Teams & Riders Team Movistar-thread

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

Seems like Valverde is really pissed off at Quintana, I don't remember him criticize a teammate ever (well since Manzano ).

I remember he said that with a bit better riding and tactics from the team he would have won the Giro.

He didn't single anyone out at the time, though.

If I remember correctly he took partial blame for that himself. He also went on a bit of a rant after the 2016 Tour stage in which Froome attacked over the top of a climb and no one chased until he and Bardet (and maybe Uran, don't remember who the 3rd rider off the back of that group was) caught them and he figured out what was going on and started chasing. Again he didn't single anyone out. This is the first time I can remember him criticizing a teammate like this. It's not easy to get him upset and frustrated enough to do that.


Also nice to see them re-signing several of their good helpers. I did see where someone asked them about Erviti and they said he's deciding if he wants to retire or keep racing.

 

[roundabout]

Re: Re:

Seems like Valverde is really pissed off at Quintana, I don't remember him criticize a teammate ever (well since Manzano ).

I remember he said that with a bit better riding and tactics from the team he would have won the Giro.

He didn't single anyone out at the time, though.

If I remember correctly he took partial blame for that himself. He also went on a bit of a rant after the 2016 Tour stage in which Froome attacked over the top of a climb and no one chased until he and Bardet (and maybe Uran, don't remember who the 3rd rider off the back of that group was) caught them and he figured out what was going on and started chasing. Again he didn't single anyone out. This is the first time I can remember him criticizing a teammate like this. It's not easy to get him upset and frustrated enough to do that.


Also nice to see them re-signing several of their good helpers. I did see where someone asked them about Erviti and they said he's deciding if he wants to retire or keep racing.

Quintana was an idiot, but that's not exactly how it happened

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zojjIghKQoM

Valverde was with the group over the top and was chasing by the first hairpin on the descent where Froome had a 3 seconds lead at most

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

Seems like Valverde is really pissed off at Quintana, I don't remember him criticize a teammate ever (well since Manzano ).

I remember he said that with a bit better riding and tactics from the team he would have won the Giro.

He didn't single anyone out at the time, though.

He blamed himself mostly because he drop two teammates at the top of Agnello, and with that two in the valley he could've catch Nibali and Scarponi, they were at 10-15 sec in one moment (although he mentioned moto's also ).

And he could've certainly criticize Visconti for not helping him on the last mountain stage, but he didn't, even when Visconti left the team and had a few words for the team and Quintana mainly.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

Seems like Valverde is really pissed off at Quintana, I don't remember him criticize a teammate ever (well since Manzano ).

I remember he said that with a bit better riding and tactics from the team he would have won the Giro.

He didn't single anyone out at the time, though.

If I remember correctly he took partial blame for that himself. He also went on a bit of a rant after the 2016 Tour stage in which Froome attacked over the top of a climb and no one chased until he and Bardet (and maybe Uran, don't remember who the 3rd rider off the back of that group was) caught them and he figured out what was going on and started chasing. Again he didn't single anyone out. This is the first time I can remember him criticizing a teammate like this. It's not easy to get him upset and frustrated enough to do that.


Also nice to see them re-signing several of their good helpers. I did see where someone asked them about Erviti and they said he's deciding if he wants to retire or keep racing.

Quintana was an idiot, but that's not exactly how it happened

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zojjIghKQoM

Valverde was with the group over the top and was chasing by the first hairpin on the descent where Froome had a 3 seconds lead at most

He was at the back. I could have sworn he was just off the back of that group by maybe 2-3 bike lengths. Either way it's unlikely he could see what was going on at the front. Although his comment about no one wanting to chase was still pretty accurate.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Seems like Valverde is really pissed off at Quintana, I don't remember him criticize a teammate ever (well since Manzano ).

I remember he said that with a bit better riding and tactics from the team he would have won the Giro.

He didn't single anyone out at the time, though.

*** off Visconti

But seirously, that Agnello stage. People tend to forget that if he caught Nibali on that downhill, he wins the race.

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

Seems like Valverde is really pissed off at Quintana, I don't remember him criticize a teammate ever (well since Manzano ).

I remember he said that with a bit better riding and tactics from the team he would have won the Giro.

He didn't single anyone out at the time, though.

**** off Visconti

But seirously, that Agnello stage. People tend to forget that if he caught Nibali on that downhill, he wins the race.

Yep. Wasn't it Stefano Pirazzi that for some reason felt the need to help out in the Nibali/moto group as well?

 

[Red Rick]

Wasn't Valverde like a minute behind on the top of the Agnello already

I just checked and the GPS gap is literally the same at the top of the Agnello than at the bottom of Risoul.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Wasn't Valverde like a minute behind on the top of the Agnello already

I just checked and the GPS gap is literally the same at the top of the Agnello than at the bottom of Risoul.

He was 10 seconds behind at one point. So damn close to bridging that gap.

 

[Fergoose]

I put the boot into Movistar on the Tourmalet stage, but on Sunday their strategy was fine, the execution was poor. I dont think it reflected well on Quintana. Perhaps he was sore about the team calling him out in the media the day before, but there is no way he couldn't have done a few hundred metres of service for Landa if he was a good teammate.

 

[Angliru]

Re:

I put the boot into Movistar on the Tourmalet stage, but on Sunday their strategy was fine, the execution was poor. I dont think it reflected well on Quintana. Perhaps he was sore about the team calling him out in the media the day before, but there is no way he couldn't have done a few hundred metres of service for Landa if he was a good teammate.

At what point did he even have a chance? Landa rolled right by him to front and Quintana, who was hanging on the back of the group was quickly gapped. Was he supposed to accelerate to the front with Landa and take a pull? He obviously didn't have the legs otherwise he would have hung to avoid losing time.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

I put the boot into Movistar on the Tourmalet stage, but on Sunday their strategy was fine, the execution was poor. I dont think it reflected well on Quintana. Perhaps he was sore about the team calling him out in the media the day before, but there is no way he couldn't have done a few hundred metres of service for Landa if he was a good teammate.

At what point did he even have a chance? Landa rolled right by him to front and Quintana, who was hanging on the back of the group was quickly gapped. Was he supposed to accelerate to the front with Landa and take a pull? He obviously didn't have the legs otherwise he would have hung to avoid losing time.

He also could have at least picked up a water bottle from either the team car or neutral support to drop off to Valverde after he dropped from the break group. He may not have had the legs to help either Landa or Valverde at that point. I'm ok believing that is very possible.

 

[Forever The Best]

Just as I was warming up to this team (and I was close to becoming a fan after Soler initially destroyed the peloton on Izoard) they completely have a brain fail and waste energy to limit the gains of one of their riders. I mean, I thought Landa was going to attack on Izoard but then they did nothing and the result of their work is that Quintana is 1-2 minutes further than the GC lead.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Ah, but they got the lead of the Teams Classification back, so Unzué will regard it as a good day.

 

[jaylew]

Of course it was a good day - they won.

 

[Koronin]

The also won a stage in some other race today as well.

 

[Movitrain]

Re:

The also won a stage in some other race today as well.

The Prueba-Villafranca is a one-day race.

Nice to see Rafa Valls taking a win, I honestly don't remember ever seeing him anywhere during his tenure at Movistar so far (I know he raced, but he did absolutely nothing noteworthy).

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

The also won a stage in some other race today as well.

The Prueba-Villafranca is a one-day race.

Nice to see Rafa Valls taking a win, I honestly don't remember ever seeing him anywhere during his tenure at Movistar so far (I know he raced, but he did absolutely nothing noteworthy).

Oh sorry, didn't realize it was a one day race. As you can see I knew they won, but had no idea what. Thanks. Yes, nice to see him having the chance to win.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Think you guys are entirely too harsh. Nobody expected Nairo would pull this off after looking like a dead man in the Pyrenees - it was very expected they would pick up the pace on Izoard, even with him out front. Chances were it just would be a repeat of Albis and they would look like fools. Landa obviously then didnt feel like attacking, but it may also have been an attempt to crack someone in top-10 and move up.

So Nairo looked the best in a long, long time suddenly and was amazing on Galibier. Good for him, Movistar and at this point, also good for the race. Movistar now have 2 great climbers 3-4 minutes down, a good team and now more than ever needs to animate the last two stages, just have they have done in the entire race.

Imagine this Tour without them. God awful.

 

[Koronin]

Valv.Piti, I agree with you. They have made things interesting. They are going to need to launch attacks early.

 

[hrotha]

There are teams that haven't even moved to fail so Movistar is miles ahead of them in terms of performance, visibility and spectacle.

That said, they're currently sitting in 7th, 8th and 10th on the GC with three guys who haven't done anything to help each other and with some of the best domestiques in the race. Clearly they're doing something very wrong.

 

[carton]

Re:

There are teams that haven't even moved to fail so Movistar is miles ahead of them in terms of performance, visibility and spectacle.

That said, they're currently sitting in 7th, 8th and 10th on the GC with three guys who haven't done anything to help each other and with some of the best domestiques in the race. Clearly they're doing something very wrong.

I think they did all they could to win this thing so far. I really just don't think Landa or Quintana have had the legs for more. Landa found himself in the second week and might be paying for that and the Giro. Quintana is just apparently finding his legs now but who knows, maybe the crash affected him, maybe it was just one good stage. Valverde is in the top-ten as a backup for their volatile leaders. I mean, similar tactics won them the Giro.

 

[jaylew]

I guess they're still trying to sneak on the podium which has been a long shot for some time now. They should have just gone all in for stage wins at some point but they're so GC-focused it's hard for them to change. Unfortunately, they don't have anyone who's been able to climb consistently with the top 6 guys except maybe Landa who can't TT or stay on his bike so you can never fully rely on him.

I still for the life of me have no idea what Valverde is doing this Tour unless he's trying for the all time top 10 GT record. Maybe he's finally lost enough time to get in a break. I mean, he's basically 4 minutes down on everyone ahead of him who's not a teammate other than Uran and I can't imagine Rigo really caring about 9th versus 10th.

 

[Koronin]

Re:

I guess they're still trying to sneak on the podium which has been a long shot for some time now. They should have just gone all in for stage wins at some point but they're so GC-focused it's hard for them to change. Unfortunately, they don't have anyone who's been able to climb consistently with the top 6 guys except maybe Landa who can't TT or stay on his bike so you can never fully rely on him.

I still for the life of me have no idea what Valverde is doing this Tour unless he's trying for the all time top 10 GT record. Maybe he's finally lost enough time to get in a break. I mean, he's basically 4 minutes down on everyone ahead of him who's not a teammate other than Uran and I can't imagine Rigo really caring about 9th versus 10th.

I'm not entirely sure what they've been trying to do in general in this Tour. Their tactics (other than the stage of Landa's escape) have made no sense at all.

Valverde said he wanted to go stage hunting, then can't bring himself to lose the time that needed for that and found himself in the middle of a GC battle he said he didn't want to be part of. Now we get to the two worst stages of the entire race for him with the major altitidue where he may have finally lost just enough time he'd be allowed to go out into the break. No idea what exactly he's trying to do. He doesn't have enough of a time cushion on Porte to necessarily hang onto a top 10 in GC either.

 

[luckyboy]

Hasn't exactly been a shock that three leaders didn't work out once again.

It would be interesting to see how much Quintana has left – if he could go long on one of these days he's only 2:24 behind Bernal. Though in that scenario it's hard to imagine that Landa and Valverde do a lot to help after what has seemed to go down during this race.

 

[Koronin]

Re:

Hasn't exactly been a shock that three leaders didn't work out once again.

It would be interesting to see how much Quintana has left – if he could go long on one of these days he's only 2:24 behind Bernal. Though in that scenario it's hard to imagine that Landa and Valverde do a lot to help after what has seemed to go down during this race.

Well technically it's only 2 leaders. According to Valverde he's not a race leader. Now what exactly he's good is a great question.