Vélo d'Or 2015

[Flamin]

This needs its own thread.

Edit: poll worksnow.

 

[Flamin]

Imo Valverde needed a podium in Vuelta or Lombardia to edge out Andalucía vs Contador, Dauphiné and Tour.

Degenkolb was well on his way in spring, but lacks a few stage wins in the Tour.

So Froome it is.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Valverde or Kristoff, voted Valverde

Froome won the award anyway, (TDF overrated as usual )

 

[Red Rick]

Think you meant Froome, Contadors Tour wasn't very impressive.

Think Froome shouldn't win. Didn't do anything unique. Won Tour+Dauphine as only WT races. Has been done a few times in the last few years alone. Really think either Valverde or Kristoff should've taken this one

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Think you meant Froome, Contadors Tour wasn't very impressive.

Think Froome shouldn't win. Didn't do anything unique. Won Tour+Dauphine as only WT races. Has been done a few times in the last few years alone. Really think either Valverde or Kristoff should've taken this one

Yes he meant Froome won Andalucia against Contador

Agree with you, plus Froome wasn't super dominant in any race.

 

[Irondan]

Sagan didn't win a pile of races but IMO he was the best cyclist in almost all of the races he entered. He got my vote.

 

[Red Rick]

I get the feeling they need to pile the TdF winner with awards every year. As if they acknowledge that winning the TdF in itself isnt enough reward.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Cant be ANY doubt in my mind that Valverde deserves it. I dont know how you can put anyone in front of him.

 

[Mr.White]

Valverde comfortably, then Kristoff by some margin, and then pretty evenly matched Degenkolb and Froome. Sagan is 5th.

Edit: I forgot Aru, he's in front of Sagan, behind Froome and Degenkolb

 

[hrotha]

Valverde was insanely consistent as usual but when it comes to the big wins he has FW, LBL and maybe (being extremely generous) the Spanish nat championship. That's not better than Degenkolb's season, for example, and if you look at things other than victories then it's not necessarily better than Kristoff's season either. Since there's no one clearly above the others, the Tour is given even more weight, but I wouldn't have considered Froome unless he had at least podiumed the Vuelta.

I dunno, I think I would have gone with Kristoff.

 

[Fernandez]

Never mind. The true cycling fan knows who was the best rider of the year. Even the same pro cyclists know who are the best among them.

 

[Flamin]

Re:

Never mind. The true cycling fan knows who was the best rider of the year. Even the same pro cyclists know who are the best among them.

Great argument.

 

[Jspear]

It's really hard for me to vote this year....there really isn't one single stand out rider. A case can be made for many different rider imo. That means I might as well do a fan pick.

 

[King Boonen]

Degenkolb.

 

[Echoes]

1 Greg Van Avermaet
2 John Degenkolb
3 Alexander Kristoff
4 Zdenek Stybar
5 Vincenzo Nibali
6 Vasil Kiryenka
7 Wout Van Aert
8 Mathieu Van der Poel
9 Kevin Pauwels
10 Lars Van der Haar

Good list is good.

Edith told me that it wasn't good because I forgot to put Tim Wellens in the mix.

 

[Arredondo]

Kristoff for me the winner. Bala a close 2nd, but his 2nd part was too flawless (for Bala's standards) to win it.

Degenkolb 2nd part of the season was really so-so, so a rad race between him and Froome for 3rd.

Oh, *** it! I'm going for Landa for the 3rd podium spot!

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

Cant be ANY doubt in my mind that Valverde deserves it. I dont know how you can put anyone in front of him.

Because they are a lot of people who are not Valverde fanboys

 

[Carols]

Valverde #1. Good to see he is getting so many votes even though he isn't well like here. But the quality of his season begs recognition!

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Valverde #1. Good to see he is getting so many votes even though he isn't well like here. But the quality of his season begs recognition!

Yep, 60% speaks volumes, especially considering he likeable to many in here.

 

[Tonton]

Re: Re:

Valverde #1. Good to see he is getting so many votes even though he isn't well like here. But the quality of his season begs recognition!

Yep, 60% speaks volumes, especially considering he likeable to many in here.

Which is why I won't vote for him , but clearly, over the entire season, he was there mixing it up at the top. I can't see anyone more deserving. Froome doesn't. The classics guys? Valverde did as well as the best of them in the spring: LBL, FW, 2nd AGR...for a good rider, that's a career...

I still won't for him, but no need for a photo-finish: Valverde by a mile.

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

Cant be ANY doubt in my mind that Valverde deserves it. I dont know how you can put anyone in front of him.

Because they are a lot of people who are not Valverde fanboys

But it seems they're voting for him

 

[blackcat]

Re:

Sagan didn't win a pile of races but IMO he was the best cyclist in almost all of the races he entered. He got my vote.

I think Tom Boonens response at the Worlds summed this up, he was overjoyed at a rival racer's win.

Sagan is the MVP, and yes, mvp is not a term in cycling

 

[Gigs_98]

I think Valverde's season is a bit overrated. The start with the FW+LBL double and 3 stages in Catalunya was absolutely great. However after this, he didnt win one single stage in a tdf which had tons of stages he could have won and he only won one stage in the Vuelta, which also isnt really outstanding for a rider like him.

Tbh. he also finally got his tdf podium and the points jersey in the vuelta, but I'm not arguing that his season wasnt good, but that it isnt as great as many people say. Just as an example: Peter Sagan also has one very big one day race (WC RR), one vuelta stage, a gt points jersey and three more WT stages.
+Valverde: one more WT one day race, 3rd in the tdf, Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana, spanish champ and the WT
+Sagan: gc and 2 stages in california, his points jersey was the one from the tdf, points jersey tds, Slovakian champ.

Valverde probaly still had the better season because his "+wins" are definitely worth more (especially the WT and the tdf podium), BUT don't forget how many more races Sagan could have won without his bad luck and that hardly anyone says that Sagan is the rider of the year and still Sagan's and Valverde's seasons are comparable. IMO Valverde is still one of the best riders of the season about as good as Kristoff and Froome, maybe even the best one, but I remember that earlier this autumn, people said that if he had won the WC RR, it would be an almost perfect season, and that was a massive overrating (and looking at the poll which isnt close at all, I think many people still overrate it).

Ps: Voted for Sagan, because I hope he will get 2nd.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Piti is the best cyclist of the year, in terms of results. Yet I voted for Sagan because he's been the strongest cyclist in all races he's focused, and because I wanted him to beat CF for 3rd spot in the polls.

 

[DFA123]

I think Valverde's season is a bit overrated. The start with the FW+LBL double and 3 stages in Catalunya was absolutely great. However after this, he didnt win one single stage in a tdf which had tons of stages he could have won and he only won one stage in the Vuelta, which also isnt really outstanding for a rider like him.

Tbh. he also finally got his tdf podium and the points jersey in the vuelta, but I'm not arguing that his season wasnt good, but that it isnt as great as many people say. Just as an example: Peter Sagan also has one very big one day race (WC RR), one vuelta stage, a gt points jersey and three more WT stages.
+Valverde: one more WT one day race, 3rd in the tdf, Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana, spanish champ and the WT
+Sagan: gc and 2 stages in california, his points jersey was the one from the tdf, points jersey tds, Slovakian champ.

Valverde probaly still had the better season because his "+wins" are definitely worth more (especially the WT and the tdf podium), BUT don't forget how many more races Sagan could have won without his bad luck and that hardly anyone says that Sagan is the rider of the year and still Sagan's and Valverde's seasons are comparable. IMO Valverde is still one of the best riders of the season about as good as Kristoff and Froome, maybe even the best one, but I remember that earlier this autumn, people said that if he had won the WC RR, it would be an almost perfect season, and that was a massive overrating (and looking at the poll which isnt close at all, I think many people still overrate it).

Ps: Voted for Sagan, because I hope he will get 2nd.

Problem with Sagan is that if he didn't win the WC his season would have been a bit of a disaster - at least in terms of results. Failed to win any spring classics that he was targetting, failed to win a stage in the TdF and crashed out of the Vuelta. A WC win is massive - but is it enough to transform a slightly disappointing season into being rider of the year?

Valverde won a monument and finished on the podium of a very strong TdF - that alone is an incredible achievement. They were his two main goals of the season, given how the WC course didn't suit him and he achieved them. The fact he also won a prestigious classic, a GC points jersey, GT stage, several other hilly stages (which are tougher to win than Sagan's sprint victories) and finished top 5 in pretty much every race he entered, puts him a long way ahead of the rest imo.