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

[DFA123]

Re:

Who is even going to come close to beating him at FW? Alaphilippe doesn't seem to be near his best form and even then I still wouldn't expect him to beat Valverde. Kwiat perhaps? Who am I kidding, I'm just clutching at straws here.

Maybe the other teams could try the outrageously daring tactic of not waiting until the last climb. Rather than just doing the same thing that has resulted in an absolute procession for Valverde in the last four years.

 

[El Pistolero]

Re: Re:

Who is even going to come close to beating him at FW? Alaphilippe doesn't seem to be near his best form and even then I still wouldn't expect him to beat Valverde. Kwiat perhaps? Who am I kidding, I'm just clutching at straws here.

Maybe the other teams could try the outrageously daring tactic of not waiting until the last climb. Rather than just doing the same thing that has resulted in an absolute procession for Valverde in the last four years.

Doubt it, FW is not a real race anymore. A joke to what it used to be.

How anyone can still think this race is prestigious is beyond me. It takes place on a Wednesday for a good reason.

Now if someone wins by attacking before the Mur de Huy then I'll give that person a lot of props and respect.

But again, I doubt it. Most cyclists aren't interested in winning this race, otherwise they wouldn't wait until the Mur de Huy.

I rate this race even below the Clasica San Sebastian.

 

[Breh]

Re: Re:

Who is even going to come close to beating him at FW? Alaphilippe doesn't seem to be near his best form and even then I still wouldn't expect him to beat Valverde. Kwiat perhaps? Who am I kidding, I'm just clutching at straws here.

Maybe the other teams could try the outrageously daring tactic of not waiting until the last climb. Rather than just doing the same thing that has resulted in an absolute procession for Valverde in the last four years.

Doubt it, FW is not a real race anymore. A joke to what it used to be.

How anyone can still think this race is prestigious is beyond me. It takes place on a Wednesday for a good reason.

Now if someone wins by attacking before the Mur de Huy then I'll give that person a lot of props and respect.

But again, I doubt it. Most cyclists aren't interested in winning this race, otherwise they wouldn't wait until the Mur de Huy.

I rate this race even below the Clasica San Sebastian.

And E3 is raced on a friday.

Valverde
Moreno
Rodriguez
Gilbert
Evans
Rebellin
Di Luca
Kirchen

Some really terrible riders on that list.
Just take a look at the top10 from the past 10years. Every single rider in that top10 is/was a quality rider.

Why am i even replying to you...

 

[Keram]

94 man bunch sprint? It is ridiculous :surprised: I seriously think this guy fooled the universe and he will turn 36 in april and 35 in 2019 :lol:

 

[Serpentin]

Re: Re:

Who is even going to come close to beating him at FW? Alaphilippe doesn't seem to be near his best form and even then I still wouldn't expect him to beat Valverde. Kwiat perhaps? Who am I kidding, I'm just clutching at straws here.

Maybe the other teams could try the outrageously daring tactic of not waiting until the last climb. Rather than just doing the same thing that has resulted in an absolute procession for Valverde in the last four years.

Doubt it, FW is not a real race anymore. A joke to what it used to be.

How anyone can still think this race is prestigious is beyond me. It takes place on a Wednesday for a good reason.

Now if someone wins by attacking before the Mur de Huy then I'll give that person a lot of props and respect.

But again, I doubt it. Most cyclists aren't interested in winning this race, otherwise they wouldn't wait until the Mur de Huy.

I rate this race even below the Clasica San Sebastian.

I love the San Sebastian race. Great route and the finish make it perfect for some great racing. 2016 I watched it Live, great action.

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

Who is even going to come close to beating him at FW? Alaphilippe doesn't seem to be near his best form and even then I still wouldn't expect him to beat Valverde. Kwiat perhaps? Who am I kidding, I'm just clutching at straws here.

Maybe Adam Yates, if he can produce his Tirreno shape.

But even then, i highly doubt it. The only guy who could beat him when in peak shape, was Purito.

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

Who is even going to come close to beating him at FW? Alaphilippe doesn't seem to be near his best form and even then I still wouldn't expect him to beat Valverde. Kwiat perhaps? Who am I kidding, I'm just clutching at straws here.

Maybe Adam Yates, if he can produce his Tirreno shape.

But even then, i highly doubt it. The only guy who could beat him when in peak shape, was Purito.

But this, today's Valverde, I have a feeling, is stronger than that one 2012-2014. It would be one hell of a battle!

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Re: Re:

Who is even going to come close to beating him at FW? Alaphilippe doesn't seem to be near his best form and even then I still wouldn't expect him to beat Valverde. Kwiat perhaps? Who am I kidding, I'm just clutching at straws here.

Maybe Adam Yates, if he can produce his Tirreno shape.

But even then, i highly doubt it. The only guy who could beat him when in peak shape, was Purito.

But this, today's Valverde, I have a feeling, is stronger than that one 2012-2014. It would be one hell of a battle!

Perhaps in a few years, when he has matured a bit, Rebellin will be ready to take him on.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Who is even going to come close to beating him at FW? Alaphilippe doesn't seem to be near his best form and even then I still wouldn't expect him to beat Valverde. Kwiat perhaps? Who am I kidding, I'm just clutching at straws here.

Maybe Adam Yates, if he can produce his Tirreno shape.

But even then, i highly doubt it. The only guy who could beat him when in peak shape, was Purito.

Well the Vuelta 2012-Purito would probably beat him on Huy, or, I don't really know. That would be extremely close. I don't believe in Alaphilippe, Dan Martin is super solid but aint beating Valverde. Maybe Adam Yates? I honestly don't know who else should be able to beat him.

 

[Sestriere]

Re: Re:

Who is even going to come close to beating him at FW? Alaphilippe doesn't seem to be near his best form and even then I still wouldn't expect him to beat Valverde. Kwiat perhaps? Who am I kidding, I'm just clutching at straws here.

Maybe Adam Yates, if he can produce his Tirreno shape.

But even then, i highly doubt it. The only guy who could beat him when in peak shape, was Purito.

Well the Vuelta 2012-Purito would probably beat him on Huy, or, I don't really know. That would be extremely close. I don't believe in Alaphilippe, Dan Martin is super solid but aint beating Valverde. Maybe Adam Yates? I honestly don't know who else should be able to beat him.

I would suggest Dylan Teuns. But tbh I don't really know why people are already writing Alaphilippe off..?

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

Who is even going to come close to beating him at FW? Alaphilippe doesn't seem to be near his best form and even then I still wouldn't expect him to beat Valverde. Kwiat perhaps? Who am I kidding, I'm just clutching at straws here.

Maybe Adam Yates, if he can produce his Tirreno shape.

But even then, i highly doubt it. The only guy who could beat him when in peak shape, was Purito.

Well the Vuelta 2012-Purito would probably beat him on Huy, or, I don't really know. That would be extremely close. I don't believe in Alaphilippe, Dan Martin is super solid but aint beating Valverde. Maybe Adam Yates? I honestly don't know who else should be able to beat him.

I would suggest Dylan Teuns. But tbh I don't really know why people are already writing Alaphilippe off..?

I guess because he hasn't been absolutely stunning this spring. That's what you'd have to be to beat Valverde in FW...unless someone attacks early.

 

[Sestriere]

Re: Re:

Who is even going to come close to beating him at FW? Alaphilippe doesn't seem to be near his best form and even then I still wouldn't expect him to beat Valverde. Kwiat perhaps? Who am I kidding, I'm just clutching at straws here.

Maybe Adam Yates, if he can produce his Tirreno shape.

But even then, i highly doubt it. The only guy who could beat him when in peak shape, was Purito.

Well the Vuelta 2012-Purito would probably beat him on Huy, or, I don't really know. That would be extremely close. I don't believe in Alaphilippe, Dan Martin is super solid but aint beating Valverde. Maybe Adam Yates? I honestly don't know who else should be able to beat him.

I would suggest Dylan Teuns. But tbh I don't really know why people are already writing Alaphilippe off..?

I guess because he hasn't been absolutely stunning this spring. That's what you'd have to be to beat Valverde in FW...unless someone attacks early.

It's still a month until the Ardennes. Should be enough time to get into top shape. Doesn't mean he will be but I wouldn't be too worried right now.

 

[tobydawq]

I'm getting pretty sick of Quintana. What the hell was he thinking today? That was an extremely illoyal display by the little, egocentric wannabe-captain. There is absolutely no reason that suggests why he should be equal to Valverde in this race, and if the quartet he was in made it to the finale, he would probably end third in the GC instead of a sure-fire victory for Valverde.

I was hoping Movistar would just reel them in but apparently they had to cater to his self-worth and hope other teams would save their race.

 

[Geraint Too Fast]

I'm getting pretty sick of Quintana. What the hell was he thinking today? That was an extremely illoyal display by the little, egocentric wannabe-captain. There is absolutely no reason that suggests why he should be equal to Valverde in this race, and if the quartet he was in made it to the finale, he would probably end third in the GC instead of a sure-fire victory for Valverde.

I was hoping Movistar would just reel them in but apparently they had to cater to his self-worth and hope other teams would save their race.

You sure that wasn't Movistars tactic today? I didn't look like they had any intention of controlling that finale. The gap to De Gendt wasn't coming down until Mitchelton went to the front, then Soler was the first to attack, and finally Quintana did a fairly good job of killing the co-operation in that group.

 

[Velolover2]

Weird tactics by Movistar today. What was Quintana thinking in the first couple of k's when he was pulling the chasers?

Pinot and in particular Yates are the most dangerous rivals. If there is action on the entire climb, both Pinot and Yates are rivals.

But Yates is the only rider (out of all of the riders in the race) who can get a gap to Valverde if it comes down to the last k on La Molina. If Yates attacks with 700-600 m to go and there is no co-operation among the favorites, he could steal the GC.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

I'm getting pretty sick of Quintana. What the hell was he thinking today? That was an extremely illoyal display by the little, egocentric wannabe-captain. There is absolutely no reason that suggests why he should be equal to Valverde in this race, and if the quartet he was in made it to the finale, he would probably end third in the GC instead of a sure-fire victory for Valverde.

I was hoping Movistar would just reel them in but apparently they had to cater to his self-worth and hope other teams would save their race.

You sure that wasn't Movistars tactic today? I didn't look like they had any intention of controlling that finale. The gap to De Gendt wasn't coming down until Mitchelton went to the front, then Soler was the first to attack, and finally Quintana did a fairly good job of killing the co-operation in that group.

It's of course what they will tell us but it isn't logical - from my (of course biased) point of view, the tactics of today didn't serve any other purpose than boosting Quintana's self esteem and make him feel like an equal to Valverde (which he just is not in a race like this).

From a tactical point of view, what they did in the finale was hopeless. They should just ride it like Sky usually do - but that is not as entertaining, I agree.

 

[MuskyOurSaviour]

Isn't equal based on what? Winning a sprint stage? Let's not jump to conclusions just yet.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

I'm getting pretty sick of Quintana. What the hell was he thinking today? That was an extremely illoyal display by the little, egocentric wannabe-captain. There is absolutely no reason that suggests why he should be equal to Valverde in this race, and if the quartet he was in made it to the finale, he would probably end third in the GC instead of a sure-fire victory for Valverde.

I was hoping Movistar would just reel them in but apparently they had to cater to his self-worth and hope other teams would save their race.

You sure that wasn't Movistars tactic today? I didn't look like they had any intention of controlling that finale. The gap to De Gendt wasn't coming down until Mitchelton went to the front, then Soler was the first to attack, and finally Quintana did a fairly good job of killing the co-operation in that group.

It's of course what they will tell us but it isn't logical - from my (of course biased) point of view, the tactics of today didn't serve any other purpose than boosting Quintana's self esteem and make him feel like an equal to Valverde (which he just is not in a race like this).

From a tactical point of view, what they did in the finale was hopeless. They should just ride it like Sky usually do - but that is not as entertaining, I agree.

I agree with you. It doesn't make any sense. Quintana is not a co-leader in this race as this course is so much better for Valverde. My only guess is they didn't feel like controlling it anymore and wanted someone else to. However, DeGendt isn't going to win the overall and this is going to come down to time bonuses. When it comes to time bonuses, Valverde proved yesterday he's more than happy getting in the middle of a partial field sprint. At this rate if Rojas can put him in the right spot he might get in the middle of a full field sprint as well.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Yeah, I agree with all the sentiments. Dual leadership, blah blah blah, we all know there only is and should be one leader in this race and its not Quintana, nor is it Soler for that matter.

 

[Koronin]

Re:

Yeah, I agree with all the sentiments. Dual leadership, blah blah blah, we all know there only is and should be one leader in this race and its not Quintana, nor is it Soler for that matter.

True, although I'm pretty sure Soler knows exactly what his role is and is happy to fulfill it. Plus he also seems more than happy to race for Valverde specifically so he can continue to learn. Besides he's also just been handed a huge opportunity with the Dauphine later this year.
Soler did say after Paris-Nice that he was headed to Catalunya to work for Valverde.

 

[Jungle Cycle]

this Tour will go either spectacular to Movistar or will go horribly wrong...

 

[DFA123]

It worked out well for Movistar in the end, whether intentional or not. They basically had a free ride for most of the day, when they normally would have been expected to be on the front for most of the tough parts. While Pinot, Yates and Sky all ended up putting in a pretty big effort for very little reward in the last 10km.

Quintana probably just wanted to put in a solid training effort - get in a decent interval, which he would have already pencilled into his schedule with the Vallter finish. But when it looked like the gap was getting too big because of the lack of response behind, he immediately stopped working, which seems fair enough.

 

[Blanco]

Re:

It worked out well for Movistar in the end, whether intentional or not. They basically had a free ride for most of the day, when they normally would have been expected to be on the front for most of the tough parts. While Pinot, Yates and Sky all ended up putting in a pretty big effort for very little reward in the last 10km.

Quintana probably just wanted to put in a solid training effort - get in a decent interval, which he would have already pencilled into his schedule with the Vallter finish. But when it looked like the gap was getting too big because of the lack of response behind, he immediately stopped working, which seems fair enough.

Yeah, you put it up nicely, but it was not all that great. In fact it was not good at all, it was bad display of whole Movistar team. They were disorganized, without a clear plan, it seemed like it was every man for himself. I mean, why Soler attacked in the first place. What was to gain form that move? Is it a team order? If yes, what was the idea behind that? I can't see any positive aspect of that move. The other thing, about Quintana, he only stopped when heard yelling at the radio, that was clear after his post-race comments. He either has no brains or he just doesn't care, and I think it was the latter. He should've acted as a stopper from the beginning, this way that move wouldn't gain significant advantage. There was no benefit for the team from his riding. His riding would eliminate Valverde and gave the race to Yates. Something was really wrong with Movistar yesterday.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

It worked out well for Movistar in the end, whether intentional or not. They basically had a free ride for most of the day, when they normally would have been expected to be on the front for most of the tough parts. While Pinot, Yates and Sky all ended up putting in a pretty big effort for very little reward in the last 10km.

Quintana probably just wanted to put in a solid training effort - get in a decent interval, which he would have already pencilled into his schedule with the Vallter finish. But when it looked like the gap was getting too big because of the lack of response behind, he immediately stopped working, which seems fair enough.

Yeah, you put it up nicely, but it was not all that great. In fact it was not good at all, it was bad display of whole Movistar team. They were disorganized, without a clear plan, it seemed like it was every man for himself. I mean, why Soler attacked in the first place. What was to gain form that move? Is it a team order? If yes, what was the idea behind that? I can't see any positive aspect of that move. The other thing, about Quintana, he only stopped when heard yelling at the radio, that was clear after his post-race comments. He either has no brains or he just doesn't care, and I think it was the latter. He should've acted as a stopper from the beginning, this way that move wouldn't gain significant advantage. There was no benefit for the team from his riding. His riding would eliminate Valverde and gave the race to Yates. Something was really wrong with Movistar yesterday.

I think you're reading too much into it. There are only seven man teams now and Movistar have three guys who could be leader, or were designed to be useful in the tough mountains. That only leaves four riders to control the rest of the race and one of those (Pedrero) isn't very strong. There is a limit to how much you can control a race in those circumstances. Sending Quintana in a break, and establishing a small gap with it, forced the other teams to work and gave Movistar an easy ride.

If there was any mutiny in the team then Quintana wouldn't have stopped riding when the gap started to grow out a bit too much.

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

It worked out well for Movistar in the end, whether intentional or not. They basically had a free ride for most of the day, when they normally would have been expected to be on the front for most of the tough parts. While Pinot, Yates and Sky all ended up putting in a pretty big effort for very little reward in the last 10km.

Quintana probably just wanted to put in a solid training effort - get in a decent interval, which he would have already pencilled into his schedule with the Vallter finish. But when it looked like the gap was getting too big because of the lack of response behind, he immediately stopped working, which seems fair enough.

Yeah, you put it up nicely, but it was not all that great. In fact it was not good at all, it was bad display of whole Movistar team. They were disorganized, without a clear plan, it seemed like it was every man for himself. I mean, why Soler attacked in the first place. What was to gain form that move? Is it a team order? If yes, what was the idea behind that? I can't see any positive aspect of that move. The other thing, about Quintana, he only stopped when heard yelling at the radio, that was clear after his post-race comments. He either has no brains or he just doesn't care, and I think it was the latter. He should've acted as a stopper from the beginning, this way that move wouldn't gain significant advantage. There was no benefit for the team from his riding. His riding would eliminate Valverde and gave the race to Yates. Something was really wrong with Movistar yesterday.

I think you're reading too much into it. There are only seven man teams now and Movistar have three guys who could be leader, or were designed to be useful in the tough mountains. That only leaves four riders to control the rest of the race and one of those (Pedrero) isn't very strong. There is a limit to how much you can control a race in those circumstances. Sending Quintana in a break, and establishing a small gap with it, forced the other teams to work and gave Movistar an easy ride.

If there was any mutiny in the team then Quintana wouldn't have stopped riding when the gap started to grow out a bit too much.

To me the clear sign that something was wrong is lack of statements from the team and Valverde himself. Quintana only said that DS stopped him from riding, and that Valverde is the leader, but he seemed quite unhappy about that.