The "I can't believe" Mikel Landa thread

[thehog]

Does Landa have a thread? Impressive new found TT skills he found today

 

[bigcog]

Re: The "I can't believe & don't enjoy" Mikel Landa thread

Does Landa have a thread? Impressive new found TT skills he found today

Been in the wind tunnel and other marginal gains with Sky

 

[Digger]

Sky fans and walsh (same thing really I guess) - do you think landa is clean?!!

 

[thehog]

Re: The "I can't believe & don't enjoy" Mikel Landa thread

Does Landa have a thread? Impressive new found TT skills he found today

Been in the wind tunnel and other marginal gains with Sky

5 months of marginal gains, he took the extra speedy gains first, impressive. Walsh will be very happy

Just as well he's not a altitude native

 

[BigMac]

Is this really warranted? What kind of discussion can a sarcastical/rhetorical OP offer that the Sky thread cannot? I'm just curious.

 

[Red Rick]

Wondering what they'll say. Will look at his climbing first, cause I wouldn't think it should improve that much more compared to his Astana days, but then, every time I think I've seen about everything from Sky they come up with a new trick.

 

[thehog]

Re:

Wondering what they'll say. Will look at his climbing first, cause I wouldn't think it should improve that much more compared to his Astana days, but then, every time I think I've seen about everything from Sky they come up with a new trick.

Even Marginal Flecha was a little shocked

 

[hrotha]

Eyebrow firmly raised, but his form has been disconcerting so far and I want to see what he's like on the mountains.

 

[More Strides than Rides]

Re:

Is this really warranted? What kind of discussion can a sarcastical/rhetorical OP offer that the Sky thread cannot? I'm just curious.

I agree. The Pro Road Race forum is just a stage thread with individual riders' threads underneath. It's not helpful to have a discussion without context of their team, other riders, or others' teams. A thread on an individual implies that those factors aren't part of the discussion.

 

[Red Rick]

Definitely have to look at climbing times. The riders are all very close together, but a few of the other crap tt'ist did lose more time. However, it's the last day before a rest day, rainy, technical and up and down tt. Last year he lost like 3 minutes to Contador on the flat part and 1 minute on the hillier part. Still, the change feels very big

 

[sniper]

Was Landa's bike screened afterwards?

 

[veganrob]

Re: The "I can't believe & don't enjoy" Mikel Landa thread

Was totally expecting this kind of result for TT. New, lighter Bolide comes out and moves Landa up a minute or so. lol Sky can tout the huge marginal gains of bike now. ***. There is no TT bike that stands out from another. Or maybe a moto Bolide.

 

[DFA123]

Not sure about the TT angle here. For me, Landa is by far one of the most suspicious riders of the last few years, but don't see the TT as such a shock result. A climber finishing 20th, losing 2 minutes on a hilly course, where the rain meant the twisty downhills and flats were largely a tecnhical challenge rather than about power, isn't a massive shock.

A rider who can destroy the field on Finestre or in that ridiculous Andorra stage should be putting in a reasonable performance in a hilly time trial. His incredible climbing is surely a much bigger red flag here.

 

[Zypherov]

Landa does merit a place on the Clinics suspicious list. His rise to prominence especially during last years Giro was almost like the second coming of Armstrong. But at least he did no have to brake going around the corners of the climbs. If he had not been riding for Aru he could've possibly won the 2015 Giro. He was the strongest climber in that race. He has not shown that kind of form this season, yet. He may get stronger as the Giro progresses. Todays Time Trial suited him as he has shown us to be a notable climber. He was was signed by Sky from Astana and we all know what kind of reputation they have, the latter that is.

 

[SlickMongoose]

Outclimbing everyone at last year's Giro = no thread, 20th in a TT = thread? Heh.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

Outclimbing everyone at last year's Giro = no thread, 20th in a TT = thread? Heh.

He was discussed in the Astana thread but he just graduated to having his own now. Apparently riding for Sky even as few days as Landa has until today can transform you from a guy who can't TT, I mean really bad at the discipline, into one who can go shoulder to shoulder with the best. In his first one. Amazing.

 

[vedrafjord]

I don't see today's time trial as a red flag in itself. It reminded me of Rasmussen who climbed like a beast but did a shocking time trial in the 2005 TdF. He knew he'd have to improve his TT big time if he was to have any hope of winning a GT, so that's what he did - spent time on the bike and got his position sorted out, and when the moment of truth came in 2007 he did a lot better than expected.

None of that means he's clean of course. When a rider goes to Astana and starts making Alberto Contador look ordinary on GT mountain stages, the obvious conclusion is the correct one. What I've wondered though, since he signed for Sky, is surely even the Bikeradar-reading, Sky-kit-wearing MAMILs know that too. How can Dave B sell his clean team spiel when he's signing climbers from The Bad Guys(tm)?

 

[coinneach]

Re:

Outclimbing everyone at last year's Giro = no thread, 20th in a TT = thread? Heh.

The difference is now he rides for sky, and they understand the importance of practicing on a tt bike.

Personally, I'm fascinated to see how his performance compares to last year.... So far, he is some way off that level, but it remains to be seen if he has traded his explosiveness for solid and steady

 

[MartinGT]

Re: The "I can't believe & don't enjoy" Mikel Landa thread

I tweeted Walsh and had nothing from him. Not banned yet.

 

[thehog]

Re: The "I can't believe & don't enjoy" Mikel Landa thread

I tweeted Walsh and had nothing from him. Not banned yet.

He only replies if you tell him the Program was awesome

 

[Benotti69]

Re: The "I can't believe & don't enjoy" Mikel Landa thread

I tweeted Walsh and had nothing from him. Not banned yet.

He only replies if you tell him the Program was awesome

That the 'Sky Program' or 'USPS Program'..........?

 

[Beech Mtn]

I'm surprised there wasn't already a dedicated Landa thread from last year, but if not, then yes, he needs his own thread. We can't keep discussing him in the Astana thread, and it's not that workable to have all the GT leaders from a team stuck into one thread, not when we're talking big names that are most likely going to continue to be in the spotlight in coming years.

 

[doperhopper]

Re: The "I can't believe & don't enjoy" Mikel Landa thread

Does Landa have a thread? Impressive new found TT skills he found today

Been in the wind tunnel and other marginal gains with Sky

5 months of marginal gains, he took the extra speedy gains first, impressive. Walsh will be very happy

Just as well he's not a altitude native

well, apparently, three weeks of practicing wet cornering brought its fruits (on magical Teide and Mallorca velodrome)

 

[pastronef]

Re: The "I can't believe & don't enjoy" Mikel Landa thread

Does Landa have a thread? Impressive new found TT skills he found today

Been in the wind tunnel and other marginal gains with Sky

5 months of marginal gains, he took the extra speedy gains first, impressive. Walsh will be very happy

Just as well he's not a altitude native

well, apparently, three weeks of practicing wet cornering brought its fruits (on magical Teide and Mallorca velodrome)

super fuel 2015 and 2016

hours trained on TT bike in 2015 < hours trained on TT bike 2016

 

[thehog]

Re: The "I can't believe & don't enjoy" Mikel Landa thread

I tweeted Walsh and had nothing from him. Not banned yet.

He only replies if you tell him the Program was awesome

That the 'Sky Program' or 'USPS Program'..........?

Lol!

Basically you have to write;

Hi @davidwalshst I though 7DS was an amazing book, the ending when you find out Lance doped really shocked me! What do you think of Landa at Astana doper but clean at Sky? Brailsford wouldn't allow doping on his watch.