Teams & Riders Nairo Quintana discussion thread

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

Quintana is no Valverde or even Contador. Valverde can ride GT's in a row and you barely realise it, many times he seems stronger! Contador managed to win the Giro and at least top-5 in the Tour, thats suddenly more impressive now. Quintana has a long way to go - in hindsight, he should just have defended the Vuelta instead. I still think it was the right call to try the Giro.

You probably barely realized what happened last year, then.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Quintana is no Valverde or even Contador. Valverde can ride GT's in a row and you barely realise it, many times he seems stronger! Contador managed to win the Giro and at least top-5 in the Tour, thats suddenly more impressive now. Quintana has a long way to go - in hindsight, he should just have defended the Vuelta instead. I still think it was the right call to try the Giro.

You probably barely realized last year, then.

I donut know what your point is, but I assume it has something to do with me criticising Bardet for not taking advantage of the huge opportunities this race has presented so far. Scared of winning or no legs?

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re: Re:

Quintana is no Valverde or even Contador. Valverde can ride GT's in a row and you barely realise it, many times he seems stronger! Contador managed to win the Giro and at least top-5 in the Tour, thats suddenly more impressive now. Quintana has a long way to go - in hindsight, he should just have defended the Vuelta instead. I still think it was the right call to try the Giro.

You probably barely realized last year, then.

I donut know what your point is, but I assume it has something to do with me criticising Bardet for not taking advantage of the huge opportunities this race has presented so far. Scared of winning or no legs?

I'm on the Quintana thread talking about Quintana's ability to ride GTs in a row without barely feeling the difference.

Look at last year.

 

[Valv.Piti]

He was very good in the Tour. Probably better than Quintana, thats podium level after podiumming the Giro and winning Fléche Wallone. Then he was obviously spent in the Vuelta, but that was his 5th GT in a row. That says something.

I think you get the point. Tell me a more consistent performer in GT's, I bet you cant..

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

He was very good in the Tour. Probably better than Quintana, thats podium level after podiumming the Giro and winning Fléche Wallone. Then he was obviously spent in the Vuelta, but that was his 5th GT in a row. That says something.

I think you get the point. Tell me a more consistent performer in GT's, I bet you cant..

I probably bolded the wrong part, but I'm not talking about Valverde.

 

[Red Rick]

I think this is an interesting case because it makes me think a lot on what recovery actually means, especially in back to back GTs and in relation to the kind of training riders do throughout a season and the relationship between form and fatigue.

 

[Billie]

Remember when Poels, Porte and Froome had to do a TTT up Alpe d'Huez not to lose multiple minutes on Quintana. Seems so long ago now.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

I had hoped to be wrong about this, but at this point it looks like the idea that Quintana is stronger in a second GT has been conclusively disproved.

It was a view based on both claims made by people like Unzue and on the fact that he won last year's Vuelta after being poor (by his expected standards) in last year's Tour. The problem with that line of argument is many riders believe that they are stronger in a second GT because they seem stronger relative to Vuelta opposition and they are usually wrong. They tend to mistake having disimproved less than rivals for an actual improvement (the same applies to most riders who supposedly get stronger in the final week of a GT).

Giro-Tour is too hard a combination for Quintana and likely anyone else in an era of super-peaking. Presumably he won't be unwise enough to make the same mistake again.

 

[SeriousSam]

I'm still convinced the Double was about avoiding another straight loss to Froome and picking up an easy Giro so that Quintana has got something to show for being the second best GC rider in the world.

It backfired spectacularly. Looking at how Froome seems to be much weaker than he was at his unassailable best, this may well have been the year for a 2015 level Quintana to beat him

 

[Eclipse]

It looks like being a sad end to the tour after all but at least he has fought during it rather than going out meekly

Wouldn't hold it against him if he soft peddles a bit now rather than trying any last big efforts. He's absolutely drained.

Wrap it up for the season and start planning on how to really attack next year

 

[RedheadDane]

Finding his father's claims that it was Movistar that forced him to do the Double a little... funny.
He's 27, I'd say he's old enough to make his own decisions, and to face the consequences when those decisions turns out to have been a bad idea.

 

[portugal11]

Re:

Finding his father's claims that it was Movistar that forced him to do the Double a little... funny.
He's 27, I'd say he's old enough to make his own decisions, and to face the consequences when those decisions turns out to have been a bad idea.

Unzue is the boss, not quintana. Who pays his salary is unzue, not quintana. So I'm pretty sure it was unzue who made that decision

 

[RedheadDane]

Re: Re:

Finding his father's claims that it was Movistar that forced him to do the Double a little... funny.
He's 27, I'd say he's old enough to make his own decisions, and to face the consequences when those decisions turns out to have been a bad idea.

Unzue is the boss, not quintana. Who pays his salary is unzue, not quintana. So I'm pretty sure it was unzue who made that decision

I think they probably made it together. Hardly think Unzue would twist Quintana's arm behind his back and force him to go.

 

[KyoGrey]

Credits to Condemor (Spanish forums).

https://elpais.com/deportes/2017/07/17/actualidad/1500298946_756938.html

Unzue: "Nairo started very early to be a grown up"

Q: It seems that he haven't seen again the 23-year old Nairo...
Unzué: It's true, it's true. He still has a great level but there hasn't been a progression. Before we could think that he wasn't progressing but that he wasn't going down, now we can say that this Tour has broken that pattern. There has been a kind of regression. He started very early to be a grown up...it can be. Yeah.

(About 2017 Giro)
Unzué: Yes, yes, it was a Giro without luster. When this ends, we will have to analyse it calmly. I hope whe find the reasons. There is no need to think it quickly. Now what he needs is a good rest and free his mind so that he can recover.

Q: In the Tour 2016 he wasn't the brilliant neither...
Unzué: He wasn't, he wasn't, he wasn't. I don't know. This forces us to think, to analyse the path he has walked this past 4-5 years...I don't know...

 

[KyoGrey]

Is there some deep water movement in the convent of friars also known as Movistar (Abarca structure)?

 

[ice&fire]

Re:

Is there some deep water movement in the convent of friars also known as Movistar (Abarca structure)?

Perhaps the last paragraph of that interview holds a key.

(Talking about Landa...) he hasn't told us yet he won't be with us in 2018

 

[Escarabajo]

I agree with the things they said in the interview except that they went to 2013 to find their best when he was also at his best in 2015. That's at least a 3 year plateau.

Other reasons could be external to him, like changes on his rivals. I don't think that's the case but some people have mentioned it.

 

[liamito]

Still trying for top 10? Or why did he bother today?

 

[Escarabajo]

Re:

Still trying for top 10? Or why did he bother today?

I don't know but I think is in his blood. He is not like other riders that let it go once they realize that they can't win or do a good performance.

He will be kicking until the end, even if he is empty or dead. Never seen this guy giving up.

 

[carolina]

There's no point in staying in the race if he's not going to try for top 10.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Unzué speaks with a certain resignation. I cannot help but think Unzué deep down knew this was Valverde's Tour, and not Quintana's from the start.

 

[hrotha]

I cannot stress how out of character that interview with Unzue is. This is big.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re:

I cannot stress how out of character that interview with Unzue is. This is big.

I can see that he is disappointed, but not sure if it is that bad. I didn't see it like out of the ordinary responses.

 

[lenric]

Strange interview. Almost as if he thinks Quintana will leave Movi*.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

What did he say?