"Escarabajos" Who is the best climber?

[Ryo Hazuki]

Is Winner Anacona that explosive? He lost a minute on that hill in Jaca.

he's not super explosive. wiggins also isn't and come from track too. but he's not bad either. he always did well in italian hilly races too

 

[Jason_Mercier]

he's not super explosive. wiggins also isn't and come from track too. but he's not bad either. he always did well in italian hilly races too

Last year he shone in hilly stages at the Giro Bio, so as you say i think he's a bit explosive.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Ah damn. I always thought Betancur had done that climb with the peloton.

My bad.

Betancur was in the escape, but was dropped with everyone else when Kiryienka went. He stayed in the chasse-patate until Rujano attacked from the favourites group, and rode much of it with the Venezuelan.

He had also been with the favourites group until the first really steep ramps on Fedaia, which was a pretty serious achievement too.

I voted Quintana, because the thread is about who is the best climber, not who is the best prospect GC-wise.

 

[ILovecycling]

quintana's itt is quite good too. and will only improve. I don't see it much of an acchilesheel for him in gt's.

Thats true,he can improve it...its a pity that on Wednesday he probably isnt going full gas.We could have a comparsion with Anacona

 

[Jason_Mercier]

Betancur said in an interview that he didnt arrived in good conditions at the Giro 2011. But finally he got this good result at Sestriere. Said that the Giro will be his big goal for 2013. Also Lombardìa and the Wolrd Championship in Limburg in this final part of the year.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Betancur said in an interview that he didnt arrived in good conditions at the Giro 2011. But finally he got this good result at Sestriere. Said that the Giro will be his big goal for 2013. Also Lombardìa and the Wolrd Championship in Limburg in this final part of the year.

that is correct. acqua had almost not even selecte dhim and wre e very unhappy with betancurt how he arrived from colombia. many kg's overweight. after 3 torturous giro weeks he was finally in shape and on proper weight. this year you can see the true change. he has lost 3 kg of fat in his face alone

 

[Hugo Koblet]

From what I've seen, I'd say it's close between Quintana and Betancur. They are clearly different type of riders, though.

 

[jens_attacks]

i think it has to be quintana but i feel we didn't see yet the best of esteban chaves.far from that.

remember this one:

big article yesterday in l'equipe:

esteban chaves:"in bogota,or you climb or you find other job".
esteban chaves:"i have only one wish:win le tour!"

dr. massimiliano mantovani the actual doctor of coldeportes team who was riccardo ricco's doctor at ceramica flaminia:"chaves is a phenomenon with beast qualities!"

dr. massimiliano mantovani :".aldo sassi tested riccardo in the lab at castelanza,very good results.BUT CHAVES IS BETTER,ABOVE HIM.riders like him,i never saw.on the climbs,when he's ready,nobody can stay near him"

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

chavez is amazing. although I also se ehim really excel in the classics. but his progress is tremendous. probably also because he still looks 11 years old and he grows a lot.

 

[Jakob747]

Nairo Quintana is the most talented climber. Not necessarily the most talented rider however!

I am in agree with Michele Bartoli, I think Betancurt is capable of winning both GT’s and major classics in the future. His rider-repertoire is really appealing to me!

Colombia has a ton of talents coming through. From the juniors I particularly like Diego Ruiz. He is similar build to Betancurt and they have somewhat identical rider-characteristics. I was on Patios (One of the most famous test climbs around Bogota) the day he did a mountain test. He did Patios in 18mins 29sec. Patios is 6.5kms with percentage’s switching between 7% to 12.

Diego Ruiz is 1.72cm and 57kg. The reason I am so high on him mainly comes down to him having a fantastic mentality and being very mature for his age. He is also a very complete athlete. No obvious weaknesses. I hope he can grow into a promising competitor.

In general the level in Colombia is very, very high at the moment!

 

[User Guide]

Quintana,he beat JTL going uphill,enough said
But what I really liked about him that day is he did it with his head as much as his legs,good to see from a young rider.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Quintana,he beat JTL going uphill,enough said
But what I really liked about him that day is he did it with his head as much as his legs,good to see from a young rider.

the smarted ride rout there is betancurt though. Amazing race intelligence, the likes of sagan or even better and both so young

 

[Jason_Mercier]

I get very impressed due to the 0 votes for Atapuma. A good climber who did it nice in California and Trentino. Good stages. And in the last year, great performance in the queen stage of Castilla y Leòn standing in a group of five climbers in el Alto del Peñòn. Contador, Pozzovivo, Antòn, Quintana and him. In Burgos too, top 6 in Lagunas de Neila ahead Samuel Sànchez. This guy is an amazing talent. Sub23 champion of Colombia with only 20 years, also shone in the Tour of Porvenir in 2010. why dont a World Tour signed him yet?

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

because he want to stay in a colombian team as with many other colombian riders. duarte is another example.

 

[Jason_Mercier]

I know Corti have the project make Coldeportes World Tour. But i think is a difficult goal. If i were Atapuma or Chaves i would decide leave the team.

 

[maltiv]

Quintana is clearly the best or at least the most talented in long climbs. Henao is quite close though and seems to be more consistent. I don't think Uran will improve much more.

Betancur is more of a puncheur I think, who'll start challenging in the Ardennes already next year. Sure, he can probably top 10 in a GT too but I think his main source of success will be in the classics.

 

[Michele]

Quintana is the actual better climber but the Sky duo is the one with bigger chances to do well in GTs.

An outsider could be Anacona.

 

[Duartista]

I know Corti have the project make Coldeportes World Tour. But i think is a difficult goal. If i were Atapuma or Chaves i would decide leave the team.

The problem is Atapuma is about as pure a pure climber as is possible, so would perhaps find his opportunites limited in a WT team. Although his recovery is very good, so I think he could still do well in the Giro GC given the lack of TT kms in recent editions.

I still have hope for Duarte - he is only actually 6 months older than Uran and has much less experience in Europe. He started off his career in Europe very impressively but has not got back to that level since his knee injury last season. Perhaps also he has not coped well with being the leader at Coldeportes.

On the poll, I agree with those who say that Quintana is the best climber and GC prospect. It's a shame he didn't do the Giro, where he would probably have had more opportunities than he will get in this Vuelta.

 

[hfer07]

I get very impressed due to the 0 votes for Atapuma. A good climber who did it nice in California and Trentino. Good stages. And in the last year, great performance in the queen stage of Castilla y Leòn standing in a group of five climbers in el Alto del Peñòn. Contador, Pozzovivo, Antòn, Quintana and him. In Burgos too, top 6 in Lagunas de Neila ahead Samuel Sànchez. This guy is an amazing talent. Sub23 champion of Colombia with only 20 years, also shone in the Tour of Porvenir in 2010. why dont a World Tour signed him yet?

I'm with you- Atapuma is more like a breakaway artist & finds himself excelling from a small group, rather than attacking from the peloton on the last climb-but nonetheless his qualities are unique.

To me Quintana, Henao & Anacona- in that order.
As far as the so called "lack of explosiveness" seen by some folks here-I think it is because in Colombia where altitude plays an important part of how they develop their style-is the reminiscence of the "old school approach" where the cyclists train their body to "push a higher gear at slow cadence" in order to stabilize breathing while setting a pace-instead of the "enhanced High cadence bvllsh!t" that is adapted elsewhere...

 

[Duartista]

Perhaps worth mentioning Beltran - he was second in the Girobio that Betancur won, but has not progressed much since. Hopefullly he can still confirm that early promise.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I know Corti have the project make Coldeportes World Tour. But i think is a difficult goal. If i were Atapuma or Chaves i would decide leave the team.

no, that would eb bad. coldeported will definitely become world tour. all they need is after next year to get uran and henao and possibly even serpa and quintana and they should have enough points

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

The problem is Atapuma is about as pure a pure climber as is possible, so would perhaps find his opportunites limited in a WT team. Although his recovery is very good, so I think he could still do well in the Giro GC given the lack of TT kms in recent editions.

I still have hope for Duarte - he is only actually 6 months older than Uran and has much less experience in Europe. He started off his career in Europe very impressively but has not got back to that level since his knee injury last season. Perhaps also he has not coped well with being the leader at Coldeportes.

On the poll, I agree with those who say that Quintana is the best climber and GC prospect. It's a shame he didn't do the Giro, where he would probably have had more opportunities than he will get in this Vuelta.

duarte has had a very bad winter, like all of coldeported except atapuma(although also not great). that's the reason he sucks now/is zo inconsistant

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Perhaps worth mentioning Beltran - he was second in the Girobio that Betancur won, but has not progressed much since. Hopefullly he can still confirm that early promise.

he's had numerous injuries though since then. but he still has the talent. in coloraod crashed again. I hope he learns to stay upright

 

[Jason_Mercier]

What do you think about Gomez Pineda? He was one of the best Epm in Colorado.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

What do you think about Gomez Pineda? He was one of the best Epm in Colorado.

gomez pineda, or pito loco as he is called is the youngest winner of the vuelta juventud ever(18 years and some months)! even younger than duarte was. still after that he has developped more into a rouleur and sprinter than climber/itt. also when only 18 he rode top 20 wc itt. he is a massive talent but epm is definitely the wrong team to be in when you are young. you race way too much. there is no guiding at all. young riders are lef tin the dark about anything. only reason they go there is because the team pays so much. same reason why all the great riders are not in coldeported but in other teams and especially epm, because they pay a lot more. I really hope coldeported can break this by opening more budget to get guys like infantino, beltran, pito loco and from their own ct team ronald gomez and felix baron. I am hopeful though in this as the team is continuing the next years and that is already quite something for a big colombian project