Easy win for Sanchez in the sprint...
Dont know why Valverde took the lead in the final km, should have stayed on Sanchez wheel
Dont know why Valverde took the lead in the final km, should have stayed on Sanchez wheel
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Re:
The problem was that Bilbao had the 3 seconds from yesterday so he couldn't allow the tempo to drop too much.
Salvarani said:
The problem was that Bilbao had the 3 seconds from yesterday so he couldn't allow the tempo to drop too much.
Re: Re:
He almost beat Sagan in TDU. I have never seen him faster than the past two months.
And why would Valverde give this away when he still has won nothing in the season?
Edit: Ok, I've seen a video now of the two embracing after the race. Valverde seemed genuinely happy for Sánchez.
GuyIncognito said:
He almost beat Sagan in TDU. I have never seen him faster than the past two months.
And why would Valverde give this away when he still has won nothing in the season?
Edit: Ok, I've seen a video now of the two embracing after the race. Valverde seemed genuinely happy for Sánchez.
Surprisingly Leon Sanchez worked with Valverde in the last 10km - Thought he would sit on Valverde's wheel and make a certainty of the finish.
Whether it was a gift or not has nothing to with how fast Sanchez is, and I agree with Toby that Sanchez is definitely no slouch in a reduced sprint these days.
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Yeah, but could have played a little bit on Sanchez wanting to win himself also. Sanchez went to the side and Valverde just took the lead in the final km.
But as other say. Valverde just seemed spent. But then why take the lead? Idk. Felt he could have done better.
tobydawq said:
Yeah, but could have played a little bit on Sanchez wanting to win himself also. Sanchez went to the side and Valverde just took the lead in the final km.
But as other say. Valverde just seemed spent. But then why take the lead? Idk. Felt he could have done better.
And I dont think it was a "gift"
Sanchez was simply better and Valverde felt he didnt have it, so maybe he just wanted to congratulate him for it
Sanchez was simply better and Valverde felt he didnt have it, so maybe he just wanted to congratulate him for it
Fun finish in Provence. Gilbert wins the sprint, Gorka just manages to defend the lead due to Gallopin not getting enough bonus seconds.
The Izagirre brothers seem to both get a dream start to their seasons but there is one more stage to go (the easiest of the race, though).
The Izagirre brothers seem to both get a dream start to their seasons but there is one more stage to go (the easiest of the race, though).
It looked like an even more blatant gift than last year's race from Valverde to Sanchez. Valverde not only didn't bother to sprint again, he also sat up and clapped for Sanchez. A gift from Sanchez having helped him win the Worlds last year? This was even more blatant than last year's.
The applause was obviously just to congratulate him on a great win. Luisle sat on his wheel in the last k and we know he has fast legs this season, while Valverde hasn't yet impressed in sprints. I see no reason to believe it was a gift (and frankly it is a bit insulting).
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Valverde hasn't exactly bothered to sprint yet this year. If he sprints he wins. This was a blatant gift, and a much more blatant one than last year.
LaFlorecita said:
Valverde hasn't exactly bothered to sprint yet this year. If he sprints he wins. This was a blatant gift, and a much more blatant one than last year.
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No offense, but it does seem like you're closing your eyes for the truth here. "Valverde hasn't won yet and he always wins when he sprints, ergo he hasn't sprinted yet" is not a correct conclusion. To me it seems like he is just a little below the level we are used to. Maybe he will reach that level later or maybe he won't, but to argue he must not be trying because he isn't winning is a bit arrogant.Koronin said:
Re: Re:
They actually know him and a couple of them have spoken to him since the race ended.
LaFlorecita said:
They actually know him and a couple of them have spoken to him since the race ended.
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Luísle is also from Murcía, and is the defending champion. That's part of his justification for collaborating, once he'd got their gap established so that he was guaranteed to be the best placed of the Astana riders, he sat on to ensure he was most likely to take the win. Risky, but paid off.yaco said:
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It won't be the curse. It'll be his own mentality. This is one of the comments he made today: "Racing in my home region with this jersey on for the last two days already was a victory for me. Every race I take the start of has that special feeling in the rainbow colors." He doesn't have the same desire to win this year.
TourOfSardinia said:
It won't be the curse. It'll be his own mentality. This is one of the comments he made today: "Racing in my home region with this jersey on for the last two days already was a victory for me. Every race I take the start of has that special feeling in the rainbow colors." He doesn't have the same desire to win this year.
Well he mentions the rainbow jersey himself, so you could argue that it's the "curse" in effect....
I can't help but wonder if it's the "curse" of becoming too content, he has basically won everything he could reasonably hope to win.
So now he'll just have to try to win something unreasonably, such as... a mass sprint in a Grand Tour.
But anyway; Lutsenko just won in Oman.
So now he'll just have to try to win something unreasonably, such as... a mass sprint in a Grand Tour.
But anyway; Lutsenko just won in Oman.
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Let's be honest here, there are still several races he hasn't won that he could win/could have won. Tirreno, Paris-Nice, Tour de Suisse, Tour de Romandie, Brabantse Pijl, AGR...RedheadDane said:
Chapeau Degenkolb & Trek in Provence - not the world's hardest sprint competition but a win's a win.
Crazy GC - 2 seconds between top 4! Chapeau Izagirre & Astana continue the good start to the year.
Crazy GC - 2 seconds between top 4! Chapeau Izagirre & Astana continue the good start to the year.
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