Teams & Riders Nairo Quintana discussion thread

[SeriousSam]

Well, Quintana will just attempt to arrive at the Tour in the best possible shape like everyone else and then the first MTF, or even some hill, will reveal the pecking order as it has in the past.

 

[Red Rick]

Quintna wouldn't really have gotten a reference anyway. I think it's kinda lame, but then it's nice to have your teammate win the stage. Sprinting for the 2nd place was very lame though. Anyway, he seems ready.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Quintna wouldn't really have gotten a reference anyway. I think it's kinda lame, but then it's nice to have your teammate win the stage. Sprinting for the 2nd place was very lame though. Anyway, he seems ready.

Is Quintana really that lame? No question about who you like and don't.

Considering he went in a solo break for 140 km and won the ITT the day after, I think he has tested himself out a plenty. Then the opportunity of Soler winning arose and they wen't for it. Meanwhile, Quintana could hide in the mountain stages. Perfect scenario.

 

[Red Rick]

I think it shows a tendency to do as little as possible to win. If he doesn't want to attacke when he's the strongest 100% of the time, when does he want to attack?

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

I think it shows a tendency to do as little as possible to win. If he doesn't want to attacke when he's the strongest 100% of the time, when does he want to attack?

1. This is Route du Sud. Nairo, for some reasons, like to keep his cards to himself (at least on the mountain stages).
2. He had the leaders jersey and Soler was incredibly strong.
3. As I said, he was in a break in 140 kilometres in a predominantly flat stage. The day after, he won a relatively flat ITT - no need to test himself out further I'd expect was his thought process.

 

[dacooley]

Re:

I think it shows a tendency to do as little as possible to win. If he doesn't want to attacke when he's the strongest 100% of the time, when does he want to attack?

Do you seriously think give quintana to ride yesterday's stage under the similar conditions 20 times and he'd win all of them?

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

I think it shows a tendency to do as little as possible to win. If he doesn't want to attacke when he's the strongest 100% of the time, when does he want to attack?

Do you seriously think give quintana to ride yesterday's stage under the similar conditions 20 times and he'd win all of them?

On this course, with his team, with this competition, if he tries, yes.

 

[IndianCyclist]

Re: Re:

Froome attacked his main competitor Contador on the first MTF. Quintana on the other hand gets attacked by Carthy and sucks wheels till the end. If you don't test yourself in the buildup, how can you make an attacking strategy in the TDF.

There was no one for Quintana to test himself against. He could've dropped Carthy easily but what would've it proved, probably nothing.

If that is the case then why does he do this race instead of Dauphine. That said Froome and Contador both have attacked irrespective of what race or how small the race is or who the competition. Strategy needs to be made earlier and races that one can fail in which are not the prime objective and then if it fails, to be fine tuned for success. Does he want to win the Route de Sud so badly that he is willing to lose the TDF.

 

[Moviestar]

Why did have Nairo to attack? He already was in driver's seat after the first flat stage and got the leader's jersey a day after. Why attack when you're already the leader, doesn't make sense.

 

[sir fly]

Re:

Why did have Nairo to attack? He already was in driver's seat after the first flat stage and got the leader's jersey a day after. Why attack when you're already the leader, doesn't make sense.

If winning the race was prime goal of his participation, then you're absolutely right.
But Route du Sud was dress rehearsal for the Tour and an attack in sense of a test was expected. Especially considering the overall standard of riders.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re: Re:

Froome attacked his main competitor Contador on the first MTF. Quintana on the other hand gets attacked by Carthy and sucks wheels till the end. If you don't test yourself in the buildup, how can you make an attacking strategy in the TDF.

There was no one for Quintana to test himself against. He could've dropped Carthy easily but what would've it proved, probably nothing.

If that is the case then why does he do this race instead of Dauphine. That said Froome and Contador both have attacked irrespective of what race or how small the race is or who the competition. Strategy needs to be made earlier and races that one can fail in which are not the prime objective and then if it fails, to be fine tuned for success. Does he want to win the Route de Sud so badly that he is willing to lose the TDF.

To get the most out of the altitude training.

 

[AlexNYC]

After reading the front page article about Froome, I really hope Quintana and Unzue have considered the scenario where Froome is considerably stronger than usual in the third week. I don't think Nairo can afford to be more than a minute away from Froome after the first ITT.

 

[Jspear]

He can afford to lose some time in the TT, but he can't bleed any time on the early mountain stages.....he says he's been working on his explosiveness. He has to be the strongest climber for the whole Tour to win. Imo.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

After reading the front page article about Froome, I really hope Quintana and Unzue have considered the scenario where Froome is considerably stronger than usual in the third week. I don't think Nairo can afford to be more than a minute away from Froome after the first ITT.

Yeah.. or is it bluff? He seemed as strong in Dauphine '15 as in '16 IMO. We never know.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/06/feature/who-is-nairo-quintana_411674

 

[Gigs_98]

I have the feeling Froome is bluffing. His Dauphine performance was like in previous years, maybe a little bit better than last year and a little bit worse than in 2013, but it really doesn't look like he will have his peak much later. I think it's rather that Sky planned to let him peak later (probably because of the Olympics) but at then he ended up being in the same shape as always and thats not even something bad for him. He might have a worse chance in the Olympics if he comes out of the tour completely empty, but there have never been so many mountain stages in the first two weeks of the tour in the last years so this time peaking soon actually makes sense.

Anyway it's a difficult situation for Quintana. If Froome is at his best in the third week Nairo probably needs to gain time on him in the Pyrenees and on the Ventoux, but if Froome's peak is just like 2013/15 Nairo shouldn't take too many risks on the first mountain stages or Froome will make a brutal counter attack. I think it's important to test froome on stage 5 because even if it turns out that Froome is stronger than everyone else and maybe even drops everyone else you can't loose that much time there.

 

[Miburo]

Nothing to do with peaking really. Froome's recovery is just ass cause he ain't a natural climber imo.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Nothing to do with peaking really. Froome's recovery is just *** cause he ain't a natural climber imo.

Its not Quintana-esque, but it isn't bad either at all. Look no further than Tour 2012 or Vuelta 2014. But I agree its mostly something natural, but you can tweak it. But Im not confident that he indeeds speaks the truth...

I agree Giggs, especially on stage 5, but thats mostly as a viewer. I think its unlikely that Quintana will try there, knowing him.

 

[dacooley]

Re:

Nothing to do with peaking really. Froome's recovery is just *** cause he ain't a natural climber imo.

yes, froome's recovery is so terrible that he won two tour and podiumed yet 3 grand tours.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Nothing to do with peaking really. Froome's recovery is just *** cause he ain't a natural climber imo.

yes, froome's recovery is so terrible that he won two tour and podiumed yet 3 grand tours.

What if I told you
That the fact that its an exaggeraion doesn't mean the point has no merit

 

[AlexNYC]

Re: Re:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/06/feature/who-is-nairo-quintana_411674

Thanks for the link. That article is almost the best Quintana primer ever. It starts with his birth and ends with a detailed account of his preparation for this year's Tour

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/06/feature/who-is-nairo-quintana_411674

Thanks for the link. That article is almost the best Quintana primer ever. It starts with his birth and ends with a detailed account of his preparation for this year's Tour

NP homie

 

[AlexNYC]

Re:

He can afford to lose some time in the TT, but he can't bleed any time on the early mountain stages.....he says he's been working on his explosiveness. He has to be the strongest climber for the whole Tour to win. Imo.

Or give away time in the flats; other than Erviti, Movistar are really thin in that department without Malori and Castro Viejo.

I tend to agree with the notion that Froome tends to be vulnerable later during GTs due to his less than great recovery, but I wonder how much of that can be addressed with specific training.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I have no question about Nelson Olivera is very much suited for this role and with more rouleur types such as G Izagirre and J Herrada, I hope they are fine.

 

[Valv.Piti]

First test tomorrow, or maybe more for the team. I just hope he doesn't crash, Im confident he can gain 1 minute back somehow, somewhere.

 

[Robert5091]

If the weather is wet and cold, Quintana seems a better bet then Froome. The ultra thin Sky boys seem to suffer in bad weather - G in TdS as an example.