Well he does have a 1 in 4 chance to win the race, he hasn't been in serious contention in a grand tour in the last 2 years so maybe this is the start of a comeback.
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What about Tour 2015?Lol the salt is real.
Is this still all because Quintana prevented Valverde from getting another top 10?
Or do we need to talk about the 2013 Worlds and 2015 Tour some more?
It's crazy how Valverde fanbois have turned on Quintana after what's basically a he said-he said situation.
He wasn't that good at the Tour and he wasn't that far off from this at last year's Vuelta. I haven't seen any evidence to suggest he's better than last year.So now that he's leaving Movistar he becomes good again. Maybe it's a mental thing.
He wasn't that good at the Tour and he wasn't that far off from this at last year's Vuelta. I haven't seen any evidence to suggest he's better than last year.
I still think he can do a high finish in this race and let's face it the field is a drop off compared to the other grand tours. If he can't finish in the top four or five in this race I'd be surprised. Anything higher is a bonus based on his last few grand tours. I will say third place.
Valverde himself has said he has been a stage hunter for at least 7 years now. and has ruined team dynamics with this. He has won his stage so he should put everything side to help the GC rider in the team.
Exactly that's my point on the rare occasions he has been the sole leader like Giro 16 of course he would be trying to win/podium but every other time a potentially stronger GC option lines up he is always "stage hunting" and extremely vague about his chances and instead of helping out he would rather hang on for an 8th place finish which helps absolutely no body. If he had came out at the start and stated at all of this GTs he wanted to go for the win I would not have a problem with it.So he's been a stage hunter since 2012 (that would be 7 years ago) and yet has podiums at the Giro, Tour, and several at the Vuelta. Plus was definitely riding for GC in all 3 of those Grand Tours multiple times. 2016 Giro he had 2 main goals which was winning a stage and the overall podium. A stage hunter isn't targeting an overall podium. Sorry, but that's just doesn't really work with what has actually happened. Plus he even stated last year that he still wanted another shot at la Vuelta. When asked if he could win this Vuelta yesterday, his response was basically, don't know, but it would be great if I could. That isn't the response a stage hunting would give.
Exactly that's my point on the rare occasions he has been the sole leader like Giro 16 of course he would be trying to win/podium but every other time a potentially stronger GC option lines up he is always "stage hunting" and extremely vague about his chances and instead of helping out he would rather hang on for an 8th place finish which helps absolutely no body. If he had came out at the start and stated at all of this GTs he wanted to go for the win I would not have a problem with it.
I think his team knows exactly what are his goals in every race he starts, so the only problem is that you don't know.Exactly that's my point on the rare occasions he has been the sole leader like Giro 16 of course he would be trying to win/podium but every other time a potentially stronger GC option lines up he is always "stage hunting" and extremely vague about his chances and instead of helping out he would rather hang on for an 8th place finish which helps absolutely no body. If he had came out at the start and stated at all of this GTs he wanted to go for the win I would not have a problem with it.
Ofcourse, it’s just my opinion, I still like him as a rider and what he brings to races. You can never fully count him out and it adds to the dynamic. I just didn’t like what he did to Nairo in the tour. Shouldn’t have been spoken about to the media like that.I think his team knows exactly what are his goals in every race he starts, so the only problem is that you don't know.
His team is quite happy with him, I would say...
He done that for the first time in his almost 20-years career, so I guess there must be a reason for that, don't you?Ofcourse, it’s just my opinion, I still like him as a rider and what he brings to races. You can never fully count him out and it adds to the dynamic. I just didn’t like what he did to Nairo in the tour. Shouldn’t have been spoken about to the media like that.
That’s terribleHe done that for the first time in his almost 20-years career, so I guess there must be a reason for that, don't you?
That’s terrible
Logic
He is still beating some climbing records. Last year and this year. The problem has been consistency.This is not 2013-2016 Quintana.
But it's still Quintana.
Those records are climbs that are are either rarely used or never at the pointy end of a race. Overall climbing speeds aren't a great comparison imo.He is still beating some climbing records. Last year and this year. The problem has been consistency.
Agreed, and today was probably his most impressive ride since the 2016 Vuelta. The two queen stages he won in the Tour were great, but he was given a lot of rope. Today he just did attack after attack and ground his opponents down.This is not 2013-2016 Quintana.
But it's still Quintana.
I don't think Roglic is a given to get minutes on his rivals. Of course he'll still gain decent time on Lopez and Quintana, but I think in the past he has struggled to put in his usual TT level after a hard week of GT riding.Red. But not for long. Let's see how much time Roglic puts on his rivals.
Great racing.
I don't think Roglic is a given to get minutes on his rivals. Of course he'll still gain decent time on Lopez and Quintana, but I think in the past he has struggled to put in his usual TT level after a hard week of GT riding.