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

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

If he had colaborated with contador yesterday he could be in contend for gc...

He still is, don't you worry

No he isn't... he isn't a good time trialist

This certainly looks pretty stupid now :lol:

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

If he had colaborated with contador yesterday he could be in contend for gc...

He still is, don't you worry

No he isn't... he isn't a good time trialist

This certainly looks pretty stupid now :lol:

A little bit...

 

[portugal11]

Paris nice is not like these spanish stage races. It's colder, bigger climbs and a field way stronger. Paris nice is more suited to the likes of contador or porte

 

[Moviestar]

Re: Re:

Valverde can't possibly be better in Strade Bianche than he was in 2014 when he really animated the race (or 2015, can't quite remember), but yet still got comfortably beat uphill by Stybar and GVA. When you have Paris-Nice the day after and when the duel between you and Contador has gotten personal, you go all out at Paris-Nice.

Couillolle is a long, classic Alpine climb. Its not shallow, but not really steep either. Last time I saw a really good Alberto at at long climb was Mortirolo, almost 2 years ago. And when the gradient isn't steeper than it is, I see very good chances of Valverde holding Contador's wheel and hunt for bonus seconds the rest of the race. The TT also suits Valverde really well.

And then you have Porte. Possible the favourite for P-N when its all said and done anyways.

Yeah, I hope he sticks with just P-N, then Basque or Catalunya and hit the Ardennes hard. Getting three solid stage races in, while being fresh and able to put out decent power for all of them, should set him up really well for later in the season especially.

I think he definitely has a chance against Contador and Porte at P-N as well (don't forget Bardet who is possibly the favourite for me). Do you know if there are bonus seconds available there?

Ion is also a dangerous candidate. He seems to have improved his climbing abilities and his TT is a real weapon, if he stays on his bike

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

I rather think Valverde rides PN to win a race he's never won before than to beat Contador. If Contador is in similar shape to last year he'll be very hard to beat.

Valverde rides to win P-N and therefore needs to beat Contador, the main rival along with Porte. But you can tell how Valverde always wants to prove himself better than Contador in every race they enter together. Cant you?

What makes you think that? He was super impressive on the stage to Nice and would probably have won the race if not for the cancellations, but was very mediocre in both the ITT and on the MTF.

Maybe in a week race. I don't think he cares in the GT's.

 

[Mr.White]

Re:

Valverde can't possibly be better in Strade Bianche than he was in 2014 when he really animated the race (or 2015, can't quite remember), but yet still got comfortably beat uphill by Stybar and GVA. When you have Paris-Nice the day after and when the duel between you and Contador has gotten personal, you go all out at Paris-Nice.

Couillolle is a long, classic Alpine climb. Its not shallow, but not really steep either. Last time I saw a really good Alberto at at long climb was Mortirolo, almost 2 years ago. And when the gradient isn't steeper than it is, I see very good chances of Valverde holding Contador's wheel and hunt for bonus seconds the rest of the race. The TT also suits Valverde really well.

And then you have Porte. Possible the favourite for P-N when its all said and done anyways.

It was 2015, and yes he can be better, he can win that race on a really good day. In 2015 he just pulled too much, and paid for that at the end. He was pulling hard already 50km from the finish. 8 times out of 10 he could beat those two on a finish like that. And I think he'll ride this year, he said he really loves that race

 

[WheelofGear]

Re:

Paris nice is not like these spanish stage races. It's colder, bigger climbs and a field way stronger. Paris nice is more suited to the likes of contador or porte

It's a bit different this year. Stage 6 is tailor-made for Valverde with a long descent followed by a short, very steep climb.

 

[GuyIncognito]

He's talking about getting his 100th win if he wins the overall. But even discounting the 2010 results his 100th win was last week in Murcia

What gives?

 

[Mr.White]

Re:

He's talking about getting his 100th win if he wins the overall. But even discounting the 2010 results his 100th win was last week in Murcia

What gives?

No, it was his 99th, I think he knows best. In 2010 he had 5 wins, it would be 104 if he's counting them

 

[roundabout]

http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2003&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2004&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2005&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2006&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2007&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2008&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2009&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2012&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2013&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2014&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2015&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2016&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2017&all=0&current=0&victories=1

I also get 99 individual wins. Of course it's possible that TTT's could be included by some when counting the wins. He did win 2 of them.

 

[Netserk]

Re: Re:

He's talking about getting his 100th win if he wins the overall. But even discounting the 2010 results his 100th win was last week in Murcia

What gives?

No, it was his 99th, I think he knows best. In 2010 he had 5 wins, it would be 104 if he's counting them

103.

You can't have it both ways and get both the 2010 wins and the Super Besse stage from 2008.

 

[Netserk]

Re:

http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2003&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2004&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2005&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2006&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2007&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2008&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2009&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2012&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2013&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2014&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2015&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2016&all=0&current=0&victories=1
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&year=2017&all=0&current=0&victories=1

I also get 99 individual wins. Of course it's possible that TTT's could be included by some when counting the wins. He did win 2 of them.

When counting wins, it's easier to have them all in one page, instead of counting each year's win separately.
http://www.cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=5&victories=1

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

He's talking about getting his 100th win if he wins the overall. But even discounting the 2010 results his 100th win was last week in Murcia

What gives?

No, it was his 99th, I think he knows best. In 2010 he had 5 wins, it would be 104 if he's counting them

103.

You can't have it both ways and get both the 2010 wins and the Super Besse stage from 2008.

You're right, I forgot about that one...

 

[GuyIncognito]

Re: Re:

He's talking about getting his 100th win if he wins the overall. But even discounting the 2010 results his 100th win was last week in Murcia

What gives?

No, it was his 99th, I think he knows best. In 2010 he had 5 wins, it would be 104 if he's counting them

If it was his 99th, then the 100th was on wednesday

 

[SHAD0W93]

Either way an impressive amount of wins.

 

[KyoGrey]

(Credits to Bemancio)

The creator of...: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxCYVWJexM8

...now raises eyebrows with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNhVSe9VCTU

 

[Mr.White]

100th! He joined Greipel, Cav and Boonen in elite club of active riders who won 100 road races and more! Quite an achievement for any rider, and especially for a non-sprinter. In fact I think only about 30 riders reached that milestone in the history of cycling.

 

[Arredondo]

Congrats Bala! Good win. He will have a good 2017 (who would have thought different!).

Really interesting to see him battling against someone like Porte at PN. If Richie goes bananas like he did in Down Under, it will be something special if Valverde can follow him.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Valverde says in the CN-article that he will participate in Catalunya and therefore not Pais Vasco. I like Pais Vasco much better as a race, but I think its the right decision since Contador and Henao are pretty impossible to beat there in top shape, even for Valverde. He has much better chances against Contador and the Skybots + the rest in Catalunya which Bala dominated the last time he raced there in 2015.

 

[Squire]

It's an even better decision because he'll be fresher for the Ardennes. Not that it makes a huge difference for Valverde, though. He's always fresh.

 

[Valv.Piti]

http://movistarteam.com/noticias/2017-2-20/es-una-pasada-haber-conseguido-100-victorias

What a nice interview with Valverde here. Second Vuelta win?

 

[mariposa]

http://movistarteam.com/noticias/2017-2-20/es-una-pasada-haber-conseguido-100-victorias

What a nice interview with Valverde here. Second Vuelta win?

Yes very nice. I would love to see him win gold at the Worlds although another La Vuelta title would be fantastic I wonder which he would take if he was guaranteed one? I expect the Worlds.

 

[El Pistolero]

http://movistarteam.com/noticias/2017-2-20/es-una-pasada-haber-conseguido-100-victorias

What a nice interview with Valverde here. Second Vuelta win?

I don't really agree with the sentiment that the other three are sprinters considering Boonen won many races that weren't flat stages.

3x Ronde, 4x Roubaix, 3x G-W, 5x E3 Harelbeke, 1x WC (23 riders survived, Valverde was second), loads of echelon stages in Qatar (+ overall), 2x Belgian Championships, etc.

 

[Mr.White]

He's not a sprinter "only", he is of course one of the greatest classics riders of all-time, but majority of his wins came in the bunch or reduced bunch sprint, and riders like that as we know have much more opportunities for win then riders like Valverde

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

He's not a sprinter "only", he is of course one of the greatest classics riders of all-time, but majority of his wins came in the bunch or reduced bunch sprint, and riders like that as we know have much more opportunities for win then riders like Valverde

Yes. Boonen is obviously just not a sprinter, thats stupid to suggest which he didn't either. He simply just pointed out he himself was a much different type of rider than the 3 other active riders who had 100 victories which is totally fair.