Mikel Landa Discussion Thread

[KyoGrey]

Vamos Mikel! Not only Euskadi but the rest of Spain is with you!

Inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7DvfPo4l_8

 

[Forever The Best]

Re:

Vamos Mikel! Not only Euskadi but the rest of Spain is with you!

Inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7DvfPo4l_8

He didn't gain enough time today

 

[Matteo.]

I'm pretty sure if sky had not just run for froome, he would be yellow today. Great performance

 

[JRanton]

Re:

I'm pretty sure if sky had not just run for froome, he would be yellow today. Great performance

No way did Sky's riding cut the gap by over a minute. They hardly did any sustained riding and even if they had they couldn't risk letting Quintana or Martin get too close.

Why on earth would Sky trust Landa over Froome to win the race for them? I'll take the 3 time tour winner who is still odds on favourite to the win the race thanks. Landa needs to stay in his lane as he lost over a minute without sticking his nose in the wind on PDBF and if he was so strong then he wouldn't have to come to the line with 3 other riders today. This is hardly Froome-Wiggins 2012 for goodness sake.

 

[Ricco']

Re: Re:

and if he was so strong then he wouldn't have to come to the line with 3 other riders today.

Yeah, Landa the climber would have great chances on a solo move with 27k's of flat/slighty descending terrain.

 

[JRanton]

Re: Re:

and if he was so strong then he wouldn't have to come to the line with 3 other riders today.

Yeah, Landa the climber would have great chances on a solo move with 27k's of flat/slighty descending terrain.

He's a very strong descender (there was only 10km of flat which he rode most on the front anyway) and if he had the legs there was a perfect opportunity to create a big gap on the last 4km of that climb.

Sorry but Tour winners don't lose over a minute on the first relatively small climb of the race. This isn't 2015 Giro Landa!

 

[ppanther92]

Re: Re:

and if he was so strong then he wouldn't have to come to the line with 3 other riders today.

Yeah, Landa the climber would have great chances on a solo move with 27k's of flat/slighty descending terrain.

Exactly. Wheter he would have been able to drop them or not - we don't know, but it would have been nonsense.

 

[Gigs_98]

The reason why froome cost landa so much time today is not that he gained so much time on the front group while pulling but because he and kwiat were the main reason the group was working together. I doubt aru and bardet would have taken many pulls in the chase if two sky riders are sitting on their wheels and don't participate in the chase. Not unlikely that costed landa well over half a minute

 

[durtyfat7]

Re: Re:

and if he was so strong then he wouldn't have to come to the line with 3 other riders today.

Yeah, Landa the climber would have great chances on a solo move with 27k's of flat/slighty descending terrain.

He's a very strong descender (there was only 10km of flat which he rode most on the front anyway) and if he had the legs there was a perfect opportunity to create a big gap on the last 4km of that climb.

Sorry but Tour winners don't lose over a minute on the first relatively small climb of the race. This isn't 2015 Giro Landa!

Keep in mind that he has the Giro in his legs. He even stated a few days ago that he hopes he get better as the race advance. So, he wasn't at his best in the first week. Imagine where he would be right know in the ranking if he prepared specifically for the TDF( and not the Giro)...

 

[MovistarRider]

I bet the atmosphere at team Sky is phucking great with this guy!

 

[KyoGrey]

http://www.cope.es/audios/tiempo-juego/landa-tengo-piernas-tengo-galones_400170

Credits to @Zumalakarregi44 from Spanish Forums.
Absolutely delirating Interview of Mikel Landa after the Stage.

"I went forward to force Bardet and Aru to move so that Chris could then terminate them"

"We didn't knew what to do: whether to go for the stage or to get maximum time. I decided to go for maximum time"

"Today Contador motivated me, you see yourself in the situation and obviously you want to wear yellow."

"Alberto told me we were doing something big, that he was going to help me to go forward"

"It is good for the team to have two options"

"Froome is very happy with what I have done"

"I have the legs, what I don't have is team leadership"

"We have come to win the Tour with Froome. I know my role. Team leader is Froome"

"When I saw Contador attacking, I knew he was the kind of rider who can drag you onwards"

"Lets hope Chris wins the Tour. If not, lets hope its me"

 

[jsem94]

I hope he goes rogue on one of the Alp stages. Maybe Telegraphe-Galibier. Landa for overall please!

 

[ontheroad]

For me Landa was the strongest rider in the Giro even though he didn't win it. Certainly the strongest climber.

 

[ontheroad]

http://www.cope.es/audios/tiempo-juego/landa-tengo-piernas-tengo-galones_400170

Credits to @Zumalakarregi44 from Spanish Forums.
Absolutely delirating Interview of Mikel Landa after the Stage.

"I went forward to force Bardet and Aru to move so that Chris could then terminate them"

"We didn't knew what to do: whether to go for the stage or to get maximum time. I decided to go for maximum time"

"Today Contador motivated me, you see yourself in the situation and obviously you want to wear yellow."

"Alberto told me we were doing something big, that he was going to help me to go forward"

"It is good for the team to have two options"

"Froome is very happy with what I have done"

"I have the legs, what I don't have is team leadership"

"We have come to win the Tour with Froome. I know my role. Team leader is Froome"

"When I saw Contador attacking, I knew he was the kind of rider who can drag you onwards"

"Lets hope Chris wins the Tour. If not, lets hope its me"

Boo.

 

[Brullnux]

Re:

For me Landa was the strongest rider in the Giro even though he didn't win it. Certainly the strongest climber.

Nah, not sure. He wasn't able to drop TJ to Pontives despite doing no work until the last 10km because he had a teammate and he seriously struggled to keep pace on Monte Grappa on Stage 20 (although admminttedly his efforts of the day before May explain that). He was strong but not that good. I don't think he'd have won it even without the crash - podium maybe though.

 

[HelloDolly]

So Landa did try to take the yellow today...he sais he tried but couldn't ..

https://twitter.com/Procyclingeu/status/885902923502432258

..couldn't even drop Contador who everyone keeps saying is past it...yes he is the best climber on the planet . ha ha

Must say though SKY team is at odds with him...this much is true and he is going to try and do his own thing ....if he does then he has balls

 

[ontheroad]

Re: Re:

For me Landa was the strongest rider in the Giro even though he didn't win it. Certainly the strongest climber.

Nah, not sure. He wasn't able to drop TJ to Pontives despite doing no work until the last 10km because he had a teammate and he seriously struggled to keep pace on Monte Grappa on Stage 20 (although admminttedly his efforts of the day before May explain that). He was strong but not that good. I don't think he'd have won it even without the crash - podium maybe though.

If you are judging strictly on time gaps he wasn't but he must have rode on the front climbing for 50+ km in breakaways on 3 separate stages. To the naked eye I thought he looked the best climber. The crash just altered his targets and he rode accordingly for stage wins. The Grappa stage was of no interest to him since he was not riding for GC from early in the race.

 

[SeriousSam]

"Lets hope Chris wins the Tour. If not, lets hope its me"

lol

 

[Põhja Konn]

He is really good, but way overrated. :razz:

Seriously, even if he is the strongest climber in the race right now, the gap to the others is not that big. It may or may not increase when the Tour reaches the Alpes, we will see next week.

He is a fan favourite here since Giro 2015 and many people will see what they want to see. Hence the over the top hype. Still he is great to watch when in form. That effortless style on the bike is also likely to mislead fans into thinking he still has a lot left in the tank, when he is actually running on fumes.

Landa is in good position, but if Froome won't fade significantly he will remain the clear no 1. But with Froome's shape being somewhat unpredictable, Sky as a team would be better off giving Landa free role just in case. Froome though is unlikely to agree with this.

 

[hfer07]

Re:

"Lets hope Chris wins the Tour. If not, lets hope its me"

lol

Interesting choice of words by Landa
In the context of him saying "let's hope" - I tend to believe there seem to be some doubts in the SKY camp -and among the Peloton- about Froome's strength to win this Tour - Chris only needs a bad day to lose 2 minutes to risk the overall title - maybe Landa is set to be there when that happens ....

 

[Escarabajo]

Re: Re:

For me Landa was the strongest rider in the Giro even though he didn't win it. Certainly the strongest climber.

Nah, not sure. He wasn't able to drop TJ to Pontives despite doing no work until the last 10km because he had a teammate and he seriously struggled to keep pace on Monte Grappa on Stage 20 (although admminttedly his efforts of the day before May explain that). He was strong but not that good. I don't think he'd have won it even without the crash - podium maybe though.

If you are judging strictly on time gaps he wasn't but he must have rode on the front climbing for 50+ km in breakaways on 3 separate stages. To the naked eye I thought he looked the best climber. The crash just altered his targets and he rode accordingly for stage wins. The Grappa stage was of no interest to him since he was not riding for GC from early in the race.

Seriously, we would be entering a dream world thinking about what would be the Giro outcome had he not crashed out.
These type of things always happen when somebody from GC crashes out. He would have won, he would have killed everyone, he would have...

 

[Escarabajo]

Re:

"Lets hope Chris wins the Tour. If not, lets hope its me"

lol

:lol:

It is going to be a fun third week!!!!

 

[KyoGrey]

Re: Re:

"Lets hope Chris wins the Tour. If not, lets hope its me"

lol

Interesting choice of words by Landa
In the context of him saying "let's hope" - I tend to believe there seem to be some doubts in the SKY camp -and among the Peloton- about Froome's strength to win this Tour - Chris only needs a bad day to lose 2 minutes to risk the overall title - maybe Landa is set to be there when that happens ....

(Literally)

Reporter: "Who's going to win the Tour? (¿Quién va a ganar el Tour?)"

Landa: "I hope/wish Chris." (Pues ojalá que Chris)"

Landa: Hehehee!!
Reporter: Huahhahahahh!!!

Landa: "If not, ME!" (¡Y si no, yo!)"

Minute 4:02 http://www.cope.es/audios/tiempo-juego/landa-tengo-piernas-tengo-galones_400170

 

[Escarabajo]

Re: Re:

"Lets hope Chris wins the Tour. If not, lets hope its me"

lol

Interesting choice of words by Landa
In the context of him saying "let's hope" - I tend to believe there seem to be some doubts in the SKY camp -and among the Peloton- about Froome's strength to win this Tour - Chris only needs a bad day to lose 2 minutes to risk the overall title - maybe Landa is set to be there when that happens ....

Reporter: "Who's going to win the Tour? (¿Quién va a ganar el Tour?)"

Landa: "I hope/wish Chris." (Pues ojalá que Chris)"

Landa: Hehehee!!
Reporter: Huahhahahahh!!!

Landa: "If not, ME!" (¡Y si no, yo!)"

Minute 4:02 http://www.cope.es/audios/tiempo-juego/landa-tengo-piernas-tengo-galones_400170

 

[Escarabajo]

Sorry if it is too big!