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

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

nah ullrich was still good at the older ages, just lazy.

in regards to GTs, ullrich was easily better imo.

 

[mewmewmew13]

nah ullrich was still good at the older ages, just lazy.

in regards to GTs, ullrich was easily better imo.

WHAT! Ulle was NOT lazy. His style was not as laser-like as others...but no way lazy.
He was more of a human being than a texan rider, but still rode his heart out. Big guys may not have as long to ride at peak as a more compact size Vino imho...

What do you think...?

 

[mewmewmew13]

Hey wait a minute...I drifted off into thinking this was the Ullrich thread!
oops

 

[Angliru]

He was blood doping, there's no tests that can detect that. Sure, you have the biological passport, but anyone can beat that with the right doctor. Valverde's recuperation skills are his main weakness, so to see him win a Grand Tour is very suspicious to say the least.

Valverde's biggest weakness is/was his inability to stay focused during the entire 3 weeks of a grand tour. He showed in his Vuelta win that he had conquered that issue.

 

[Cobblestoned]

The beauty of seeing Valverde riiiiide
can only be descriiiiiiibed
by watching the stars
and one of them shiiiiining very briiiiiiiiight


Uh, wow. How gay. Can we make a song out of it ?
Come on Noel, your album was sheit anyway.

 

[hfer07]

UCI must have some serious load of hate on Valverde to impede him to be officially presented with the Movistar team roster......this is not good for him at all

 

[c&cfan]

UCI must have some serious load of hate on Valverde to impede him to be officially presented with the Movistar team roster......this is not good for him at all

i just hope he wins LBL sucking wheels and beating them all in a cool fashioned sprint, with his glasses on

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Quick close this thread Susan!
There's a UCI block you know.

 

[nobilis]

They're taking it personal with Valverde, having fun at interpreting the texts in their own ways. I don't think they would do that for other riders.

 

[OlavEH]

Don't care much for Valverde. Never liked him. Despite being one of the most explosive riders of all the good classics and GT-specialists, he is remarkably defensive. I've almost never seen Valverde to be the first one to attack, he is always clinging to someones wheel. Definitely one of the worst wheelsuckers of all the top riders.

 

[nobilis]

Don't care much for Valverde. Never liked him. Despite being one of the most explosive riders of all the good classics and GT-specialists, he is remarkably defensive. I've almost never seen Valverde to be the first one to attack, he is always clinging to someones wheel. Definitely one of the worst wheelsuckers of all the top riders.

Are we talking about the same Valverde here?

 

[theyoungest]

Are we talking about the same Valverde here?

He's right, Valverde is the Cavendish of hilly races. A good rider, don't get me wrong, but not a very aggressive one.

 

[jens_attacks]

yep valverde was always another version,upgraded of rebellin.sorry but that's how he was.let's hope he was injected in the period of the ban with some vino serum.

 

[nobilis]

But i don't think we can call him a wheelsucker, by any means.

 

[just some guy]

But i don't think we can call him a wheelsucker, by any means.

Why Not ?.....

 

[OlavEH]

Are we talking about the same Valverde here?

Yep. I've rarely seen Valverde attack, especially in the classics. He is a very defensive rider and I feel that "wheelsucker" is a pretty good decription.

Unlike other riders described as wheelsuckers (Leipheimer, Wiggins, Klöden), Valverde is a very explosive rider and should therefore be able to devastating attacks. But the number of times i've seen him make these kind of attacks are few and far between.

 

[Cimber]

I hope he will rival Gilbert in the ardennes. Dont think he is ready for the Tour after a long break but maybe he can do podium in the Vuelta.

 

[El Pistolero]

I hope he will rival Gilbert in the ardennes. Dont think he is ready for the Tour after a long break but maybe he can do podium in the Vuelta.

And yet you think he can rival Gilbert in the Ardennes classics that take place 3-4 months earlier?

 

[c&cfan]

And yet you think he can rival Gilbert in the Ardennes classics that take place 3-4 months earlier?

yes.

why not?classics won't kill your body for months.
he "only" has to defeat gilbert and he has the right weapons (better TT, better sprinter, better climber) since 20 years old, he didn't become amazing at 26/27 for some "strange" reason.
so a) gilbert wins solo or sprint if valverde isn't there

b)gilbert does not win

at the tour:

he has no weapons for contador.
is he physically ready?
other stronger GC riders (this year)
no chance in hell.

 

[El Pistolero]

yes.

why not?classics won't kill your body for months.
he "only" has to defeat gilbert and he has the right weapons (better TT, better sprinter, better climber) since 20 years old, he didn't become amazing at 26/27 for some "strange" reason.
so a) gilbert wins solo or sprint if valverde isn't there

b)gilbert does not win

at the tour:

he has no weapons for contador.
is he physically ready?
other stronger GC riders (this year)
no chance in hell.

LBL has no climbs, so him being a better climber is totally irrelevant

Besides, between us, Valverde is a wheelsucker and hardly ever puts a wheel up front in classics while Gilbert can actually win solo in classics. So his tting skills mean nothing in a classic like LBL(oh and his TT skills are vastly overrated). Valverde the guy who was sucking Cadel Evans' wheel at LBL in 2010 to bring Gilbert back in.

He won't be able to count on that anymore. Over the last 3 years, Valverde has proven to be no match for guys like Andy Schleck in the hills. Let alone Gilbert. He has to beat Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans and Gilbert. Not just the latter.

Being ready for the Tour isn't the same as being able to win the Tour. If that was true then Valverde would never be ready for the Tour. In Valverde's case it means being able to ride top 10 and win stages.

I don't even know why everyone loves him here so much. The guy is one of the biggest wheelsuckers in the peloton.

 

[Angliru]

They're taking it personal with Valverde, having fun at interpreting the texts in their own ways. I don't think they would do that for other riders.

The article says that he can't do any training in the team kit until 2012 but I don't recall anything in the media indicating he had violated this rule when photos were circulated in the media of him doing the same in a Movistar kit, likely on a Movistar Pinarello.

 

[El Pistolero]

The article says that he can't do any training in the team kit until 2012 but I don't recall anything in the media indicating he had violated this rule when photos were circulated in the media of him doing the same in a Movistar kit, likely on a Movistar Pinarello.

Oh no, now the UCI will ban him again for an additional year

UCI is such a pain in the ass sometimes with their dumb rules lol.

 

[c&cfan]

LBL has no climbs, so him being a better climber is totally irrelevant

Besides, between us, Valverde is a wheelsucker and hardly ever puts a wheel up front in classics while Gilbert can actually win solo in classics. So his tting skills mean nothing in a classic like LBL(oh and his TT skills are vastly overrated). Valverde the guy who was sucking Cadel Evans' wheel at LBL in 2010 to bring Gilbert back in.

He won't be able to count on that anymore. Over the last 3 years, Valverde has proven to be no match for guys like Andy Schleck in the hills. Let alone Gilbert. He has to beat Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans and Gilbert. Not just the latter.

Being ready for the Tour isn't the same as being able to win the Tour. If that was true then Valverde would never be ready for the Tour. In Valverde's case it means being able to ride top 10 and win stages.

I don't even know why everyone loves him here so much. The guy is one of the biggest wheelsuckers in the peloton.

he does not wheelsuck to finish 5. he wheelsucks because he knows that he can beat anyone when sprinting, and it is almost certain that he can beat all LBL contenders in any sort of sprint (up, down, flat, undulating, sideways, willie, etc). in 2010 he beated evans, andy, frank, obama,
oh and gilbert! can you believe it? somebody was here saying that he was unable to race this year, so your 3 years thing, just like your entire post was completely stupid, as usual

 

[El Pistolero]

he does not wheelsuck to finish 5. he wheelsucks because he knows that he can beat anyone when sprinting, and it is almost certain that he can beat all LBL contenders in any sort of sprint (up, down, flat, undulating, sideways, willie, etc). in 2010 he beated evans, andy, frank, obama,
oh and gilbert! can you believe it? somebody was here saying that he was unable to race this year, so your 3 years thing, just like your entire post was completely stupid, as usual

Gilbert was hands down stronger than Valverde in LBL 2010. He only finished third because he wheelsucked all the way. He can't rely on Cadel Evans bringing Gilbert back again next year, because him and Phil are TEAM MATES now.

And Valverde can beat everyone in an uphill sprint you say? Strange, then why did he never win the Amstel Gold Race? Or why does he almost always get beaten in FW? Why is Gilbert's time on Mur de Huy so much faster than Valverde's time in 2006?

In 2010 he wheelsucked for an unimportant third place. He didn't beat anyone there
Don't you realize Gilbert had already attacked at the Roche aux Faucons with Andy Schleck and Contador? Don't you realize he was the one to attack after the Roche aux Faucons after Vinokourov and Kolobnev got away? Who was sitting on his wheel then? CE and Valverde. Don't you realize it was Gilbert who dropped Valverde on the Saint Nicholas?

But winning the sprint for third place is THAT important? No, it was a pretty irrelevant sprint.

And I'm pretty sure that what Valverde does most of the time is wheelsucking

I guess Leipheimer doesn't wheelsuck as well as he knows he can beat any climber hands down in the time trial. That's called a stupid logic and your posts are sadly filled with them.

 

[c&cfan]

Gilbert was hands down stronger than Valverde in LBL 2010. He only finished third because he wheelsucked all the way. He can't rely on Cadel Evans bringing Gilbert back again next year, because him and Phil are TEAM MATES now.

And Valverde can beat everyone in an uphill sprint you say? Strange, then why did he never win the Amstel Gold Race? Or why does he almost always get beaten in FW? Why is Gilbert's time on Mur de Huy so much faster than Valverde's time in 2006?

In 2010 he wheelsucked for an unimportant third place. He didn't beat anyone there
Don't you realize Gilbert had already attacked at the Roche aux Faucons with Andy Schleck and Contador? Don't you realize he was the one to attack after the Roche aux Faucons after Vinokourov and Kolobnev got away? Who was sitting on his wheel then? CE and Valverde. Don't you realize it was Gilbert who dropped Valverde on the Saint Nicholas?

But winning the sprint for third place is THAT important? No, it was a pretty irrelevant sprint.

And I'm pretty sure that what Valverde does most of the time is wheelsucking

I guess Leipheimer doesn't wheelsuck as well as he knows he can beat any climber hands down in the time trial. That's called a stupid logic and your posts are sadly filled with them.

that's why he was clearly beaten by valverde.