Samu Sanchez

[The Hitch]

Everyone is talking about Schleck winning and Cuddles in yellow. But with no bonuses, samu got the same time as schleck and was looking good all the way ip the climb.
Can he keep this up in the gt or was it a 1 off?

 

[nesocip]

As i wrote in that Stage 8 thread, he is a rider who usually does his best in the 3rd week of a GT.

As i said before the tour started, i expect him to get top 5, maybe even 3rd place if Evans cracks and with a bit of luck.

Shame he didnt get the stage win today though, he should have let Andy pull him up since he would have done it to put time into Contador anyways. Very tactically bad move, the stage was his to lose after they gapped everyone and entered last k.

 

[Pedaaldanser]

He's not so good at long time trials, I think. But he was looking good today and he can certainly climb... I suppose he could podium if he time trials well.

 

[saganftw]

sanchez is better TT than andy schleck and today showed god legs in mountains too...top 5 very possible

 

[Climbing]

Sanchez said after the stage that he got a cramp in the last 20 meters.
He looked very good if you ask me.

 

[the vagabond]

Sanchez said after the stage that he got a cramp in the last 20 meters.
He looked very good if you ask me.

That makes sense, since he stopped pedaling just before the line. He did a half-stroke and then quit when two more hard strokes would have done it - Schleck was surprised at first he had won.

 

[nvpacchi]

Strong enough to podium. As long as the TT doesn't hurt him.

And after the disappointment of nearly having today's stage, he will certainly be hunting for a stage victory. Stage 15 looks taylor-made for him.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I got into an argument with somebody who claimed he'd come 12th at best. Notwithstanding me being a huge mark for all things Basque (I know he's Asturian but anybody who pulls on the orange is an adopted son of the Basque country) I think he has the talent to podium.

 

[Ryaguas]

I'm going with Samu doing Top 5... he can climb very well not in a SUUUPER level but he can do the job... the TT is what he can't do quite good but he is better in TT than Andy... he looks good, he is a 3rd weeker in the GT and he is doing pretty well... Euskatel said that they don't have GC pretentions but I think that Samu has other ideas

 

[Bernardus]

I'm going with Samu doing Top 5... he can climb very well not in a SUUUPER level but he can do the job... the TT is what he can't do quite good but he is better in TT than Andy... he looks good, he is a 3rd weeker in the GT and he is doing pretty well... Euskatel said that they don't have GC pretentions but I think that Samu has other ideas

This TT is not the same as the TT at the end of this Tour, but it shows he absolutely can ride a good TT.

 

[ulrikmm]

Sanchez is very good. He is probably the best downhiller in this years TdF, and will be able to make time on mountainstages that end in the valley.

 

[hrotha]

He was great but showed a pretty poor grasp of tactics.

I still think he's wasting his natural talents by focusing on a GT (be it the Tour or the Vuelta like in previous years) instead of on the classics.

 

[ericthesportsman6]

The only rider who looked stronger than Sanchez today was Schleck, and that was just barely. He's a better TT'er than Schleck and a excellent descender. I think it will come down to Sanchez and Kreuziger for third.

 

[Highlander]

On Eurosport, they were trying to figure out if Sammy Sanchez was still in the lead group on the way up the final climb. They weren't sure, but one of the announcers - I think it was Kelly, but I'm not sure - said that he didn't even think that Sanchez could finish in the top 10. I didn't hear any follow-up on this when Sanchez barely lost the stage, but I thought that it was an overly harsh assessment. No one is tipping him for the win, but he should be able to at least watch his 6th place from 2008.

 

[metaCYCLE]

sammy sanchez is definitely fun to watch on a bike. i cheered for him in last year's vuelta.

 

[Angliru]

He was great but showed a pretty poor grasp of tactics.

I still think he's wasting his natural talents by focusing on a GT (be it the Tour or the Vuelta like in previous years) instead of on the classics.

He was second in the Vuelta and just showed that he is one of the strongest climbers in the sport's premier event. How exactly is he wasting his natural talents? He's competed in the classics in previous years but where he's shown the biggest progress is his efforts in the grand tours. It's possible that had he not crashed early in the Vuelta that he may have won instead of Valverde.
I'm a bit biased though. I'm a big Samuel Sanchez fan.

 

[hrotha]

He was second in the Vuelta and just showed that he is one of the strongest climbers in the sport's premier event. How exactly is he wasting his natural talents? He's competed in the classics in previous years but where he's shown the biggest progress is his efforts in the grand tours. It's possible that had he not crashed early in the Vuelta that he may have won instead of Valverde.
I'm a bit biased though. I'm a big Samuel Sanchez fan.

Personal opinion. I don't see him doing better than 5th in the TdF and I don't rate a Vuelta podium above a LBL, for example. Samu is one of those riders who could win almost anything he rode from March to October. Almost.

 

[Ferminal]

Had him in my top5 since the Vuelta but randomly thought he couldn't do it in the last few weeks.

 

[nesocip]

Last 4 GTs (3 vueltas and 1 tdf) i watched him he would always **** up the first week, and then turn out to be the strongest guy in the last week (in vueltas) or at least one of the strongest (tdf). So this is looking pretty good for him, if he follows that trend.

 

[Thee_chisa]

I got into an argument with somebody who claimed he'd come 12th at best. Notwithstanding me being a huge mark for all things Basque (I know he's Asturian but anybody who pulls on the orange is an adopted son of the Basque country) I think he has the talent to podium.

probably me, and yes, i stick with that prediction

 

[auscyclefan94]

NOt sure about Sammy but I like his style. He and Andy were impressive but we mus not get too ahead of ourselves and see the bigger picture. The gc!

 

[Cerberus]

NOt sure about Sammy but I like his style. He and Andy were impressive but we mus not get too ahead of ourselves and see the bigger picture. The gc!

What is this "GC" of which you speak? Rabobank is leading the Team competition - that what counts.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

probably me, and yes, i stick with that prediction

You also said that Wiggins would top 5, and Radioshack would place 2 people in the top 10. That Menchov would scrape top 10 at best and be behind Vino overall. Care to revise any of those, or is it all going as you expected? The only thing in the GC battle that's surprised me is Schleck being ahead after the cobbled stage.

 

[The Hitch]

You also said that Wiggins would top 5, and Radioshack would place 2 people in the top 10. That Menchov would scrape top 10 at best and be behind Vino overall. Care to revise any of those, or is it all going as you expected? The only thing in the GC battle that's surprised me is Schleck being ahead after the cobbled stage.

you knew frank schleck was going to leave the race on the cobbles?

 

[lucybears]

Euskatel said that they don't have GC pretentions but I think that Samu has other ideas

Samuel Sánchez: “Lo principal es una etapa, la general no es una prioridad”
http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias-ficha.asp?id=28386