Something interesting. If Valverde wins LBL not only does he tie Merckx for most ever wins at LBL, he also ties Tom Bonnen for 16th on the all-time win list.
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Koronin said:Something interesting. If Valverde wins LBL not only does he tie Merckx for most ever wins at LBL, he also ties Tom Bonnen for 16th on the all-time win list.
Blanco said:Koronin said:Something interesting. If Valverde wins LBL not only does he tie Merckx for most ever wins at LBL, he also ties Tom Bonnen for 16th on the all-time win list.
Incomplete list, almost every rider (except Bala and Cav) has more wins than listed.
I did my internal list based on results on Cycling Archives and Memoire du Cyclisme (which I believe is also incomplete) and I find exactly 20 riders in front of Valverde. I counted only road race wins, excluding Criteriums and amateur or U23 races. Merckx tops the list with 277 wins, followed by Van Looy (173) and De Vlaeminck (169).
skippo12 said:I know his team was as bad as it gets again and he probably wasn`t feeling great today but I expected a little bit more.
Not taking a single turn pacing the group or attacking himself expect for his chase of Ala when Jungels was already 30s ahead. In the final sprint for 4th place it looked like he wasn`t even trying...he basically quit the race when Jungels was gone.
Jancouver said:Time to retire ... while at the top ... I will not miss this him as he reminds me of the past era ...
You know that Valverde was the guy in the light blue jersey with a big 'M' on it, right? So you missed his attack, his turns on the front, and the fact that he didn't participate in the sprint?skippo12 said:I know his team was as bad as it gets again and he probably wasn`t feeling great today but I expected a little bit more.
Not taking a single turn pacing the group or attacking himself expect for his chase of Ala when Jungels was already 30s ahead. In the final sprint for 4th place it looked like he wasn`t even trying...he basically quit the race when Jungels was gone.
Squire said:You know that Valverde was the guy in the light blue jersey with a big 'M' on it, right? So you missed his attack, his turns on the front, and the fact that he didn't participate in the sprint?skippo12 said:I know his team was as bad as it gets again and he probably wasn`t feeling great today but I expected a little bit more.
Not taking a single turn pacing the group or attacking himself expect for his chase of Ala when Jungels was already 30s ahead. In the final sprint for 4th place it looked like he wasn`t even trying...he basically quit the race when Jungels was gone.
Nice attitude...Squire said:You know that Valverde was the guy in the light blue jersey with a big 'M' on it, right? So you missed his attack, his turns on the front, and the fact that he didn't participate in the sprint?skippo12 said:I know his team was as bad as it gets again and he probably wasn`t feeling great today but I expected a little bit more.
Not taking a single turn pacing the group or attacking himself expect for his chase of Ala when Jungels was already 30s ahead. In the final sprint for 4th place it looked like he wasn`t even trying...he basically quit the race when Jungels was gone.
Sartorius said:He didn't win LBL and people are starting to talk about his retirement :-D You guys are funny :-D It's cycling, there are like 1000000000000 factors influencing the race. Also it looks like Valverde is not peaking at spring as hard as in past. And it also looks like he improved his climbing while sacrificing little bit of his anaerobic capabilities. He will have big win this year, don't worry
Valv.Piti said:Amazing spring campaign considering what happened to him in July and his advanced age. Still belongs in the absolute world elite, a top-2 rider in the world, but missed a bit today and in Flèche Wallone. He is not a robot and is human after all!
Its interesting that Valverde probably is a better stage racer than one-day racer at this point; as a matter of fact, he is one level above anyone in the world when it comes to one week stage races. He has lacked a little bit in the classics, partly because its more tactical racing (mano-a-mano longer out) and because Movistar hasn't supported him that well, not only in the Ardennes, but also Strade and Dwaars. Now a long break and he will be back with Landa AND Quintana in Tour of Switzerland.
Sartorius said:He didn't win LBL and people are starting to talk about his retirement :-D You guys are funny :-D It's cycling, there are like 1000000000000 factors influencing the race. Also it looks like Valverde is not peaking at spring as hard as in past. And it also looks like he improved his climbing while sacrificing little bit of his anaerobic capabilities. He will have big win this year, don't worry
The competition was very weak in the stage races he won. Contador is retired and froome/nibs/porte/quintana don't seem to care about one-week stage races this year. I doubt he can beat Roglic in a one-week stage race. Tour de Suisse also has a weak field, so not surprised that Valverde has set his eyes on that race.Valv.Piti said:Amazing spring campaign considering what happened to him in July and his advanced age. Still belongs in the absolute world elite, a top-2 rider in the world, but missed a bit today and in Flèche Wallone. He is not a robot and is human after all!
Its interesting that Valverde probably is a better stage racer than one-day racer at this point; as a matter of fact, he is one level above anyone in the world when it comes to one week stage races. He has lacked a little bit in the classics, partly because its more tactical racing (mano-a-mano longer out) and because Movistar hasn't supported him that well, not only in the Ardennes, but also Strade and Dwaars. Now a long break and he will be back with Landa AND Quintana in Tour of Switzerland.
Mayomaniac said:Today La Gazzetta had a nice short interview with him:
- He still loves to train, it doesn't feel like work
- Only goes for 3-4 hour rides in training (intense ones), has only done a few 5 hou training rides in his life and never anything longer than that.
- When asked about moving away from Murcia for financial reasons he said that he feels at home there, it's his land and moving away just because of taxes wasn't worth it (I remember Scarponi giving almost exactly the same answer)
- He said that he heat could change the race, mainly because of people having pollen allergies.
Blanco said:The king is dead
toolittle said:Blanco said:The king is dead
See Philippe Gilbert today. He attacked around 20km to go. Bought back then Bob Jungels go immediately.
Gilbert rare to work for others before. It is a nice transformation for a team. May be QS has learnt from Boonen late reasons.
Look at Movistar's starts list. QS is stronger but Movistar won't be too far away. But they put Valverde as the unique leader.