Teams & Riders Nairo Quintana discussion thread

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del1962

Oct 16, 2012
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I think we have to be slightly cautious about hyping today’s performance as both Superman and Roglic had some bad luck, let’s hope he can maintain consistency for the rest of the race
 
hfer07

hfer07

Mar 17, 2009
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Perhaps we're reading too much into the gossip, the media and the speculations around Quintana & Valverde & Movistar, but so far Nairo has proved to be the better rider to lead this Vuelta - but let me stress out: "So Far"

BTW - Nairo better win it , because of the sacrifice Soler had to made, which quite frankly was worthless. Too much tension within the team supporting a departing leader - that's what all boils down to as far as the Movistar innuendo goes
 
Koronin

Koronin

Oct 14, 2017
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hfer07 said:
Perhaps we're reading too much into the gossip, the media and the speculations around Quintana & Valverde & Movistar, but so far Nairo has proved to be the better rider to lead this Vuelta - but let me stress out: "So Far"

BTW - Nairo better win it , because of the sacrifice Soler had to made, which quite frankly was worthless. Too much tension within the team supporting a departing leader - that's what all boils down to as far as the Movistar innuendo goes
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Maybe this has something to do with why many teams don't send riders who are leaving to many races once we get into August, and certainly not to big important races.
 
Escarabajo

Escarabajo

Apr 16, 2009
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I agree with Koronin that teams don't usually send riders to the GT's that have already an agreements with other teams to avoid working for them.

Many people have evaluated these issues on tweeter and Facebook hfer07. The fact that the Vuelta lead and taking time from Roglic was in play that was more than enough reason for Movistar to make Soler wait for Nairo. They already had made the decision to race him at the Vuelta. So they have to live with that decision. They would have looked very stupid if Soler had kept pushing for the stage win and Pogacar had reached him and passed him. They would have looked ridiculous. They look good now except for the tantrum from Soler.
 
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wheresmybrakes

wheresmybrakes

Sep 11, 2016
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Maybe Movistar took NQ to the Vuelta as they see him as their best chance at overall win and he felt that he had a little more to give/prove before leaving.
 
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DFA123

DFA123

Nov 7, 2010
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tobydawq said:
He has won 3 of the 5 ITTs he has contested in the first half of a Grand Tour, finished second by the tiniest of margins in one other and crashed in the last.

He has won both ITTs he has contested situated in the middle part of the race.
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I think that could be a bit misleading. Firstly, because he wasn't riding for GC in most of them, and secondly because the first week or first half of those races was nowhere near as hard as the first week of this Vuelta has been. He may well still crush it, but he has shown that fatigue affects his performances, way more than it does with the likes of Froome or Thomas, so it's not an absolute given that he takes 2+ minutes.

He's basically done 4 TTs since riding for GC at Grand Tours. The two that came at the end of the race were way below his usual standards. The other two at the Giro were the first stage, and after a week of pretty easy stages.

So I think there is still a question mark there about how much his performance drops off with GT fatigue. Of course, he'll still beat the other three contenders, but perhaps not by some much that it ends the race as a contest.
 
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carton

carton

Aug 4, 2014
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saneguy said:
Any chance he can still pull a surprise in this Vuelta? 3 minutes is a lot!
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I mean, it's all about the legs in the end. And I'm not sure he has them. But there's a lot of racing left. And on good form, Quintana is the archetype rider who goes on the offensive and takes time in bunches:
  • In the last three stages (in two of them, really) of the 2013 Tour, he took 1'45" off the eventual winner.
  • In stage 9 of the 2014 Giro, he took 4'21" off the eventual runner-up.
  • In the last two stages of the 2015 Tour, he took 1'58" off the eventual winner.
  • In stage 15 of the 2016 Vuelta, he took 2'39" off the eventual runner-up.
  • In the last two stages of the 2017 Giro, he took 1'24" off the eventual winner (he also took 2'10" off on stage 16, but let's ignore that particular scenario for everyone's sake).
 
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dacooley

May 30, 2015
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for sure anything is possible once roglic starts losing ground heavily or goes in a complete meltdown. but the issues is things like that don't happen very often. even quintana all of a sudden reaching a form of his life might not be enough.
 
Escarabajo

Escarabajo

Apr 16, 2009
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I hope that Quintana stop being stubborn one day, and listen to his coaches. I heard Unzue more than once frustrated about not knowing what Quintana was doing in Colombia which is sad for caliper rider like Quintana.

Maybe in the new team they can do something about it but I won't put my hopes too high on that.

Other than that it is admirable from Quintana to be always at the front of the peloton all the time in all races that he participates. He is very talented.
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Feb 20, 2012
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If it's all true about Quintana in Colombia then he really needs the change of scenery but I'm doubtful that's all that it takes.
 
hfer07

hfer07

Mar 17, 2009
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So.......

back to 2nd place after positioning very well during the cross winds............ savvy Quintana :)
He may drop out of the podium in the last mountain stages, but we never know with Nairo and his late inconsistency .......
 
Valv.Piti

Valv.Piti

Aug 3, 2015
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I fear he wont have any legs in the end, for sure he wasnt good on the final hill. Think he spend more than the rest today and how he climbed lately, it will be difficult. But I hope he has great legs which would mean he could go long (which is required to win now) which would open the race. Him or Valverde.
 
Escarabajo

Escarabajo

Apr 16, 2009
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Chapeau to Quintana.
He will fade for sure. But never gives up. He could have quit and go home and say he was sick. But is not him.
 
Valv.Piti

Valv.Piti

Aug 3, 2015
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Think about if Valverde had his racing smarts - stage 2, now this stage. Valverde would have won the whole damn thing considering he has much better legs than Quintana. Oh well.
 
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SafeBet

SafeBet

Sep 2, 2011
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Who knows? Perhaps rest day worked some magic for him and he's bound to destroy everybody uphill as well.
 
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Sciatic

Mar 4, 2011
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When I watch Quintana "the rouleur"on stages like this, I think about how he would fare much better in TTs if they had to do them on road bikes (obviously not going to happen). What I mean is he seems to get the least advantage from the TT bike of any top-tier guy. Now obviously that must have to do with him not dedicating enough time to that. But on the flats without the TT bike, he is small, looks very compact, but still produces lots of power (for his size). His success on days like today and Formigal (and Stage 2 of this Vuelta) are definitely due to his race-sense about being at the front at key junctures, but must also have something to do with be able to put out the watts on the flat so as to stay with these groups once he has made the split. Not that I know any of this for sure, just my observation from these past several years.
 
J

jmdirt

Dec 6, 2013
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Sciatic said:
When I watch Quintana "the rouleur"on stages like this, I think about how he would fare much better in TTs if they had to do them on road bikes (obviously not going to happen). What I mean is he seems to get the least advantage from the TT bike of any top-tier guy. Now obviously that must have to do with him not dedicating enough time to that. But on the flats without the TT bike, he is small, looks very compact, but still produces lots of power (for his size). His success on days like today and Formigal (and Stage 2 of this Vuelta) are definitely due to his race-sense about being at the front at key junctures, but must also have something to do with be able to put out the watts on the flat so as to stay with these groups once he has made the split. Not that I know any of this for sure, just my observation from these past several years.
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After the TT I posted how unprofessional it is of him to do so poorly in TTs. If you don't put time in on the TT bike, you will never be fast on the TT bike. I wonder how much different his times would be if he just used his road bike with TT wheels instead of the full aeor set up? Or maybe better yet, a much more conservative TT position. I wonder if he does any TT testing?
 
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