I don't think he has it in him to podium. Maybe top 5, but if he wants to aim for GT's he could try and combine classics with Giro and Vuelta. That way he has a better shot at maybe even winning GT's while he can still be great in the classics
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Red Rick said:
OMG I was just thinking about posting this.
After finnaly being able to watch the last Km replay my suspicions for the reason why Costa left Movistar are confirmed.
Considering the race situation, Spain (Purito) did what they had to do and sent a man forward while keping the best sprinter (Valverde) with the opponents.
Nibali, being at home and also a favourite, did is job as well, he had no option but to chase since is companions had no reason to do it. Valverde had a team mate up front and Costa was the underdog in the deck (Ciolek did the exact same thing at Milan-SR).
The man at fault for Spain not winning this is clearly Valverde who's lying is *** off for being dumb. For me he is lying when he states that he didn't had the legs to follow Costa, in the images it's preaty clearly that he didn't even tried to follow him. If he had standed up on his bike and tried, I would give him that, but Valverde just didn't believed in Costa's capabilities and thought: let him go, he'll never win so I better stay with Nibali.
In this point I also believe that Nibali played is cards right, He waited, Valverde was supposed to chase and he just had to stay on his wheel.
And this is why I believe Costa eventually left Movistar: Valverde is the leader and kind of a co-director inside the team. It's clear that he doesn't belive in Costa's capabilities (either he don't like him or just doesn't think he's good enough) and that's why Costa would never be a leader at Movistar, leaving him no option but leaving the team and try somewhere else.
And so, in my opinion, Valverde's stubbornness just costed Spain a world tittle and Team Movistar a chunck of their points in the UCI ranking plus the oppurtunity of having the Rainbow jersey in their ranks.
Considering the race situation, Spain (Purito) did what they had to do and sent a man forward while keping the best sprinter (Valverde) with the opponents.
Nibali, being at home and also a favourite, did is job as well, he had no option but to chase since is companions had no reason to do it. Valverde had a team mate up front and Costa was the underdog in the deck (Ciolek did the exact same thing at Milan-SR).
The man at fault for Spain not winning this is clearly Valverde who's lying is *** off for being dumb. For me he is lying when he states that he didn't had the legs to follow Costa, in the images it's preaty clearly that he didn't even tried to follow him. If he had standed up on his bike and tried, I would give him that, but Valverde just didn't believed in Costa's capabilities and thought: let him go, he'll never win so I better stay with Nibali.
In this point I also believe that Nibali played is cards right, He waited, Valverde was supposed to chase and he just had to stay on his wheel.
And this is why I believe Costa eventually left Movistar: Valverde is the leader and kind of a co-director inside the team. It's clear that he doesn't belive in Costa's capabilities (either he don't like him or just doesn't think he's good enough) and that's why Costa would never be a leader at Movistar, leaving him no option but leaving the team and try somewhere else.
And so, in my opinion, Valverde's stubbornness just costed Spain a world tittle and Team Movistar a chunck of their points in the UCI ranking plus the oppurtunity of having the Rainbow jersey in their ranks.
Somar13 said:
Same about Purito at Caisse in 2009. And Valverde is much much happier with Costa winning than having to see Purito in the stripes
Somar13 said:
Valverde is a well known liar. But he also has talent and he has a whole lot of points and medals that he won't care about what is lost.
IndianCyclist said:Valverde is a well known liar. But he also has talent and he has a whole lot of points and medals that he won't care about what is lost.
Really? Piti won't go down history as a winner, much like Purito. They're sort of like the next generation of Boogerds.
Dumbverde is a shame to cycling, ruining the races of many thanks to his passive-aggressive attitude (not to mention of course of the clinic related things but that's another story).
Can't wait to see him leave this sport at once.
Rui left Movistar so that Movistar can raise Nairo's paycheck. It's all about the economy, stupid!
IndianCyclist said:
Don't misread me. I said both Dumbverde and Purito won't go down in history as winners, more like guys who kept on coming there yet in the end...
But while you can definitely empathize with Purito, because you can see how much he tries and how unlucky he sometimes is, Piti is just a shame, what with his annoying racing behaviour that costed many races to many riders.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rui-costa-to-target-tour-de-france-in-2014
Oh dear!
And I like the guy but ...
Oh dear!
And I like the guy but ...
Why not? As a climber he's at the level of guys like Fuglsang and Mollema, both of them in the top-10 of the Tour this year.Escarabajo said:
I think you're underrating Mollema.
Still, it would be a shame to sacrifice other goals just to be 9th or whatever.
Still, it would be a shame to sacrifice other goals just to be 9th or whatever.
It's hard to say what he's fully capable of since he's been riding for others in the Tour. He should at least be given the chance to give it a shot since he has shown a talent for stage races and is tactically sound.
Nothing new comes out of that article. He said he wants to ride as a leader for the Tour GC back when he announced his move to Lampre.
The words "Targeting the Tour" can be misleading. He already targeted the Tour this year (as shown by sitting Top 10 before having to wait for Valverde and latter getting two stage wins, also by his own admition). And I think that's the difference. He won't have to wait for no one.
I doubt things will change for Rui Costa. Not next year anyway.
The words "Targeting the Tour" can be misleading. He already targeted the Tour this year (as shown by sitting Top 10 before having to wait for Valverde and latter getting two stage wins, also by his own admition). And I think that's the difference. He won't have to wait for no one.
I doubt things will change for Rui Costa. Not next year anyway.
Escarabajo said:
Expected, but would have preferred he change up his schedule a little and target Giro-Vuelta instead.
He's no GT rider I think but I'm OK with him targetting the Tour. Obviously I want him to get there with a couple of decent victories and GC placements in races like Nice, Romandie, etc.
Also, I don't think he's a climber on the level of Fugslang let alone Mollema.
Also, I don't think he's a climber on the level of Fugslang let alone Mollema.
trevim said:
I'm OK with another self proclaimed GT rider status
Fugslang needs some competition.
theyoungest said:
The opinion that he effectively peaked at Tour de Suisse 2013 is debatable (as I've stated in my post... top 10 before having to wait for Valverde and two stage wins are enough of a reason to doubt). Let's settle for delay his preparation...Which I'm absolutely fine with. He has won Suisse twice. Nothing to prove there.
But I was looking at the bigger picture...
Rui Costa's season is currently build upon three blocks of racing with resting + build-up in altitude for the months of May and August. 1st block around Ardennes, 2nd block around the Tour, 3rd around the Worlds/late season classics. And he rides strong in all of them.
So....
I would only be alarmed if Rui Costa said he was going to "transform" himself or change his calendar. As it is, I am perfectly confident he can handle his goals. It's not because he'll be leader at the Tour that he'll stop performing the rest of the season.
This is nothing new and it won't change his schedule a bit. . .
I think he will start later next year in Algarve instead of those 1 day races in Mallorca. Then he will do PN, Pais Vasco, Ardennes and Romandie before taking a rest and returning in june and doing the TdS and the Tour as the main goal. Then another rest and build up for the worlds and Lambardy.
And imo Costa is better than Fugslang, on the Annecy stage Costa pushing the pace easily dropped fugslang and Costa clearly wasn't giving everything he had and had been in the break the previous day.
I think he will start later next year in Algarve instead of those 1 day races in Mallorca. Then he will do PN, Pais Vasco, Ardennes and Romandie before taking a rest and returning in june and doing the TdS and the Tour as the main goal. Then another rest and build up for the worlds and Lambardy.
And imo Costa is better than Fugslang, on the Annecy stage Costa pushing the pace easily dropped fugslang and Costa clearly wasn't giving everything he had and had been in the break the previous day.
I wonder if his schedule will, in fact, change some due to pressure from the team/sponsor to show the WC jersey in Italian races. And maybe a bit of appearance money just for starting certain races.
Beech Mtn said:
It won't, when he signed for lampre he demanded full liberty at choosing his schedule which lampre accepted and he said before that he would keep the same schedule he had this year.
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