Luis Leon Sanchez - what on Earth has happened???

[Ryo Hazuki]

rabo indeed overpay ****ty riders. I heard weening got paid over half a million after 2005 and look how hard he started to suck after that. rabo is bad for motivation of riders. now it's slowly changing thanks to verhoeven I assume

 

[hrotha]

no but you should hang yourself as a team if you overpay such a rider

did you know michael boogerd earned 1.2 million a year and for what? 2 tour stages spread across 6 years, 3 top 10's and wins in the brabantse pijl and 1 amstel gold race.. jesus f. christ

ll sanchez probably gets close to or over 1 million a year too

Fair point, but about Boogerd, who else was there in the Netherlands at the time? At least the guy could almost-win-but-not-quite lots of big classics and the WC RR. Rabo had the money, they had to spend it somehow.

 

[El Pistolero]

rabo indeed overpay ****ty riders. I heard weening got paid over half a million after 2005 and look how hard he started to suck after that. rabo is bad for motivation of riders. now it's slowly changing thanks to verhoeven I assume

BMC is even worse with the 400.000 euros they paid Taylor Phinney.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

no but you should hang yourself as a team if you overpay such a rider

did you know michael boogerd earned 1.2 million a year and for what? 2 tour stages spread across 6 years, 3 top 10's and wins in the brabantse pijl and 1 amstel gold race.. jesus f. christ

ll sanchez probably gets close to or over 1 million a year too

Rabo always overpay riders.

 

[Spine Concept]

Rabo always overpay riders.

Lack of better knowledge or incentive for luring and keeping riders of choice?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

T.Dekker got paid 500.000 as neo-professional in 2005

 

[Lanark]

But Menchov got about 600k when they just signed him.

Difference is, Boogerd was the front man of Dutch cycling, Rabobank couldn't afford not to have him. Same thing pretty much with Dekker, that guy was incredibly hyped even in the u23 category, I think it was probably the only time that even casual cycling fans knew an espoir (the similarity of his name to Erik probably helped ), he was the great hope of Dutch cycling, he probably had a smart manager who monetized that (do you think Wilco Kelderman will earn 500k next year? I doubt it).

With LL Sanchez, there really is no reason to pay him above his market value. He'll great I'm sure, Rabobank is a rich team, and seeing what Sanchez won the last couple of years, he should be well compensated, but I doubt it's really extreme.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Dekker hype was totally justified. You might think Gesink, Kelderman and Mollema did well in the U23 category. But Dekker really dominated it. It was rare when he was beaten at a hard race.

 

[theyoungest]

Dekker hype was totally justified. You might think Gesink, Kelderman and Mollema did well in the U23 category. But Dekker really dominated it. It was rare when he was beaten at a hard race.

Yes, he reserved getting beaten for the Worlds

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

indeed dekker was something special.
Still I suspect Kelderman would get an ok salary.

They got him qiote early this season tho, not that his talent was there to see, but the last month has been very good for him.

 

[Spine Concept]

indeed dekker was something special.
Still I suspect Kelderman would get an ok salary.

They got him quote early this season tho, not that his talent was there to see, but the last month has been very good for him.

Indeed. The guy is barely 20, massive talent in my opinion.

 

[theyoungest]

Indeed. The guy is barely 20, massive talent in my opinion.

To be fair, Dekker was already Dutch elite champion TT by that age.

 

[jens_attacks]

what did happen to him?well it happened i guess what it would happen to almost all of us if we were him.rich,sick of hard life of professional rider and then bang!lack of motivation.i think motivation is the most important thing in all the endurance sports.you must have a lot of reasons to suffer like an animal in these races.just look at pozzato,hey i'm fuccin rich and famous,why the hell did i need to go there and eat pain?
anyway i hope he can do something pretty in le tour,gesink needs his help.

 

[Spine Concept]

To be fair, Dekker was already Dutch elite champion TT by that age.

How is that being fair? He's still a massive talent.

 

[Angliru]

I hope he adapts sooner rather than later. I can understand the need to adjust, however, he cannot hide behind that excuse forever.
What role was he assigned for the tour anyway? I'm not too confident that he'd work for Gesink. He's an unpredictable character, maybe not the best Rabo signing in that regard.

Well, I don't recall LLS making any excuses, correct me if I'm wrong though.
It is just us trying to reason what is the cause for his lack of results.

I'm not sure what his Tour duties or expectations are. I'd be really interested to know if he's expected to be solely a domestique due to his less than stellar performance since joining Rabobank or will they allow him some leeway to pursue his own interests or to act as a wildcard, maybe be up the road on occasion to be there as Gesinks emergency help should he be isolated in the mountains.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Yes, he reserved getting beaten for the Worlds

By a 4 years older Sioutsou, meh, not that bad. The time trial was dissapointing tho. But Dekker had a long season back then.
Compared to ie. Brajkovic who was much fresher

ie. Dekker didn't peak for the worlds, he just wanted to win everywhere. Unlike some of those world ch. guys

 

[Angliru]

Not even in top form? He is the Spanish time trial champion and he can climb well, though not a top tier climber. He's a bit like Wiggins in that regard and people are talking about a podium spot for Wiggins. Or am I overrating him a bit?

Not in my opinion. I think he is capable of a top 10 Tour finish, or at least he's shown me that much in the past. He had a strong performance on the Ventoux stage 2 years ago, I believe finishing in the top 15 or so, if I'm not mistaken. He's not the best climber but he can climb with the 3rd tier riders and as you said he's good against the clock.

 

[Spine Concept]

Well, I don't recall LLS making any excuses, correct me if I'm wrong though.
It is just us trying to reason what is the cause for his lack of results.

I'm not sure what his Tour duties or expectations are. I'd be really interested to know if he's expected to be solely a domestique due to his less than stellar performance since joining Rabobank or will they allow him some leeway to pursue his own interests or to act as a wildcard, maybe be up the road on occasion to be there as Gesinks emergency help should he be isolated in the mountains.

Maybe it wasn't the best wording on my part. What I meant is the potential excuse that could be used by LLS fans and or posters on this forum in general if his underwhelming performances carry on for some ''unexplained'' reason. I suspect he will sort it out though, he's a quality rider.

 

[theyoungest]

By a 4 years older Sioutsou, meh, not that bad. The time trial was dissapointing tho. But Dekker had a long season back then.
Compared to ie. Brajkovic who was much fresher

ie. Dekker didn't peak for the worlds, he just wanted to win everywhere. Unlike some of those world ch. guys

Yes, yes. Are you already rehearsing for his return, making up excuses for his failures?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Nah, just stating the obvious here, and he didn't fail since he still finished 2nd.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

siutsou winning that wc was like russia beating netherlands at euro 2008. some day when the moon and stars align in some perfect order these things can happen, sictsov had the best day of his life, althoguh keep in mind he was an ex-pro changing his name to get granted access at wordl u23 championships

 

[The Hitch]

That much is true, hence my ''with a bit of luck'' and ''in principle not a top 10 GC rider'' part of the comment. Would you say he was in top form at that tour though?

lol. I have no idea how one can judge if lulu is on form If i were to guess i would say no, in so far as we didnt get this big pre Tour hype like we often do with guys like Wiggins or Rogers or this year T.Martin, that they are going to go all out for top 10, and his season goal seems to have been PN, but then I dont really remember what was said about Sanchez before the Tour, nor what schedule he did beforehand.

I dont know if Caisse thought they would have Valverde for the Tour and were maybe setting up around him before he got his ban, or if they expected it and were hoping for someone else to step up.

I remember Stephen Roche spent the whole Tour saying "Lulu will get a stage, lulu will get a stage", so maybe the aim was to just get a few stages, but turned to GC when he found himself top 10 halfway through.

He was awesome a week later in San Sebastian though so maybe he was on form.

 

[Spine Concept]

lol. I have no idea how one can judge if lulu is on form If i were to guess i would say no, in so far as we didnt get this big pre Tour hype like we often do with guys like Wiggins or Rogers or this year T.Martin, that they are going to go all out for top 10, and his season goal seems to have been PN, but then I dont really remember what was said about Sanchez before the Tour, nor what schedule he did beforehand.

I dont know if Caisse thought they would have Valverde for the Tour and were maybe setting up around him before he got his ban, or if they expected it and were hoping for someone else to step up.

I remember Stephen Roche spent the whole Tour saying "Lulu will get a stage, lulu will get a stage", so maybe the aim was to just get a few stages, but turned to GC when he found himself top 10 halfway through.

He was awesome a week later in San Sebastian though so maybe he was on form.

I am inclined to say no as well, however, you bring an interesting point to the table with his San Sebastian performance. I would be perplexed had he timed his peak slightly off though seeing his terrible Bordeaux - Pauillac time trial result at the tdf. That might not be the best parameter to gauge his form on though as I do not know if long time trials are his best point. Guess we'll never know for sure.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

lol. I have no idea how one can judge if lulu is on form If i were to guess i would say no, in so far as we didnt get this big pre Tour hype like we often do with guys like Wiggins or Rogers or this year T.Martin, that they are going to go all out for top 10, and his season goal seems to have been PN, but then I dont really remember what was said about Sanchez before the Tour, nor what schedule he did beforehand.

I dont know if Caisse thought they would have Valverde for the Tour and were maybe setting up around him before he got his ban, or if they expected it and were hoping for someone else to step up.

I remember Stephen Roche spent the whole Tour saying "Lulu will get a stage, lulu will get a stage", so maybe the aim was to just get a few stages, but turned to GC when he found himself top 10 halfway through.

He was awesome a week later in San Sebastian though so maybe he was on form.

all tour riders are in tremendous shape after a tour/giro etc. also look at vino or quim rodriguez after giro

 

[Libertine Seguros]

lol. I have no idea how one can judge if lulu is on form If i were to guess i would say no, in so far as we didnt get this big pre Tour hype like we often do with guys like Wiggins or Rogers or this year T.Martin, that they are going to go all out for top 10, and his season goal seems to have been PN, but then I dont really remember what was said about Sanchez before the Tour, nor what schedule he did beforehand.

I dont know if Caisse thought they would have Valverde for the Tour and were maybe setting up around him before he got his ban, or if they expected it and were hoping for someone else to step up.

I remember Stephen Roche spent the whole Tour saying "Lulu will get a stage, lulu will get a stage", so maybe the aim was to just get a few stages, but turned to GC when he found himself top 10 halfway through.

He was awesome a week later in San Sebastian though so maybe he was on form.

Caisse had been hoping Valverde would be around. LuLu was a contingency plan. They knew he wouldn't be a genuine GC threat, which is why they had three guys with him on the breakaway in stage 9 (especially off the back of a similar tactic working in the Giro when 3 domestiques were there with Arroyo in the infamous L'Aquila stage. Stagehunting was a likely fallback but once LuLu was in a good GC position the interest started to move towards Moreau's quest for polka dots.

LuLu has always been a guy that, with a helpful break here and there (which he isn't shy of getting in) can get to around the 7th-20th spot in GTs. He's also a very good stagehunter.

A lot of the talks with Rabo took place before Unzué could find a sponsor. You can't blame him for wanting to safeguard his future and not tie himself down on the never-never and risk getting Pegasused, and you can't blame Rabo for being fast to secure him, as one of the most prized purchases in the potential Caisse d'Epargne yard sale. But one wonders if he'd rather still be with his old teammates now the team is still going and if his motivation has suffered.