The rider who came 5th in Vuelta and Tour last year should not be a super dom.
But a super dom finished 2nd in the Giro and another could do the same in the Tour.
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The rider who came 5th in Vuelta and Tour last year should not be a super dom.
Not anymore as I had a podium bet on him for the TDF but he let me down, however I believe he is better than what he has shown this past 3 weeks. On previous performance I think he should be with Uran in the GC right now.
But a super dom finished 2nd in the Giro and another could do the same in the Tour.
Good stage by Enric Sastre. I thought he would lose a lot more time yesterday, but recovered well on that occasion and did a great stage today. He probably would have won if not for Pogacar today. Overall, not the best race, but an extremely consistent rider that has the ability to win the Tour alá Sastre - but then again, so does a lot of riders.
Mas is fine, yes he's no Contador or Slovenian but if things go his way he could easily sneak a podium at some point, people frown upon 5-10th in Grand Tours too easily.
I also enjoy memeing Movistar but the plan to go with Mas and Lopez for GC overall was solid, just unlucky with Lopez being out of the picture right away. Their main problem is that they too often want to show off their ambition as a GC contender by doing weird train stuff or overall just playing Ineos lite. Bora are showing with Keldermann how its done, trust your GC leader to stay up there and fight on his own and focus the rest of the team on stage wins. Mas would be exactly where he is if he'd rode for Arkea. I mean he says on the netflix series that he feels "calmer" with Valverde being around him but is that really worth having guys around you till the bottom of the final climb where Ineos/JV/UAE inevitably up the pace and everyone around him gets dropped?
(To be fair, "going for stage wins" is also easier said than done, look at Astana this tour, absolute no show)
Mas is a super dom riding as a leader.
They can give him another season and see if anything changes but they need to be planning what comes next if they want to contest GC
Matxin connection, and of course money talks...So how come Juan Ayuso is going to UAE and not to Movistar?
Ayuso will be 23 when his contract expires.So how come Juan Ayuso is going to UAE and not to Movistar?
Plenty of riders have transitioned to Super Dom with a better palmares than Mas. At the same age as Mas, Majka had 3 Tour stage wins, 2 polka dot jerseys, and a Vuelta podium.But a super dom finished 2nd in the Giro and another could do the same in the Tour.
Plenty of riders have transitioned to Super Dom with a better palmares than Mas. At the same age as Mas, Majka had 3 Tour stage wins, 2 polka dot jerseys, and a Vuelta podium.
Mas might be a good support rider in the Tour who gets his own opportunities at the Vuelta/Giro, but he does not look like the kind of rider you bank all your GC Grand Tour investment in. His other alternative, is to switch to classics/stage hunting a la Mollema.
Sivakov's age 20 season in 2017 was better than any U23 season by Mas.
Who exactly at Movistar is a better GT GC rider than Mas currently? Mas is a capable GC rider and can podium if things go his way. He may even be able to win a Giro or Vuelta. I actually think his abilities are best suited to the Giro.
Your options for GC riders in reality at Mas, Lopez, and Valverde. Lopez hasn't proven he's better than Mas. Lopez is more likely to get a stage win, but he's inconsistent and struggles with TTs. Mas should be better with TTs than he is, can be consistent, but isn't going to get you many stage wins. Valverde is 41.
I think the point of discussion is not whether Mas should be their leader for GC, but if it is required to use the whole team for his support.
At this point, I give him no chance to win a GT (also not Giro or Vuelta), at the very best a podium is in reach. But then Movistar could also follow the Astana approach where Lutsenko tried to stay with the other leaders as long as possible, but the rest of the team basically tried to chase stage wins. The best results in this TdF have been achieved when Erviti and Valverde joined the breakaway.
Mas won't win any GT, a podium maybe, when stars align . Lopez on the other hand is capable of winning, but he is much more inconsistent. Valverde is 41, he won't win or podium any GT anymore, but he will take a medal in a week.Who exactly at Movistar is a better GT GC rider than Mas currently? Mas is a capable GC rider and can podium if things go his way. He may even be able to win a Giro or Vuelta. I actually think his abilities are best suited to the Giro.
Your options for GC riders in reality at Mas, Lopez, and Valverde. Lopez hasn't proven he's better than Mas. Lopez is more likely to get a stage win, but he's inconsistent and struggles with TTs. Mas should be better with TTs than he is, can be consistent, but isn't going to get you many stage wins. Valverde is 41.
Mas won't win any GT, a podium maybe, when stars align . Lopez on the other hand is capable of winning, but he is much more inconsistent. Valverde is 41, he won't win or podium any GT anymore, but he will take a medal in a week.