Esteban Chaves Discussion Thread

[RedheadDane]

Re:

Did we figure out why he's "Esteban Chaves" and not "Johan Chaves" in all the reports?

Because his parents decided that Esteban should be the name he's called by on a daily basis, even though Johan is his first name.

 

[Glocknerkoenig]

I can't help but feel he's on the money for something bigger than the Vuelta here.

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

I can't help but feel he's on the money for something bigger than the Vuelta here.

Agreed. He seems to be on good form, with a reasonably strong all round team that looks to be very close knit and positive. The vibe Orica gives out really seems to resonate.

 

[AlexNYC]

Chaves looked very strong today, I'm starting to believe!

 

[jens_attacks]

if the weather will be ok, i see chavito even winning the whole thing.

 

[Põhja Konn]

Early days still, but he seems to have made a step forward compared to last year. Bad weather likely to occur makes him an outsider for the Giro, but at this rate he could be one of the main contenders at the Vuelta.

 

[May0maniac]

Top 5 his possible, maybe even a podium, but the high mountains are still to come and Chaves is always super strong on those short, steep climbs, so I won't hype him as a legit gc thread just jet, even if the weather will probably be good in the Dolomites (from Wednesday onwards a drastic increase of temperature is expected).

 

[movingtarget]

He is looking good. I hope he can do a reasonable TT.

 

[yaco]

TT was disappointing compared to his GC rivals - Needs to aim for the top 10 and keep chipping away.

 

[Jspear]

Today was all about limiting his loses. He says he feels good while climbing. He'll definitely get a top 10...fingers crossed for a top 5.

 

[yespatterns]

Re:

Today was all about limiting his loses. He says he feels good while climbing. He'll definitely get a top 10...fingers crossed for a top 5.

He'll be fine, the first week is usually funky. The high mountains will sort things out. Glad he's controlled damages so well, so far.

 

[May0maniac]

Sorry if I ask, but has Caves ever been great in hard stages with multiple climbs?
I've always seen him as a future Vuelta winner, explosive, great und the really steep stuff and he seems to love the heat.
I don't think the Chianti ITT says a lot about his TT skills, he was great in the opening ITT and Orica seems to work a lot on their riders TT-skills so he should do well in a longer flat TT, yesterday was mostly about taking risks and/or being a great bike handler.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I guess he was decent in the Vuelta last year? But he has had his victories on easy stages with one climb in super hot weather, the Giro is the polar opposite obviously, but he looked the best apart from Valverde in stage 8. Not that we probably can take many conclusions from that.

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

I guess he was decent in the Vuelta last year? But he has had his victories on easy stages with one climb in super hot weather, the Giro is the polar opposite obviously, but he looked the best apart from Valverde in stage 8. Not that we probably can take many conclusions from that.

Yeah, but he wasn't that great on the 2 hardest Vuelta stages, on the Andorra stage he was just able to hang on Dumoulin's wheel and on Ermita de Alba he finished 36 seconds behind Dumoulin.
Him being great on stage 8 isn't a huge surprise, it was a short, steep climb after a flat stage, that's always great news for him
I hope that he proves me wrong and riders a great Giro, I'd love to see him finishing in the top 5.

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

I guess he was decent in the Vuelta last year? But he has had his victories on easy stages with one climb in super hot weather, the Giro is the polar opposite obviously, but he looked the best apart from Valverde in stage 8. Not that we probably can take many conclusions from that.

Yeah, but he wasn't that great on the 2 hardest Vuelta stages, on the Andorra stage he was just able to hang on Dumoulin's wheel and on Ermita de Alba he finished 36 seconds behind Dumoulin.
Him being great on stage 8 isn't a huge surprise, it was a short, steep climb after a flat stage, that's always great news for him
I hope that he proves me wrong and riders a great Giro, I'd love to see him finishing in the top 5.

Still hard to assess his true abilities - had little racing before the Giro and showed little form - Don't think the parcours in the Giro ideally suits Chavez - Parcours in the TDF is more suitable.

 

[May0maniac]

Yeah, but he also took a long break before the Vuelta, his last race before the Vuelta was the Tour de Suisse and had a pretty mediocre season before the Vuelta.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Could he podium the Giro? With Landa out..

 

[Laplaz]

He should have gained more time today and in Roccaraso... now, the climbs doesn't suit him so much

 

[yaco]

Re:

He should have gained more time today and in Roccaraso... now, the climbs doesn't suit him so much

Be wary -The upcoming climbs are at high altitude and may favor Colombian riders.

 

[Guybrush]

the only downside is the lack of team mates for the high mountains

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Re:

the only downside is the lack of team mates for the high mountains

why would he need them?

 

[Kokoso]

Re: Re:

the only downside is the lack of team mates for the high mountains

why would he need them?

To work for him? And make it easier for him?

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Re: Re:

the only downside is the lack of team mates for the high mountains

why would he need them?

To work for him? And make it easier for him?

I'm sure he can handle getting a bottle here and there himself in the final

 

[Kokoso]

Re: Re:

the only downside is the lack of team mates for the high mountains

why would he need them?

To work for him? And make it easier for him?

I'm sure he can handle getting a bottle here and there himself in the final

Sure he can, he has hand or two. But having teammate to help him would still be an advantage, don't you think? He could spare some energy.

 

[yaco]

Re:

the only downside is the lack of team mates for the high mountains

OGE has enough support for Chavez - Plaza and Tzurruka have conspiciously been saving energy for the upcoming mountain stages - Howson can provide support in medium mountains.