Teams & Riders Fabio Aru discussion thread

[Matteo.]

good. I'm curious to see what's happening. I do not know what to expect due to the troubles of the beginning of the season. And is the first time he tries the double

 

[staubsauger]

So does Aru surprisingly stay with Astana after all if they include him in the Vuelta squad!?

 

[liamito]

Re:

So does Aru surprisingly stay with Astana after all if they include him in the Vuelta squad!?

The whole story was rubbish, it was just a thought by Velonews. Italian media went bananas.

 

[yaco]

Froome is unbeatable in the Vuelta and Aru is a near certainty for the podium - Lopez has suffered an interrupted preparation so he'll be riding in support of Aru.

 

[Leinster]

Re:

Froome is unbeatable in the Vuelta and Aru is a near certainty for the podium - Lopez has suffered an interrupted preparation so he'll be riding in support of Aru.

I wouldn't say anything is certain in the Vuelta. Aru himself was probably well down the list of favourites for the Vuelta he actually won, sharing leadership with Nibali etc, and that was before anyone (even the man himself) realized Dumoulin would be a contender. Most GC competitors will already have a GT in their legs, so their form so far can't be seen as an accurate guide. And as much as Froome may claim his prep has been focused on doubling, it remains to be seen if it's worked or if he didn't actually peak at the Tour, and a 1 minute win wasn't him on his limit.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

Froome is unbeatable in the Vuelta and Aru is a near certainty for the podium - Lopez has suffered an interrupted preparation so he'll be riding in support of Aru.

Aru has never done a double before amd I don't know if he's in the right frame of mind. As for Froome he was beatable in every Vuelta he raced, this is no exception.

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

Froome is unbeatable in the Vuelta and Aru is a near certainty for the podium - Lopez has suffered an interrupted preparation so he'll be riding in support of Aru.

Aru has never done a double before amd I don't know if he's in the right frame of mind. As for Froome he was beatable in every Vuelta he raced, this is no exception.

Aru was undercooked for the TDF. His biggest issue is a few of Astana's climbers are injured. Froome has no inform Contador or Quintana in this Vuelta.

 

[glassmoon]

LOL
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/vinokourov-to-seek-damages-from-aru-after-move-to-uae-team-emirates/
Vino... seeking legal damages I... I don't even...
priceless

 

[Blanco]

Why not?

 

[saganftw]

so Aru was basically restricted free agent,the only question is whether astana matched the UAE contract or not

all this BS about not telling astana about his intentions is irrelevant,riders dont have the obligation to share their future plans with teams

 

[Cance > TheRest]

I don't understand Vino from a sports point of view. As good as Aru is, and even if he's able to win more grand tours in the future, I don't think his 2017 season proved him to be an invaluable asset to Astana. There are other riders on the team with great potential, that Vino should dedicate his entire focus on instead.

 

[Escarabajo]

So everyone knew except Vinokurov!

 

[Rollthedice]

Sure Vino knew about it. My take is that Astana has some financial difficulties, Vino had no intention to replace Aru so why not make some money instead of spending, there might be some clauses in that contract that entitle Vino to seek damages.

 

[May0maniac]

That would be a Don King level contract.
Overall their signings aren't bad, Fraile, Hirt and Cort probably were less expensive than the new contract for Aru and Villella was probably also a rather cheap signing.
Maybe they could have signed someone like Ciccone, but overall they actually singed good riders without spending a ton of money, that's better than spending a ton of money for Aru and they already have Superman Lopez, who has the potential to become a better gt rider than Aru (In a hard Giro I'd already put my money on Lopez and not on Aru).
Back to Aru, he'll have a pretty decent around him for Giro+Vuelta, guys like Polanc, Conti, probably also Atapuma, maybe Durasek and the young Italians should give him more than enough climbing suppot (I assume that Rui Costa and Ulissi will ride the Tour to support Dan Martin because of the classics and the fact that they are a decent asset in a TTT).
Maybe he won't have too many specialists to help him, the team should send most of them to the Tour, but that's probably not the biggest problem.

 

[hfer07]

Reminds me of a similar situation that did occur when Contador signed with Saxo & Vino was upset because -according to him- the contract was ready and set to sign when Alberto chose to switch teams. In Aru's case, it seems to me a bit sketchy: It was clear from early this year that Fabio seemed not too happy with Astana while Vino kept pretending everything was cool. Ultimately it all comes down to contractual obligations- and I'm sure Fabio & his agent knew the implications of breaking it without fulfilling it.....

 

[May0maniac]

Today La Gazzetta published an Interview with Saronni, the main topic was Aru.
He'll probably ride the Giro, WC and Vuelta are also big goals.
He wants Aru to race more durning the season and he wants him to gain more experience in one day races.
They'll have a young group of riders around Aru, Polanc, Conti, Ravasi and Petilli.
I also didn't know that Tiralongo is now coaching Aru.

 

[Gerrard Slipped haha]

Makes sense, expected that to happen with Martin also being their TDF leader, also for whatever reason I think Aru just isn't made for Tour, he struggled big time in the final week last yea, imo Giro-Vuelta double again, just like in 2015, may turn out to be a great decision, ofc a lot of that depends on whether he will have at least 50% as strong of a team as when he finished 2nd and 1st in Giro and Vuelta particularly in 2015.

 

[Red Rick]

He just had a very small base going into the Tour. That's what happens. You can be incredibly good. For a short while. And then your form starts dropping.

 

[yaco]

Biggest issue is Aru's big collapse in the penultimate stage of the 2016 TDF and repeated in the 2017 Vuelta - It's strange seeing how he previously won the Vuelta.

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

Biggest issue is Aru's big collapse in the penultimate stage of the 2016 TDF and repeated in the 2017 Vuelta - It's strange seeing how he previously won the Vuelta.

Bad weather and low temperatures are his biggest weakness and he was fading durning the entire 2nd half of the Vuelta.
The team looks good enough climbing wise, those young guys and maybe Atapuma or Rui Costa (probably Atapuma, he'd be dead weight in the Tour TTT) and some engines for the flat, that could be the bigger problem. They don't have many, most of them will go to the Tour and Troia and Ganna aren't ready to ride a hard Giro, but they still have some guys for the Giro and someone like Anass Ait El Abdia could be a good workhorse, he was climbing pretty well in Romnadie and has experience when it comes to crosswinds and is good on flat stages.

 

[portugal11]

he is the main favourite for the giro. no doubt about that

 

[Alexandre B.]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/aru-could-join-martin-and-kirstoff-in-uae-tour-de-france-super-team/
He'll start next season in Abu Dhabi, will race the Vuelta to prepare for the Worlds.

As for the first GT of his season... it's still in discussion.

 

[Netserk]

I thought it was settled long ago that it would be Martin for the Tour and Aru for the Giro. I still think it'll end that way.

 

[Leinster]

Re:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/aru-could-join-martin-and-kirstoff-in-uae-tour-de-france-super-team/
He'll start next season in Abu Dhabi, will race the Vuelta to prepare for the Worlds.

As for the first GT of his season... it's still in discussion.

Aru, Martin and Kristoff in the same 8-man squad isn’t a super-team, it’s a group without a single focus that will end up falling between stools.

 

[yaco]

It seems GC riders are lining up to ride the TDF - They must think Froome is vulnerable backing up after the Giro.