Bouwman 4th in the TT despite crashing on stage 2.
Nice win for Diego, impressive TT for him.
And Tratnik crushed the opposition!
Nice win for Diego, impressive TT for him.
And Tratnik crushed the opposition!
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You'd think he'd like a challengeburning said:It's sad that he's racing this race instead of Ronde
burning said:It's sad that he's racing this race instead of Ronde
These races would be much more interesting without Valverde/such a strong Movistar team. But it's the same for the smaller Belgian races and Quick Step.jsem94 said:Too easy for him. Big fish in a small pond in all these Spanish races.
LaFlorecita said:These races would be much more interesting without Valverde/such a strong Movistar team. But it's the same for the smaller Belgian races and Quick Step.jsem94 said:Too easy for him. Big fish in a small pond in all these Spanish races.
TrueEl Pistolero said:LaFlorecita said:These races would be much more interesting without Valverde/such a strong Movistar team. But it's the same for the smaller Belgian races and Quick Step.jsem94 said:Too easy for him. Big fish in a small pond in all these Spanish races.
Difference is that Quick-Step wins those races with very young riders, who have yet to prove themselves.
Agreed, very impressive. He seems to be steadily improving.yaco said:I was impressed with the ride of Verona - He seemed to be in good form in Catalunya and backed it up today - Great to see Schultz on the podium.
LaFlorecita said:Agreed, very impressive. He seems to be steadily improving.yaco said:I was impressed with the ride of Verona - He seemed to be in good form in Catalunya and backed it up today - Great to see Schultz on the podium.
I don't mind Valverde taking part in these kinds of smaller races per se, but does he have to go for the win? He could ride as a helper for his younger teammates; this would be seen as a generous gesture for riders who ride for him the rest of the season and his presence would still bring some media attention that these races need. As it is, he just looks selfish.Kazistuta said:Even though Cannibalverde clearly is the big fish in these races, I think it's important for the organizers to have guys like him turn up and light it up. There's been plenty of economic polemics surrounding the Spanish cycling scene, so if a race keeps its funding due to him showing up, kudos on that. But the racing would be more competitive without him.
jflemaire said:I don't mind Valverde taking part in these kinds of smaller races per se, but does he have to go for the win? He could ride as a helper for his younger teammates; this would be seen as a generous gesture for riders who ride for him the rest of the season and his presence would still bring some media attention that these races need. As it is, he just looks selfish.Kazistuta said:Even though Cannibalverde clearly is the big fish in these races, I think it's important for the organizers to have guys like him turn up and light it up. There's been plenty of economic polemics surrounding the Spanish cycling scene, so if a race keeps its funding due to him showing up, kudos on that. But the racing would be more competitive without him.
All right, I stand corrected, then. But to my defense, it's hard to keep track of all races he enters. There's just so many of them!Blanco said:Valverde gifted numerous races to his teammates throughout his career, you obviously didn't follow him closely.He gave Spanish Championships to Herrada, Izagirre and Rojas, Klasika Primavera to Visconti. He rode many times in service of his teammates. Heck he even gifted wins to non-teammates, like Szmyd at Mont Ventoux and Luisle (arguably) in Murcia this year. Valverde is one of the most generous riders in terms of riding for teammates in the whole peloton, so I lost you a little bit at this one
As for this particular race (GP Indurain), he would be more than happy if Betancur could've hold on for the win, or if Soler could've broke through on that penultimate climb when Betancur was caught. But the truth was that Verona was stronger than both, so only he could've beat him, as he did.