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

[GuyIncognito]

Re: Re:

Bala said in a interview that he will work for nairo in le tour

Perhaps the Dauphine gave him a reality check. The strongest climbers are gonna be in peak form in July. Even Nairo is gonna be better than him in the real mountain stages.

He said it before the Dauphine.

Also said the plan is all in for the Vuelta with several domestiques being saved for that race, so don't expect him in top form at the Tour.

 

[silvergrenade]

Re: Re:

Bala said in a interview that he will work for nairo in le tour

Perhaps the Dauphine gave him a reality check. The strongest climbers are gonna be in peak form in July. Even Nairo is gonna be better than him in the real mountain stages.

He said it before the Dauphine.

Also said the plan is all in for the Vuelta with several domestiques being saved for that race, so don't expect him in top form at the Tour.

Why?
I mean, he should go all out for the Tour. The route suits him and he's in monster form this year.
Also he'll meet froome there.

 

[GuyIncognito]

Re: Re:

Bala said in a interview that he will work for nairo in le tour

Perhaps the Dauphine gave him a reality check. The strongest climbers are gonna be in peak form in July. Even Nairo is gonna be better than him in the real mountain stages.

He said it before the Dauphine.

Also said the plan is all in for the Vuelta with several domestiques being saved for that race, so don't expect him in top form at the Tour.

Why?
I mean, he should go all out for the Tour. The route suits him and he's in monster form this year.
Also he'll meet froome there.

You have to understand his personality

He's a stressed out guy who wants most of all to get along with people and be in a relaxed environment. He doesn't have the dominant personality to force leadership, or even to desire it.

Quintana is the designated leader so that's that, Valverde won't want to make life uncomfortable by rocking the boat. He'll follow the team's instructions and is already very happy that the team are supporting strongly his bid for his biggest desire: winning another Vuelta now that he's finally let go of his self-admitted obsession for winning the Worlds

And I don't get your Froome comment.

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

Bala said in a interview that he will work for nairo in le tour

Perhaps the Dauphine gave him a reality check. The strongest climbers are gonna be in peak form in July. Even Nairo is gonna be better than him in the real mountain stages.

He said it before the Dauphine.

Also said the plan is all in for the Vuelta with several domestiques being saved for that race, so don't expect him in top form at the Tour.

Why?
I mean, he should go all out for the Tour. The route suits him and he's in monster form this year.
Also he'll meet froome there.

You have to understand his personality

He's a stressed out guy who wants most of all to get along with people and be in a relaxed environment. He doesn't have the dominant personality to force leadership, or even to desire it.

Quintana is the designated leader so that's that, Valverde won't want to make life uncomfortable by rocking the boat. He'll follow the team's instructions and is already very happy that the team are supporting strongly his bid for his biggest desire: winning another Vuelta now that he's finally let go of his self-admitted obsession for winning the Worlds

And I don't get your Froome comment.

He doesn't have the dominant personality to force leadership? What??? :surprised:
Purito disagrees with you

 

[jaylew]

Re: Re:

Perhaps the Dauphine gave him a reality check. The strongest climbers are gonna be in peak form in July. Even Nairo is gonna be better than him in the real mountain stages.

He said it before the Dauphine.

Also said the plan is all in for the Vuelta with several domestiques being saved for that race, so don't expect him in top form at the Tour.

Why?
I mean, he should go all out for the Tour. The route suits him and he's in monster form this year.
Also he'll meet froome there.

You have to understand his personality

He's a stressed out guy who wants most of all to get along with people and be in a relaxed environment. He doesn't have the dominant personality to force leadership, or even to desire it.

Quintana is the designated leader so that's that, Valverde won't want to make life uncomfortable by rocking the boat. He'll follow the team's instructions and is already very happy that the team are supporting strongly his bid for his biggest desire: winning another Vuelta now that he's finally let go of his self-admitted obsession for winning the Worlds

And I don't get your Froome comment.

He doesn't have the dominant personality to force leadership? What??? :surprised:
Purito disagrees with you

You sure about that?

 

[Blanco]

Purito disagrees where?

 

[portugal11]

Re:

Purito disagrees where?

Caisse d'espargne

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

Purito disagrees where?

Caisse d'espargne

Never heard Purito talked that Valverde forced leadership. He was simply natural leader, and if anybody forced anything it was certainly Unzue. But in Valverde's case he was hardly wrong, we're talking about one of the best riders of the last 10-15 years. Purito started relatively late in his career to produce big results. Only in 2008 he showed glimpses of what he can do. He rode in 2009 with Caisse and then he left, as did many others after him, like Rui Costa, Intxausti, Izagirre, Visconti... They all thought they deserved leadership, but I think only Purito proved it. Maybe Izagirre will do it too, it's too early to judge.

Never heard Purito talked bad about Valverde either, well maybe a little after that famous Worlds in Firenze but that settled quickly, but before that and after that never.

 

[sir fly]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/valverde-to-support-quintana-and-nothing-else-at-tour-de-france/
Seems ready and committed.

 

[Blanco]

He basically said he's going to try to be high in the GC as long as possible, and help Quintana by being a threat for all other favorites. That means he has a shot for the overall imo. I'm expecting attacks from him in the Pyrenees, maybe on Chambery stage also. After that, in the Alps, if Nairo is well ahead he'll commit 100%, but if they are close they will play 2 card tactics.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

He basically said he's going to try to be high in the GC as long as possible, and help Quintana by being a threat for all other favorites. That means he has a shot for the overall imo. I'm expecting attacks from him in the Pyrenees, maybe on Chambery stage also. After that, in the Alps, if Nairo is well ahead he'll commit 100%, but if they are close they will play 2 card tactics.

Pretty much. It means that if Quintana isn't at his best, Valverde will aim to win the race if he himself has the legs and thats obviously quite a tough task.

Anyways, Valverde is a genuine guy, I expect him to speak the truth and stay put until Quintana has shown his hand. Whether that will mean he will drill it, go on the attack or simply just stay with the favourites is dictated by a lot of different factors.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I'm guessing Valverde's only job late in the race will be to neutralize any attack by Contador even if he's 10 minutes down on GC.

 

[sir fly]

Re:

I'm guessing Valverde's only job late in the race will be to neutralize any attack by Contador even if he's 10 minutes down on GC.

Do you want to say he'd do it without being asked to?
Even out of spite?

 

[Pennino]

Re:

I'm guessing Valverde's only job late in the race will be to neutralize any attack by Contador even if he's 10 minutes down on GC.

While it would be extraordinary to see them as allies in the third week bringing their interests together in order to break Porte definitely or to get the best out of that one weak moment of Froome.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

I'm guessing Valverde's only job late in the race will be to neutralize any attack by Contador even if he's 10 minutes down on GC.

Good point, as good as a person Valverde is, he necessarily do not enjoy Contador specifically to have success for whatever reasons.

 

[Blanco]

Re:

I'm guessing Valverde's only job late in the race will be to neutralize any attack by Contador even if he's 10 minutes down on GC.

I guess you're a little bit bitter about couple of situations in Tour 2015. Valverde's task back then wasn't to neutralize Contador, but to mark him closely. Had they gained significant time, Valverde would've start to work, but that didn't happen. You would like to portray this as something personal, but I tend to think it was purely tactical.

 

[dusty red roads]

Re: Re:

I'm guessing Valverde's only job late in the race will be to neutralize any attack by Contador even if he's 10 minutes down on GC.

Good point, as good as a person Valverde is, he necessarily do not enjoy Contador specifically to have success for whatever reasons.

Which is a shame because together they could give Froome and Porte a real hard time!

 

[DBotero]

I don't see Quintana recovering after the Giro so Valverde should be careful and stay high in the GC.Winning doesn't look possible but a podium place is on cards.I find those instances of him chasing Contador pretty funny,hoping for more this Tour

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

I'm guessing Valverde's only job late in the race will be to neutralize any attack by Contador even if he's 10 minutes down on GC.

Good point, as good as a person Valverde is, he necessarily do not enjoy Contador specifically to have success for whatever reasons.

Which is a shame because together they could give Froome and Porte a real hard time!

Indeed. But Valverde would rather lose if it means Contador loses as well, than have a chance of winning if it means Contador could win as well. Kinda desperate. But I guess that's what he has to do to keep the self-proclaimed title of best Spanish rider of his generation.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

I'm guessing Valverde's only job late in the race will be to neutralize any attack by Contador even if he's 10 minutes down on GC.

Good point, as good as a person Valverde is, he necessarily do not enjoy Contador specifically to have success for whatever reasons.

Which is a shame because together they could give Froome and Porte a real hard time!

Indeed. But Valverde would rather lose if it means Contador loses as well, than have a chance of winning if it means Contador could win as well. Kinda desperate. But I guess that's what he has to do to keep the self-proclaimed title of best Spanish rider of his generation.

That, on the other hand, seem to be a lot of sour grapes on your part. I can't really think of an example of that, would you mind to give me one?

 

[DFA123]

The Valverde - Contador relationship is way simpler and less personal than all that. Contador has basically been the stronger GC rider for most of their careers, so Valverde was always on the defensive having to be cautious. Of course that has started changed in the last two years, with Contador's decline, so I think Valverde is now confident that he is the better GC rider and will be the greater protagonist.

There's no chance that, in a one day race, where Valverde has always been much stronger, that he would mark Contador and ride defensively. It would be the other way round. It's not a question of wanting someone else to lose, it's a case of making the stronger rider take on the greater workload in a situation.

 

[Arredondo]

The Bala-Purito relationship was way more spicier then his relationship with Contador. Like DFA said, Contador was the superior GC rider for most of their careers, while Bala was (and is) the better classics rider.

I don't think Valverde really cares about Contador's chances this Tour. Maybe some years ago when Contador was the benchmark. But now, i think Bala knows he will finish in front of him if he reaches usual level. Which is higher nowadays then Berto's level.

 

[lenric]

Re:

The Bala-Purito relationship was way more spicier then his relationship with Contador. Like DFA said, Contador was the superior GC rider for most of their careers, while Bala was (and is) the better classics rider.

I don't think Valverde really cares about Contador's chances this Tour. Maybe some years ago when Contador was the benchmark. But now, i think Bala knows he will finish in front of him if he reaches usual level. Which is higher nowadays then Berto's level.

This. Also, Contador doesn't perform well when he rides the Tour de Falls, so Valverde only needs not to fall off of his bicycle.

 

[dusty red roads]

Maybe an alliance with Aru instead, he's flying and they like each other.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I'd love to be a teammate of Valverde's, the guy isn't greedy and he just is such a chill person. Rory Sutherland spoke about it, the difference between riding for Quintana and Valverde: Valverde was tranquillo all the time, where as Quintana needed his teammates around him a little more and demanded more.

It has come with age tho, he has also said it himself, especially when it come to TdF. He knows what it takes now, no more crashes and bad performances. Its funny since Valverde's TdF-palmarés is so much better post-suspension than pre, contrary to Contador, where the exact opposite is true.