Mikel Landa Discussion Thread

[Ruby United]

Re: Re:

Another good ride for him! He did exactly what he should have today: stay in the lead group. The little drop back he did was a good move to give CF that last little bit to join, and a nice gesture that he is still a team guy.

As far as transfers go, I'm not convinced that he will leave SKY, but if he does, he should go to a team without a real GT GC threat.

:surprised: :surprised:
Why do you think that?
All that Movistar talk?

All that 'Movistar talk' is on this and other forums, or suggested as "if..." in sports rags. Movistar would be no better for him than SKY (maybe not as good actually).

True.
There are plenty of teams that would give him full leadership status, though perhaps the money does matter.

 

[Forever The Best]

Landa should watch these videos:
1998 Tour de France, where Pantani destroyed Ullrich by attacking on Galibier: (Kelme and Escartin were also extremely aggressive that day, perhaps the Escartin of this years Galibier will be Contador?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7DvfPo4l_8

2011 Tour de France stage 18, where Schleck did a 60 km solo from Izoard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvJUGhn3Vrc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTTF6pRVFsE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwoRaMvFpuM

And the next day, stage 19 where Contador went with more than 90 km to go on Galibier:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5K94XU2EnI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZbgAPG2tCw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROP__U78Pd0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXPlqRKg9Xc

#FreeLandani

 

[ice&fire]

http://www.elespanol.com/deportes/ciclismo/20170717/231977111_0.html

Short summary:
He doesn't wanna be second rider in a team again wherever he goes. But then no more talk about change of teams, though. It's too soon to decide, in his own words.
His goal is helping Froome, but he aspires to get on the podium if that doesn't get in the way of Froome's victory.
Froome isn't superior to his rivals as in previous Tours, but isn't weaker; Bardet is the stongest rival and has the better team support; Aru and Urán have been less active; and Contador is on the way up and can turn the race upside down.

 

[wouterkaas]

Following the Giro, Landa said he hoped that he showed Team Sky he is worthy to stay there, as a leader. Maybe he even wants to stay and is using the Movistar rumours as leverage to strengthen his position in negotiation with Sky. Froome basically did the same thing before he became a leader at Sky.

 

[dusty red roads]

Ain't gonna fly with Thomas vying for Giro leadership, he'll have to leave if he wants sole leadership somewhere.

 

[hrotha]

Landa has a habit of putting of the cart before the horse. He talks so highly of himself for someone who has rarely delivered when given the opportunity and the responsibility as a leader.

 

[RedheadDane]

He sure does seem to perform better when he's not the leader...

 

[perico]

He won't stay on a team where he has to share leadership with lil' Hincapie in GTs (no clinic implied).

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re:

He sure does seem to perform better when he's not the leader...

A climber first, time trialler second, Kloden?

I'm about to be banned aren't I?

Well they both look good on the bike, and he does seem to be happy 'just' to be on the podium. Although if he does go somewhere to be the sole leader for a smaller pay packet, then he isn't really another Andreas

 

[Durden93]

Re: Re:

I really hope that Landa's performance here doesn't lead him to target the Tour soon. He could win the Giro/Vuelta, but probably not the Tour.

This Tour he can!

Not buying it. 1 minute behind with a TT to come. You could say he'd have won this tour if he was allowed to work for himself, but the reality is he lost significant time in the opening TT too.

Since he has been at Sky, Landa's TT'ing has been fantastic.
Just last month he came second in the Spanish TT championships.
Pretty sure only Froome is better than him of the contenders remaining in the race.

That's fair, I looked him up on PCS. In the races which he targets GC he tends to finish about 20th in TT. I would still guess that he would lose 30 seconds to Froome if he rides the TT hard.

 

[Durden93]

Re:

He sure does seem to perform better when he's not the leader...

He also does well when on GC's when he's not rammed by a moto.

 

[perico]

“Landa is much stronger than Chris, much stronger,” said LeMond. “It’s like he’s floating.”

http://cycling.today/forget-loyalty-landa-should-go-for-the-tour-title-sayd-lemond/amp/

 

[BillyBrown]

I would love to see Landa attacking Froome, though I think it may only happen when CF woudn't be able to follow attacks from the other GC contenders on one of the big mountain stages to come in the third week. This is when Landani may be given some freelance role.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Landa has a habit of putting of the cart before the horse. He talks so highly of himself for someone who has rarely delivered when given the opportunity and the responsibility as a leader.

Just been unlucky at times IMO, he has shown on many occasions how great his ceiling is.

 

[Blanco]

If he closed the deal with Movistar or any other team, he'll attack on Galibier. If not, he'll work

 

[Jelantik]

Re:

I would love to see Landa attacking Froome, though I think it may only happen when CF woudn't be able to follow attacks from the other GC contenders on one of the big mountain stages to come in the third week. This is when Landani may be given some freelance role.

how that even possible? if Froome was distanced, Landa will most likely have to stay with Froome to pace him back or to limit the damage. There's no way they will let Landa go up the road. Sky rides for Froome. So they will try to make sure Froome doesn't loose times. They aren't going to abandon him, if he can't follow an attack (which btw, hardly I can imagine. Froome rarely gets dropped. He'll always come back). Unless the attacker is Porte.

 

[thehook]

SKY does ride for Froome.

Landa should ride for Landa. Froome did it to Wiggo....Let's not forget. Also Froome has shone weakness in his last Tour. In the final week. IMHO. That is why I feel the racing has been so hard so far. No free Rides! With the GC so tight going into this final week. With the 2 mountain days coming. If Froome cracks.....Which I have a feeling he will. Mikel Landa would be absolutely crazy. To not ride for himself. That would be TWO GT's he would have given up his chance at. Think of how insane that is!

 

[gregrowlerson]

SKY does ride for Froome.

Landa should ride for Landa. Froome did it to Wiggo....Let's not forget. Also Froome has shone weakness in his last Tour. In the final week. IMHO. That is why I feel the racing has been so hard so far. No free Rides! With the GC so tight going into this final week. With the 2 mountain days coming. If Froome cracks.....Which I have a feeling he will. Mikel Landa would be absolutely crazy. To not ride for himself. That would be TWO GT's he would have given up his chance at. Think of how insane that is!

The Wiggo scenario was completely different.

Firstly, Froome didn't leave Wiggins. He gapped him, then when he realised he'd gapped him, he waited. Froome never did to Wiggins what people are asking Landa to do to Froome.

Secondly, it didn't really matter if Froome did leave Wiggins in 2012, for either way, Sky were guaranteed to win the race. Completely different scenario in 2017. If Sky switch from prioritising Froome to prioritising Landa, they still can't guarantee, not even close to guarantee, that Landa will finish ahead of all of Aru, Bardet, Uran, even Martin. If the heads of state are all riding together on Galibier and Froome cracks, then Landa will be asked to wait, because otherwise he is simply going with the other contenders. Unless Sky feels that Froome has cracked so badly as to lose at least a few minutes, it simply isn't in Sky's interests to allow Landa a free role. Unless Froome has another Sky teammate to help him when he cracks, and/or that Sky feel that Landa with freedom can take a minute on everyone else on Izoard.

 

[rick james]

SKY does ride for Froome.

Landa should ride for Landa. Froome did it to Wiggo....Let's not forget. Also Froome has shone weakness in his last Tour. In the final week. IMHO. That is why I feel the racing has been so hard so far. No free Rides! With the GC so tight going into this final week. With the 2 mountain days coming. If Froome cracks.....Which I have a feeling he will. Mikel Landa would be absolutely crazy. To not ride for himself. That would be TWO GT's he would have given up his chance at. Think of how insane that is!

Froome is getting stronger not weaker, we won't see a wobble from him, Landa will be lucky to keep up in the 3rd week

 

[Blanco]

SKY does ride for Froome.

Landa should ride for Landa. Froome did it to Wiggo....Let's not forget. Also Froome has shone weakness in his last Tour. In the final week. IMHO. That is why I feel the racing has been so hard so far. No free Rides! With the GC so tight going into this final week. With the 2 mountain days coming. If Froome cracks.....Which I have a feeling he will. Mikel Landa would be absolutely crazy. To not ride for himself. That would be TWO GT's he would have given up his chance at. Think of how insane that is!

The Wiggo scenario was completely different.

Firstly, Froome didn't leave Wiggins. He gapped him, then when he realised he'd gapped him, he waited. Froome never did to Wiggins what people are asking Landa to do to Froome.

Secondly, it didn't really matter if Froome did leave Wiggins in 2012, for either way, Sky were guaranteed to win the race. Completely different scenario in 2017. If Sky switch from prioritising Froome to prioritising Landa, they still can't guarantee, not even close to guarantee, that Landa will finish ahead of all of Aru, Bardet, Uran, even Martin. If the heads of state are all riding together on Galibier and Froome cracks, then Landa will be asked to wait, because otherwise he is simply going with the other contenders. Unless Sky feels that Froome has cracked so badly as to lose at least a few minutes, it simply isn't in Sky's interests to allow Landa a free role. Unless Froome has another Sky teammate to help him when he cracks, and/or that Sky feel that Landa with freedom can take a minute on everyone else on Izoard.

Oh he realized quickly that he gapped him, but didn't waited until Dabe B. screamed on the radio.

As for Froome-Landa situation it's not easy to be smart. It's risky both ways. You could back up Froome 100%, but he could crack and I'm not sure Landa could help him save the day, his advantage is not big at all. They could both be out of contention that way. Or you could send Landa earlier on Galibier, with Froome following wheels, but it's not lesser risk than previous one. They could crack both and Sky would be empty handed. Maybe the best scenario is if Nieve is on a really good day, to release Landa then. But knowing Sky, they would back Froome 100%. One thing I don't know is will Landa obey?

 

[memyselfandI]

SKY does ride for Froome.

Landa should ride for Landa. Froome did it to Wiggo....Let's not forget. Also Froome has shone weakness in his last Tour. In the final week. IMHO. That is why I feel the racing has been so hard so far. No free Rides! With the GC so tight going into this final week. With the 2 mountain days coming. If Froome cracks.....Which I have a feeling he will. Mikel Landa would be absolutely crazy. To not ride for himself. That would be TWO GT's he would have given up his chance at. Think of how insane that is!

The Wiggo scenario was completely different.

Firstly, Froome didn't leave Wiggins. He gapped him, then when he realised he'd gapped him, he waited. Froome never did to Wiggins what people are asking Landa to do to Froome.

Secondly, it didn't really matter if Froome did leave Wiggins in 2012, for either way, Sky were guaranteed to win the race. Completely different scenario in 2017. If Sky switch from prioritising Froome to prioritising Landa, they still can't guarantee, not even close to guarantee, that Landa will finish ahead of all of Aru, Bardet, Uran, even Martin. If the heads of state are all riding together on Galibier and Froome cracks, then Landa will be asked to wait, because otherwise he is simply going with the other contenders. Unless Sky feels that Froome has cracked so badly as to lose at least a few minutes, it simply isn't in Sky's interests to allow Landa a free role. Unless Froome has another Sky teammate to help him when he cracks, and/or that Sky feel that Landa with freedom can take a minute on everyone else on Izoard.

Oh he realized quickly that he gapped him, but didn't waited until Dabe B. screamed on the radio.

As for Froome-Landa situation it's not easy to be smart. It's risky both ways. You could back up Froome 100%, but he could crack and I'm not sure Landa could help him save the day, his advantage is not big at all. They could both be out of contention that way. Or you could send Landa earlier on Galibier, with Froome following wheels, but it's not lesser risk than previous one. They could crack both and Sky would be empty handed. Maybe the best scenario is if Nieve is on a really good day, to release Landa then. But knowing Sky, they would back Froome 100%. One thing I don't know is will Landa obey?

So you were on a team car when DB screamed, right?

Froome is bluffing so heavy, he's in no trouble at all and everyone knows that, there is only two scenarios that can ruin Froome winnning this, a crash accident and Rigoberto Uran. And same goes for Uran himself for a runnerup spot. If Froome crashes out and Sky rides rest of the stages for Landa it all goes for Uran. If Froome is out and Landa attacks mountains to gain time again all goes for Uran. Uran can give some to Aru and Bardet and still hang em high in tt. Landa can't.

 

[Blanco]

Yeah, he bluffed so heavy on Peyragudes. He should do that again :razz:

 

[memyselfandI]

Re:

Yeah, he bluffed so heavy on Peyragudes. He should do that again :razz:

Peyragudes was hunger flat or something like that, ambient noise, it pretty meaningless in big picture if it's not happening day to day.

Then again Rodez finishline kick 560m/9,6% came pretty nicely, eh? Soft legs anyone? Bardet -5 Aru -25..

 

[Angliru]

SKY does ride for Froome.

Landa should ride for Landa. Froome did it to Wiggo....Let's not forget. Also Froome has shone weakness in his last Tour. In the final week. IMHO. That is why I feel the racing has been so hard so far. No free Rides! With the GC so tight going into this final week. With the 2 mountain days coming. If Froome cracks.....Which I have a feeling he will. Mikel Landa would be absolutely crazy. To not ride for himself. That would be TWO GT's he would have given up his chance at. Think of how insane that is!

The Wiggo scenario was completely different.

Firstly, Froome didn't leave Wiggins. He gapped him, then when he realised he'd gapped him, he waited. Froome never did to Wiggins what people are asking Landa to do to Froome.

Secondly, it didn't really matter if Froome did leave Wiggins in 2012, for either way, Sky were guaranteed to win the race. Completely different scenario in 2017. If Sky switch from prioritising Froome to prioritising Landa, they still can't guarantee, not even close to guarantee, that Landa will finish ahead of all of Aru, Bardet, Uran, even Martin. If the heads of state are all riding together on Galibier and Froome cracks, then Landa will be asked to wait, because otherwise he is simply going with the other contenders. Unless Sky feels that Froome has cracked so badly as to lose at least a few minutes, it simply isn't in Sky's interests to allow Landa a free role. Unless Froome has another Sky teammate to help him when he cracks, and/or that Sky feel that Landa with freedom can take a minute on everyone else on Izoard.

I'm a firm believer that there was some bad blood and that Froome was trying to show Wiggins up when that episode took place. I say that because once Froome had established his gap he looked back and saw that Wiggins wasn't there and he began motioning with his head for Wiggins to "Come on! Let's go!". It also could be construed as Froome feeling good, wanting to drop all of their rivals, thinking that Wiggins had the legs to follow him and thus the acceleration off the front. When Wiggins could not respond, or would not, Froome slowed his roll and allowed Wiggins to get back on his wheel.

 

[Juan Pelota]

How does Landa TT? Do we have examples of him going all out anywhere? I see he got 2nd at the Spanish Champs this year. That's impressive.