Teams & Riders Nairo Quintana discussion thread

[Oldermanish]

Hopefully the setback is over by now and he'll ride into that stratospheric form just in time. During the Tour Arkea needs to keep him out of trouble, annoy the hell out of everybody with Barguil and let pokerface do his thing. I am optimistic.

We can hope for the benefit of the Tour. Arkea will need more to test the race than Barguil, however.

 

[HelloDolly]

Roglic is the man to beat at the Tour and then Ineos , Pinot

Waht Nairo has to do it bide his tiem till , stay out trouble , follow wheels, look good but not too good until the final week ...then let lose on stages 16, 17 and 18

 

[Escarabajo]

Being lean makes so much difference in the heat and in the recuperation. Which has been his problem the last couple of years. But the team is not as strong, of course. He benefits of the big teams clashing against each other.

 

[Red Rick]

Would find it hard to believe if his Feb/March climbing performances would be eclipsed this season.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Good performance on Tour de l'Ain.

P.S. Definitely considered as one of the Tour favorites.

 

[Isaak-Gabriel]

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/na...-du-dauphine-on-final-stage-citing-knee-pain/

Bad news, it smells not good, we have to wait 2021 to see the real Quintana in a GT

 

[CyclistAbi]

Hope the knee heals by the time the Tour stars. Quintana for sure deserves it.

 

[Rollthedice]

I'll be back.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Good article on CN today:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/feature...na-and-the-revival-of-a-tour-de-france-dream/

If his knee is okay he might do very well. The Alpine stages suit him and the first week is better than usually. I think his transfer to Arkea was a good decision. Anacona, Rosa and his brother will be good support in the mountains. Barguil can aim for a stage win and perhaps the KoM while still doing his work when necessary.

 

[BlueRoads]

Good article on CN today:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/feature...na-and-the-revival-of-a-tour-de-france-dream/

If his knee is okay he might do very well. The Alpine stages suit him and the first week is better than usually. I think his transfer to Arkea was a good decision. Anacona, Rosa and his brother will be good support in the mountains. Barguil can aim for a stage win and perhaps the KoM while still doing his work when necessary.

Many here have Barguil for the KOM, but the only way I can see that happen is actually if Quintana is out of the yellow's competition early. Otherwise he will be more or less the only serious domestique Quintana has and Quintana really wants to go for the win. So I am wondering how you guys think it can play out that Barguil can take the dots? Personally I see him winning a stage, maybe, but not a jersey that requires more freedom than on one or two stages?

 

[tobydawq]

Many here have Barguil for the KOM, but the only way I can see that happen is actually if Quintana is out of the yellow's competition early. Otherwise he will be more or less the only serious domestique Quintana has and Quintana really wants to go for the win. So I am wondering how you guys think it can play out that Barguil can take the dots? Personally I see him winning a stage, maybe, but not a jersey that requires more freedom than on one or two stages?

Last year Bardet won the dots by being mediocre on one single stage and terrible the rest of the race. Still a mystery to me how he pulled that off.

Hopefully, the rules are a bit different this year because that win was even uglier than Anthony Charteau's.

 

[Leinster]

Many here have Barguil for the KOM, but the only way I can see that happen is actually if Quintana is out of the yellow's competition early. Otherwise he will be more or less the only serious domestique Quintana has and Quintana really wants to go for the win. So I am wondering how you guys think it can play out that Barguil can take the dots? Personally I see him winning a stage, maybe, but not a jersey that requires more freedom than on one or two stages?

Has the KOM ever really been predictable? Except when Van Impe or Virenque were trying to rack it up year on year, it's the one jersey that can be completely unpredictable. Even when it's a good rider who clearly deserves it (Barguil, Alaphilippe) they're still not riders who would have been in the conversation about it beforehand. But it's also a competition that's clearly open to the occasional "who's that guy?" who gets in the right break, or a GC rider like Barguil who has one big day on the Queen stage.

 

[Kaptain Kool]

Even if Quintana is in the GC hunt, his team won't be expected nor will they need to control the race. They would only need to do so if Quintana is in the lead, which wouldn't happen until the third week anyhow.
Barguil will still be able to go into breaks.

 

[Leinster]

Barguil will still be able to go into breaks.

...but will be expected to still be fresh enough to contribute to Nairo’s cause once his break is caught.

 

[Red Rick]

Last year Bardet won the dots by being mediocre on one single stage and terrible the rest of the race. Still a mystery to me how he pulled that off.

Hopefully, the rules are a bit different this year because that win was even uglier than Anthony Charteau's.

I just don't see anyway to make the KoM great again tbh. This year it's hard to predict between GC rider and breakaway artist IMO, but only double points on Col de la Loze really favors the breakaway riders. Only thing in favor of GC riders for KoM is the race may stay relatively closed and controlled for a long time before breakaways are allowed to go.

 

[CyclistAbi]

At this point i just hope Quintana's knee is back at 100%.

 

[Escarabajo]

Last year Bardet won the dots by being mediocre on one single stage and terrible the rest of the race. Still a mystery to me how he pulled that off.

Hopefully, the rules are a bit different this year because that win was even uglier than Anthony Charteau's.

Some mountain stages were curtailed plus the mountain stages were not as demanding. I thought it was an underwhelming effort.

 

[dercuforever]

I have a feeling Nairo will be the first (big) one to attack tomorow, if trains aren't pacing it super hard, he may give it a go.

 

[Red Rick]

I have a feeling Nairo will be the first (big) one to attack tomorow, if trains aren't pacing it super hard, he may give it a go.

Well trains will probably pace it super hard. It's the kind of climb that's probably the easiest to train and most impossible to get away.

 

[Gigs_98]

I have a feeling Nairo will be the first (big) one to attack tomorow, if trains aren't pacing it super hard, he may give it a go.

I'd bet a decent amount of money that no proper gc contender is gonna attack before the final kilometer mark tomorrow. In fact I don't even expect a gc contender to put his face in the wind before the final 500 meters

 

[Escarabajo]

It will the bullet train up that mountain. It will be very hard to attack.

 

[Red Rick]

I'd bet a decent amount of money that no proper gc contender is gonna attack before the final kilometer mark tomorrow. In fact I don't even expect a gc contender to put his face in the wind before the final 500 meters

6.7W/kg yellow train here we go

 

[ice&fire]

I'd bet a decent amount of money that no proper gc contender is gonna attack before the final kilometer mark tomorrow. In fact I don't even expect a gc contender to put his face in the wind before the final 500 meters

This would actually be perfect for typical Carapaz 600m kick, if he had his kick

 

[Gigs_98]

This would actually be perfect for typical Carapaz 600m kick, if he had his kick

Yeah, I mean the comparison between this climb and Montevergine, where Carapaz won his first Giro stage, is very obvious. I could however see Jumbo trying to absolutely drill it so Roglic can sprint away at the end. In that case Carapaz will have to be in top condition to have any chance.

 

[lenric]

I have a feeling Nairo will be the first (big) one to attack tomorow, if trains aren't pacing it super hard, he may give it a go.

Considering Quintana's riding style, that's impossible until the very last stages.