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

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

Seeing Valverde and Landa goofing off in videos and on the Paris podium tells me that they don't have any problems with each other.

Landa is ok guy, he's a true racer, They get along just fine on and off the bike. But Quintana is not like that, he acts like a primadona, like some kind of campionissimo, he rarely wants to help anybody. Visconti and couple of other guys spoke about him very badly. And now I think even Valverde had enough from him, so I think it will be very interesting who will ride Vuelta. I wouldn't put my money on Nairo...

I think Valverde appreciates the way Landa races. I agree with you that it feels like this Tour Valverde has finally hit a breaking point with Quintana and basically said enough is enough. Movistar hasn't released their Vuelta team and won't for a few weeks. Although reports are Quintana is going to the Vuelta, it would make a lot more sense to not send him. I think Carapaz will go as co leader with Valverde and I do think if Valverde is better or better positioned he'll work for Valverde. I can see Carapaz and Valverde working together as well as Landa and Carapaz worked together. I really with Carapaz wasn't leaving Movistar at the end of the season.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Feel like I have said this at least a couple of times, but this time I mean it. Here goes:

This will be Valverde's last chance to win a GT ever. He actually has a decent chance of doing so if he has recovered well from his training ride in France. I believe in him as usual.

Vamos Bala!

 

[Koronin]

It may be his last chance to win one and he has a great chance to win it here. They need to go all out in the TTT and not wait for Carapaz or Quintana if they are struggling. He can win it.

Vamos Bala!

 

[Valv.Piti]

Carapaz and Quintana are both world class riders, no chance they just will get dropped in a TTT

 

[Koronin]

Carapaz and Quintana are both world class riders, no chance they just will get dropped in a TTT

They shouldn't especially with it being a short TTT. I think their TTT team should be alright.

 

[Angliru]

Valverde rides for himself.


The stat of him having most top 10s in GT's being something to shout about? All those people giving $hit when other riders protect their 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th 10th place instead of sacrificing everything for the win, but it's ok for Valverde to get himself in the top 10 without even trying for the win.


I wonder where the problem really lies within Movistar.

I suspect that the team classification in the Tour is important to Movistar and their management. It seems a team strategy to ride conservatively in the big events, not necessarily exclusively Valverde's. How many teams would allow him to go up the road in a break in the Tour without shutting him down quickly? Do you really think that they would allow him off in a break without responding, especially a team like Sky/Ineos? When you take into account what he usually has already accomplished during the season prior to his participation in the grand tours, the fact that he gets those top 10's with regularity should be seen as something to shout about. In this era of specialization, we have a rider that competes year long in major classics, week long stage races and the grand tours, and a very high percentage of the time is at the pointy end of races when it's all said and done. Of the present peloton only Nibali could be said to be on that level among grand tour riders.

 

[Koronin]

I suspect that the team classification in the Tour is important to Movistar and their management. It seems a team strategy to ride conservatively in the big events, not necessarily exclusively Valverde's. How many teams would allow him to go up the road in a break in the Tour without shutting him down quickly? Do you really think that they would allow him off in a break without responding, especially a team like Sky/Ineos? When you take into account what he usually has already accomplished during the season prior to his participation in the grand tours, the fact that he gets those top 10's with regularity should be seen as something to shout about. In this era of specialization, we have a rider that competes year long in major classics, week long stage races and the grand tours, and a very high percentage of the time is at the pointy end of races when it's all said and done. Of the present peloton only Nibali could be said to be on that level among grand tour riders.

They've stated before he would need to lose a lot of time before they'd even consider letting him go up the road in the break. Also just look at this year's Tour. They had no issue letting Quintana out in breaks 2 or 3 times. The one time Valverde tried to go out in the break the other GC teams wouldn't give the break any time at all and kept them very close.

 

[del1962]

The day Quintana was in break he was over 9 minutes down, Valverde only 5 at the time, less than 3 to Bernal

 

[SHAD0W93]

Valverde set to hunt stage victories at the Vuelta a Espana | Cyclingnews.com

'It will be difficult for him to disconnect from the general classification' says DS Arrieta

www.cyclingnews.com

 

[Koronin]

Valverde set to hunt stage victories at the Vuelta a Espana | Cyclingnews.com

'It will be difficult for him to disconnect from the general classification' says DS Arrieta

www.cyclingnews.com

Well he's said that before several times and still ended up in the middle of the GC battle anyway.

 

[SHAD0W93]

I mean who knows, maybe he means it this time, is using that as an excuse if he doesn't do well GC wise, or to try and make other GC riders not think of him as a threat.

 

[Red Rick]

Contrary to the Tour, La Vuelta actually has stages where Valverde is a favorite without having to resort to joining a breakaway

 

[tobydawq]

The problem with that is that he really seems to have lost some explosivity this year.

 

[Valv.Piti]

The problem with that is that he really seems to have lost some explosivity this year.

We were sceptic last year as well after the Tour, then he proceeded to getting two world class victories on uphill sprint finishes.

 

[Noddy97]

He lost climbing ability, I saw that in the vuelta last year. Valverde racing like he raced the 2014 vuelta, he would have won the gc.

 

[Nirvana]

He lost climbing ability, I saw that in the vuelta last year. Valverde racing like he raced the 2014 vuelta, he would have won the gc.

This year performances in the Tour IMHO suggest that there isn't a pattern like we thought after last year Vuelta and even more after Catalunya this spring and can still climb well also on high mountains.

Anyway after seeing him pull the group for the majority of the climb yesterday i fear he'll be wasted again in service of Quintana, yesterday worked well but it's a rare thing with Quintana...

 

[ice&fire]

He lost climbing ability, I saw that in the vuelta last year. Valverde racing like he raced the 2014 vuelta, he would have won the gc.

Valverde's (and Purito's) racing during the climb to Covadonga in the Vuelta 2014 was as dumb as it gets.

 

[Valv.Piti]

He lost climbing ability, I saw that in the vuelta last year. Valverde racing like he raced the 2014 vuelta, he would have won the gc.

If he climbed like the Vuelta 2014 he would have won a decent amount of GTs at this point I think.

 

[Koronin]

This year performances in the Tour IMHO suggest that there isn't a pattern like we thought after last year Vuelta and even more after Catalunya this spring and can still climb well also on high mountains.

Anyway after seeing him pull the group for the majority of the climb yesterday i fear he'll be wasted again in service of Quintana, yesterday worked well but it's a rare thing with Quintana...

It will be completely wasted. I'm sorry but what he did yesterday was useless and wasted energy. At this point the ONLY good thing about this Vuelta is that it's Quintana's last one at Movistar. He has cost Valverde way too much over the past couple of years. I will NEVER forgive Quintana for the 2016 Vuelta as he cost Valverde a piece of history Valverde will NEVER have another chance to get and at this point it's very likely Quintana has cost Valverde even more history. Quintana has got to be one of the worst teammates of all time.

 

[Red Rick]

It will be completely wasted. I'm sorry but what he did yesterday was useless and wasted energy. At this point the ONLY good thing about this Vuelta is that it's Quintana's last one at Movistar. He has cost Valverde way too much over the past couple of years. I will NEVER forgive Quintana for the 2016 Vuelta as he cost Valverde a piece of history Valverde will NEVER have another chance to get and at this point it's very likely Quintana has cost Valverde even more history. Quintana has got to be one of the worst teammates of all time.

Never forgive Quintana for winning a Vuelta Valverde was never gonna win?

Quintana wasted his best chance at winning the Tour being boyscout to Valverde. He's far from the worst teammate ever

 

[Rollthedice]

If he climbed like the Vuelta 2014 he would have won a decent amount of GTs at this point I think.

I'd say his best GT climbing was in the Tour 2015.

 

[tobydawq]

Or maybe Giro 2016. He kept himself within 25 seconds of Foliforov on the MTTT.

 

[Red Rick]

Or maybe Giro 2016. He kept himself within 25 seconds of Foliforov on the MTTT.

Nah not close.

Got absolutely stomped on the Valparola and Agnello/Risoul.

 

[Koronin]

Never forgive Quintana for winning a Vuelta Valverde was never gonna win?

Quintana wasted his best chance at winning the Tour being boyscout to Valverde. He's far from the worst teammate ever

Chances for history, esp what he was looking for does NOT come around very often and that would be the ONLY time he will ever have that chance at history. Quintana had chances at la Vuelta BEFORE that and the ONLY reason he was that one was Contador.

 

[Red Rick]

What chance at history did Valverde have?

Another top 10 record?