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Mikel Landa Discussion Thread

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lartiste said:
JRanton said:
Lots of rumours that he wants to leave but will seemingly have to honour his contract with Sky for 2017.

Maybe he hasn't been given outright Giro leadership by Sky for next year. Despite his troubles this year he's still Sky's second most likely rider to win a grand tour. If Poels rides the Giro then he deserves a protected role but no more than that.

I believe, he has pretty good chance to perform much better during next year. Many of riders experienced problems during first year with Sky, but improved during the following years... .

Really? I have the impression that new Sky recruits either hit the ground running, or they never do. With his illness during the Giro, Landa's situation is a bit different of course, but Sky aren't exactly renowned for their patience with non-performing riders. I doubt he has as high of a standing in the team this year as when he was signed, and might have to accept being co-leader, at least officially.
 
Mikel Bananito

CwacjcDWIAAB6rV.jpg


:p
 
Mar 2, 2016
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Re:

Valv.Piti said:
Landa is pretty big of a climber normally, he didn't look super fit at all during that spectacular Giro either, plus he has been injured lately.

There were a few TT pics of him on Sky's twitter page and he looks normal weight there, think this is more an unfortunate shadow thing (along with the Y on his jersey making it look like his pinky is quite...er...British there). Go on his instagram, there's a beach pic and you can see his ribs.

He'd never be in Abu Dhabi, too hot. More like:
Andalusia
Tirreno
Trentino
Giro
 
Re: Re:

Jolene said:
Valv.Piti said:
Landa is pretty big of a climber normally, he didn't look super fit at all during that spectacular Giro either, plus he has been injured lately.

There were a few TT pics of him on Sky's twitter page and he looks normal weight there, think this is more an unfortunate shadow thing (along with the Y on his jersey making it look like his pinky is quite...er...British there). Go on his instagram, there's a beach pic and you can see his ribs.

He'd never be in Abu Dhabi, too hot. More like:
Andalusia
Tirreno
Trentino
Giro

This along with Basque country will be good, depending on routes etc.
 
Mar 2, 2016
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According to Spanish press, the Basque Country is out. :(

His early season is going to be
Valenciana
Andalusia
Tirreno
Catalunya
Trentino
Giro

Seems like a lot of racing though
 
Re:

HelloDolly said:
So what is this about then ?

https://twitter.com/oskarguinea/status/858601376523399170

If ever a man was on the market for a new team

Thing was if he had stayed with Astana he would be sole leader at the Giro
They are taking a big risk not having Landa as sole leader. I would use Thomas as a tactical card. Landa has proved his worth over 3 weeks, Thomas less so and he has never led at a GT. Also Landa is defintely a better pure climber

I wonder what he will do next year. Maybe a return to Astana
 
Nov 29, 2010
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Re: Re:

therealthing said:
HelloDolly said:
So what is this about then ?

https://twitter.com/oskarguinea/status/858601376523399170

If ever a man was on the market for a new team

Thing was if he had stayed with Astana he would be sole leader at the Giro
They are taking a big risk not having Landa as sole leader. I would use Thomas as a tactical card. Landa has proved his worth over 3 weeks, Thomas less so and he has never led at a GT. Also Landa is defintely a better pure climber

It really doesn't cost too much to have two leaders. I think it would be a mistake for Sky to pick one over the other before the race.
 
Re: Re:

deValtos said:
therealthing said:
HelloDolly said:
So what is this about then ?

https://twitter.com/oskarguinea/status/858601376523399170

If ever a man was on the market for a new team

Thing was if he had stayed with Astana he would be sole leader at the Giro
They are taking a big risk not having Landa as sole leader. I would use Thomas as a tactical card. Landa has proved his worth over 3 weeks, Thomas less so and he has never led at a GT. Also Landa is defintely a better pure climber

It really doesn't cost too much to have two leaders. I think it would be a mistake for Sky to pick one over the other before the race.


Ordinarily I would agree but everyone knows what will happen...Thomas will take an early lead, Landa will be roped in to protect that and then Thomas will fade but by thnbe Landa will have blown his chances ....
 
Nov 29, 2010
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I think Thomas is a bit like Porte in the sense that he is inconsistent over 3 weeks and you never know for sure if they can do it until you see it but he has all the qualities there. He's shown great form this season and it would be unfair not to give him a shot.
 
Aug 16, 2013
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Re:

deValtos said:
I think Thomas is a bit like Porte in the sense that he is inconsistent over 3 weeks and you never know for sure if they can do it until you see it but he has all the qualities there. He's shown great form this season and it would be unfair not to give him a shot.

I think the chance Thomas will falter in the third week is even higher then in Porte's case. It's a fairytale Porte is too inconsistent for a three weeks race anyway. He just had a lot of back luck in the past. In last year's Tour he showed he can be consistent all the way.

But Porte is more of a born GC rider then Thomas. So i hope Sky will protect Landa as long as they can. Because he should be flying in the third week.
 
Re:

deValtos said:
I think Thomas is a bit like Porte in the sense that he is inconsistent over 3 weeks and you never know for sure if they can do it until you see it but he has all the qualities there. He's shown great form this season and it would be unfair not to give him a shot.

I really don't see many similarities. Thomas is being shoehorned into being a GC rider whereas Porte is one of the best one week GC men. Also, Thomas has impressed in the mountains by surpassing all expectations of what everyone thought he was capable of, but he has mostly followed wheels, he hasn't really destroyed his opponents in the mountains.
 
Re: Re:

jaylew said:
HelloDolly said:
So what is this about then ?

https://twitter.com/oskarguinea/status/858601376523399170

If ever a man was on the market for a new team

Thing was if he had stayed with Astana he would be sole leader at the Giro

C'mon, you know you're not supposed to post a link in another language without offering a thorough translation. What does he say?

He said that if he is asked to wait for someone again, he won't do it.
 
Re: Re:

AlexNYC said:
deValtos said:
I think Thomas is a bit like Porte in the sense that he is inconsistent over 3 weeks and you never know for sure if they can do it until you see it but he has all the qualities there. He's shown great form this season and it would be unfair not to give him a shot.

I really don't see many similarities. Thomas is being shoehorned into being a GC rider whereas Porte is one of the best one week GC men. Also, Thomas has impressed in the mountains by surpassing all expectations of what everyone thought he was capable of, but he has mostly followed wheels, he hasn't really destroyed his opponents in the mountains.
Completely agree. Porte, at his peak, can climb with the best in the world. Thomas, at best, can just grind up and try to limit his losses - he's not even close to being one of the best climbers. The only similarity really is that both have consistently shown that they have at least one bad day in them during a three week tour.

I think Landa is more similar to Porte. At his best, he can climb with and maybe even beat the elite. But he has rarely shown the consistency to make him one of the outright favourites for a GT.
 

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