Joaquim 'Purito' Rodriguez Discussion thread

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Froome19

Froome19

Dec 30, 2011
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Angliru said:
Then he would be falling into the same trap that befell Sammy Sanchez. Everytime he would have relative success at the Tour or the Vuelta he immediately make the other event his focus. Had he stuck with the Vuelta in consecutive years he may have had a grand tour win under his belt. Not that he hasn't had a successful career but I'm certain he would love to have won the Vuelta. He came especially close in 2009 barely losing to Valverde.

I think Purito is one of the smartest riders in that he's realized that the Giro and Vuelta are more fitting to his talents while others still chase the dream resulting in an anonymous top 10 or even outside the top 10 finish.
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Agreed I hope he chooses not to do the Tour, though I do believe it would be a much more exciting spectacle with him racing.
 
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movingtarget

Aug 5, 2009
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Angliru said:
That's a bit harsh don't you think? He has the most complete performance wise grand tour of his career and you think his riding was "pathetic"?
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Rodriguez is riding smart, riding to his strengths and taking advantage of the stage bonuses. He and everyone else knows that he is not a Contador type rider.
 
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richwagmn

Jun 18, 2009
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movingtarget said:
Rodriguez is riding smart, riding to his strengths and taking advantage of the stage bonuses. He and everyone else knows that he is not a Contador type rider.
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So what are Rodriguez's strengths as a climber and why can't he stay with someone like Contador?
 
The Hitch

The Hitch

Jun 14, 2010
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richwagmn said:
So what are Rodriguez's strengths as a climber and why can't he stay with someone like Contador?
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Rodriguez's strenghs as a climber always seemed to be more hills and shorter climbs than long mountains.

Dan Lloyd on itv today said that Rodriguez due to his explosiveness prefers short sharp efforts rather than constant effort over a longer period and it makes sense.

but as for why he cant stay with someone like Contador, well because Contador is just better than everyone else in the mountains.
 
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movingtarget

Aug 5, 2009
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richwagmn said:
So what are Rodriguez's strengths as a climber and why can't he stay with someone like Contador?
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I think he is like Valverde. A very good climber with a great sprint which is why he does well in the classics as well. A high unvaried pace is good for him like most sprinters but the stop start attacks of Contador he struggles with. Contador and Schleck are more natural climbers who can change pace a lot. Some riders can handle that but most can't. Even Froome has taken time to respond to Contador's attacks so far and only failed on one stage to close the gap. Contador has showed he can make the gap but he is struggling to maintain it. As usual the third week will tell all. Rodriguez and Valverede have been happy to see Contador open a gap and they can ride at their own pace while Froome is trying to respond to all of Contador's attacks immediately and got caught out. Rodriguez may be riding a bit conservatively but he knows one stage can cost him the race if he tries too hard to follow Contador every time he attacks. He also knows if he can close a small gap before the finish he will always outsprint Contador.
 
The Hitch

The Hitch

Jun 14, 2010
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Afrank said:
Can't see him wanting to go race the tour, the giro and vuelta seem to be his races of choice. And he probably would have a better chance since in the tour he will likely have to contend with Contador, Froome, Schleck, maybe Wiggins, and others.
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He won a stage - his aim, in Tour 2010 so skipped it in 2011, then had to skip it in 2012 due to the parcors, but i think he will want to go back next year. Especially since he can then do a proper peak for Ardennes, then do a Tour Burgos Vuelta worlds, mega peak.
 
will10

will10

Dec 27, 2010
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The Hitch said:
Do we know he should have won? we dont know how he felt and he probably doesnt trust himself to be able to hold of other riders over a longer distance.
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Yeah, he didn't get rid of Hesjedal on his bad day. Cost him the race.
 
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icefire

Sep 21, 2009
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will10 said:
Yeah, he didn't get rid of Hesjedal on his bad day. Cost him the race.
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I'll try to refesh your memories. Purito did get rid of Ryder on his bad day. He took an amazing 40 seconds on him on the stage that Rabottini won. Hesjedal was spent after his huge effort to take 25 secons on Purito the day before in Cervinia. And all of that because when Purito attacked in Cervinia with 2-3 kms to go, Scarponi & Co jumped on his wheel and he couldn't go, but later on when Ryder attacked Purito was spent and all the others didn't want to help in the chase. It is blatantly obvious that Purito lost the Giro for the same reasons that Gilbert has been a year without winning anything. Everyone rides against them. :rolleyes: :p
 
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Viking

Jun 18, 2012
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Another good stage for Purito today. I like that he's attacking where the stages really fit his abilities. Too bad he couldn't get a little more time on Contador today, but . Soon we'll see how well he can ride the big peaks.
 
bicifan

bicifan

Jun 26, 2012
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Viking said:
Another good stage for Purito today. I like that he's attacking where the stages really fit his abilities. Too bad he couldn't get a little more time on Contador today, but . Soon we'll see how well he can ride the big peaks.
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Yes, I agree. Wait and see amigo!
 
Froome19

Froome19

Dec 30, 2011
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Viking said:
Another good stage for Purito today. I like that he's attacking where the stages really fit his abilities. Too bad he couldn't get a little more time on Contador today, but . Soon we'll see how well he can ride the big peaks.
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I wouldnt call today an attack, if he really wanted to gain time he should have attacked Contador the second they broke free and attempted to go all out, instead of playing to his acceleration which would never give him enough time.

Anyway I think he knows that this is all play, vital play but still play and it is crucial he turns up for the big mountains, because that is where this race will truly be decided.
 
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willbick

Jul 7, 2012
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do you know anything about cycling? no way purito would go for an all out attack that far from the finish of a super steep hill. he would just cut his own throat. its a good job he knows a lot more about managing physical resources than you do
 
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movingtarget

Aug 5, 2009
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Froome19 said:
I wouldnt call today an attack, if he really wanted to gain time he should have attacked Contador the second they broke free and attempted to go all out, instead of playing to his acceleration which would never give him enough time.

Anyway I think he knows that this is all play, vital play but still play and it is crucial he turns up for the big mountains, because that is where this race will truly be decided.
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Well of course it was an attack. He made Contador look like he was standing still. Just a shame that Contador also grabbed a time bonus. Not the easiest climb to go all out on. Even Contador did not try that even when he saw he had the gap on Froome. Rodriguez handled the Stelvio well in the Giro. The race will be decided by Contador. His TT was good and that was expected but so far his climbing has been no better than Rodriguez. Everyone has talked about how Froome looks like he is struggling. To me Contador has not looked that great either. Rodriguez is like Wiggins. He has improved a lot in the last 12 months whereas before he never looked like he could win a grand tour.
 
Miburo

Miburo

Jul 29, 2012
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movingtarget said:
Well of course it was an attack. He made Contador look like he was standing still. Just a shame that Contador also grabbed a time bonus. Not the easiest climb to go all out on. Even Contador did not try that even when he saw he had the gap on Froome. Rodriguez handled the Stelvio well in the Giro. The race will be decided by Contador. His TT was good and that was expected but so far his climbing has been no better than Rodriguez. Everyone has talked about how Froome looks like he is struggling. To me Contador has not looked that great either. Rodriguez is like Wiggins. He has improved a lot in the last 12 months whereas before he never looked like he could win a grand tour.
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Rodriguez already dropped 2 times on the longer climbs, Contador didn't pay attention to him since Froome was the bigger threat.

Tss get your facts straight.
 
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movingtarget

Aug 5, 2009
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Miburo said:
Rodriguez already dropped 2 time on the longer climbs, Contador didn't pay attention to him since Froome was the bigger threat.

Tss get your facts straight.
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Froome is not looking like the biggest threat at the moment is he ? Yes Contador dropped Rodriguez but where did it get him. Even putting a minute into Rodriguez in the TT has not put Contador into the red jersey. Contador is still favourite but I think Rodriguez is being underestimated.
 
V

Viking

Jun 18, 2012
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Froome19 said:
I wouldnt call today an attack, if he really wanted to gain time he should have attacked Contador the second they broke free and attempted to go all out, instead of playing to his acceleration which would never give him enough time.

Anyway I think he knows that this is all play, vital play but still play and it is crucial he turns up for the big mountains, because that is where this race will truly be decided.
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Yeah, it was an attack. It was a short, but very steep climb that no one was likely to gain much time.

A rider can't just attack at any old time and expect it to work out. They have to wait for the right moment. Otherwise, if Purito really wanted to attack, he'd have done so as soon as the peleton left the neutral zone ;)
 
cineteq

cineteq

May 20, 2009
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Purito's chopper pic. He's in control! :)
A1uLwPQCQAEnSx0.jpg:large
 
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