Teams & Riders Nairo Quintana discussion thread

[meat puppet]

Re:

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

Even by cycling standards it looks like a case of a stuck up boss nastily stomping on his employee with no holds barred.

 

[MatParker117]

http://www.rcnradio.com/deportes/nairo-quintana-saldria-del-movistar-team-la-proxima-temporada/

Google translate:

Sources consulted by the program In the play of RCNRadio confirmed that the departure of the Colombian Nairo Quintana from the ranks of Team Movers is imminent, since according to the same sources the environment in the equipment is not the best.
"Nairo is with two folders on his desk an Astana folder and another on the Sky, he is studying those two themes that are heating up because the environment in the Movistar is quite complex," said the 'valluno' of the sports program.

His old coach is at Sky and he would likely target the Giro while eventually succeeding Froome at the Tour.

 

[SeriousSam]

This could make sense, learning the craft of Grand Tour riding under a legend like Froome and then eventually taking over when the old master retires.

 

[Pennino]

Re:

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.

In hindsight I absolutely agree. Man, I'm so sorry for you. This was just going to be perfect-perfect. Quintana always vague whether to contest the double or not, Valverde in alien shape, the parcours, Valverde ánd Quintana together. My only doubt would be their tactics, honestly. Movistar hasn't ever showed great quality in GT's in that matter, as for I can remember.

And yeah, very wise choise from Unzue to pick Bala as number one, going for the Giro with Quintana and still blowing smoke about that. That's simply great. Very sorry that it even didn't get the chance to play out...

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Re:

http://www.rcnradio.com/deportes/nairo-quintana-saldria-del-movistar-team-la-proxima-temporada/

Google translate:

Sources consulted by the program In the play of RCNRadio confirmed that the departure of the Colombian Nairo Quintana from the ranks of Team Movers is imminent, since according to the same sources the environment in the equipment is not the best.
"Nairo is with two folders on his desk an Astana folder and another on the Sky, he is studying those two themes that are heating up because the environment in the Movistar is quite complex," said the 'valluno' of the sports program.

His old coach is at Sky and he would likely target the Giro while eventually succeeding Froome at the Tour.

Lol I would love to see Quintana in the Sky train.

 

[dacooley]

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

Sponsors and Movistar bosses, not Unzue personally. Unzue is just a manager, a repeater of sponsors' interests. It's highly unlikely the decision of riding the giro was made in Unzue's own person.

 

[DFA123]

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

Sponsors and Movistar bosses, not Unzue personally. Unzue is just a manager, a repeater of sponsors' interests. It's highly unlikely the decision of riding the giro was made in Unzue's own person.

I find that a bit hard to believe. Movistar and their parent company Telefonica are one of the biggest businesses in the world. Paying €25m a year to sponsor a cycling team is absolutely peanuts to them, in comparison to some of their other advertising initiatives. I can't imagine their executives sitting round a table and forcing Unzue into making Quintana rides the Giro - a decision that would require in depth knowledge of Quintana's training and physiology.

Especially so, when they have no business interest in Italy, but are extremely active in France and Spain.

 

[Pennino]

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

Sponsors and Movistar bosses, not Unzue personally. Unzue is just a manager, a repeater of sponsors' interests. It's highly unlikely the decision of riding the giro was made in Unzue's own person.

I find that a bit hard to believe. Movistar and their parent company Telefonica are one of the biggest businesses in the world. Paying €25m a year to sponsor a cycling team is absolutely peanuts to them, in comparison to some of their other advertising initiatives. I can't imagine their executives sitting round a table and forcing Unzue into making Quintana rides the Giro - a decision that would require in depth knowledge of Quintana's training and physiology.

Especially so, when they have no business interest in Italy, but are extremely active in France and Spain.

So it likely has nothing to do with Quintana, but it absolutely could have something to do with Valverde being in monster shape the whole season.

"Hola Eusebio, todo bien, but that little Colombian kid has had enough chances burned. We would like to see our legend to win the Tour. Arrange it, rapido!"

 

[deValtos]

I can not picture Quintana in a jersey that's not Movistar, so strange. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, it's just a rumour.

 

[DFA123]

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

Sponsors and Movistar bosses, not Unzue personally. Unzue is just a manager, a repeater of sponsors' interests. It's highly unlikely the decision of riding the giro was made in Unzue's own person.

I find that a bit hard to believe. Movistar and their parent company Telefonica are one of the biggest businesses in the world. Paying €25m a year to sponsor a cycling team is absolutely peanuts to them, in comparison to some of their other advertising initiatives. I can't imagine their executives sitting round a table and forcing Unzue into making Quintana rides the Giro - a decision that would require in depth knowledge of Quintana's training and physiology.

Especially so, when they have no business interest in Italy, but are extremely active in France and Spain.

So it likely has nothing to do with Quintana, but it absolutely could have something to do with Valverde being in monster shape the whole season.

"Hola Eusebio, todo bien, but that little Colombian kid has had enough chances burned. We would like to see our legend to win the Tour. Arrange it, rapido!"

Perhaps , but I think the decision would probably have been made already before the start of this season. And Movistar is also Telefonica's main brand in much of South America, so you would think that if the executives did insist on something, that having Quintana doing well at the Tour would be much more important to them than him playing second fiddle at the Giro.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

I can not picture Quintana in a jersey that's not Movistar, so strange. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, it's just a rumour.

I think he'd be crazy to leave. He has pretty much undisputed leader status at Movistar, one of the best teams in the peloton; indeed, he has won a GT with them in the last year. He also doesn't speak English and, by all accounts, isn't the easiest person to get along with even when he can communicate clearly to his team mates.

It seems from these reports in the last couple of weeks, and also what Visconti said, that there is some friction between Quintana and the rest of the squad/Unzue. He really needs to just confront this and sort it out, rather than jumping ship to a worse team. Movistar could replace him with Landa (probably on a lower salary) so wouldn't come out too badly, but for Quintana, moving teams could be a disaster.

 

[DNP-Old]

Re:

I can not picture Quintana in a jersey that's not Movistar, so strange. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, it's just a rumour.

Agree with the latter, but this isn't your average school newspaper coming up with the news. We can't ignore it.

 

[DNP-Old]

Re: Re:

I can not picture Quintana in a jersey that's not Movistar, so strange. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, it's just a rumour.

I think he'd be crazy to leave. He has pretty much undisputed leader status at Movistar, one of the best teams in the peloton; indeed, he has won a GT with them in the last year. He also doesn't speak English and, by all accounts, isn't the easiest person to get along with even when he can communicate clearly to his team mates.

It seems from these reports in the last couple of weeks, and also what Visconti said, that there is some friction between Quintana and the rest of the squad/Unzue. He really needs to just confront this and sort it out, rather than jumping ship to a worse team. Movistar could replace him with Landa (probably on a lower salary) so wouldn't come out too badly, but for Quintana, moving teams could be a disaster.

Would it really? Basically half the Sky team speaks Spanish. At the same time, Nairo has won a lot with Movistar, but he's also lost a lot with the same Movistar. How many times now have we seen him losing a grand tour due to not being on top form in the right moment? That has been the case in 3 of his last 4 Grand Tours now, and one could argue he hit his peak too late in several Tours.

 

[portugal11]

Re:

http://www.rcnradio.com/deportes/nairo-quintana-saldria-del-movistar-team-la-proxima-temporada/

Google translate:

Sources consulted by the program In the play of RCNRadio confirmed that the departure of the Colombian Nairo Quintana from the ranks of Team Movers is imminent, since according to the same sources the environment in the equipment is not the best.
"Nairo is with two folders on his desk an Astana folder and another on the Sky, he is studying those two themes that are heating up because the environment in the Movistar is quite complex," said the 'valluno' of the sports program.

His old coach is at Sky and he would likely target the Giro while eventually succeeding Froome at the Tour.

He would be pathetic if he went to sky. I think bmc can be his next team

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

I can not picture Quintana in a jersey that's not Movistar, so strange. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, it's just a rumour.

I think he'd be crazy to leave. He has pretty much undisputed leader status at Movistar, one of the best teams in the peloton; indeed, he has won a GT with them in the last year. He also doesn't speak English and, by all accounts, isn't the easiest person to get along with even when he can communicate clearly to his team mates.

It seems from these reports in the last couple of weeks, and also what Visconti said, that there is some friction between Quintana and the rest of the squad/Unzue. He really needs to just confront this and sort it out, rather than jumping ship to a worse team. Movistar could replace him with Landa (probably on a lower salary) so wouldn't come out too badly, but for Quintana, moving teams could be a disaster.

Would it really? Basically half the Sky team speaks Spanish. At the same time, Nairo has won a lot with Movistar, but he's also lost a lot with the same Movistar. How many times now have we seen him losing a grand tour due to not being on top form in the right moment? That has been the case in 3 of his last 4 Grand Tours now, and one could argue he hit his peak too late in several Tours.

It seems that he's a bit of a difficult character, he's not going to escape that by changing teams. He's got a great situation at Movistar and it certainly wouldn't be the same at Sky. He wouldn't be leader at the Tour (or probably the Vuelta) until Froome retires, and would have to go with the Sky B team to the Giro.

If he goes to Astana he'd have a relatively poor team to support him. If he went to BMC he'd be in competition with Porte. He's got a great situation at Movistar currently - a strong team and a completely free role. It's up to him to use it properly, not to blame other factors and try to jump ship the first time he has a bad season.

 

[Forever The Best]

Re:

Woah, that sounds like huge news. Quintana leaving Movi? (Landa to Movistar seems a lot possible now)
Also I believe Valverde could have been in the lead with 2 stage wins, without the crash. Or perhaps Froome would have attacked very hard Mont du Chat to drop Valverde and succeed in it.

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

Sarcasm or for real?

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

I can not picture Quintana in a jersey that's not Movistar, so strange. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, it's just a rumour.

I think he'd be crazy to leave. He has pretty much undisputed leader status at Movistar, one of the best teams in the peloton; indeed, he has won a GT with them in the last year. He also doesn't speak English and, by all accounts, isn't the easiest person to get along with even when he can communicate clearly to his team mates.

It seems from these reports in the last couple of weeks, and also what Visconti said, that there is some friction between Quintana and the rest of the squad/Unzue. He really needs to just confront this and sort it out, rather than jumping ship to a worse team. Movistar could replace him with Landa (probably on a lower salary) so wouldn't come out too badly, but for Quintana, moving teams could be a disaster.

Would it really? Basically half the Sky team speaks Spanish. At the same time, Nairo has won a lot with Movistar, but he's also lost a lot with the same Movistar. How many times now have we seen him losing a grand tour due to not being on top form in the right moment? That has been the case in 3 of his last 4 Grand Tours now, and one could argue he hit his peak too late in several Tours.

It seems that he's a bit of a difficult character, he's not going to escape that by changing teams. He's got a great situation at Movistar and it certainly wouldn't be the same at Sky. He wouldn't be leader at the Tour (or probably the Vuelta) until Froome retires, and would have to go with the Sky B team to the Giro.

If he goes to Astana he'd have a relatively poor team to support him. If he went to BMC he'd be in competition with Porte. He's got a great situation at Movistar currently - a strong team and a completely free role. It's up to him to use it properly, not to blame other factors and try to jump ship the first time he has a bad season.

Porte?? He isn't even capable of doing podium and will he be a threat?

 

[dacooley]

Re: Re:

http://www.rcnradio.com/deportes/nairo-quintana-saldria-del-movistar-team-la-proxima-temporada/

Google translate:

Sources consulted by the program In the play of RCNRadio confirmed that the departure of the Colombian Nairo Quintana from the ranks of Team Movers is imminent, since according to the same sources the environment in the equipment is not the best.
"Nairo is with two folders on his desk an Astana folder and another on the Sky, he is studying those two themes that are heating up because the environment in the Movistar is quite complex," said the 'valluno' of the sports program.

His old coach is at Sky and he would likely target the Giro while eventually succeeding Froome at the Tour.

He would be pathetic if he went to sky. I think bmc can be his next team

pathetic for who?

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

I can not picture Quintana in a jersey that's not Movistar, so strange. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, it's just a rumour.

I think he'd be crazy to leave. He has pretty much undisputed leader status at Movistar, one of the best teams in the peloton; indeed, he has won a GT with them in the last year. He also doesn't speak English and, by all accounts, isn't the easiest person to get along with even when he can communicate clearly to his team mates.

It seems from these reports in the last couple of weeks, and also what Visconti said, that there is some friction between Quintana and the rest of the squad/Unzue. He really needs to just confront this and sort it out, rather than jumping ship to a worse team. Movistar could replace him with Landa (probably on a lower salary) so wouldn't come out too badly, but for Quintana, moving teams could be a disaster.

Would it really? Basically half the Sky team speaks Spanish. At the same time, Nairo has won a lot with Movistar, but he's also lost a lot with the same Movistar. How many times now have we seen him losing a grand tour due to not being on top form in the right moment? That has been the case in 3 of his last 4 Grand Tours now, and one could argue he hit his peak too late in several Tours.

It seems that he's a bit of a difficult character, he's not going to escape that by changing teams. He's got a great situation at Movistar and it certainly wouldn't be the same at Sky. He wouldn't be leader at the Tour (or probably the Vuelta) until Froome retires, and would have to go with the Sky B team to the Giro.

If he goes to Astana he'd have a relatively poor team to support him. If he went to BMC he'd be in competition with Porte. He's got a great situation at Movistar currently - a strong team and a completely free role. It's up to him to use it properly, not to blame other factors and try to jump ship the first time he has a bad season.

Porte?? He isn't even capable of doing podium and will he be a threat?

Well not if he crashes out but until then he was looking good and I think based on the race so far and Froome's performance he would have to be up there on GC. I think Landa will be be Valverde's replacement. Like Contador it's hard to see Valverde winning future GTs but in classics and one week races he can still win those. Porte probably has two more opportunities to win or podium a GT so time is running out for him. The next group of riders is already coming through : Bardet, Dumoulin, Quintana is still young, Landa, Yates bros, Pinot and Chaves. Froome and Porte have a few more years. Then you have other riders like Buchman, Bennett,Latour and a few others who are unknown quantities at the moment.

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

http://www.rcnradio.com/deportes/nairo-quintana-saldria-del-movistar-team-la-proxima-temporada/

Google translate:

Sources consulted by the program In the play of RCNRadio confirmed that the departure of the Colombian Nairo Quintana from the ranks of Team Movers is imminent, since according to the same sources the environment in the equipment is not the best.
"Nairo is with two folders on his desk an Astana folder and another on the Sky, he is studying those two themes that are heating up because the environment in the Movistar is quite complex," said the 'valluno' of the sports program.

His old coach is at Sky and he would likely target the Giro while eventually succeeding Froome at the Tour.

He would be pathetic if he went to sky. I think bmc can be his next team

pathetic for who?

Quintana... if he wants to win le tour obviously but if he wants to win giro-vuelta, sky is a great team...

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

It seems that he's a bit of a difficult character, he's not going to escape that by changing teams. He's got a great situation at Movistar and it certainly wouldn't be the same at Sky. He wouldn't be leader at the Tour (or probably the Vuelta) until Froome retires, and would have to go with the Sky B team to the Giro.

If he goes to Astana he'd have a relatively poor team to support him. If he went to BMC he'd be in competition with Porte. He's got a great situation at Movistar currently - a strong team and a completely free role. It's up to him to use it properly, not to blame other factors and try to jump ship the first time he has a bad season.[/quote]
Porte?? He isn't even capable of doing podium and will he be a threat?[/quote]

Well not if he crashes out but until then he was looking good and I think based on the race so far and Froome's performance he would have to be up there on GC. I think Landa will be be Valverde's replacement. Like Contador it's hard to see Valverde winning future GTs but in classics and one week races he can still win those. Porte probably has two more opportunities to win or podium a GT so time is running out for him. The next group of riders is already coming through : Bardet, Dumoulin, Quintana is still young, Landa, Yates bros, Pinot and Chaves. Froome and Porte have a few more years. Then you have other riders like Buchman, Bennett,Latour and a few others who are unknown quantities at the moment.[/quote]
Crashes are part of the race, if he can't stay on the bike and follow the best riders in descents, he should focus on stage hunting. GC should be won by the best all rounder and porte isn't a good all rounder at all. Even quintana with his 55 kg or less is better in windy stages and descents

 

[Red Rick]

Astana is a good team on a horror season.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

Astana is a good team on a horror season.

I think they've declined a lot in the last two years, since their 2015 Giro high water-mark. Since then they've lost Nibali, Landa, Rosa, Boom, Scarponi - which is a lot of talent, even if hey were inconsistent at times.

I think now they're a pretty average WT squad.

 

[hrotha]

Re: Re:

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

Sarcasm or for real?

Why would it be sarcasm?

I don't think Quintana will leave before the end of his contract (that's 2019). But this interview was very un-Unzue-like. It spells trouble at Abarca.

 

[Forever The Best]

Re: Re:

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

Sarcasm or for real?

Why would it be sarcasm?

I don't think Quintana will leave before the end of his contract (that's 2019). But this interview was very un-Unzue-like. It spells trouble at Abarca.

Ah, I thought you were saying 'this type of interview is Unzue-like'. Understood now.