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Rubén Fernández thread

Mar 14, 2016
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Ladies and gentlemen, the heir to Valverde! The winner of the 2013 Tour de l'Avenir, Rubén Fernández, claimed the red jersey today after dropping Froome, Contador, Valverde, Quintana and other big names. What can he achieve in this Vuelta a España? Could he end up as Movistar's designated leader if, as expected, Valverde and Quintana fade?

ruben-fernandeztour-de-avenir-2013.jpg
 
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Red Rick said:
How specifically did he prep the Vuelta? Anyway, Valverde can't be expected to lead, so I'd say let Valverde do the heavy lifting for Quintana and let Fernandez sit on Quintana's wheel until real action happens.

It was in the cards the whole year since he wasn't scheduled for Giro + Tour and after a season with sickness etc., he has somehow hit it just about right despite being clearly worse than Contador in Burgos. Dno how specifically, but he was expected to perform here and so he FINALLY did.
 
Its been so long since he won Avenir 2013, I thought he wasn't going to make it.

At the Paris-Nice 2015, if I remember correctly, there was a glimpse of greatness, but it was cut by a crash.

He is Murcian like Valverde, and trains with him. But he is more of a pure climber and obviously is less talented overall (who isnt?).

If his progression is confirmed over the days, we can expect a solid Spanish climber fighting for top-10s in GTs in the future, which is not a lesser feat in itself.
 
Fernandez was actually scheduled for the Giro, but he was left out at the last moment. Since then he took some rest and followed the classical Vuelta schedule. Contrary to his opponents he should be one of the freshest. Could be the co-leader with Quintana, as i think Valverde might crack in the last week.
 
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Moviestar said:
Fernandez was actually scheduled for the Giro, but he was left out at the last moment. Since then he took some rest and followed the classical Vuelta schedule. Contrary to his opponents he should be one of the freshest. Could be the co-leader with Quintana, as i think Valverde might crack in the last week.

Oh, was he really, I didnt remember.. good thing, I guess.
 
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Valv.Piti said:
Moviestar said:
Fernandez was actually scheduled for the Giro, but he was left out at the last moment. Since then he took some rest and followed the classical Vuelta schedule. Contrary to his opponents he should be one of the freshest. Could be the co-leader with Quintana, as i think Valverde might crack in the last week.

Oh, was he really, I didnt remember.. good thing, I guess.

http://www.brujulabike.com/ruben-fernandez-correre-giro-italia-entrevista-exclusiva/ ;)
 
Mar 13, 2015
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Re:

yaco said:
Don't get too excited - Movie Star knew Froome would allow Fernandez to attack in the last 100 metres - Different story if it was Valverde or Contador - Movie Star played a tactical card.

Maybe, but guy was a beast the whole climb. He was pacing Quintana and Valverde first and dropped everybody bar those two and Chaves in the process. Then he stepped aside, Valverde was dropped couple of meters and Quintana hesitate to attack. Froome was coming back and he sized the moment and attacked himself. And he ended up in red. Might have been a stage win as well, if Castro and Erviti were send to work 10km earlier
 
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Mr.White said:
yaco said:
Don't get too excited - Movie Star knew Froome would allow Fernandez to attack in the last 100 metres - Different story if it was Valverde or Contador - Movie Star played a tactical card.

Maybe, but guy was a beast the whole climb. He was pacing Quintana and Valverde first and dropped everybody bar those two and Chaves in the process. Then he stepped aside, Valverde was dropped couple of meters and Quintana hesitate to attack. Froome was coming back and he sized the moment and attacked himself. And he ended up in red. Might have been a stage win as well, if Castro and Erviti were send to work 10km earlier

Its really no surprise given how conservative their approach is, but, it was also evident all of the other teams had the same approach (Saxo, Astana, Orica). In hindsight, they should have done more and its one of the things that bothers me about this team. Too conservative, unfortunately, but they usually pick a few days if their leader(s) feel well.
 
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yaco said:
Don't get too excited - Movie Star knew Froome would allow Fernandez to attack in the last 100 metres - Different story if it was Valverde or Contador - Movie Star played a tactical card.

What has Froome to do with how strong he was. Froome wasn't even back yet when he attacked anyway.

It was Fernandez himself who completely shred the peloton to pieces from the bottom of the climb.

What he showed today had nothing to do with being 'allowed' or being a 'tactical card'
 
Nov 29, 2010
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I hope he's the new Froome/Horner/Dumoulin vuelta GC contender.

He's obviously ludicrously strong, will be interesting to see if he can hold it for 3 weeks though.
 
Mar 14, 2016
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BigMac said:
CheckMyPecs said:
That's what happens when you burn the race leader for a guy with over 60 race days in his legs already.

It's not like Valverde has blown yet or anything. Still some time to go before knowing if it was the right decision.
With so many race days in his legs, the default approach should be to treat him like a ticking time bomb, especially at age 36.
 
Aug 31, 2012
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Re:

CheckMyPecs said:
That's what happens when you burn the race leader for a guy with over 60 race days in his legs already.
Those with a real chance to win can survive the domestique treatment and still do brilliant (Froome, Landa)
 

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