Mikel Landa Discussion Thread

[HelloDolly]

Re: Re:

Both Landa and Fuglsang saying they are putting out personal power bests on the climbs but cant keep up ???

What's so odd about that? It's, for the moment, their level and the guys in front of them can push harder on the climbs or are the better climbers.

You must have missed the word " their personal best" .remembering what Landa did last year at the Tour and at the Giro in 2015
...or maybe you would rather not enter debate but brush aside a topic..seems to be the case

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

Both Landa and Fuglsang saying they are putting out personal power bests on the climbs but cant keep up ???

Did Landa really say that? I can understand that it could be true of Fuglsang, surely Landa’s best has been too good for it to be true.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

Both Landa and Fuglsang saying they are putting out personal power bests on the climbs but cant keep up ???

Did Landa really say that? I can understand that it could be true of Fuglsang, surely Landa’s best has been too good for it to be true.

Fuglsang said he talked to Landa about it and that Landa said the same thing.

 

[Koronin]

Re:

It seems that everytime Landa joins a new team, he tends to struggle to be in top shape in his first year. However, in his second year, it's a completely different story and he's a beast in the moutains( Ex: Astana 2015, Sky 2017). Of course, it happens to alot of riders that they need some time to get used to their new team( new environment, different equipment....etc). Does anybody knows if he will do the Vuelta?

Movistar is notorious for releasing who's going to what race very last minute. However, it is very likely that Landa and Valverde are going to the Vuelta. The rest of the squad is anyone's guess.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

It seems that everytime Landa joins a new team, he tends to struggle to be in top shape in his first year. However, in his second year, it's a completely different story and he's a beast in the moutains( Ex: Astana 2015, Sky 2017). Of course, it happens to alot of riders that they need some time to get used to their new team( new environment, different equipment....etc). Does anybody knows if he will do the Vuelta?

Movistar is notorious for releasing who's going to what race very last minute. However, it is very likely that Landa and Valverde are going to the Vuelta. The rest of the squad is anyone's guess.

I wonder if Quintana wants to go. His current situation is pretty comparable to the time he won it.

Is Quintana planning on the Worlds?

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

It seems that everytime Landa joins a new team, he tends to struggle to be in top shape in his first year. However, in his second year, it's a completely different story and he's a beast in the moutains( Ex: Astana 2015, Sky 2017). Of course, it happens to alot of riders that they need some time to get used to their new team( new environment, different equipment....etc). Does anybody knows if he will do the Vuelta?

Movistar is notorious for releasing who's going to what race very last minute. However, it is very likely that Landa and Valverde are going to the Vuelta. The rest of the squad is anyone's guess.

I wonder if Quintana wants to go. His current situation is pretty comparable to the time he won it.

Is Quintana planning on the Worlds?

No idea, and I doubt Movistar cares rather Quintana's planning on doing the Worlds or not. Also Valverde is the sole leader for the team for the Vuelta as it was promised to him way back while he was still recovering from his injury. Landa should be going as a combination of option B and for the fact that he's already said that he would go to the Vuelta and work for Alejandro. Landa has been trying to prove to the team that he's willing to work for Valverde as long as he gets his chances in the Tour. Plus he also keep saying he wants to learn from Valverde and we've seen that a bit in this Tour with his thanking of his teammates after stages.

 

[Rollthedice]

L'Equipe reporting that Landa wants to go back to Astana to be a sole leader.

 

[del1962]

Re:

L'Equipe reporting that Landa wants to go back to Astana to be a sole leader.

So Quintana staying at Movistar?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

This guy is the biggest hypocrite. Blames LottoNL for helping Sky with the pace making yesterday.
What did Movistar do then when Kruijswijk attacked?

Mr. Landa seems to have an awful memory

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

This guy is the biggest hypocrite. Blames LottoNL for helping Sky with the pace making yesterday.
What did Movistar do then when Kruijswijk attacked?

Mr. Landa seems to have an awful memory

He doesn't even remember what team he wanted to be in 5 minutes ago

 

[SafeBet]

Re:

L'Equipe reporting that Landa wants to go back to Astana to be a sole leader.

Sole leader behind the sole leader Superman?

 

[hrotha]

Landa strikes me as the kind of guy who performs a lot better when the stakes are not so high, whether because he's not the actual team leader or because he's a bit out of contention.

Astana might be a good fit this once because I doubt they'd send both him and Superman to the same races all the time.

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

L'Equipe reporting that Landa wants to go back to Astana to be a sole leader.

Oh boy, this again. All these years of making stupid team changes just to land in the same team again. I have to say though, after this tour I expected him to go to LottoNL

 

[staubsauger]

Re: Re:

L'Equipe reporting that Landa wants to go back to Astana to be a sole leader.

Oh boy, this again. All these years of making stupid team changes just to land in the same team again. I have to say though, after this tour I expected him to go to LottoNL

Ain't it funny that after all he either should've stayed with Astana or signed with LottoNL in 2016!?

Lopez crashes all the time and is an even worse tt'er than Landa. Additionally he probably rides the Tour de France from 2019 on, anyway. Eventually Landa leads the Kazakhs at his beloved corsa rosa with Fuglsang and a more than decent support squad. Sounds legit!

Astana needs an additional leader anyway and probably buys Landa out of his contract. Since Movistar already got Quintana, Carapaz, Soler + Valverde the paycheck is happily welcomed.

 

[bigcog]

l'equipe translation:

Three years after leaving the Astana team, in 2016, for Sky, before joining Movistar this season, Mikel Landa would once again be on the move. He would have offered his services to his former Kazakh employers, imagining himself as the sole leader on the great Tours. He explained that his relations with Nairo Quintana have deteriorated in recent times and that he does not see himself continuing the adventure at Movistar in these conditions, even if he still has one year of contract.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Lol this guy. If he wants to be sole leader at the Tour at a WT-team and have a team build around only him, he should go to EF (if they can convince Uran to do the Giro) or Dimension Data. I can't see any other teams fitting those demands (I'm not sure what the deal is with BMC/Trek/Porte).

 

[staubsauger]

He wants to be sole leader at the Giro d'Italia. That's part of the whole issue.

 

[Oliver]

He made a big mistake to leave Astana. Love the way this guy climbs but this Tour/season was disappointing, i had expected way more from him. I have never understand the tactics from movistar to send their 3 best guys to le Tour.
Now saying that it’s Quintana fault? No he hasn’t got the legs to do better.
I think we get the same problem in the Vuelta, but with the difference that’s Valverde is interested in a very good performance @ Vuelta also (not like this years Tour).

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

His biggest problem seems to be his head being too big for his legs. He thinks he is better then he really is

 

[staubsauger]

Re:

He made a big mistake to leave Astana. Love the way this guy climbs but this Tour/season was disappointing, i had expected way more from him. I have never understand the tactics from movistar to send their 3 best guys to le Tour.
Now saying that it’s Quintana fault? No he hasn’t got the legs to do better.
I think we get the same problem in the Vuelta, but with the difference that’s Valverde is interested in a very good performance @ Vuelta also (not like this years Tour).

If one of Landa & Quintana gets his act together Valverde plays second fiddle at the Vuelta anyway. He gets his stage wins, his top 3-5 and helps his stronger teammate to probably win the race.

The problem is whether Quintana and / or Landa will get their act together. What happens if suddenly both do so? What's the status quo of Carapaz who on paper should be the super-domestique, but comes into the Vuelta fresh as daisy.

Maybe Landa should just concentrate on himself and target the polka dot jersey and / or the prestigious stage win in the Pyrenees!

Then, up to Astana & the Giro d'Italia for 2019!

 

[DNP-Old]

I think it would make much more sense if it were the other way around: Nairo to go to Astana while Landa stays with Movistar.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

His biggest problem seems to be his head being too big for his legs. He thinks he is better then he really is

A victim of Landismo.

 

[Moviestar]

Re:

This guy is the biggest hypocrite. Blames LottoNL for helping Sky with the pace making yesterday.
What did Movistar do then when Kruijswijk attacked?

Mr. Landa seems to have an awful memory

Well, he has a point actually. It would have made sense if one of the Lotto's would have joined Bardet and Landa on the move, they were with four (!) in the group.

And in the Alpe D'Huez stage they tried to win the stage with Landa, therefore they had a good reason to chase Kruijswijk.

 

[hazaran]

Win the stage with Landa? After he was dropped by 2 minutes the day before on the much easier climb? Ya right :lol:

 

[Moviefan1203]

Landa knows how the game works. The yellow jersey team gets help in the third week from teams wanting to protect their GC standings.