Mikel Landa Discussion Thread

[damian13ster]

Re: Re:

I wonder how landa would have done? I think he definitely could have stayed with quintana.

If our numbers on Froome are correct (6.09 or whatever) then Froome wasn't as extrodinary as we thnik. AC, Nibali has both produced those numbers in the past, Landa in this years giro wouldn't have been far off.

I know well as cycliist from several years to Landa, and I repeat again, Landa is similar rider than Quintana, but a point below.

But this kind of comparations are difficul, yesterday was the forst mounatins stage and just one climb, with tail wind,good conditions to performe..hot, but froome and quintana are very good with hot, as Nibali is with rain...

Froome is not a pure climber, so the best performances in the climbs wont be made for him, but for people as Quintana, Purito, Landa, etc...but for a stage like yesterday is not a question of climbers, is the stronger of the race who is going to climb better, becouse everybody has in the lesgs the previous week and the rest flat of the stage.

Just because someone is not a pure climber like Froome (as in can TT well, and does well in flat stages) it doesn't mean he can't be a better climber than those who can do nothing else well but climb

 

[Taxus4a]

Re: Re:

I wonder how landa would have done? I think he definitely could have stayed with quintana.

This year yes, next year he will drop him like a stone. Marginal gains if you have the right team.

Landa is a better climber than Contador, but he is not so good as Quintana. He is a little bit better than Meinjes. Even if he had a team to work for him for the flat stages as Quintana, he would have been a little bit worse than him. Other way is tomorrow in Plateau, quintana can be with froome and Landa very close to froome as well.

Without a team working for you or bad luck...th same that Pinot, Bardet,...misery.

I have whatched 3 times the stage in Teledeporte and he didnt say anything about spring he just said than in the Vuelta he wanst so far at the level of the Giro and he think the Giro ios the best race for him, and that he like Ardennes, but no spring...

He has won in Neila and 5th in San sebastian, so that has no sense, and he had one year serious problem with allergies in Basque country.

He said for him is the same an spanish team than other, he prefer to be at home, but out you can learn more things as well...
---
SKY and Movistar I think suits what he want, but I know that if he is in SKY and perform, a lot of people is going to talk. He doesnt like that kind of things, but...what can he do? Sky is a team when the best things a cyclist can have to perform in this days, I am sure they will work properly ITT with him, and there are already 3 basque riders there: Nieve, Zandio and Lopez.

But I think SKy is not for the way Landa is, he is an instinctive rider, I would prefer other teams. and, even with the possibility to lead the Giro and to be in Basque country and Liege, even if Porte leaves... that team has Froome, Thomas, Poels, Nieve, Kenaugh, Koning,...it is not just to say, the team doesnt depend on me, so I dont have pressure...it is that you are one more and at the minimum you are not at the level you are going to take bottles.

 

[Taxus4a]

Re:

Froome will be a dom if Landa gets the Sky treatment.

Yes, Nieve is now better, the same Koning, the same EBH was better in Sky than before. The same that english rider than came from a continental.. I dont remember the name...

Gerrans, Downset, Rogers, Urán,.. all of them were much worse after to leave SKY.

For Urán, and the same I think for Landa, was good to be in SKY to develop his TT skills, although Uran best results in ITT are in Ettixx.

But all that BS has no sense and I cant understand why dont you realize about...

Froome and Landa are big talents, they have showed that always they were without health problems, and for that reason they are top riders

 

[ray j willings]

Taxus4a ,,so Landa is better than Contador but not better than Quintana who only a few weeks ago could not beat Contador.

That's makes sense

 

[barmaher]

Contador v Quintana was a warm up race.

 

[ray j willings]

Re:

Contador v Quintana was a warm up race.

Well that's ok then ,,,now it all makes sense

 

[ice&fire]

His choices are now limited to Movistar and Sky. He'll decide before or during the Vuelta.

http://www.marca.com/2015/07/19/ciclismo/1437318439.html

 

[Flamin]

I really hope he goes to Movistar.

 

[SeriousSam]

I'm curious to what heights Brailsy and Kerrisony can take him. Already by far the best climber in the Giro, but surely still a raw diamond.

I'm sure he's never ever even been in a wind tunnel.

 

[ice&fire]

Re:

I'm curious to what heights Brailsy and Kerrisony can take him. Already by far the best climber in the Giro, but surely still a raw diamond.

I'm sure he's never ever even been in a wind tunnel.

I fear that based on his mother tongue they might take him to the same heights of Boasson Hagen, Nieve or König rather than those of Porte or Thomas.

 

[Ludwig's Olaf]

Re:

Landa was yesterday guest commentator in Teledeporte, and he was asked about his future this season and next season. Some interesting things he said:
He feels better racing in spring than later in the season, so his priority is to be in a team that gives him leadership for the Giro and the chance to race Ardennes classics. The Tour is still too big for him, so not top priority in the short term; maybe one year later. The Vuelta is too late in the season and is difficult for him to be as good as in last Giro. And finally... Astana will repeat their silly tactics of the Giro next month in the Vuelta, Aru will be the team leader no matter what.

That is because Aru is a tested young rider, while Landa isn't. Many of the riders of the current TdF placed 3rd or better once in some tour of the past and were hailed as the next great hope, but are now good only for breakaways. Hesjedal, Pinot, Keldermann, de Gendt, Martin to name a few. Aru was in trouble when the Giro started, not in his best health. His performances at last year's Giro and Vuelta were outstanding already, while all Landa can show is two stages in this year's Giro based on a superior team, and a forgettable showing at the TT which ruined his ambitions.

 

[staubsauger]

With Sky tends to give Thomas some leadership in Grand Tours, Landa's cards have gone a bit worse imho.

Movistar could probably still give him a decent support team at the Giro as we saw this year. Still, he would be a Basque team what could create some polemics, couldn't it?

What was the 3rd team? Lampre? Tinkoff, Katusha?

 

[Taxus4a]

Re:

With Sky tends to give Thomas some leadership in Grand Tours, Landa's cards have gone a bit worse imho.

Movistar could probably still give him a decent support team at the Giro as we saw this year. Still, he would be a Basque team what could create some polemics, couldn't it?

What was the 3rd team? Lampre? Tinkoff, Katusha?

Kathousa for sure and maybe BMC as well.

Movistar is not a basque team.

 

[staubsauger]

Re: Re:

With Sky tends to give Thomas some leadership in Grand Tours, Landa's cards have gone a bit worse imho.

Movistar could probably still give him a decent support team at the Giro as we saw this year. Still, he would be a Basque team what could create some polemics, couldn't it?

What was the 3rd team? Lampre? Tinkoff, Katusha?

Kathousa for sure and maybe BMC as well.

Movistar is not a basque team.

LOL of course they are not.

Sorry I got no clue what my phone did there.

“He would be a Basque on a Spanish team“ it should have been!

 

[TMP402]

BMC starting to fill up with rumoured second tier GC men now: TJVG, Porte, JVDB and apparently now Landa.

 

[staubsauger]

The question is whether it's the merged BMC/IAM squad that apparently wants to take the Coq on board or the rumored new American sponsor that apparently wants to take over the current BMC license.

Lot's of speculation it is.

 

[MatParker117]

Reports are it's Sky. WIth the backing of that mountain train he has too be a favourite for the Giro.

 

[Metabolol]

Yeah, seems like he will go to Sky. Personally I think it's bad for cycling in general. Froome must be pleased

 

[dusty red roads]

Agree - DB buying up potential Froome challengers! I hope he stays the minimum time and moves on to an opposing team.

 

[Taxus4a]

Dont seem, He has signed for SKY for 2 years with the condicition to lead Giro and Vuelta the first year.
He has a good oportunity to learn a lot about modern cycling and to improve his ITT. But I hope he keep his instint of old cycling.

I think Astana is going to do his life impossible in la Vuelta. I would like to find Vino face to face in that case. I hope to talk a little with Landa in Burgos.

Yesterday I rode with an ex-mate of Landa in Euskaltel, he was quite surprised if SKy is the team he chose.

He is the kind of rider that Quintana is, maybe more offensive, but he is not so good.

 

[Taxus4a]

By the way, Beñat go with him.. and he is not going to jelp froome, at least in le Tour the first year. Second year, wi will see. I wouldnt like to see helping Froome in the mountains, although Froome deserves, is better than him, not as Aru.

 

[SergeDeM]

Re: Re:

With Sky tends to give Thomas some leadership in Grand Tours, Landa's cards have gone a bit worse imho.

Movistar could probably still give him a decent support team at the Giro as we saw this year. Still, he would be a Basque team what could create some polemics, couldn't it?

What was the 3rd team? Lampre? Tinkoff, Katusha?

Kathousa for sure and maybe BMC as well.

Movistar is not a basque team.

LOL of course they are not.

Sorry I got no clue what my phone did there.

“He would be a Basque on a Spanish team“ it should have been!

Just like Gorka Izaguirre and Benat Intxausti. it's not an issue, not in the least because Movistar's home base is Navarra, which some consider as part of the "Basque country".

 

[Metabolol]

That is good that we will see him lead a team, I really want to see what he can do when he is free to attack when he wants. And if he can improve his TTing in Sky, then he will be very very dangerous.

I'm already very much looking forward to this year's vuelta. I hope both Nibali and Froome show up too.

 

[Metabolol]

Re:

Dont seem, He has signed for SKY for 2 years with the condicition to lead Giro and Vuelta the first year.
He has a good oportunity to learn a lot about modern cycling and to improve his ITT. But I hope he keep his instint of old cycling.

I think Astana is going to do his life impossible in la Vuelta. I would like to find Vino face to face in that case. I hope to talk a little with Landa in Burgos.

Yesterday I rode with an ex-mate of Landa in Euskaltel, he was quite surprised if SKy is the team he chose.

He is the kind of rider that Quintana is, maybe more offensive, but he is not so good.

His attacks are more explosive than Quintana though and I think his peak level is at least as high as Quintana's in one single climb. But maybe he is not as strong as Quintana when you have many hard mountain stages in a row. We will see.

 

[SergeDeM]

Re: Re:

Dont seem, He has signed for SKY for 2 years with the condicition to lead Giro and Vuelta the first year.
He has a good oportunity to learn a lot about modern cycling and to improve his ITT. But I hope he keep his instint of old cycling.

I think Astana is going to do his life impossible in la Vuelta. I would like to find Vino face to face in that case. I hope to talk a little with Landa in Burgos.

Yesterday I rode with an ex-mate of Landa in Euskaltel, he was quite surprised if SKy is the team he chose.

He is the kind of rider that Quintana is, maybe more offensive, but he is not so good.

His attacks are more explosive than Quintana though and I think his peak level is at least as high as Quintana's in one single climb. But maybe he is not as strong as Quintana when you have many hard mountain stages in a row. We will see.

We won't. Sounds like we won't see them both peak for the same GT for a few years.