logics post about Knox, however top 25 in TDF should be possible for him if he rides it. 25th place is usually more than an hour slower than the winner. That must certainly be doable.

Any other year, i would agree. I actually had 'top 20' first, but 2020 seems to be a special case.
In any case, just to point out that, like Squire, i don't see much domination coming from Knox, even though he seems like a genuinely nice guy. He might become a very good hilly/mountain dom though. Maybe a stagehunter.

 

[Joelsim]

1 EVENEPOEL
2 BERNAL
3 MVDP
4 POGACAR
5 VAN AERT

I’d be tempted to add Hirschi, Higuita and Ardila to this, especially if the latter rides like he did in the Baby Giro. He pushes a big gear uphill and seemed to be able to ride away from the opposition a la Remco.

 

[RedheadDane]

Can't remember if she was mentioned, but Sarah Gigante!