Saiz Proteges Ascendant

[ludwig]

Former heralded "young riders" of Manolo Saiz are currently dominating the Giro, sitting in #1, #2, and #9 positions (Contador, Scarpoini, Rodriguez). Another beloved Saiz protege, Luis Leon Sanchez, is one of the top pro cyclists today.

The peloton today is the house that Manolo built. Riis built his early successes on former Saiz riders Jalabert and Sastre (along with Fuentes go-between Bartoli) and the knowledge they had gained from Saiz. As a rider, Bruyneel was once a Saiz protege. As a DS, Bruyneel passed the lessons he learned onto Lance, Alberto and his other riders.

Saiz was the scapegoat of Puerto but it's hard to think of a man besides Saiz who had more influence on the sport of cycling as we know it today, and it was Saiz who brought along many of the most dominant current riders.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Excellent bit of trolling.

 

[Benotti69]

watching this Giro and the dominance of Contador leaves me with an impression of Armstrong. while there hasn't been a Saxo train his performances have been commentated using the same adjectives similar to Armstrongs TdF victories, unbeatable, superhuman, amazing, unstoppable, level above everyone else, like a motor...etc

Crushing his rivals big time. People want to see it as class. I can only see it as better juice, or a new juice. He could be 10 minutes up on 2nd if he wanted.

Over three weeks of hard racing and not an off or a bad day? Unbelievable is true. Hope CAS does ban him because he is not good for the sport.

 

[alvynmcq]

Contador is the only person in the sport who can do the Giro/Tour double. I hope they ban him before he gets the chance though, because that would just be taking the ****.

 

[SiAp1984]

watching this Giro and the dominance of Contador leaves me with an impression of Armstrong. while there hasn't been a Saxo train his performances have been commentated using the same adjectives similar to Armstrongs TdF victories, unbeatable, superhuman, amazing, unstoppable, level above everyone else, like a motor...etc

Crushing his rivals big time. People want to see it as class. I can only see it as better juice, or a new juice. He could be 10 minutes up on 2nd if he wanted.

Over three weeks of hard racing and not an off or a bad day? Unbelievable is true. Hope CAS does ban him because he is not good for the sport.

I agree. Suppose, AC is one of the most talented riders of his generation who is on the best programs in the field since his early career, heavily (Puerto, crystal-clear clen-case) protected at least by local sportsl authorities and Spanish politicians. I wish Prudhomme would prevent AC vom racing - and ruining - this years Tour.

 

[sartoris]

Crushing his rivals big time. People want to see it as class. I can only see it as better juice, or a new juice. Over three weeks of hard racing and not an off or a bad day? Unbelievable is true. Hope CAS does ban him because he is not good for the sport.

Contador is the only person in the sport who can do the Giro/Tour double. I hope they ban him before he gets the chance though, because that would just be taking the ****.

I wish Prudhomme would prevent AC vom racing - and ruining - this years Tour.

That's definitely your problem, guys. Most likely, the only chance you'll ever get to see your favourite rider get near to win anything is by having Contador banned. Therefore, the Clenbuterol Affair has come as a gift from heaven for all of you.

In the meantime, AC is proving himself on the road as the best rider of his generation. By far, haters, by far ........

 

[rolfrae]

watching this Giro and the dominance of Contador leaves me with an impression of Armstrong.

I was thinking the same thing last night when watching highlights of the stage finale. If anything Contador has been holding back all through this Giro. His lead over the second place could easily be double what it is now. Like felt during the Armstrong years, I feel that I really am wasting my time watching this Giro. Contador certainly does have class but he also has a class-A programme on top of it. Back to the topic of Saiz: I bet he watches the race at home and ponders on the 'glory' that should have been his as D.S. extraordinaire.

 

[Benotti69]

That's definitely your problem, guys. Most likely, the only chance you'll ever get to see your favourite rider get near to win anything is by having Contador banned. Therefore, the Clenbuterol Affair has come as a gift from heaven for all of you.

In the meantime, AC is proving himself on the road as the best rider of his generation. By far, haters, by far ........

and one day you will wake up an and smell the CAS coffee

My favourite rider stopped riding a long long time ago and what he did on a bike to make him my favourite was not his racing. He passed away in 2000.

 

[Van der Slagmollen]

saiz protege

Scarponi is a grinder,Nibali is all potential and no results yet in the big 2 tours,so not a great challenge in the G C.The only riders capable of matching or out-climbing Berti from memory are[were]Rasmussen,Ricco and Schleck who are all absent.I'm trying to remain optimistic guys

 

[Benotti69]

Scarponi is a grinder,Nibali is all potential and no results yet in the big 2 tours,so not a great challenge in the G C.The only riders capable of matching or out-climbing Berti from memory are[were]Rasmussen,Ricco and Schleck who are all absent.I'm trying to remain optimistic guys

R&R both big time dopers and caught for it. How can Contdaor beat big time dopers ?

 

[el_peras]

Active riders that have been on Saiz teams:

Iñigo Cuesta
Carlos Sastre
Jose Ivan Gutierrez
David Arroyo
Joaquim Rodriguez
Xavier Florencio
Giampaolo Caruso
Allan Davis
Alberto Contador
Angel Vicioso
Carlos Barredo
Jesus Hernandez
Javier Ramirez Abeja
Luis Leon Sanchez
Christian Vande Velde
David Navarro
Jose Joaquin Rojas
Koen de Kort
Andrey Kashechkin
Aron Kemps
Michele Scarponi
Sergio Paulinho
Alexandre Vinokourov

 

[ludwig]

I just find the dominance of these guys at the same time so amazing that I wonder if Saiz' early program continues to have impact as these guys mature into their prime. It's also interesting to note that Saiz held some of them back for a while--some of these guys were winning stages and capable of winning week races way back when they were 20-22.

Did Saiz just have a great eye for young talent or did his program have an impact or both?

Or does it just look this way because Valverde isn't racing?

 

[MarkvW]

That's definitely your problem, guys. Most likely, the only chance you'll ever get to see your favourite rider get near to win anything is by having Contador banned. Therefore, the Clenbuterol Affair has come as a gift from heaven for all of you.

In the meantime, AC is proving himself on the road as the best rider of his generation. By far, haters, by far ........

Can't say I hate Contador, but I can say that his utter dominance, stage after stage, makes for a boring race. I only watched about three stages of the Giro because it sucked for that reason. I might not even watch the Tour this year. Watching a doper triumph just isn't that much fun for me. I'm sure others feel the same way.

 

[skippy]

el_peras has made a good point with his list of 23 racers coming through Saiz as well as others not there . Pro teams of 25+ can't fail to find talent that came from other DS's as well so are we to claim the same about those from Cofidis , Radio Shack or Cofidis in years to come ?

Pantnani's DS drives Angelo Z. at the Giro and are any of his protege's to be added to the lengthening list ?

Looking under my mattress to see if there are any other DS's that warrant suspicion !