Teams & Riders Nairo Quintana discussion thread

[Afrank]

The Spanish press agency EFE says today that Quintana might do the combo Giro-Vuelta.
Yesterday the messages were quite different: Valverde said he would like to do the Giro and that a mountainous Tour is better for Quintana
Also Nairo said that he sees himself winning the Tour sometime in the future, that he prefers the Tour over Giro.

Yes, please do Giro-Vuelta Nairito. I'd like to see that, good way to come into worlds in good form as well.

I expect we'll have to wait for the Tour (and maybe Vuelta, but Tour is important one) route to be announced before hearing anything definite about Quintana and Valverde's plans for 2014.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Giro-Tour would definitely be the best schedule for Quintana in my opinion.

Edit: Giro-Vuelta of course!

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

it will all depend on the tour course. normally quintana will do the tour and maybe also vuelta. unless the course in the tour really doesn't suit him. but unzue wants quintana in the tour.

 

[The GCW]

Cycling in Bogota

The following link is to an interesting story that I enjoyed about where Nairo Quintana is from.

"Reclaiming the streets in Bogota"

http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20130828-reclaiming-the-streets-in-bogata/1

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

The following link is to an interesting story that I enjoyed about where Nairo Quintana is from.

"Reclaiming the streets in Bogota"

http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20130828-reclaiming-the-streets-in-bogata/1

he is from arcabuco, which is nearly 4 hours away from bogota. he's never even been in bogota until he became a professional cyclist....

 

[The GCW]

Ryo Hazuki,

he is from arcabuco, which is nearly 4 hours away from bogota. he's never even been in bogota until he became a professional cyclist....

Thanks for setting it straight. I wouldn't know the difference either way.

The article is still encouraging.

 

[movingtarget]

It would be very strange for a rider to finish second in the Tour to then ride the Giro instead the next year. I think all the talk about him doing the Giro is just media babble. He has plenty of time to try the Giro even if he does like the look of the 2014 Giro route. It's hard to see anyone else pushing Froome in the 2014 Tour so Quintana only has to repeat his 2013 Tour ride to make the podium again and he could be even better.

 

[IndianCyclist]

I think that he is possibly the only rider who can try for the Giro Tour double.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Thanks for setting it straight. I wouldn't know the difference either way.

The article is still encouraging.

in colombia cyclists are treated best in the world and is an extreme difference compared to any other latin american country especially.

 

[slosada]

To set things straight: Nairo was born in Tunja (the nearest city), his family lives in Cómbita, and he studied in Arcabuco... All these towns are 2 hours away from Bogotá (a different story is to drive in Bogotá)

 

[Contadoraus Schlecks]

I think Quintana has a good shot at Tour 2014. One TT and it comes after all mountain stages. Fair enough room will take time from him in it but he might have made up enough by that point

 

[maltiv]

I think Quintana has a good shot at Tour 2014. One TT and it comes after all mountain stages. Fair enough room will take time from him in it but he might have made up enough by that point

But he'll probably lose a lot of time on the cobbles. I fear that stage could put him completely out of contention.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

But he'll probably lose a lot of time on the cobbles. I fear that stage could put him completely out of contention.

why? unless he is behind a crash or badly placed. froome has more to fear in that regard or andy schleck

 

[Netserk]

I fear Quintana will have the same fate Mayo had in 2004.

 

[maltiv]

why? unless he is behind a crash or badly placed. froome has more to fear in that regard or andy schleck

Simply because he's extremely small. Riding on cobbles is all about absolute watts, not w/kg. Also, he'll probably struggle in the fight for position, and his team doesn't have any cobblestone specialists to aid him.

Froome is heavier and his team will surely be able to deliver him in a good position.

 

[The Blues]

Why would Andy fear the cobbles more than a small guy like Quintana? Who, as maltiv says, has a weak team in this terrain. Did you watch the TdF '10?

I don't know about Froome, but barrying accidents I doubt he will have a harder time. He is a powerful and rather big guy with a good team. Of course, he often struggles in classic-like terrain.

 

[Contadoraus Schlecks]

Why would Andy fear the cobbles more than a small guy like Quintana? Who, as maltiv says, has a weak team in this terrain. Did you watch the TdF '10?

I don't know about Froome, but barrying accidents I doubt he will have a harder time. He is a powerful and rather big guy with a good team. Of course, he often struggles in classic-like terrain.

Andy has a Swiss guy that he can glue his wheel to

 

[theyoungest]

why? unless he is behind a crash or badly placed. froome has more to fear in that regard or andy schleck

Why on earth would Quintana be good on cobbles? He's bad on the flat, and he's extremely light.

 

[Netserk]

Why on earth would Quintana be good on cobbles? He's bad on the flat, and he's extremely light.

Colombia Über Alles!

 

[Arredondo]

Wow, Andy Schleck related in a discussion about the race itself, thought i would never be able to see this again

Quintana of course is going to lose some time, but if he's supported by his team, it will not be a catastrofic for him. Why would he fear the cobbles more than Froome?

 

[Zam_Olyas]

why? unless he is behind a crash or badly placed. froome has more to fear in that regard or andy schleck

Apparently, it seems you have seen Quintana on cobbles...care to share it with us?

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Simply because he's extremely small. Riding on cobbles is all about absolute watts, not w/kg. Also, he'll probably struggle in the fight for position, and his team doesn't have any cobblestone specialists to aid him.

Froome is heavier and his team will surely be able to deliver him in a good position.

if it has to do with weight than explain to me how langeveld goes over cobbles faster than guys 25 kg heavier than him. cobbles is all about placing beforehand. you may lose 10-15 seconds max on a cobbled section but teammates will easily close that.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Apparently, it seems you have seen Quintana on cobbles...care to share it with us?

I've never seen froome on cobbles either. you guys are overrating cobbles extremely. the only reason ti caused timegaps in 2010 was because of a major crash near the front. or do you think andy schleck is some cobble god? he is ligher build than quintana.

 

[Eshnar]

I've never seen froome on cobbles either. you guys are overrating cobbles extremely. the only reason ti caused timegaps in 2010 was because of a major crash near the front. or do you think andy schleck is some cobble god? he is ligher build than quintana.

do you think it won't happen next year? It will be a lottery.

 

[maltiv]

if it has to do with weight than explain to me how langeveld goes over cobbles faster than guys 25 kg heavier than him. cobbles is all about placing beforehand. you may lose 10-15 seconds max on a cobbled section but teammates will easily close that.

That's a worthless argument, that's like saying climbing is not about weight because Ullrich climbed fast...Of course there will always be outliers in a sample, but the point is that the average weight of those who excel on cobbles is much higher than it is for other terrain. You have for example Cancellara (82 kgs), Boonen (81 kgs), Hushovd (82 kgs), Pozzato (77 kgs), Vanmarcke (77 kgs) and so on.

If Quintana loses 10-15 seconds on a cobbled section then it's over for him, because there's no way anyone on Movistar can close that gap while guys like Cancellara are riding on the front.