Joaquim 'Purito' Rodriguez Discussion thread

[ElChingon]

But yet. When Evans does this, he gets tons and tons of critics.

Purito does it. It's fine and dandy

Double standards here are annoying me

Purito goes not go around kissing rat dogs and getting in a huffy state if he is in a mob of reporters.

Races and does what he's good at doesn't make up excuses or goes for the woe is me angle.

See the difference yet?

 

[jobiwan]

Interesting quote from Purito and his DS:

Piva said, “I’m happy that we’re here at the top of the Stelvio with the pink jersey. It means that we’ve done a good race.” The Italian didn’t hide that he asked Rodriguez to attacked earlier than when he did on the Passo dello Stelvio. But “Purito” had no regrets over his tactic. “I attacked late on because I wanted to see if Basso and Scarponi could stay with me,” he said.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rodriguez-still-in-giro-ditalia-lead-with-one-stage-left

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Baffling, considering when he attacked, Basso had long since been dropped and Scarponi had already attacked.

 

[MrRoboto]

I must admit, I have a sort of love/hate relationship with this guys racing style. The attacks on short steep walls and racing in classics is fine with me and I kinda admire his exploits on Monte Lupone and Muur de Huy...

But his racing in GT's is making me sad. Always the same wheelsucking till 800m to go and sprint. Only difference was dauphine 11 on l'allevard and earlier in his career, but then he always blew..

Him and Arroyo was the ones who attacked on Passo Giau on the queen stage of last year's Giro as far as I remember.

Just saying.

 

[Ferminal]

Him and Arroyo was the ones who attacked on Passo Giau on the queen stage of last year's Giro as far as I remember.

Just saying.

Was he even top10 on GC at that point?

 

[kukiniloa]

But Purito doesn't do what Evans (used to) do.
Purito gets the lead of the race, then sits on people who should be attacking him until it's close enough to the finish for him to do his thing. Evans used to sit on people and let them do the work, waiting for the ITT to beat them. Purito will lose in the ITT, so he has to do something, but he also knows he doesn't have the endurance for a long-range attack so he waits until it's inside his range. The steeper the climb, the longer his range is.

It's frustrating to watch at times, but it's the product of having a limited skillset. Evans didn't have a limited skillset, he just was prepared to lean heavily on one skill to the detriment of others. A bit like Valverde sitting in and waiting for the sprint in one-day races, I guess. Valverde's skill-set is not limited like Purito's, so it's more annoying when he doesn't take advantage of it.

El Purito is still developing as a cyclist, having come into his own as a climber only last year. He is obviously an opportunist, but is also a fighter who can win races and compete with the likes of Gilbert in the Ardennes, while having a weaker team.

Can you imagine if Gilbert could climb like Rodriguez? No, it's all punch...but Rodriguez can hang with both Gilbert and climbing specialists at the top of the Giro GC. It's a unique and underappreciated skill set. He won La Fleche Wallone this year...

I like opportunists like El Purito, they provide balance and color.

How much support do you think Katusha gave him?

 

[Parrulo]

serves him right to lose the giro by so little time, he will be wondering what if he had attack from further then 1k out on the mountain stages for the rest of his life.

i like him as a classics rider but as a GT rider his trademark type of riding has gotten boring pretty damn fast

 

[Red Rick]

He rode a very good tt, he is still improving somewhat, but i don't think he'll get such a chance to win a GT very soon.

 

[Fetisoff]

Well, I think I'll be keeping my Purito-Facepalm avatar for a while now.

 

[El Pistolero]

Well, I think I'll be keeping my Purito-Facepalm avatar for a while now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik0xOAkvlrI

Enjoy.

 

[hrotha]

http://www.marca.com/2012/05/27/ciclismo/giro_italia/1338132632.html

The rider from Parets (Barcelona) [Purito] has been the bravest of the bunch, attacking whenever he could and paying no mind to saving energy

Gah. GAH. GAAAAAH.

 

[burning]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik0xOAkvlrI

Enjoy.

 

[sartoris]

serves him right to lose the giro by so little time, he will be wondering what if he had attack from further then 1k out on the mountain stages for the rest of his life.

i like him as a classics rider but as a GT rider his trademark type of riding has gotten boring pretty damn fast

I like Purito's aggressive riding. His trademark type of riding hasn't gotten boring pretty damn fast for me. However, your post and threads have gotten boring pretty damn fast for me (this said with all respect). As you see, just a matter of opinion.

 

[Angliru]

It appears to me that he's actually improving as a grand tour rider. How often in the past has he even held the leader's jersey till the final stage? I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of his winning a grand tour, the Vuelta or the Giro in the next couple of years.

 

[Flamin]

A deprecation thread for someone who obtained his best result in a grand tour in his entire career? bit weird. and I can think of many more guys who would 'deserve' such thread way more than purito anyway. *cough* basso *cough* scarponi *cough*

 

[Fetisoff]

Hmm. Just thinking off the top of my head, since Purito joined Katusha

2nd place - Giro, Fleche Wallone (twice), AGR, Tour of Basque Country


Purito =

 

[roundabout]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rodriguez-narrowly-misses-first-grand-tour-victory

No ****. How about doing nothing except for the final sprint on the stage to Lago Laceno when Hesjedal was dangling at the back. But of course had he attacked he would have needed to cover a gigantic distance of 4 "flat" kms after the climb and would have paid the price in the 3rd week.

And the statement about bonuses is pathetic.

 

[maltiv]

A deprecation thread for someone who obtained his best result in a grand tour in his entire career? bit weird. and I can think of many more guys who would 'deserve' such thread way more than purito anyway. *cough* basso *cough* scarponi *cough*

Indeed. Almost no one predicted that Rodriguez would end up on the podium, and now he's getting depreciated for "only" finishing 2nd, as well as winning two stages and the point's competition?

Almost every single time Rodriguez has attacked early in his career he has cracked and ended up losing massive time. So instead he stuck to what he is the best at: attacks from 1 km to go. And it almost won him the Giro. Had there been time bonuses, he most likely would've won. Unlike Scarponi and Basso, Rodriguez wasn't racing for the podium or whatever in the final stages. He was doing everything he could to win the race and tried to do that by utilizing his strengths.

I think those claiming that Rodriguez "definitely" would've gained more time on Hesjedal if he had attacked earlier really aren't aware of Rodriguez' characteristics as a rider. Hesjedal was simply much stronger than Purito, to such a degree that if Rodriguez had attacked earlier he would've been caught and subsequently dropped.

 

[roundabout]

You can list all his stage placings and price money won as well, but that's not the point.

When your tactics consist of "hoping that people blow up by themselves" and sprinting away from everybody when within range (and perhaps item 3 "secretly hoping that riders behind do bad TTs) and at the same time you think of yourself as one of a GT favorites you deserve all the scorn.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

You can list all his stage placings and price money won as well, but that's not the point.

When your tactics consist of "hoping that people blow up by themselves" and sprinting away from everybody when within range (and perhaps item 3 "secretly hoping that riders behind do bad TTs) and at the same time you think of yourself as one of a GT favorites you deserve all the scorn.

This is my point indeed. It's a pretty negative style of racing.

 

[jsem94]

Unfortunately, that is the case. It's also partly why J-Rod will probably never win a GT, plus the fact that his TTing is weak.

 

[Parrulo]

This is my point indeed. It's a pretty negative style of racing.

same for me.

 

[wheels of fire]

I think those claiming that Rodriguez "definitely" would've gained more time on Hesjedal if he had attacked earlier really aren't aware of Rodriguez' characteristics as a rider. Hesjedal was simply much stronger than Purito, to such a degree that if Rodriguez had attacked earlier he would've been caught and subsequently dropped.

If he can finish with top riders at mountains and if he made time gaps at grand tours by earlier attacks (at Vuelta which Nibali won), then his characteristics is a climber and a very explosive one perhaps most explosive with AC. He was the lightest, if you go climb a steep and long climb with your own bicycle, being even 2-3 kg lighter make a big difference.

Basso and Scarponi did everything they could. But they lost as Purito and Rider played together until the last stage. 1st and 2nd week, Basso makes the tempo, then scarponi attacks Purito and Rider brings him back, and one day Rider attacks to take time, other day Purito sprints in the last km.

At stage 17, Basso did everything and Scarponi sacrificed himself at the front. At 19 Basso pulled again Scarponi attacked several times, then it was rider and Jr taking time. At stage 20 Basso didnt have power, JR attacked at Mortirolo to tire Basso, Scarponi attacked at final climb JR waited and attacked at the final km. It was clear that he could have dropped him earlier. Rider was going on his own tempo. Scarponi took risks and cought at the finish line, however he knows that he couldnt do more. Purito didnt take risks and Rider won the Giro with 16 seconds.

Also shame to Cunego. With such form, he could have created a difference and made the race much harder. He tried to gain time at second week only to lose more and thats okey he did try. But at the final week where he came with no winning chance, he exchanged Scarponi's podium for a top 10 place.

 

[meandmygitane]

I like J-Rod.

It would be interesting to try to time the gap he opened up on Stelvio.
Get the gap to Hesjedal with 800 to go, then 700 and so on. If the gap is increasing for every split, then maybe he should have attacked earlier. If the gap reaches a maximum and then decreases it would indicate that he was on his limit time-wise.

 

[hrotha]

The point is not "Haha he was 2nd he sucks". The crucial thing here is that he had 1st within his grasp, and he didn't even try to take it. If you try and fail, you get respect.