Teams & Riders Team Movistar-thread

[Leinster]

Lopez won’t win a GT. Mas might podium a future GT if the stars align.

Mas is the best GC rider at Movistar currently; that’s not a situation which is going to win Movistar a lot of races. Their recruitment over the next couple of seasons will be key; having Valverde has guaranteed them a number of classic and stage wins every year for so long, and that will be hard to replace in the coming seasons if they plan to stay among the top tier of World Tour teams.


I have to say, though, in relation to the Tour just ending, at least they pivoted a little and we’re willing to send Erviti, Cortina and Valverde after stage wins. If any of those 3 had worked out a little different, we might be looking at their situation a little different right now.

 

[Kaptain Kool]

Eh, I wouldn't read too much about Movistar's future from this tour. They had 2 leaders, one of whom wasn't functional. They never spent time controlling the race and did occasionally get riders into breaks. But they were limited on what they could do with Soler out and both Lopez and Verona suffering through the full 3 weeks. All 3 would have been potential stage hunters in the last 2 weeks.

In reality, there are 4 elite GT riders... Pogacar, Bernal, Roglic and Carapaz. Those guys can be expected to fight for the win of any GT. Beyond that, everyone else is no different from Mas or Lopez.

 

[tobydawq]

No Soler in the Vuelta squad. How very curious just after the announcement of his switching teams.

 

[Fantastico]

No Soler in the Vuelta squad. How very curious just after the announcement of his switching teams.

I'm not sure if going to the Vuelta has ever been a plan for him this year. He already prepared for the Giro and the Tour, even if crashing out of both rather early.

 

[tobydawq]

I'm not sure if going to the Vuelta has ever been a plan for him this year. He already prepared for the Giro and the Tour, even if crashing out of both rather early.

He was on the provisional PCS list. But I know those are not that reliable.

 

[Pinot's goat]

Soler said no Vuelta after his crash, injuries too severe.

 

[Mayomaniac]

If they actually manage to get Sosa it would be a great deal for them.
He can be a Poels/Kuss type of climbing superdom and do well in some shorter stage races with no TT, like Burgos. There have been rumours about them wanting to sign Ulissi and Conti, but no idea if that's legit or just Beppe Conti talk. Both of them would be good stagehunters and climbing doms for them.
Movistar would probably get Ulissi to finally ride more than one gt per year.

 

[perico]

If they are talking with Aquadro clients again, then I don’t see why they haven’t been after Oscar Rodriguez. He’s not going to win any GTs anytime soon, but he is out of contract with Astana and could be as good of a domestique as Verona has become (TDF crashes this year not withstanding).

 

[Escarabajo]

I just heard that Movistar extended Lopez contract!

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

I might have forgotten a race or 2 but this seem to be by far the most explosive Mas has ever been. Hanging in with real punchers

 

[perico]

I might have forgotten a race or 2 but this seem to be by far the most explosive Mas has ever been. Hanging in with real punchers

He looks very strong. At least as good as 2018. Hopefully this is the next step for him. From what I have gathered, a lot of his issues have been confidence in his abilities. The talent is there, no question.

 

[hq87]

I might have forgotten a race or 2 but this seem to be by far the most explosive Mas has ever been. Hanging in with real punchers

Spirit of Contador surely

 

[KZD]

Mas will likely podium if he continues like this. Lopez and Valverde also at a good level.

 

[gunara]

Mas will likely podium if he continues like this. Lopez and Valverde also at a good level.

Or why not win it, he's looking as good as he's ever been in a GT. Roglic is clearly the strongest up to now, but it's also entirely a different season for the Slovenian compared to his previous Vuelta wins, and we've seen strongest riders faded before in the Vueltas. Going to be hard, Mas might fade even worse himself, but he can dream.

 

[Koronin]

He looks very strong. At least as good as 2018. Hopefully this is the next step for him. From what I have gathered, a lot of his issues have been confidence in his abilities. The talent is there, no question.

We can hope his lack of confidence in his abilities isn't as bad as Valverde's.

Mas is definitely looking strong at this Vuelta. He has a great shot at the podium if not the overall win. Movistar looks to have a strong team.

 

[Fantastico]

So the plan was to contest the stage with Valverde.

“Our plan was letting a small breakaway go and then try to control the race for me to contest the stage, but I suffered a crash early on, I had so much pain to my neck and that’s why we didn’t pull from too early, because I wanted to see how I was really feeling. There were some riders braking in front of me, I was able to avoid them on time but then, when I was almost still, some rider hit me from behind and I got stuck with a bike from a Trek rider, I think it was Brambilla. It really hurt so much, my neck was cracking, but it seemed like it was a minor thing in the end… Near the finish, the team rode so well – winds were strong and it was dangerous, yet they drove the pace and the group perfectly. We’d of course be closer to the win, but we did well today. We’re still the three of us up there; having myself there always gives us an extra chance. Tomorrow’s stage has nothing to do with this, though today’s was already tough because of the wind.”

Maybe he just did not have the legs, maybe he was still hampered a bit by his crash at the early part of the stage.

 

[Netserk]

He certainly knows how to step up and be ready when he races in Spain. Still, as we saw in the spring, he may be competitive but not as strong as back in 2019.

Do we know why he was so piss poor in Tokyo?

 

[Fantastico]

Do we know why he was so piss poor in Tokyo?

I've read something in the Spanish press (not sure if I can find it again). If I remember correctly it said that due to the positive COVID case with one of their physios or mechanics there was a lot of uncertainty if the Spanish team would even be allowed to start. So they had really stressful nights before the race.
And then, according to some rider (I think it was one of the Izagirres), Valverde told his teammates already before the start that he wasn't really feeling well.

 

[Valv.Piti]

First time that Mas has shown the ability to live up to the hefty expectations of 2018 and all the Contador comments, and hes definitely stronger than in 2018 right now. I said 3 days ago I would be disappointed if he didnt top-3 and now I will be disappointed if he isnt able to either win or push Roglic very hard in the third week simply because I know he can do it in this shape. Im close to convinced he will be stronger than Roglic on Gamoniteiru and thats THE stage to win the Vuelta.

Very hyped by this result!

 

[Fantastico]

First time that Mas has shown the ability to live up to the hefty expectations of 2018 and all the Contador comments, and hes definitely stronger than in 2018 right now. I said 3 days ago I would be disappointed if he didnt top-3 and now I will be disappointed if he isnt able to either win or push Roglic very hard in the third week simply because I know he can do it in this shape. Im close to convinced he will be stronger than Roglic on Gamoniteiru and thats THE stage to win the Vuelta.

Very hyped by this result!

Really sad that Valverde is out because they now only have Verona as support for Mas and López in the later parts of the difficult stages.

 

[perico]

It also Sucked that Muhleburger has basically been out for the entire year as well.

 

[Koronin]

They've lost a second rider today to injury. Unfortunately Mas may be strong enough to push Roglic, but the down two riders likely isn't strong enough to do anything at all to help.

 

[tobydawq]

Well but they do have two of the strongest three riders of the race, it seems. How often do we honestly see that in a GT where it's not capitalised upon to getting the win?

 

[ice&fire]

Well but they do have two of the strongest three riders of the race, it seems. How often do we honestly see that in a GT where it's not capitalised upon to getting the win?

2015 TDF anyone? What team was that?

 

[perico]

Well but they do have two of the strongest three riders of the race, it seems. How often do we honestly see that in a GT where it's not capitalised upon to getting the win?

Ullrich and Kloden say hello. So do the 2009 Schleck brothers. Hell Jumbo probably had 2 of the 3 strongest at the TDF this year, and I still doubt whether Roglic could’ve beaten Tadej if he hadn’t crashed.