Miguel Ángel Lopez Discussion Thread

[yaco]

Lopez will be in the professional peleton in 2022 - Your guess is as good as mine.

 

[BlueRoads]

I'm torn and find it hard to have an opinion without knowing more. It's totally unprofessional. You just don't do that. It's your job; others finish too when they are deeply disappointed. Look at how gracefully Roglic, of whom I'm not even a special fan, took defeat in P-N and the Tour on the last day. On the other hand - it's his business. He will have to live with the consequences, not us. And I have sympathy for a rider who might have been on the edge already in the past, thinking about quitting cycling and whether it's all worth it - and then comes a day like today. He might be in a really bad place right now.

 

[fenns]

If he quit the race because he wasn't going to finish on the podium then that is pathetic. Where is his self-respect?

 

[SantiBotero]

I don't like sitting on my sofa watching these guys on TV & then lecturing or moralizing them when they have a meltdown or whatnot.

It's not like he punched anyone or disgraced himself publicly. This is between him & his team & we have no idea what the dynamic is there between them (nor can we speculate about potential repercussions until they actually happen).

He disgraced himself publicly. I cannot imagine what his sponsors think and I hardly imagine a reasonable Diretor hiring him and paying for his real value.

 

[RedheadDane]

He disgraced himself publicly. I cannot imagine what his sponsors think and I hardly imagine a reasonable Diretor hiring him and paying for his real value.

Publicly, in a very hidden fashion.

 

[Sciatic]

Such a stunning contrast to how Valverde reacted after his crash: tried to keep going despite the obvious pain, and when he did stop it was a crushing blow that he couldn't continue his Vuelta.

 

[Arked]

We knew for some time already that he is not very stable.

 

[hrotha]

It's not like he punched anyone

Again

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Has the Superman left the solar system yet?

 

[Sciatic]

I also thought the brief image of him on the phone before climbing into the car was weird. I mean, I know phone use is so ubiquitous now that folks get on their phone in every moment. But it gave the appearance of being nonchalant as he withdrew from the race. And what would he being saying at that point? "Hi hon, decided to leave work early today so expect me home for dinner"?

 

[SHAD0W93]

I also thought the brief image of him on the phone before climbing into the car was weird. I mean, I know phone use is so ubiquitous now that folks get on their phone in every moment. But it gave the appearance of being nonchalant as he withdrew from the race. And what would he being saying at that point? "Hi hon, decided to leave work early today so expect me home for dinner"?

Checking if his Uber was still coming to take him to the nearest tavern maybe.

Probably talking to management, Valverde maybe, or his family/agent.

 

[SHAD0W93]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1434180941753327620

View: https://twitter.com/friebos/status/1434180941753327620?s=20

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Lopez has ruined with his reputation with a lot of cycling fans today.

 

[Koronin]

I'm sure there are ways for teams to terminate contracts if they wish. Riders can buy their way out of contracts so I'm sure there are options for teams to end them as well. Will Movistar do that after today, who knows. Although I suspect there will be internal punishment whether or not the terminate the contract due to what he did and how he did it.

 

[Red Rick]

I'm predicting the following move.

Lopez to Ineos at a greatly reduced contract if noone else picks him up.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

I'm predicting the following move.

Lopez to Ineos at a greatly reduced contract if noone else picks him up.

UAE

 

[Ilmaestro99]

I'm predicting the following move.

Lopez to Ineos at a greatly reduced contract if noone else picks him up.

Or Bora if they are continuing their plan to win all spots on GC from 5th to 11th

 

[will-10]

Did his 'best climber in the world for one day a year' thing then literally disappeared, gotta love it. Enigma status confirmed. Just hope it's not a Rujano-type situation where he vanishes off to South America for a couple of years before we see him at the front of a bike race again. All bets are off for what happens next though.

 

[Lequack]

According to new information Movistar forbid Lopez to close the gap (probably when Mas and others got away). Of course it's part of tactics to do the 1-2 attacks and let others chase, they probably didn't count on him and others losing so many minutes. Sucks for him as he definitely had the legs to finish on the podium. He must've felt like they abandoned him, but then again so did Ineos with Bernal. Crap luck, still abandoning is a bit of an overreaction. finishing top 10 is still a good result to have.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1434211624840318978

View: https://twitter.com/DrinconrR3/status/1434211624840318978?s=20

 

[tobydawq]

According to new information Movistar forbid Lopez to close the gap (probably when Mas and others got away).

If that is true, that is an insane decision from the car. But how could anyone possibly have that insight?

 

[Red Rick]

According to new information Movistar forbid Lopez to close the gap (probably when Mas and others got away). Of course it's part of tactics to do the 1-2 attacks and let others chase, they probably didn't count on him and others losing so many minutes. Sucks for him as he definitely had the legs to finish on the podium. He must've felt like they abandoned him, but then again so did Ineos with Bernal. Crap luck, still abandoning is a bit of an overreaction. finishing top 10 is still a good result to have.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1434211624840318978

View: https://twitter.com/DrinconrR3/status/1434211624840318978?s=20

If this is true, DSs need to be fired for incompetence.

Also if this is true, I'll lobby for complaining about Movistar tactics memes to be a bannable offence.

 

[will-10]

If that is the case then he is most definitely back on the market, IMO.

 

[Lequack]

If this is true, DSs need to be fired for incompetence.

Also if this is true, I'll lobby for complaining about Movistar tactics memes to be a bannable offence.

True, although I guess at the time they thought the attack it will make Bernal and others chase and for Lopez to stay on the wheels and not follow Mas. For Lopez it was a clear sign they preferred Mas on the podium and protected, being a Spanish team and all.

 

[Red Rick]

True, although I guess at the time they thought the attack it will make Bernal and others chase and for Lopez to stay on the wheels and not follow Mas. For Lopez it was a clear sign they preferred Mas on the podium and protected, being a Spanish team and all.

That's not the point.

It's not between Mas and Lopez.

I'ts between Lopez on the podium or off the podium. Mas didn't benefit at all today. He gained *** all, tried *** all, and won *** all.

 

[Mayomaniac]

That's not the point.

It's not between Mas and Lopez.

I'ts between Lopez on the podium or off the podium. Mas didn't benefit at all today. He gained * all, tried all, and won ** all.

Yeah, if someone in the teamcar really made that call hes beyond saving...
If Rolic was back there with MAL I could totally understand why they would sacrifice his podium spot for winning the whole race, but those tactics make zero sense.