Teams & Riders He's coming home!!!! Alejandro Valverde comeback thread.

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

He'll go for GC if he rides the Giro and he will do it well.

The guy just almost won the Vuelta without apparent GC ambitions, and you're talking about him as if he is past it.

It depends on how hard of a spring he has in mind, obviously.. but yeah, chances are he will target the GC regardless. You also gotta remember the Giro most likely will have some serious mountain stages.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

He'll go for GC if he rides the Giro and he will do it well.

The guy just almost won the Vuelta without apparent GC ambitions, and you're talking about him as if he is past it.

It depends on how hard of a spring he has in mind, obviously.. but yeah, chances are he will target the GC regardless. You also gotta remember the Giro most likely will have some serious mountain stages.

The altitude is where his GC ambitions are going to suffer. We're looking at this realistically. I'm sure he will go for GC regardless. When he said he was going to the Tour to stage hunt he still ended up riding for GC.

 

[yaco]

Movistar are fair dinkum and they point Soler to the Vuelta to give him his first taste of GC riding.

 

[Velolover2]

He should never target the GC in any GT again. Just go for stages. He promised to target Flanders and a cobbles campaign next year but I doubt he will ride them at all.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

I'd be down with Valverde for the Giro. Soler riding for GC should be interesting.

 

[GuyIncognito]

Re: Re:

I'd be down with Valverde for the Giro. Soler riding for GC should be interesting.

What's the over/under on the team telling him to shut up he's riding the Tour? I took December in the polls

 

[lartiste]

Re: Re:

Oh, who honestly cares about the number of podiums in the Vuelta?

I have never seen Valverde talk about that. I have seen you mention it a thousand times, though.

Or the famous points jersey record :lol:

May be more people than in borefest called TdF.

 

[Blanco]

I think smart thing to do is to peak for the classics (Ardennes, and yes De Ronde ) and then rode on that form throughout the Giro, targeting stage wins in the first half, and helping team leader (who ever that is) in the second half. In the second part Vuelta of course, then WC and Lombardia.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

I think smart thing to do is to peak for the classics (Ardennes, and yes De Ronde ) and then rode on that form throughout the Giro, targeting stage wins in the first half, and helping team leader (who ever that is) in the second half. In the second part Vuelta of course, then WC and Lombardia.

Something like that, but Valverde is Valverde, so his form can probably carry him throughout the Giro.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Whose ready for Bala in rainbows?

I don't think I have ever anticipated a one day race this much. And Im gonna miss the first half, those kinda races I like to watch in full.

 

[Koronin]

Re:

Whose ready for Bala in rainbows?

I don't think I have ever anticipated a one day race this much. And Im gonna miss the first half, those kinda races I like to watch in full.

It's well past time Bala completes his set of medals for the Worlds by adding the gold and of course along with that is the rainbow jersey.

I can say I was anticipating the 2015 Worlds more because it's the only race I've ever gotten to go to, thanks to that one having been about a 4 hour drive for us.

 

[Jspear]

Re:

Whose ready for Bala in rainbows?

I don't think I have ever anticipated a one day race this much. And Im gonna miss the first half, those kinda races I like to watch in full.

I’m not ready in the sense that he’s a rider I love to watch. I’m ready in the sense of its almost a no brainer. He better not mess this up. He’s really got an amazing shot...Nibali would have been a true pain, but....Valverde has to win.

 

[Blanco]

I'm afraid that the race will become more of a tactical battle, with strongest teams sending their 2nd and 3rd cards into the late moves. That would benefit France, Italy, Colombia and Netherlands. Valverde could be trapped behind in that case. But if he arrives with the main guys to the bottom of that Hell climb, I'm confident he'll get at least one medal...

 

[Valv.Piti]

Spain also has a pretty strong team and can send Mas up the road, but yeah, Valverde seems very susceptible to get on the wrong side of the split on very aggressively ridden races (on the biggest races).

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

Spain also has a pretty strong team and can send Mas up the road, but yeah, Valverde seems very susceptible to get on the wrong side of the split on very aggressively ridden races (on the biggest races).

Right now I'm thinking the reverse would be better, but that won't happen.

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

Spain also has a pretty strong team and can send Mas up the road, but yeah, Valverde seems very susceptible to get on the wrong side of the split on very aggressively ridden races (on the biggest races).

Right now I'm thinking the reverse would be better, but that won't happen.

You're right, it won't happen,
and you're wrong, it wouldn't be better.

 

[Blanco]

Re:

Spain also has a pretty strong team and can send Mas up the road, but yeah, Valverde seems very susceptible to get on the wrong side of the split on very aggressively ridden races (on the biggest races).

Yeah, but with Mas we're deeply in the unknown zone. It's a big ? how he will perform in a 250km very hard race, against the likes who have monument podiums like Bardet, Uran, Pinot... I wouldn't count on him too much...

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Spain also has a pretty strong team and can send Mas up the road, but yeah, Valverde seems very susceptible to get on the wrong side of the split on very aggressively ridden races (on the biggest races).

Right now I'm thinking the reverse would be better, but that won't happen.

You're right, it won't happen,
and you're wrong, it wouldn't be better.

Valverde was going downhill at the end of the Vuelta, and was one of the best climbers on one of 8 mountain stages.

Mas came out of the Vuelta a lot better. I just think Valverde is a known entity who isn't gonna win in a W/kg drag race at this point.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Spain also has a pretty strong team and can send Mas up the road, but yeah, Valverde seems very susceptible to get on the wrong side of the split on very aggressively ridden races (on the biggest races).

Right now I'm thinking the reverse would be better, but that won't happen.

You're right, it won't happen,
and you're wrong, it wouldn't be better.

Valverde was going downhill at the end of the Vuelta, and was one of the best climbers on one of 8 mountain stages.

Mas came out of the Vuelta a lot better. I just think Valverde is a known entity who isn't gonna win in a W/kg drag race at this point.

I tend to think that Valverde like Sagan has probably had enough this season.

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

Spain also has a pretty strong team and can send Mas up the road, but yeah, Valverde seems very susceptible to get on the wrong side of the split on very aggressively ridden races (on the biggest races).

Right now I'm thinking the reverse would be better, but that won't happen.

You're right, it won't happen,
and you're wrong, it wouldn't be better.

Valverde was going downhill at the end of the Vuelta, and was one of the best climbers on one of 8 mountain stages.

Mas came out of the Vuelta a lot better. I just think Valverde is a known entity who isn't gonna win in a W/kg drag race at this point.

250 km one-day race and GT stages aren't the same thing, I think you know that.
Mas is a young rider and big unknown, and Valverde is a big champion.

 

[Koronin]

A one day race and a stage race are totally different animals. You don't race them anywhere near the same.

 

[Tonton]

No panic for The Don. When the year started, I picked him to win this bike race. The winner will have to be"

1. An excellent climber: check
2. An explosive climber on that last one: check
3. Be a good descender (lead to the finish): check
4. If it's a small group (3,4,5?) sprint, out-sprint them: check

Alaphilippe is the threat, or a 2 on 1 from a team (Italy, France?) with one attacking in the final kilometer, force Valverde to chase, the second rider beats/out-kicks him.

Kwiat is dangerous too in this scenario.

If Simon says "try to catch me", done it, watch out.

And there's Vicenzo...

I can't imagine Don Alejandro not on the podium. For the win, there's no guarantee. But he's a serious customer.

 

[ice&fire]

If The Don has the legs, he's a strong candidate to be at the end of the race and repeat one the tactical blunders that have given him so many podiums. The old parrot can't learn new tricks.

 

[Blanco]

If I'm in Minguez and Valverde's place, I would try to put my riders in every break attempt (except the first one, usually the longest and the weakest), up until last Olympia ascent, trying to arrive there with relatively fresh 2-3 guys (Izagirre, Nieve, De La Cruz, for example...), and then use those guys to put everything in check for the Hell climb. Then let the old man play his thing. If he has the legs, medal is a guarantee.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

If I'm in Minguez and Valverde's place, I would try to put my riders in every break attempt (except the first one, usually the longest and the weakest), up until last Olympia ascent, trying to arrive there with relatively fresh 2-3 guys (Izagirre, Nieve, De La Cruz, for example...), and then use those guys to put everything in check for the Hell climb. Then let the old man play his thing. If he has the legs, medal is a guarantee.

That is probably Valverde’s best way of playing things, I agree. But it’s worth noting that a large majority of big one day races over the last two years have been won by riders who were in the first big attack featuring major contenders. The favourites who waited have very often just not seen the guys who went again. This is going to be very hard to control and I suspect that it will be very easy for Spain to end up with riders covering breaks who aren’t one of the strongest riders in that break.