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

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

  • Nuclear Holocoust

    Votes: 27 100.0%

  • Total voters
    27
He raced Mallorca and Valencia. His off season was fine, typically of him. He started off fine in Mallorca with a podium. Valencia started off ok with a 2nd on the end stage and then it fell apart on Saturday where he finished over a minute back. He and the team have literally not said anything other strictly race reports...
Thanks for the detailed reply! Totally hear you about withering interest... Valverde is the one compelling rider for me - otherwise I'm spending my time as a sports fan following my local ice hockey team, the Penguins (in NHL).
 
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Thanks for the detailed reply! Totally hear you about withering interest... Valverde is the one compelling rider for me - otherwise I'm spending my time as a sports fan following my local ice hockey team, the Penguins (in NHL).

You're welcome. Tried to answer all your questions the best I could. I've been a fan of Valverde's since I first saw him race back in 2005.
Nice to meet another Penguin fan. I grew up watching Mario (on TV and in person). Just don't live up there anymore. Was lucky to be able to take my husband to a game before Mario retired the 2nd time. In a strange way for me Mario and Alejandro will always be linked. I was 8 when Mario started his playing career and he was my first sports hero and first favorite player in any sport. For me he's the greatest hockey player I ever saw play on TV and in person (the Canadien players of their great teams are before my time to have seen). Alejandro my first favorite cyclist and for me the best I've seen on TV and in person. The big difference is when Mario retired (the first and second times) it wasn't hard to keep watching, but when tons of games are easily available to watch it helps. Also makes it easier to find new favorite players. (Currently Malkin.)
 
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I was correct that there is something off/wrong. First Valverde does NOT like the disk brakes, however that's not the biggest issue. The big issue is that Shram does NOT make the correct gearing for him. He uses typically uses a 53 - 11 but always a 53. Shram doesn't go higher than a 50-10. After Murcia he was pissed. The gearing his killing him as he can't ride the way he needs to ride and he got into a fight with the team and gave them the ultimatum to fix it and specifically get him his correct gearing or he wouldn't go UAE or any other race until he had his gearing fixed. He was NOT with the team at UAE until today.
 
I was correct that there is something off/wrong. First Valverde does NOT like the disk brakes, however that's not the biggest issue. The big issue is that Shram does NOT make the correct gearing for him. He uses typically uses a 53 - 11 but always a 53. Shram doesn't go higher than a 50-10. After Murcia he was pissed. The gearing his killing him as he can't ride the way he needs to ride and he got into a fight with the team and gave them the ultimatum to fix it and specifically get him his correct gearing or he wouldn't go UAE or any other race until he had his gearing fixed. He was NOT with the team at UAE until today.

Sometimes, it would be quite lovely if you would care to share your sources.

Also, did they fix the issue, then?
 
Yeah, of course. It must be something wrong with his bike... :rolleyes:

He should still be as consistent as in his prime, this late in his career. He could never fall off 1-2%, naturally. Because of age, losing a little bit of his edge, younger riders stepping into their prime getting better and surpassing him. Those things will never be a factor. Cmon.

He can still win and be great on his day, just not every race anymore. It is perfectly fine and hopefully he has a few wins still in him before he retires :)
 
Sources are mutual friends.

Hopefully they did fix it. (possibly not the disk breaks, but hopefully the gearing is fixed). Unfortunately my friends don't know if the gearing is fixed or not.

Salvarani, if the gearing is off enough that it's killing him and forcing him to ride a cadence he's not comfortable with it's going to drain him to where he can't do anything at the end of stages regardless. If the gearing is off enough to cause that it's going to prevent him from having good days and make him miserable to where he isn't happy on the bike.
 
So... you're just casually the kind of person who has mutual friends with Valverde? Though, I guess this if not conclusively prove, then at least is an important step towards proving the five links from everyone in the World theory.

Yes I do have mutual friends with him. I'm good friends with his wife's oldest sister. She is not the one I got this info from. She doesn't know much of anything about cycling.
 
No way it's just age. This is too steep and too fast to just be age.
Regression in 35+ age often is very steep (not only in cycling), when in one year players and riders is good and next year they are nowhere near their prior levels and in another year they are out of the sport.
I am not saying it is Valverde's case, but in every sport that i follow this is very realistic scenario. For Valverde this is bad start, but time for panic is not there yet.
 
Regression in 35+ age often is very steep (not only in cycling), when in one year players and riders is good and next year they are nowhere near their prior levels and in another year they are out of the sport.
I am not saying it is Valverde's case, but in every sport that i follow this is very realistic scenario. For Valverde this is bad start, but time for panic is not there yet.

He said right before Valencia that he's definitely retiring after 2021. So he'll be racing next year, however the way things have started this year, I almost wonder if next year will be nothing more than a farewell Tour and racing exclusively within Spain. This is not a bad start for Valverde, this is a horrendous start. What makes it even worse is that he's also more or less refusing to speak to even the Spanish media. He had been very excited about this season and something between December and Valencia changed.
 
That definitely could account for the frustration we've seen from him this year that is unusual for him.
What frustration? Where did you seen that?
The man said his level for this time of the year isn't as high as previous years, cause his goals are quite far. He's 40, he needs to be careful and build up slowly for his main goals, he can't race anymore like a madman throughout the year, those days are gone. We'll see the real Valverde in the summer, don't worry...
 
He said right before Valencia that he's definitely retiring after 2021. So he'll be racing next year, however the way things have started this year, I almost wonder if next year will be nothing more than a farewell Tour and racing exclusively within Spain. This is not a bad start for Valverde, this is a horrendous start. What makes it even worse is that he's also more or less refusing to speak to even the Spanish media. He had been very excited about this season and something between December and Valencia changed.
If he doesn't wanna talk to media there's probably something wrong and it's not just planned this way. Could be physical, could be a mental thing.
 
What frustration? Where did you seen that?
The man said his level for this time of the year isn't as high as previous years, cause his goals are quite far. He's 40, he needs to be careful and build up slowly for his main goals, he can't race anymore like a madman throughout the year, those days are gone. We'll see the real Valverde in the summer, don't worry...

You can see it in some of his interviews, esp after Murcia. He was exceptionally unhappy.
 

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