Teams & Riders Team Movistar-thread

[Valv.Piti]

Super interesting Movistar-team for Romandie.

 

[mariposa]

Re:

Super interesting Movistar-team for Romandie.

Yes very interesting. Good to see Carapaz riding. I would love to see Ruben Fernandez get a stage win at least.

 

[hfer07]

Folks: does anybody know if Quintana is going to race before Il Giro? he's not listed in Romandie, which should have been a good warm up since he has not raced since Tirreno. Is he doing Asturias?

 

[Escarabajo]

He is the only one listed for Asturias. I haven't heard of a change of plans. It is only 3 days so it fits him very well. I don't think they will change plans. He is very disciplined.

 

[hfer07]

Re:

[quote="Escarabajo"]He is the only one listed for Asturias. I haven't heard of a change of plans. It is only 3 days so it fits him very well. I don't think they will change plans. He is very disciplined.[/quote]


Cool - thanks

 

[Valv.Piti]

Any clue to how the team will look?

Quintana
Amador
Sutherland
Dowsett
Gorka Izagirre..?

 

[gospina]

Re:

Any clue to how the team will look?

Quintana
Amador
Sutherland
Dowsett
Gorka Izagirre..?

add to that
Winner Anacona
Dayer Quintana
Not sure about Sutherland.

 

[Ricco']

Re: Re:

Any clue to how the team will look?

Quintana
Amador
Sutherland
Dowsett
Gorka Izagirre..?

add to that
Winner Anacona
Dayer Quintana
Not sure about Sutherland.

What's your source for Dayer? He is in the provisional selection for Vuelta a Madrid.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Dayer would be cool, but I really don't think he is good enough at the moment. Anacona needs to show something I think, tomorrow is a good day in Romandie. I think De La Parte will be selected, Sutterlin rode last year, but I don't really know how comfortable Nairo is with him and he is scheduled to Madrid (I think thats the final team, shame Carapaz is included there...). Then there's Oliveira, but i think TdF for him. One of the Herrada-brothers will probably also be picked. So a guess:

Quintana
Amador
Izagirre
Anacona
De La Parte
Dowsett
Sutherland
Jesus Herrada/Jose Herrada
Nelsion Oliveira/Jose Rojas.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Switch Dowsett with Bennati (I cheated a bit, but still).

Will probably be the best team in the Giro, maybe along with Sky.

 

[Moviestar]

Compo OFF Giro

Nairo Quintana, Andrey Amador, Winner Anacona, Daniele Bennati, Víctor de la Parte, José Herrada, Gorka Izagirre, José Joaquín Rojas y Rory Sutherland

Major blow for Dowsett who was poised to get a Giro spot.

Very nice team. Bennati and Sutherland are great for the flat stages with their huge load of experience, Rojas and Jose Herrada are always reliable, De La Parte has proven that the is very utile for a leader in races like Catalogne and Paris Nice, Gorka and Anacona to support Nairo in the high mountains, with Amador as lieutenant for Nairo.

 

[deValtos]

I hope that means Dowsett is going to the TDF then?

He showed at Romandie he's going really well so I can't see him missing out on both the Giro & TDF line up.

Otherwise pretty good team for Quintana.

 

[Beech Mtn]

Dowsett has no business at the TdF. They have better workers who can fill the same role overall.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Dowsett has no business at the TdF. They have better workers who can fill the same role overall.

Agree.

 

[deValtos]

Re:

Dowsett has no business at the TdF. They have better workers who can fill the same role overall.

Do they though?

It was a recurring theme that Quintana was isolated on flat stages in the TDF. They'd always cut to a shot of Quintana stuck in an echelon with not a single Movistar to be seen.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Dowsett has no business at the TdF. They have better workers who can fill the same role overall.

Do they though?

It was a recurring theme that Quintana was isolated on flat stages in the TDF. They'd always cut to a shot of Quintana stuck in an echelon with not a single Movistar to be seen.

Thing is Dowsett is pretty thrash at that stuff. He is a super motor and is in good shape (thats why it surprised me he isn't selected) and the positioning, echelon riding etc. doesn't mean that much in the Giro compared to TdF. But, with Erviti regressing a bit and with Rojas, Sutherland and Bennati present in italy, it could open up some space, altho I hope Benna will ride both.

 

[Asero831]

Why is Rojas riding Giro? he is Valverde's buddy.

 

[deValtos]

To be fair I wouldn't argue that Dowsett is amazing at positioning or echelon riding or anything like that but IIRC when he was selected in 2015 it was him and Malori that saved Quintana from losing another 2 minutes in the netherlands. For the Giro I do agree that Rojas and Bennati will be fine for placement in the bunch and Sutherland is probably the best choice for the "ride 100km on the front of the pack" role.

I'm just saying I'd be disappointed if he missed out on both the Giro and the TDF again this year because I think he has shown he is capable of riding at a top level. I think he has a good chance of being in the TDF.

 

[Beech Mtn]

Dowsett crashed in that Tour, got a cut on his arm, got stitches, and it continued bleeding for several days afterward. He kept riding for something like a week, but finally had to pull out of the race to get the wound dealt with properly. You can't afford to lose a guy from the TdF because of a cut on his arm.

Fortunately in the last year or two we've had less of the usual TdF giant crash in the first stages of the race. But it's still a big chance to take to have a higher than usual probability of being a man down for something as long as a GT. Dowsett hasn't ridden a GT since. They've given him other things to do, like the Hour Record, and he has of course ridden the shorter stage races.

 

[May0maniac]

Kinda suprised by the fact that they aren't saving Bennati for the Tour where you really need a strong rider like him who has a ton of experience when it comes to crosswinds.

 

[Moviestar]

I hope that means Dowsett is going to the TDF then?

He showed at Romandie he's going really well so I can't see him missing out on both the Giro & TDF line up.

Otherwise pretty good team for Quintana.

A bit exaggerated. His prologue was fine, but his performance in the timetrial, his speciality (!) was really disappointing. Wouldn't suprise me if that performance was a decisive factor for the non-selection of Dowsett.

 

[deValtos]

I thought he had a good showing when he held of the peloton on stage (I think 3 or 4)?

Looked pretty strong.

Also that final TT was very hilly, just check the results of who did well. You don't bring Dowsett to a GT for that kind of stuff anyways.

Oh well, I just like the guy. Hopefully he gets a good calendar. Last years was a bit meh and I'd suggest him to move team at some point if he keeps getting snubbed for the big races.

 

[Valv.Piti]

So speculating on the TdF team after the selection:

Quintana
Valverde
Fernandez
Castro
Moreno
Erviti
Olivera
Jesus Herrada
and.... Dowsett/Bennati/Rojas/Sutherland/Amador. Maybe Soler.

 

[AlexNYC]

Re:

Kinda suprised by the fact that they aren't saving Bennati for the Tour where you really need a strong rider like him who has a ton of experience when it comes to crosswinds.

Ditto. He's kind of wasted at the Giro, where crosswinds are not all that usual. Maybe they think that crosswinds could play a bigger than usual role this year with the early stages in Sardinia and Sicily. Movistar might also be planning to have him abandon before the last week, thus keeping him fresh for the Tour.

 

[Moviestar]

Re: Re:

Kinda suprised by the fact that they aren't saving Bennati for the Tour where you really need a strong rider like him who has a ton of experience when it comes to crosswinds.

Ditto. He's kind of wasted at the Giro, where crosswinds are not all that usual. Maybe they think that crosswinds could play a bigger than usual role this year with the early stages in Sardinia and Sicily. Movistar might also be planning to have him abandon before the last week, thus keeping him fresh for the Tour.

He is a very experienced rider, who knows the Italian roads very well. His job will be mainly to keep Nairo safe at the front (like he did years for Contador), Nairo couldn't have asked for a better rider.