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Teams & Riders Team Movistar-thread

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Still, quite unusual to see Valverde finish almost last out of the group he was in with 1km to go. And yes, it's the Tour etc, but for a second I thought he might try for the finish, so he probably was just hanging on.

Valverde said he was cramping in the last few KMs of the stage. Which explains his issues in the finish.


It's good to see the team and particularly Mas and Valverde continuing to prove and noticeably continue to improve as we watch. I'm not convinced Mas can fight for the podium this year, but I do think he has a chance for the top 5. Valverde still has a chance at the top 10. Coming into this Tour I don't think even those of us who are his biggest fans thought he had a real shot at yet another GT top 10.

On a different note over in Italy at Tirreno-Adriatico, Hector Carretero is still in the KOM jersey and as long as he finishes the ITT tomorrow will take home the final overall KOM prize.
 
Quasi 4 Movi's in the GC top 20! Who would have predicted that three weeks ago..

And on one stage they even got third!

Sorry for being negative, it's not like I don't like Movistar, but their racing this Tour has been a disappointment so far.
I agree they are getting better rather than worse and I'll take everything back if they get a stage win or Mas gets on the podium, but if they win the team classification like this I will not applaud them.
 
And on one stage they even got third!

Sorry for being negative, it's not like I don't like Movistar, but their racing this Tour has been a disappointment so far.
I agree they are getting better rather than worse and I'll take everything back if they get a stage win or Mas gets on the podium, but if they win the team classification like this I will not applaud them.

Remember the restarted the season totally out of race shape. Soler is 20th and he wasn't supposed to be at the Tour at all. They are the definition of racing yourself into form. The insane part is they could end up with 2 riders in the top 10 of GC and 4 riders in the top 20.

Quasi 4 Movi's in the GC top 20! Who would have predicted that three weeks ago..

I would never have thought that possible 2 weeks ago. I wouldn't have thought 2 in the top 10 was even a possibility. Now that isn't out of the realm of possibilities.
 
And on one stage they even got third!

Sorry for being negative, it's not like I don't like Movistar, but their racing this Tour has been a disappointment so far.
I agree they are getting better rather than worse and I'll take everything back if they get a stage win or Mas gets on the podium, but if they win the team classification like this I will not applaud them.
It’s a disappointment for who exactly? Nobody expected anything out of them after disastrous results at Burgos and the Dauphiné. The fact that Mas is looking stronger by the day and that Valverde is somehow in contention for another Top 10 at 40 years old.

Everyone said this year would not be normal because of the strange conditions. It’s not exactly fair that a certain country never had a day of lockdown and now occupy the top 2 spots on GC in the race, while Bernal is like 20 minutes down and every Spaniard has struggled to reach top form (Landa included)? Not really, but that is life.
 
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Looking forward to Soler in the Giro now. He has really rode himself into form and I think he can do really well in a weak field. Top-5?

Ditto for Valverde, he will be a player in Worlds and obviously later in the Vuelta. The duo of Mas and Valverde will be much more scary in the Vuelta than this Tour where they honestly have performed above my expectations.
 
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Looking forward to Soler in the Giro now. He has really rode himself into form and I think he can do really well in a weak field. Top-5?

Ditto for Valverde, he will be a player in Worlds and obviously later in the Vuelta. The duo of Mas and Valverde will be much more scary in the Vuelta than this Tour where they honestly have performed above my expectations.

Sure, Soler has find some form. But he still stays unreliable and he seems limited in the high mountains. Don't forget it will also be the first time he will be the unique leader. How will he deal with the extra pressure? A top 10 would be more realistic i would say.

Yes, both of them will arrive in very good form. I'd put Mas ahead of Valverde. Valverde needs to focus on stages initially and then as always the GC will come into view automatically.
 
Sure, Soler has find some form. But he still stays unreliable and he seems limited in the high mountains. Don't forget it will also be the first time he will be the unique leader. How will he deal with the extra pressure? A top 10 would be more realistic i would say.

Yes, both of them will arrive in very good form. I'd put Mas ahead of Valverde. Valverde needs to focus on stages initially and then as always the GC will come into view automatically.

At this point with Soler's inconsistency I think he'd be much better as a stage hunter and KOM hunter than a GC rider.

On the other hand, after this Tour, I'm even more convinced Mas can be a very good GC leader. Don't know if he'll ever actually win a Grand Tour, but he should have multiple podiums over the next few years. He has the chance to win at least 1 GT in the future.
 
At this point with Soler's inconsistency I think he'd be much better as a stage hunter and KOM hunter than a GC rider.

On the other hand, after this Tour, I'm even more convinced Mas can be a very good GC leader. Don't know if he'll ever actually win a Grand Tour, but he should have multiple podiums over the next few years. He has the chance to win at least 1 GT in the future.

Yes i agree with you on that. The Giro will tell him more about himself.

With his current (rising) form and the current startlist Mas is one of the big favorites ( if not the biggest) for the Vuelta, assuming he stays healthy.
 
Yes i agree with you on that. The Giro will tell him more about himself.

With his current (rising) form and the current startlist Mas is one of the big favorites ( if not the biggest) for the Vuelta, assuming he stays healthy.

I think you're right. The other thing is we'll definitely see how well he can hold his form. I think in another year or two he'll be ready to take on the full responsibilities of leadership.
 
I think Mas can win a Tour and 1 or 2 Vueltas. I don’t expect him to equal Contador’s 9 (7) GTs, and he’s no Indurain. He’s not going to be the next Valverde since he isn’t a hilly classics specialist, though he’s not bad at them. He’s a better all around rider than Sastre, Purito, and Sammy Sanchez. One thing I’ve been impressed with is Mas’s tactical acumen. I’ve watched him closely for a few years. In the 3 GTs since his debut, he has never missed a split on a stage- never been caught out. He’s always in position when it matters.

It would be foolish to expect another Pistolero or Indurain, who are 2 of the 10 best GT riders ever. He’s a much better TTer than Purito or Sastre. So... that leaves me with no other choice than another hoping he’s another Delgado. I would be happy with that lol.
 
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I think Mas can win a Tour and 1 or 2 Vueltas. I don’t expect him to equal Contador’s 9 (7) GTs, and he’s no Indurain. He’s not going to be the next Valverde since he isn’t a hilly classics specialist, though he’s not bad at them. He’s a better all around rider than Sastre, Purito, and Sammy Sanchez. One thing I’ve been impressed with is Mas’s tactical acumen. I’ve watched him closely for a few years. In the 3 GTs since his debut, he has never missed a split on a stage- never been caught out. He’s always in position when it matters.

It would be foolish to expect another Pistolero or Indurain, who are 2 of the 10 best GT riders ever. He’s a much better TTer than Purito or Sastre. So... that leaves me with no other choice than another hoping he’s another Delgado. I would be happy with that lol.

I think we all (or at least Movistar and Mas fans) could be happy with another Delgado. I don't think anyone expects him or really anyone else to be another Valverde, including the team. I remember about 5 years ago now the team was asked how they replace Valverde when he retires. Their answer was you can't replace him, you have to hope to find 3 or 4 riders who can come close to doing well a few of the things he does well. He does appear to be possibly the best all round of the newest generation of Spanish riders coming into the pro peloton currently. I suspect he learned a lot about positioning while at DQS.
 
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