Rio 2016 Olympic Road Race and Time Trial courses

[Arredondo]

Re:

Is there some sort of shortlist for the Spanish team yet? I'm curious.

At the moment no.

But i guess the following names will be on it

Valverde
Purito
Contador
Moreno
Ion Izagirre
Sammy
Gorka Izagirre
Nieve
Landa (?)
Erviti
Plaza
Luis Leon Sanchez
Verona
Lopez

 

[Valv.Piti]

I could see the team consisting of Bertie, Valverde and Rodriguez (?) as captains and Landa, if in shape, along with I. Izagirre as domestiques. They will need at least one 100% dedicated with rouleur skills, so LLS is also a good bet and so is Sammy.

 

[carolina]

I had this idea that the riders chosen to the ITT had to participate in the road race or can each country have separate riders for the ITT?

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

I could see the team consisting of Bertie, Valverde and Rodriguez (?) as captains and Landa, if in shape, along with I. Izagirre as domestiques. They will need at least one 100% dedicated with rouleur skills, so LLS is also a good bet and so is Sammy.

Sammy is too good for that role. I think Erviti is an amazing choice. The guy can do everything.

Purito will be co-leader with Valverde is he performs well in the Tour. It's as simple as that really. I still doubt about Contador's chances on a route like Río.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

I could see the team consisting of Bertie, Valverde and Rodriguez (?) as captains and Landa, if in shape, along with I. Izagirre as domestiques. They will need at least one 100% dedicated with rouleur skills, so LLS is also a good bet and so is Sammy.

Sammy is too good for that role. I think Erviti is a amazing choice. The guy can do everything.

Purito will be co-leader with Valverde is he performs well in the Tour. It's as simple as that really. I still doubt about Contador's chances on a route like Río.

Yeah, but isn't I. Izagirre as good or better at this point than Sammy? Anyways, if Sammy is told that he will play the role of a domestique or don't go to Rio at all, I think I know what he will choose.
The two Izagirre brothers will be perfect along with the 'big 3'.

 

[Arredondo]

Re: Re:

I could see the team consisting of Bertie, Valverde and Rodriguez (?) as captains and Landa, if in shape, along with I. Izagirre as domestiques. They will need at least one 100% dedicated with rouleur skills, so LLS is also a good bet and so is Sammy.

Sammy is too good for that role. I think Erviti is a amazing choice. The guy can do everything.

Purito will be co-leader with Valverde is he performs well in the Tour. It's as simple as that really. I still doubt about Contador's chances on a route like Río.

Yeah, but isn't I. Izagirre as good or better at this point than Sammy? Anyways, if Sammy is told that he will play the role of a domestique or don't go to Rio at all, I think I know what he will choose.
The two Izagirre brothers will be perfect along with the 'big 3'.

True, but Ion started as a domestique. Sammy was a team leader for more then a decade. If he rides on the level like he did in Pais Vasco/classics, he will try to obtain a good result by himself.

But normally both Ion and Sammy are really good domestiques.

 

[liamito]

Re: Re:

I could see the team consisting of Bertie, Valverde and Rodriguez (?) as captains and Landa, if in shape, along with I. Izagirre as domestiques. They will need at least one 100% dedicated with rouleur skills, so LLS is also a good bet and so is Sammy.

Sammy is too good for that role.

Remember Beijing with Sastre and Contador playing a key role.

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

Is there some sort of shortlist for the Spanish team yet? I'm curious.

At the moment no.

But i guess the following names will be on it

Valverde
Purito
Contador
Moreno
Ion Izagirre
Sammy
Gorka Izagirre
Nieve
Landa (?)
Erviti
Plaza
Luis Leon Sanchez
Verona
Lopez

I really can't see Landa as a serious candidate, he would need a dream TDF for Minguez to call him. Valverde and Contador are certain choice IMO. Purito is 95% sure, only a really bad Tour could stop him. Remaining two spots are however uncertain. Lots of riders could fill in. A lot depends on the ITT, don't know if Contador would ride it. If not, than you need 2 good TT-ist, like Ion, Luisle or Castro. If Contador rides the ITT, then you need only one, and that opens the door for other riders like Samu, or Dani Moreno, Erviti, Plaza, etc.

 

[portugal11]

Purito must be a domestique.

 

[Bushman]

Re: Re:

I could see the team consisting of Bertie, Valverde and Rodriguez (?) as captains and Landa, if in shape, along with I. Izagirre as domestiques. They will need at least one 100% dedicated with rouleur skills, so LLS is also a good bet and so is Sammy.

Sammy is too good for that role. I think Erviti is a amazing choice. The guy can do everything.

Purito will be co-leader with Valverde is he performs well in the Tour. It's as simple as that really. I still doubt about Contador's chances on a route like Río.

Yeah, but isn't I. Izagirre as good or better at this point than Sammy? Anyways, if Sammy is told that he will play the role of a domestique or don't go to Rio at all, I think I know what he will choose.
The two Izagirre brothers will be perfect along with the 'big 3'.

True, but Ion started as a domestique. Sammy was a team leader for more then a decade. If he rides on the level like he did in Pais Vasco/classics, he will try to obtain a good result by himself.

But normally both Ion and Sammy are really good domestiques.

I dont think Sammy Sanchez has a problem with riding as a domestique at this point of his career. If he is anywhere near the shape he had in the spring he will be one of the most valuable domestiques in the race. I believe he should be in the team is he is strong by the time

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

Purito must be a domestique.

Dependable on how he rides the Tour. If he wins two stages, or do top-5 GC-wise, he's still the best alternative for Spain after Bala. Still the best Spanish classics rider atm bar Valverde.


But if he doesn't perform well the next weeks, he should be domestique. Or maybe he needs to skip Río in that case. Spain needs a fully compromised team to obtain the gold medal. Purito can only contribute to that if his form is good and he can offer Spain a 2nd option in case Valverde suffers/crashing.

Purito is no ideal domestique for Valverde. And i can understand that. Valverde and Purito should not work for each other, after their history and still current status.

 

[Arredondo]

Re: Re:

Is there some sort of shortlist for the Spanish team yet? I'm curious.

At the moment no.

But i guess the following names will be on it

Valverde
Purito
Contador
Moreno
Ion Izagirre
Sammy
Gorka Izagirre
Nieve
Landa (?)
Erviti
Plaza
Luis Leon Sanchez
Verona
Lopez

I really can't see Landa as a serious candidate, he would need a dream TDF for Minguez to call him. Valverde and Contador are certain choice IMO. Purito is 95% sure, only a really bad Tour could stop him. Remaining two spots are however uncertain. Lots of riders could fill in. A lot depends on the ITT, don't know if Contador would ride it. If not, than you need 2 good TT-ist, like Ion, Luisle or Castro. If Contador rides the ITT, then you need only one, and that opens the door for other riders like Samu, or Dani Moreno, Erviti, Plaza, etc.

Does Spain only has 5 positions to fill in? I thought they had more

 

[Red Rick]

5 is the max for the Olympics

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

5 is the max for the Olympics

Ah thx. I thought the big countries had the luxury of sending 6 guys to the Olympics.

 

[Miburo]

¨Purito ain't gonna do *** in the olympics. He's past his prime and it's not even a great route for him.

Spain should put everything on piti which hurts as a contador fan but the route is great for piti. He's a really good sprinter on the flat

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

¨Purito ain't gonna do **** in the olympics. He's past his prime and it's not even a great route for him.

Spain should put everything on piti which hurts as a contador fan but the route is great for piti. He's a really good sprinter on the flat

There's a steep, short climb in the last 3 km. If Purito is in shape, they have a murito-alternative

I don't know what Contador's role will be. He's even a worse sprinter then Purito on the flat, and i can't see him dropping guys like Valverde, Chaves, Poels etc on those kind of climbs. Maybe setting a ferocious pace on the climbs for Piti?

 

[SafeBet]

Why wasn't Bobby selected? Why did the Netherlands even make the selection so early?

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

Why wasn't Bobby selected? Why did the Netherlands even make the selection so early?

Because we have people in charge who don't know a single clue about cycling.

 

[Miburo]

Re: Re:

¨Purito ain't gonna do **** in the olympics. He's past his prime and it's not even a great route for him.

Spain should put everything on piti which hurts as a contador fan but the route is great for piti. He's a really good sprinter on the flat

There's a steep, short climb in the last 3 km. If Purito is in shape, they have a murito-alternative

I don't know what Contador's role will be. He's even a worse sprinter then Purito on the flat, and i can't see him dropping guys like Valverde, Chaves, Poels etc on those kind of climbs. Maybe setting a ferocious pace on the climbs for Piti?

Wait there is? I thought last 20 km was flat? Can you link me the profile please?

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re: Re:

There's a steep, short climb in the last 3 km. If Purito is in shape, they have a murito-alternative

Hoping for a miracle.

 

[Arredondo]

Re: Re:

¨Purito ain't gonna do **** in the olympics. He's past his prime and it's not even a great route for him.

Spain should put everything on piti which hurts as a contador fan but the route is great for piti. He's a really good sprinter on the flat

There's a steep, short climb in the last 3 km. If Purito is in shape, they have a murito-alternative

I don't know what Contador's role will be. He's even a worse sprinter then Purito on the flat, and i can't see him dropping guys like Valverde, Chaves, Poels etc on those kind of climbs. Maybe setting a ferocious pace on the climbs for Piti?

Wait there is? I thought last 20 km was flat? Can you link me the profile please?

I will search for it. I'm quite convinced there is a short climb at the very end.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re: Re:

¨Purito ain't gonna do **** in the olympics. He's past his prime and it's not even a great route for him.

Spain should put everything on piti which hurts as a contador fan but the route is great for piti. He's a really good sprinter on the flat

There's a steep, short climb in the last 3 km. If Purito is in shape, they have a murito-alternative

I don't know what Contador's role will be. He's even a worse sprinter then Purito on the flat, and i can't see him dropping guys like Valverde, Chaves, Poels etc on those kind of climbs. Maybe setting a ferocious pace on the climbs for Piti?

Vista Chinesa is 8.5k at 5.7% but it's harder than on paper, it will be climbed 4 times followed by a technical and dangerous descent. It will be carnage on the last climb at least, teams don't matter, only the strongest will survive so GT riders have a good chance. It will depend a lot for who's in top shape that's why Nibali and Valverde are specifically targeting this while guys like Contador and Quintana will probably be more spent after doing Le Tour for the win. One last detail, the ORR is 256k long.

 

[Arredondo]

Re: Re:

I mean that little bump at the end, Miburo. I did read some information about that short climb some time ago. However, i don't know on which site anymore. The search continues!

 

[Valv.Piti]

Damn, I actually didn't realise there was a 0,5-1,0 k descent, so thats probably at least 7% in average. Looks mighty good, this parcours!

 

[CheckMyPecs]

It should finish around what, 11 pm CET?