I thought Nairo should have sat up on the descent, regrouped for the final. It seemed like a big waste of energy for 10-15k descending there. Hopefully they'll ride smarter tomorrow.
What do you think?
What do you think?
The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to
In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.
Thanks!
Hayabusa said:He should have attacked on the final climb in hindsight, he could have matched Porte. Attacking early was foolish as he's strong than Valverde and now he's too far back to be a serious threat to Sky in my opinion.
spalco said:I agree, but I don't think it matters much, Froome is on another level this year. Quintana is so young, by trying and failing he'll learn how to do it better, he doesn't need to be perfect yet. And he may well podium anyway.
Pulpstar said:But his attack allowed Valverde to just sit on the wheel and forced Sky to chase harder than they otherwise might - alot were dropped - And Valverde is now sitting 3rd.
Vino's Mum said:I thought Nairo attacked a) to see what would happen, and b) to help Piti once he'd also attacked out of the bunch.
Kennaugh and Porte just going too fast for them today, but I guess going from a long way out is their (and everyone else's) only hope now, so we can expect more of the same.
SMARTER? Do they have a crystal ball?RiccoDinko said:I thought Nairo should have sat up on the descent, regrouped for the final. It seemed like a big waste of energy for 10-15k descending there. Hopefully they'll ride smarter tomorrow.
What do you think?
Escarabajo said:He should have waited until the last climb to attack or follow wheels. But we say that now after the facts, really.
Besides, we didn't know how strong the Sky duo was, and how bad the Spanish armada was either. At the end of the day Valverde benefited from it and got better results from the rest of the pack. And at the same time Nairo learned from his attack in the Tour.
Pulpstar said:But his attack allowed Valverde to just sit on the wheel and forced Sky to chase harder than they otherwise might - alot were dropped - And Valverde is now sitting 3rd.
I never said that would not have happened. He just would have fared a lot better. Maybe around Porte's performance or even drag Valverde closer to the Sky duo.Dazed and Confused said:lol, we need another 10 top Colombian climbers here to put a dent in the Froome/Porte dominance.
Seriously, had Quintana wheelsucked the Sky train on the last climb and tried to attack with 3-5km to go, Froome would have followed, shelled him and the stage would have been pretty dull.
The biggest issue was the poor level of the Spanish captains.
kingjr said:No matter how smart Movistar ride the best think they can hope for currently is a podium spot (behind Froome ofc) and a stage win.
That's what I was talking about: nobody said he was the fastest descender - technically he's pretty good.Panda Claws said:Quintana's descending was actually pretty good, considering the guy weighs less than 60 kg and the descent was not technical at all. Weight played a far greater factor than descending skill, and he probably was not even putting out as much effort as Rolland was.
Escarabajo said:He should have waited until the last climb to attack or follow wheels. But we say that now after the facts, really.
Besides, we didn't know how strong the Sky duo was, and how bad the Spanish armada was either. At the end of the day Valverde benefited from it and got better results from the rest of the pack. And at the same time Nairo learned from his attack in the Tour.