Vuelta Awards Prestige

[roundabout]

How can a rider who has 7 top 10 finishes in 10 GT starts be not considered one of the top 10 GT riders today?

 

[theyoungest]

Added black part was my point. To be a good GT climber you need to be consistent on all mountain stages. Dropping out on one climb in every GT= damage has been done especially if you lose a lot of time in one stage like Valverde has done numerous of times. Just saying he doesn't make it in my top 10 of GT contenders. I'm not saying he's far away from it though. And I definitely consider him an A climber in important one day races like LBL, fleche Wallone, classica San Sebastian and Giro di Lombardia.

You're just rehashing the old cliche "Valverde always has a bad day". Valverde used to waste too much energy on sprint finishes, the fact that he's actually able to win those has been both a blessing and a curse. Now he's learned to ride more conservatively. To me, there's really no argument. The results prove that Valverde is one of the best GT riders out there.

 

[Vonn Brinkman]

Good climber? Yes. He doesn't make my top ten of( currently active cyclists) best GT(one day races is something else) contenders anyway.

Of course he took advantage of it and of course it's fair for him to do so, but without the bonus seconds in that Vuelta we would have most likely seen a more interesting GT. I will always see his victory there as a fluke though because of the mechanicals and bad luck his nearest opponents had, but that's not his fault. + some clinic issues with him as well.

Alright, Valverde might not make your top ten of best climbers, but it takes more then just a good climber to be a good GT contender. And yes, maybe without the bonus seconds there would be more excitement, but I believe Valverde would have still won La Vuelta and animated the race, clinic issues and mechanicals or not.

 

[Vonn Brinkman]

How can a rider who has 7 top 10 finishes in 10 GT starts be not considered one of the top 10 GT riders today?

Thank you. Valverde is definitely one of the top ten GC contenders of the last 5 years. Doesn't matter if he is suspended now, he is still one of the best of the past years.

 

[Barrus]

Allright people, let's get this topic back on-topic