He seems to really like wearing caps, so maybe she actually meant hat head or hot hat?
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He seems to really like wearing caps, so maybe she actually meant hat head or hot hat?
Dont get me wrong, I know Lopez is better than Betancur. I was refering as a Betancur case in the way he cheated Movistar. Lopez sign in it has been to me a very strange one. Just one year, with all the bad background they have had... Im not sure if Lopez is fully commited with the team or just waiting to find a better place for next year.
Lopez won the queen stage of the Tour last year by riding away from Pogacar and Roglic. Not sure what all the complaining is about 
Betancur didn't cheat Movistar though. They knew fully well what they were getting into. Everyone knew he disappeared and why Lavenu threw him out the year before.
Betancur didn't cheat Movistar though. They knew fully well what they were getting into. Everyone knew he disappeared and why Lavenu threw him out the year before.
Yes, I know you are right, still, Unzue put some hope on him. The guy was just looking for some last money from cycling.Lopez won the queen stage of the Tour last year by riding away from Pogacar and Roglic. Not sure what all the complaining is about
Betancur didn't cheat Movistar though. They knew fully well what they were getting into. Everyone knew he disappeared and why Lavenu threw him out the year before.
To be fair, maybe that's specifically why they only offered him one year, because they don't know how well he will integrate within the team with all that history. He would obviously want more job security, but people weren't handing out so many big contracts in a pandemic situation, especially by the time it was known he was on the market, so rather than take a contract for less than he feels his perceived value is for, say, three years through his age 27-29 seasons which should be peak years, if he has to take a lower contract value, then better to do it for one year on a 'show me' basis and prove his worth to get the better contract when there's more money in the market again.
Simultaneously, take a look at Supermán's palmarès. He wins a fair bit, and in prominent races. Enric Mas may be Movistar's planned future leader, but he's less than a year younger than López, and crucially, Enric Mas is a Carlos Sastre type. He'll be a GT GC leader, but he won't win you very much. His great strength is his recovery, and he's not an explosive climber or an elite time triallist, so while he'll never be far from the business end he also won't win many stages. López, by contrast, has won short stage races and plenty of mountaintop finishes in races. Even when the GC guys have been underperforming in recent years at Movistar, they've managed to salvage things. Quintana has brought stage wins home from failed Tour bids more than once, for example. Mas needs somebody who can do that and take some of the pressure off him as Valverde stops bringing home the wins, and Supermán is perfect for that role. But they're very different types of climber, so they could complement one another perfectly, or they could go together like toothpaste and orange juice.
So Lopez and Unzue explain the schedule for Lopez. They are not worried that he starts very late:
We'll see.
- Romandie
- Mallorca
- Andalucia
- Dauphine/Switzerland
We'll see.
Anyone an idea about the current status of Muhlberger. He was not riding anymore since Paris-Nice. And you are not finding any updates wether on the Movistar Homepage nor in social Media chanbels.
Apparently they want to bring him slowly. The races he has done so were build-up races for him. He also admits he needs time to adapt himself to the tactics and race positions of Movistar during races. For instance, during the UAE Tour he was following the wheel of his ex-teammates from Bora rather more than the wheel of his new teammates.
Österreichischer Radsport-Verband - Paris-Nizza als nächster Schritt für Mühlberger in der Transformation vom Bora- zum Movistarfahrer (radsportverband.at)
Yeah, since it's Movistar it sounds a bit funny...
Also, since most rider's contracts aren't longer than two years it shouldn't take half a year to get used to the new team and their tactics... Don't know what it's about here, but ugh.
Race position maybe I can understand as they are usually near if not at the front. But tactics? This is the same Movistar team that we all see their tactics even if they don't make sense, liking pulling when you don't have someone capable of actually winning. It shouldn't take half a year to get used to a new team (language barrier or not). A handful of races should be sufficient.
Just read the article you were mentining. It fies give a little more insight but this article is now 2 months old and He was not racing for 1 1/2 months now. And this is somehow odd too me. Especially when there is not a Single Update available of what comes next.
Yes i agree with you, it's very odd indeed. He was originally scheduled for the Ardennes classics and as a sherpa for Mas in the Tour, let's wait and see what his next race will be. With Movistar they have plenty of experience with an unexpected shift in the teamschedules (Betancur).
The first coach of Sagan denies the rumors that Deceuninck made an offer on his poulain. According to him there are two realistic options left: renewing one year with Bora or signing with Movistar..
Prvý tréner Petra Sagana Peter Zánický: Peter je svetový fenomén | Slovenský olympijský tím (olympic.sk)
It would be a classic Unzue move: offering too much money on a rider who is beyond his peak.
Prvý tréner Petra Sagana Peter Zánický: Peter je svetový fenomén | Slovenský olympijský tím (olympic.sk)
It would be a classic Unzue move: offering too much money on a rider who is beyond his peak.
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There's the Patxi Vila connection, he used to be Sagan's coach until 2019 and is now "head of performance" at Movistar.
If Valverde finally retires Unzue will have a large chunk of money to throw away. I can see riders' agents testing the waters.
Unzue survived 40 years, and not only survived, his team was more often than not among the very best. In the last decade for example, Movistar was easily among the three top teams. And all that with really modest budget. I would say he pretty much knows what to do, and I think bringing Sagan would be a great deal, both for the team and the rider.
If Sagan arrives, I think Valverde won't pass opportunity to ride together with him...
You can't deny the fact that almost every 30+ rider he signed turned out to be a desastrous signing: Anton, Bruseghin, Cobo, Gadret, Karpets, Moreno, Plaza, Szmyd... It also doesn't match with the vision of the team, they have always developed young talent into better riders with the likes of Delgado, Indurain, JM Jimenez and more recently with Movistar the likes of Lobato, Fernandez, Quintana, I.Izagirre and Castroviejo. And now they already have someone with a similar profile like Sagan in the person of Garcia-Cortina. I'd rather see them spending money on the development of their talents than spending a huge amount of money on Sagan.
Valverde has started talking about 1 more season because he's racing well again this year and because he wants the fans back at the races before he retires.
I suspect Blanco is also correct that if Sagan does go to Movistar, Valverde will want to race a season with him.
I'm still not convinced Sagan makes sense at Movistar.
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