Tadej Valjavec

[Captain Chaos]

Any Theories on why Tadej Valjavec never is mentioned as a quality rider?

 

[benpounder]

Because he is always on the tail end of the GT top ten? IMO, AG2R needs to discard the latent Francophile attitude and build a team around this guy, or at least give him some support.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Because he is always on the tail end of the GT top ten? IMO, AG2R needs to discard the latent Francophile attitude and build a team around this guy, or at least give him some support.

seems to me that while everyone is focused on the obvious contenders he could keep sneaking up over the next week and come July could be a dark horse.

 

[Jasper]

Because he's one of the least colourful riders in the peloton.

Sure, he's got qualities, but when push comes to shove he's just a watered down version of Leipheimer and Evans, minus the timetrialing abilities. He's a bland cycling personality in and outside the race, he hardly shows up at the front of the race to attack, but always manages to drag himself to a top 15 spot in grand tours because he's so consistent. Which is of course somewhat admirable, but to me it seems like he doesn't have the talent to take that last step towards the absolute top. And with the way he races, he doesn't offer much added value imo. While Evans and Leipheimer - adopting similar racing tactics - are at least fighting for a podium spot, he's doing the same thing for a distant top 10 spot. Really, if he wouldn't have participated in this Giro, I think it would not have made a single difference, except that some other colourless rider would have taken his place.


Also, he's one of the worst riders to choose in fantasy cycling games, and since a lot of people let their judgement be clouded by those games...

 

[benpounder]

Also, he's one of the worst riders to choose in fantasy cycling games, and since a lot of people let their judgement be clouded by those games...

How true - good for the occasional minor points on mountain stages and the final GC.

Since CyclingNews.com dropped their fantasy game, is there a worthy alternative?

 

[Captain Chaos]

Because he's one of the least colourful riders in the peloton.

Sure, he's got qualities, but when push comes to shove he's just a watered down version of Leipheimer and Evans, minus the timetrialing abilities. He's a bland cycling personality in and outside the race, he hardly shows up at the front of the race to attack, but always manages to drag himself to a top 15 spot in grand tours because he's so consistent. Which is of course somewhat admirable, but to me it seems like he doesn't have the talent to take that last step towards the absolute top. And with the way he races, he doesn't offer much added value imo. While Evans and Leipheimer - adopting similar racing tactics - are at least fighting for a podium spot, he's doing the same thing for a distant top 10 spot. Really, if he wouldn't have participated in this Giro, I think it would not have made a single difference, except that some other colourless rider would have taken his place.

I agree and to fans personality is key but would LL be fighting for a podium spot if he wasn't surrounded by such a strong team?

Also, he's one of the worst riders to choose in fantasy cycling games, and since a lot of people let their judgement be clouded by those games...

I'll keep him for the final GC points now and in July.

 

[Jasper]

I agree and to fans personality is key but would LL be fighting for a podium spot if he wasn't surrounded by such a strong team?

Well, he can always rely on his timetrial, a luxury Valjavec unfortunately doesn't have. That's what makes a great part of the difference I guess, and - let's be fair - LL's climbing is also a tad better.

I'll keep him for the final GC points now and in July.

Depens on the kind of game you're playing of course. The one I play the most requires riders to be 'bought', their price being based on their cq-value of the previous season. In this kind of investement vs turnover ratio games, he's completely useless. Granted, if you can just pick any rider for free, he is a better option

 

[Captain Chaos]

Well, he can always rely on his timetrial, a luxury Valjavec unfortunately doesn't have. That's what makes a great part of the difference I guess, and - let's be fair - LL's climbing is also a tad better.

I wouldn't say Valjavec is a slouch in the TT. Of course I had to check because he's the invisible man. As far as climbing goes this week will be a good comparison.

Depens on the kind of game you're playing of course. The one I play the most requires riders to be 'bought', their price being based on their cq-value of the previous season. In this kind of investement vs turnover ratio games, he's completely useless. Granted, if you can just pick any rider for free, he is a better option

Seems to me you already have an idea the wide open rules of the league I'm in.

 

[ingsve]

He's the type of guy that is a specialist climber but since he isn't the best climber in the world and more importantly not the most aggressive and explosive he's not seen in front of the camera as much as the likes of Heras, Simoni, Pantani etc.

He's not a bad rider it's just that he's somewhat outshined by slightly better riders. He's right on the limit between two roles. He's slightly better than just being a climbing domestique but not quite good enough to get a contract as a main GC contender in a big team. I'd still think that alot of teams could benefit from having him as a super domestique in the mountains. I'm sure he could be an asset to the Schleck brothers in Saxo Bank for example.

 

[Jasper]

He's not a bad rider it's just that he's somewhat outshined by slightly better riders. He's right on the limit between two roles. He's slightly better than just being a climbing domestique but not quite good enough to get a contract as a main GC contender in a big team. I'd still think that alot of teams could benefit from having him as a super domestique in the mountains. I'm sure he could be an asset to the Schleck brothers in Saxo Bank for example.

The name Sylvester Szmyd pops up in my head when reading this.