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Teams & Riders Team Movistar-thread

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I still think Valverde rode a good race and will be a danger at the Worlds. Mas was also good without threatening the podium. Contador is a big believer in his talent. Whether Mas can get the results of Bernal or Pogacar remains to be seen. Pogacar already has two podiums !

If the weather is as bad as being forecast Valverde is very unlikely to even finish the race.

I agree with perico that it appears Mas had his confidence shaken some. Also Mas still has some things to learn like how to limit time losses. Mas talked about that being a lesson Valverde taught him during this Tour. So I think in some aspects he still has a lot to learn about how to race for GC, however, he has a great teacher/coach and he wants to learn.
 
If the weather is as bad as being forecast Valverde is very unlikely to even finish the race.

I agree with perico that it appears Mas had his confidence shaken some. Also Mas still has some things to learn like how to limit time losses. Mas talked about that being a lesson Valverde taught him during this Tour. So I think in some aspects he still has a lot to learn about how to race for GC, however, he has a great teacher/coach and he wants to learn.
What's with you and the weather and Valverde?! Are you trying to make some sissy out of him?! The man rode in a bad weather numerous times, he doesn't like it but he rides! He won't quit!
 
Cold and heavy rain is not good for him and he's had issues with racing in rain since his knee injury.

9/10 of the cyclists wouldn't prefer those kind of conditions. But it's some strange kind of myth that Valverde couldn't do well in rainy conditions. He achieved some of his biggest moments in those conditions. I can remember him winning the Tour of Romandie back in 2010 in horrible weather conditions, also the 2015 edition of LBL was full of rain. And in the Worlds he did well in (heavy) rainy conditions in Florence (3rd) and Hamilton (5th).
 
Mas is supposed to have insane physical numbers close to Contador’s level. I think the slow buildup to the Tour shook his confidence a bit. Even when he tried to go on the last Mtn stage he sat up pretty quickly, like he wasn’t sure of himself, maybe due to his mediocre showing in the Pyrenees. I don’t know what Pogacar’s ceiling is, but I think he will be a much bigger threat for GC dominance over the next few years than Bernal. Bernal could win another Tour no doubt, but last year he was in the right place at the right time. He’s a great rider, but bearable. I don’t know how beatable Pogacar will be.
Yes no doubt Bernal had a few things go his way. No Froome, Thomas not in the same form as when he won the Tour, Pinot in the best Tour form of his life and getting injured again. Shortened stages etc........but in the previous Tour Bernal while working for Froome and Thomas was incredible. To me Bernal never looked right in the Tour and he was leaking time early. Obviously Ineos were keeping quiet about his back and his form wasn't as good anyway going into the race. It will be interesting to see which of the younger riders is first to win win multiple grand tours.

Roglic also with a late start to the sport has podiumed his last three grand tours, winning one of them but I'm not sure Roglic is going to get much better than he already is. I think he will continue to dominate shorter stage races but winning multiple grand tours is another thing. Froome tends to think that Roglic's form generally starts to tail off towards the end of a grand tour. It certainly happened in the 2018 Tour, 2019 Giro and maybe a little in this year's Tour. He may have to change his preparation a little or do less racing before his main objective or maybe it's just the limit of his ability anyway. His win at the Vuelta against an aging Valverde and raw Pogacar was still a good win and that form carried over into the Tour even though Valverde could only manage 11th which is still a very good ride for someone his age.
 
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No it isn't. :p it's might consider wearing a thin jacket weather.

But, anyway - too lazy to look for the specific rider thread - any news about Betancur? Did he make it to Europe yet? PCS keeps putting him on preliminary start-lists - most recently FW - but when the official start-list is published he... mysteriously disappears.

LOL, It's time to get sweatshirts out and put on a jacket when you go outside.

As far as I know Betancur is still in Colombia, but I have no idea.

I remember Movistar saying preliminary start lists are just place holder names.
 
No they change them regularly. They aren’t necessarily accurate, but are based on the speculation at the time.

And now of course they - PCS - have Mora and Norsgaard listed for both BinckBank Tour and Fleche Wallone, along with a bunch of other riders. However, since the Movistar lineup for BinckBank Tour has a green checkmark, I think it's safe to say that that's indeed the race they're going to ride.
 
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Hmm... according to PCS, Mora is not riding after all... anyone knows what's up with that? I mean... these days it's a bit... worrying... when someone is suddenly removed from an otherwise confirmed startlist of a race...

A track competition that conflicts? Although his track partner is racing the Giro. Maybe an injury or illness we don't know about? That is odd they'd officially announce the team and then someone get pulled.
 
Giro line-up is proof they don't really care about the Giro. I think we all know la Vuelta is their big race. They do have Spanish sponsors and are a Spanish team after all. So la Vuelta means at least as much if not more than the Tour does to them. However, that is a weak line up for the Giro at best. I'm not even sure it's capable of winning the team competition let alone doing anything else.
 
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