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

[CheckMyPecs]

Re:

This I want to say .Valverde climbing on his big ring and dropping everyone old style. The guy is incredible and he really deserves a tour win when you consider riders like Wiggo and sastre etc have tour wins and are not in his league.

With the very specific exceptions of riders like Walko or Pereiro, the only ones who really deserve to win a GT are the ones who actually do. Second is just the first among the losers.

 

[ray j willings]

Re: Re:

This I want to say .Valverde climbing on his big ring and dropping everyone old style. The guy is incredible and he really deserves a tour win when you consider riders like Wiggo and sastre etc have tour wins and are not in his league.

With the very specific exceptions of riders like Walko or Pereiro, the only ones who really deserve to win a GT are the ones who actually do. Second is just the first among the losers.

If Valverde got towed round by Froome and the rest of Sky he would have won the tour that year, in-fact I think the bar was so low that year that year that Porte could have won.
Point is though Valves has never got it right at the tour or has had bad luck.
I would love to see him win.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

This I want to say .Valverde climbing on his big ring and dropping everyone old style. The guy is incredible and he really deserves a tour win when you consider riders like Wiggo and sastre etc have tour wins and are not in his league.

With the very specific exceptions of riders like Walko or Pereiro, the only ones who really deserve to win a GT are the ones who actually do. Second is just the first among the losers.

If Valverde got towed round by Froome and the rest of Sky he would have won the tour that year, in-fact I think the bar was so low that year that year that Porte could have won.
Point is though Valves has never got it right at the tour or has had bad luck.
I would love to see him win.

Unfortunately, he had his chances in 2008 and 2014 when he was bad. 2014 was horrible compared to what he showed 2013 and 2015. NEVER LUCKY.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

This I want to say .Valverde climbing on his big ring and dropping everyone old style. The guy is incredible and he really deserves a tour win when you consider riders like Wiggo and sastre etc have tour wins and are not in his league.

With the very specific exceptions of riders like Walko or Pereiro, the only ones who really deserve to win a GT are the ones who actually do. Second is just the first among the losers.

If Valverde got towed round by Froome and the rest of Sky he would have won the tour that year, in-fact I think the bar was so low that year that year that Porte could have won.
Point is though Valves has never got it right at the tour or has had bad luck.
I would love to see him win.

I think he just hasn't been prepared to sacrifice a season to have a real shot at the Tour. He'd rather be at 90-95% of his peak all season long, than to be at 100% during the TdF and a couple of stage races and then disappear the rest of the time.

And it's just not possible to win the Tour unless you're at 100%, because so many other riders are peaking for it.

 

[lenric]

Re: Re:

This I want to say .Valverde climbing on his big ring and dropping everyone old style. The guy is incredible and he really deserves a tour win when you consider riders like Wiggo and sastre etc have tour wins and are not in his league.

With the very specific exceptions of riders like Walko or Pereiro, the only ones who really deserve to win a GT are the ones who actually do. Second is just the first among the losers.

If Valverde got towed round by Froome and the rest of Sky he would have won the tour that year, in-fact I think the bar was so low that year that year that Porte could have won.
Point is though Valves has never got it right at the tour or has had bad luck.
I would love to see him win.

Unfortunately, he had his chances in 2008 and 2014 when he was bad. 2014 was horrible compared to what he showed 2013 and 2015. NEVER LUCKY.

I like Valverde, but he was the luckiest guy in 2009 when he won la Vuelta because of Evans puncture and shitty wheel change.

 

[ray j willings]

He can't help himself . He's a racer . He loves to compete. I don't think he could/ would throw all his eggs in to one basket like Bertie or Froome.
A truly underestimated rider and climber and unjustly hated by some IMO,
But that's clinic talk.

 

[Red Rick]

Doubt he'd do so much better if he'd focus on one big target in the season. He did it for the 2009 Vuelta, and though he won his only GT there, his level wasn't much above many other 3 week efforts he's done over the years, just a bit luckier

 

[Valv.Piti]

Yeah, I think we debated it a couple of days ago, but I think Valverde's climbing display in the 2006, 2012 and 2014 Vueltas were better than 2009. The same goes for Tour 2005 (albeit only 1 1/2 stage, but thats enough when beating Armstrong), 2013 and 2015. He was also climbing brilliantly in 2007 in the Alps before collapsing completely in the ITT. What a funny sight it was when Rasmussen, of all freaking people, overtook him. I can't remember if he gave any reasons for that apart from just being plain bad after the alps. He was super consistent in that 2009 Vuelta tho.

 

[Rollthedice]

Forget Le Tour what he really needs is the WCRR title. I hope he still has time to win it.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Forget Le Tour what he really needs is the WCRR title. I hope he still has time to win it.

Just gotta bulk up 10 kgs for the desert, NP.

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

This I want to say .Valverde climbing on his big ring and dropping everyone old style. The guy is incredible and he really deserves a tour win when you consider riders like Wiggo and sastre etc have tour wins and are not in his league.

With the very specific exceptions of riders like Walko or Pereiro, the only ones who really deserve to win a GT are the ones who actually do. Second is just the first among the losers.

If Valverde got towed round by Froome and the rest of Sky he would have won the tour that year, in-fact I think the bar was so low that year that year that Porte could have won.
Point is though Valves has never got it right at the tour or has had bad luck.
I would love to see him win.

Unfortunately, he had his chances in 2008 and 2014 when he was bad. 2014 was horrible compared to what he showed 2013 and 2015. NEVER LUCKY.

I like Valverde, but he was the luckiest guy in 2009 when he won la Vuelta because of Evans puncture and shitty wheel change.

He was stronger than Evans, he would of beat him with or without that puncture

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re: Re:

He was stronger than Evans, he would of beat him with or without that puncture

Considering that Evans was 1" faster than Valverde in the post-puncture stages of the Vuelta, it seems quite plausible that Cadel could've defended his lead without the puncture.

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

He was stronger than Evans, he would of beat him with or without that puncture

Considering that Evans was 1" faster than Valverde in the post-puncture stages of the Vuelta, it seems quite plausible that Cadel could've defended his lead without the puncture.

A whole second! Well didn't know that. He would surely hold that advantage till the end, with all those bonus seconds up for grabs

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re: Re:

He was stronger than Evans, he would of beat him with or without that puncture

Considering that Evans was 1" faster than Valverde in the post-puncture stages of the Vuelta, it seems quite plausible that Cadel could've defended his lead without the puncture.

A whole second! Well didn't know that. He would surely hold that advantage till the end, with all those bonus seconds up for grabs

What I'm saying is Valverde may or may not have won the Vuelta anyway, but considering what we saw on the road it can't be asserted as confidently as you did.

 

[Scarponi]

Evans getting that second GT would have made his palmares look pretty epic too lol

 

[ice&fire]

Re: Re:

He was stronger than Evans, he would of beat him with or without that puncture

Considering that Evans was 1" faster than Valverde in the post-puncture stages of the Vuelta, it seems quite plausible that Cadel could've defended his lead without the puncture.

Cadel wasn't leading the race when he punctured, he was 7" behind Valverde.

 

[Marco Pantani]

The messiah strikes again.

Cycling god.

 

[Red Rick]

Wonder when Alaphilipe gets the urge to stab Valverde or something like that

 

[Valv.Piti]

Yep.

Still the best rider in the peloton, maybe apart from Sagan.

 

[SeriousSam]

4 victories:
Alejandro Valverde (SPA) 2006, 2014, 2015, 2016

3 victories:
Marcel Kint (BEL) 1943, 1944, 1945
Eddy Merckx (BEL) 1967, 1970, 1972
Moreno Argentin (ITA) 1990, 1991, 1994
Davide Rebellin (ITA) 2004, 2007, 2009

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

Wonder when Alaphilipe gets the urge to stab Valverde or something like that

Maybe when he'll see his back again on Sunday's finish line.

 

[Carols]

The man just keeps racking up the wins. Amazing rider!!!

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Wonder when Alaphilipe gets the urge to stab Valverde or something like that

Maybe when he'll see his back again on Sunday's finish line.

Huehuehuehue.

'Im not super confident in myself, focusing on the Giro'. Proceeds to send riders up the road, maybe he isn't as good as we are used to? Humiliates them once again at Huy.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

4 victories:
Alejandro Valverde (SPA) 2006, 2014, 2015, 2016

3 victories:
Marcel Kint (BEL) 1943, 1944, 1945
Eddy Merckx (BEL) 1967, 1970, 1972
Moreno Argentin (ITA) 1990, 1991, 1994
Davide Rebellin (ITA) 2004, 2007, 2009

Ten years after his first win.

 

[SevenTimeTdfChamp]

That was really samrt raceing. sending riders up the road forceing the others to chase. Also he looks to be in pretty good shape for the giro. Think he is gonna win