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

Page 264 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.

What will Valverde's impact be the cycling world in 2012

  • Nuclear Holocoust

    Votes: 27 100.0%

  • Total voters
    27
Re: Re:

DFA123 said:
tobydawq said:
He never does altitude camps.
He does, he goes to Sierra Nevada every year. Kind of handy, being only a three hour drive away from home for him and nice weather for cycling year round.

Oh yeah, that's right. I just seem to recall an interview where he said that he wouldn't bother with altitude camps. Perhaps he was referring to Teide (I don't know how Sierra Nevada differs from Teide in terms of tediousness).
 
Re: Re:

tobydawq said:
DFA123 said:
tobydawq said:
He never does altitude camps.
He does, he goes to Sierra Nevada every year. Kind of handy, being only a three hour drive away from home for him and nice weather for cycling year round.

Oh yeah, that's right. I just seem to recall an interview where he said that he wouldn't bother with altitude camps. Perhaps he was referring to Teide (I don't know how Sierra Nevada differs from Teide in terms of tediousness).
Yeah, I think he said he hates doing them, but because it's so close to home he goes sometimes. I think he used to go all the time pre-ban, but much less these days. There is a hotel at about 1600m which I know he stays in, because there's loads of photos of him around the place from various years, but I think Movistar riders just go there to do some big climbs rather than specific altitude training.

Then there is the High Performance Training Center at about 2400m, which is where the whole Spanish National Team spent a week at before the World Championships last year (I think it's where Sagan stayed earlier this year as well). I don't think Valverde goes there so often - probably because it's too high and too cold for him! :D
 
He doesn't do altitude training the ways other do. His hotel is at the base of the mountains and basically goes there because the hotel is at the base of the mountains so it's easier to do climbing training then from his home where he has to ride (I think he said 45 minutes to an hour) to get to mountains to do climbing training. So technically he does not do altitude training ever. He's mentioned he doesn't do altitude training because it usually hurts him more than it does anything else as his body just doesn't adjust to altitude.
 
Re:

Koronin said:
He doesn't do altitude training the ways other do. His hotel is at the base of the mountains and basically goes there because the hotel is at the base of the mountains so it's easier to do climbing training then from his home where he has to ride (I think he said 45 minutes to an hour) to get to mountains to do climbing training. So technically he does not do altitude training ever. He's mentioned he doesn't do altitude training because it usually hurts him more than it does anything else as his body just doesn't adjust to altitude.

This just isn't true. I literally know the hotel where he often stays at (and certainly where he stayed last year) - and it's at around 1600m altitude - which is not at the base of the mountain - it's half way up it. It's called El Guerra and is more or less at the top of Haza Llanas.

He has also stayed at this place before - http://carsierranevada.com/?lang=en which is very high.
 
Re: Re:

DFA123 said:
Koronin said:
He doesn't do altitude training the ways other do. His hotel is at the base of the mountains and basically goes there because the hotel is at the base of the mountains so it's easier to do climbing training then from his home where he has to ride (I think he said 45 minutes to an hour) to get to mountains to do climbing training. So technically he does not do altitude training ever. He's mentioned he doesn't do altitude training because it usually hurts him more than it does anything else as his body just doesn't adjust to altitude.

This just isn't true. I literally know the hotel where he often stays at (and certainly where he stayed last year) - and it's at around 1600m altitude - which is not at the base of the mountain - it's half way up it. It's called El Guerra and is more or less at the top of Haza Llanas.

He has also stayed at this place before - http://carsierranevada.com/?lang=en which is very high.

I'm going by his comments, which was the hotel is at the base of the mountain and you just go out of the parking lot to start climbing. However, he doesn't consider going there to be altitude training.
 
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He seens like he has achieved almost everything he wanted in the sport and is starting to lose motivation in the races he always performed well. I really hope i am wrong.
 
Re:

tobydawq said:
Apparently he swallowed a bee and was stung by it inside his mouth in the final part of Flèche Wallonne. That doesn't sound particularly pleasant.


He felt like giving everyone else an even playing field. :D :D :D

That is unfortunate though and good thing he didn't try swallowing it or crash when it went in his mouth. That would have freaked me out.
 
Re: Re:

SHAD0W93 said:
tobydawq said:
Apparently he swallowed a bee and was stung by it inside his mouth in the final part of Flèche Wallonne. That doesn't sound particularly pleasant.


He felt like giving everyone else an even playing field. :D :D :D

That is unfortunate though and good thing he didn't try swallowing it or crash when it went in his mouth. That would have freaked me out.


That had to be very scary. I don't know how he continued after that. However, I'm very allergic to bees (and all insects in general). Not enough to need an epi pen, but if a bee stings my hand it swells up badly and stays swollen for a good 24 hours before starting to subside. Oh and hurts badly for a long time. I have no clue how he didn't crash when that happened.

He also said his form isn't where he had wanted it at this point. So he's definitely off form a bit.
 
These excuses lately are becoming a bit Contador-esque. As with Contador, I think it could mean that he can't find any other explanation for his declining form, and hasn't accepted yet that he's just getting too old.

Still, the change of course at LBL has probably done him a favour. Now he might have an outside chance with his sprint, whereas I don't think he'd have any chance on the old finish in Ans.
 
Re:

DFA123 said:
These excuses lately are becoming a bit Contador-esque. As with Contador, I think it could mean that he can't find any other explanation for his declining form, and hasn't accepted yet that he's just getting too old.

Still, the change of course at LBL has probably done him a favour. Now he might have an outside chance with his sprint, whereas I don't think he'd have any chance on the old finish in Ans.

He said he wouldn't use it definitively as an excuse and that he had been below par at Flèche and very much so at Amstel. You don't think being stung by a bee can influence badly on performance just a teensy tiny bit?

And @Koronin:

Why on earth would he crash? It's not a bear that flew in from the side of the road to tackle him.
 
Re: Re:

tobydawq said:
DFA123 said:
These excuses lately are becoming a bit Contador-esque. As with Contador, I think it could mean that he can't find any other explanation for his declining form, and hasn't accepted yet that he's just getting too old.

Still, the change of course at LBL has probably done him a favour. Now he might have an outside chance with his sprint, whereas I don't think he'd have any chance on the old finish in Ans.

He said he wouldn't use it definitively as an excuse and that he had been below par at Flèche and very much so at Amstel. You don't think being stung by a bee can influence badly on performance just a teensy tiny bit?

And @Koronin:

Why on earth would he crash? It's not a bear that flew in from the side of the road to tackle him.


Because it would have taken away his concentration a bit. Although I guess not being allergic to bee stings would be useful.


@DFA123, he said he wouldn't use it as an excuse and that his form was off. However, he was stung by a bee after swallowing it. Do you really think that wouldn't badly effect performance just a little?
 
Re: Re:

tobydawq said:
DFA123 said:
These excuses lately are becoming a bit Contador-esque. As with Contador, I think it could mean that he can't find any other explanation for his declining form, and hasn't accepted yet that he's just getting too old.

Still, the change of course at LBL has probably done him a favour. Now he might have an outside chance with his sprint, whereas I don't think he'd have any chance on the old finish in Ans.

He said he wouldn't use it definitively as an excuse and that he had been below par at Flèche and very much so at Amstel. You don't think being stung by a bee can influence badly on performance just a teensy tiny bit?
Well, he said "I don't like to make excuses, but it might have had an effect, or it might not." And just by mentioning it, he's making an excuse. Of course, being stung by a bee an hour before the finish, didn't have any impact on his performance on Mur de Huy. Just as the weather being 20C at Amstel, wasn't the reason for him struggling there.

He needs to cut this bs out.
 
Re: Re:

DFA123 said:
tobydawq said:
DFA123 said:
These excuses lately are becoming a bit Contador-esque. As with Contador, I think it could mean that he can't find any other explanation for his declining form, and hasn't accepted yet that he's just getting too old.

Still, the change of course at LBL has probably done him a favour. Now he might have an outside chance with his sprint, whereas I don't think he'd have any chance on the old finish in Ans.

He said he wouldn't use it definitively as an excuse and that he had been below par at Flèche and very much so at Amstel. You don't think being stung by a bee can influence badly on performance just a teensy tiny bit?
Well, he said "I don't like to make excuses, but it might have had an effect, or it might not." And just by mentioning it, he's making an excuse. Of course, being stung by a bee an hour before the finish, didn't have any impact on his performance on Mur de Huy. Just as the weather being 20C at Amstel, wasn't the reason for him struggling there.

He needs to cut this bs out.


He also said his form is not where he wants it, that it's off.
 
Re: Re:

Koronin said:
He also said his form is not where he wants it, that it's off.
Indeed, I guess it still remains to be seen; whether it's a question of form, or whether what we're seeing now is his new 'peak' level. Hopefully he is amazing in the Giro and again at the Vuelta and Lombardia, but he's 39 now; I think a decline can happen pretty rapidly at that age.
 
Re: Re:

DFA123 said:
Koronin said:
He also said his form is not where he wants it, that it's off.
Indeed, I guess it still remains to be seen; whether it's a question of form, or whether what we're seeing now is his new 'peak' level. Hopefully he is amazing in the Giro and again at the Vuelta and Lombardia, but he's 39 now; I think a decline can happen pretty rapidly at that age.


I don't think a decline happens that fast between what we saw last year to this year. He's also trying to do something this year he's never really done before which was majorly delay his peak instead of starting the season at a very high level. Plus all the added demands on his time from being World Champion, which is something he's actually complained a little about because it takes away from his normal routine and he doesn't like changes.
 
Re: Re:

Koronin said:
DFA123 said:
Koronin said:
He also said his form is not where he wants it, that it's off.
Indeed, I guess it still remains to be seen; whether it's a question of form, or whether what we're seeing now is his new 'peak' level. Hopefully he is amazing in the Giro and again at the Vuelta and Lombardia, but he's 39 now; I think a decline can happen pretty rapidly at that age.


I don't think a decline happens that fast between what we saw last year to this year. He's also trying to do something this year he's never really done before which was majorly delay his peak instead of starting the season at a very high level. Plus all the added demands on his time from being World Champion, which is something he's actually complained a little about because it takes away from his normal routine and he doesn't like changes.
Agreed, it's way to earlier to write him off yet, the jury is definitely still out. But I wouldn't rule out a sudden decline, either just because he's old, or perhaps, like you said, his focus wavered a bit after becoming WC, and perhaps his training wasn't quite on point over the winter.
 
Re: Re:

DFA123 said:
Koronin said:
DFA123 said:
Koronin said:
He also said his form is not where he wants it, that it's off.
Indeed, I guess it still remains to be seen; whether it's a question of form, or whether what we're seeing now is his new 'peak' level. Hopefully he is amazing in the Giro and again at the Vuelta and Lombardia, but he's 39 now; I think a decline can happen pretty rapidly at that age.


I don't think a decline happens that fast between what we saw last year to this year. He's also trying to do something this year he's never really done before which was majorly delay his peak instead of starting the season at a very high level. Plus all the added demands on his time from being World Champion, which is something he's actually complained a little about because it takes away from his normal routine and he doesn't like changes.
Agreed, it's way to earlier to write him off yet, the jury is definitely still out. But I wouldn't rule out a sudden decline, either just because he's old, or perhaps, like you said, his focus wavered a bit after becoming WC, and perhaps his training wasn't quite on point over the winter.


I think there are a lot of different reasons for his lack of performance this year than just age.
 
Re: Re:

Koronin said:
DFA123 said:
Koronin said:
DFA123 said:
Koronin said:
He also said his form is not where he wants it, that it's off.
Indeed, I guess it still remains to be seen; whether it's a question of form, or whether what we're seeing now is his new 'peak' level. Hopefully he is amazing in the Giro and again at the Vuelta and Lombardia, but he's 39 now; I think a decline can happen pretty rapidly at that age.


I don't think a decline happens that fast between what we saw last year to this year. He's also trying to do something this year he's never really done before which was majorly delay his peak instead of starting the season at a very high level. Plus all the added demands on his time from being World Champion, which is something he's actually complained a little about because it takes away from his normal routine and he doesn't like changes.
Agreed, it's way to earlier to write him off yet, the jury is definitely still out. But I wouldn't rule out a sudden decline, either just because he's old, or perhaps, like you said, his focus wavered a bit after becoming WC, and perhaps his training wasn't quite on point over the winter.


I think there are a lot of different reasons for his lack of performance this year than just age.
I know you do. But it's silly to rule out the possibility that a 39 year old professional athlete might be in permanent decline regarding their physical capacities.
 
Re: Re:

tobydawq said:
DFA123 said:
These excuses lately are becoming a bit Contador-esque. As with Contador, I think it could mean that he can't find any other explanation for his declining form, and hasn't accepted yet that he's just getting too old.

Still, the change of course at LBL has probably done him a favour. Now he might have an outside chance with his sprint, whereas I don't think he'd have any chance on the old finish in Ans.

He said he wouldn't use it definitively as an excuse and that he had been below par at Flèche and very much so at Amstel. You don't think being stung by a bee can influence badly on performance just a teensy tiny bit?

And @Koronin:

Why on earth would he crash? It's not a bear that flew in from the side of the road to tackle him.
Something like 15 years ago a group of pigeons was enough for me to crash into a wall :lol:
And wasn't even the only time i crashed because of animals.
 
Re: Re:

Nirvana said:
tobydawq said:
DFA123 said:
These excuses lately are becoming a bit Contador-esque. As with Contador, I think it could mean that he can't find any other explanation for his declining form, and hasn't accepted yet that he's just getting too old.

Still, the change of course at LBL has probably done him a favour. Now he might have an outside chance with his sprint, whereas I don't think he'd have any chance on the old finish in Ans.

He said he wouldn't use it definitively as an excuse and that he had been below par at Flèche and very much so at Amstel. You don't think being stung by a bee can influence badly on performance just a teensy tiny bit?

And @Koronin:

Why on earth would he crash? It's not a bear that flew in from the side of the road to tackle him.
Something like 15 years ago a group of pigeons was enough for me to crash into a wall :lol:
And wasn't even the only time i crashed because of animals.

Once a butterfly saw fit to enter my mouth while I was riding my bike. It did not taste good but I wasn't particularly close to crashing either...
 

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