What GT should Henao do next year?

[craig1985]

So our Colombian wonder kid joins Sky next year, and what GT should he target. At the Tour he will end up being more of a domestique for both Cav and Wiggins, so for me I'm going for the Giro and he should be able to handle some of the harder mountain stages in the Giro. I can't comment on the Vuelta though as the race route hasn't been released yet.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

giro, eventhough there aren't many hills in it this time it will still suit him well. I also want to see how well he takes high mountains in europe and steep climbs as it is becoming a problem in colombia. also he could do both giro vuelta next year

 

[Richeypen]

He wouldn't be given the opportunity to attack at the Vuelta as Froome will want all the help he can get. Giro is the best option.

 

[jens_attacks]

giro i think too mainly because froome and wiggins won't be there.

 

[will10]

I don't think he'll ride one.

 

[miguelvazpinto]

I think he should ride the Giro as squad co-leader with Richie Porte and then being Froome´s right arm at La Vuelta. It´s his debut in an european team. You can´t expect the best he can do.

 

[boomcie]

I'm sure Qatar suits him best. According to Ryo both him and Uran are really fast.

 

[hatcher]

Tough one. I think Giro will come to early in his European career for him to have earned a leadership role for it. Vuelta maybe, but how will his legs hold up over the long season?

Ideally, imo, Uran, Sivtsov, Henao at the Giro. No pressure on Henao.

 

[ingsve]

Tough one. I think Giro will come to early in his European career for him to have earned a leadership role for it. Vuelta maybe, but how will his legs hold up over the long season?

Exactly what I was going to say. The Giro is way to early not only with regards to his european career but also getting settled at a new team. I remember the reports of how Possoni rode in a haze the first half of last year just because the way they did things at Sky was so new to him so it took half a season before he settled in and started racing to his capacity again. And Possoni just came from HTC rather than from South America.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

giro, eventhough there aren't many hills in it this time it will still suit him well. I also want to see how well he takes high mountains in europe and steep climbs as it is becoming a problem in colombia. also he could do both giro vuelta next year

I thought he was gonna podium this. easy.

 

[just some guy]

I thought he was gonna podium this. easy.

and win a few sprint stages along the way

 

[theyoungest]

Giro. We'll once again get bombarded with hype about this new Colombian prodigy, who is waaaay better than those lame Europeans who couldn't climb a molehill if their life depended on it... only for him to disappear off the radar after two or three mountain stages.

I don't think the Giro will be too early, BTW. The guy is 24 already, old enough to make his GT début.

 

[jens_attacks]

giro, eventhough there aren't many hills in it this time it will still suit him well. I also want to see how well he takes high mountains in europe and steep climbs as it is becoming a problem in colombia. also he could do both giro vuelta next year

i don't think he'll have any problem with the steep climbs,as an example i can't see more than 3-4 guys from the european scene climbing like infantino did in rcn.so no problem
he will climb in vino style i guess although it would be better to transform him into a high cadence cobo machine.it's a very good thing for his carreer that he doesn't tend to crack,also being bulky will kind of help him in il giro when there are 5 degrees(see poor rujano...).
but i agree giro might come to early for him,anyway i'm looking forward to henao's 2012 season.

 

[theyoungest]

i don't think he'll have any problem with the steep climbs,as an example i can't see more than 3-4 guys from the european scene climbing like infantino did in rcn.so no problem

Infantino? The guy who made such an incredible impression on the European scene this year, with such great results as a 37th place in the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon?

 

[jens_attacks]

Infantino? The guy who made such an incredible impression on the European scene this year, with such great results as a 37th place in the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon?

i was talking about clasico rcn,nothing more.

 

[Escarabajo]

Giro. We'll once again get bombarded with hype about this new Colombian prodigy, who is waaaay better than those lame Europeans who couldn't climb a molehill if their life depended on it... only for him to disappear off the radar after two or three mountain stages.

I don't think the Giro will be too early, BTW. The guy is 24 already, old enough to make his GT début.

+1.

The fastest he races a GT the better.

I hope he doesn't read forums or he is being told about it because I'd hate to see him succumbed to pressure. That's why I don't like these kind of hype on riders especially the ones coming from Colombia. The hype is not even coming from Colombians.

On the other hand, great champions should be able to handle pressure from the beginning. I hope he is one.

 

[ingsve]

Giro. We'll once again get bombarded with hype about this new Colombian prodigy, who is waaaay better than those lame Europeans who couldn't climb a molehill if their life depended on it... only for him to disappear off the radar after two or three mountain stages.

I don't think the Giro will be too early, BTW. The guy is 24 already, old enough to make his GT début.

The Giro being to early has nothing to do with his age but rather that it comes very soon after he gets to a new team and racing on a new continent. He will be going through a period of adjustment in the early season and sending him to a GT in his first months at Sky would be a lot to handle. For the Vuelta he will have had four more months of racing and adjusting which means he will benefit more from the race.

 

[Moncoutie]

I think he'll do the Vuelta. Would like to see him in the Giro though.

 

[Anonymous]

Exactly what I was going to say. The Giro is way to early not only with regards to his european career but also getting settled at a new team. I remember the reports of how Possoni rode in a haze the first half of last year just because the way they did things at Sky was so new to him so it took half a season before he settled in and started racing to his capacity again. And Possoni just came from HTC rather than from South America.

I agree. Vuelta is the way to go, Giro will be far too early.

Racing in Europe is very different to racing in South America (from what ive seen of south american cycling). He has to get used to the tactics, the pace, but also the aspect of riding for a professional team, diet, wind tunnel work, etc etc. I think Sky will be gentle with him, similar to what they did with Kennaugh. Lumpy one week stage races early in the season, then a bit of a break over the summer before the Vuelta.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

+1.

The fastest he races a GT the better.

I hope he doesn't read forums or he is being told about it because I'd hate to see him succumbed to pressure. That's why I don't like these kind of hype on riders especially the ones coming from Colombia. The hype is not even coming from Colombians.

On the other hand, great champions should be able to handle pressure from the beginning. I hope he is one.

henao has always put the hype on himself and he doesn;t care. that will never be the problem.

also he will adapt very easily, look at betancourt in his first year at age 21 winning emillia and riding well in lombardy, that's within a year for a guy with less talent and 2 years younger. henao will be there from the get go, like he was in utah and colorado. betancourt and henao are very comparable riders.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I agree. Vuelta is the way to go, Giro will be far too early.

Racing in Europe is very different to racing in South America (from what ive seen of south american cycling). He has to get used to the tactics, the pace, but also the aspect of riding for a professional team, diet, wind tunnel work, etc etc. I think Sky will be gentle with him, similar to what they did with Kennaugh. Lumpy one week stage races early in the season, then a bit of a break over the summer before the Vuelta.

dear god, do you guys know he rode in europe before as an u23 and other than tour of flanders and wc u23(in which he was the best) won almost any race he was in.

 

[hatcher]

dear god, do you guys know he rode in europe before as an u23 and other than tour of flanders and wc u23(in which he was the best) won almost any race he was in.

And nothing prepares a rider better for the toughest GT on the calendar than having ridden some u23 races two years previously.

None of us are stupid enough to think it's the act of riding on the soil of continental Europe that he may need to adjust to, it's riding in the European pro peloton, at European pro peloton speeds, in the sort of weather that often goes along with the Giro.

Will he be fine for the Giro? Quite possibly, but it's not a ridiculous suggestion that it may take him longer to adjust. Even if he is Colombian.

 

[Anonymous]

dear god, do you guys know he rode in europe before as an u23 and other than tour of flanders and wc u23(in which he was the best) won almost any race he was in.

I know just what he rode, it was me spent an absolute age putting his palmares together on wikipedia.

There is a mass of difference between the U23 Tour of Flanders, and the Giro d'Italia..Puccio won the U23 Flanders but I dont hear great cries for him to ride Flanders this year and have a chance of winning. Geraint Thomas won the Junior Roubaix..

Besides, i was talking about the differences in Europe, tactics, speed of racing, but the differences on being on a big pro team. Diet, having someone control your food, spending times in testing looking at position etc, having someone anyalyise your power metre figures every day and working on things like that. Theres going to be a hell of a lot of things for him to learn and get used to.

Its not just about the bike.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

And nothing prepares a rider better for the toughest GT on the calendar than having ridden some u23 races two years previously.

None of us are stupid enough to think it's the act of riding on the soil of continental Europe that he may need to adjust to, it's riding in the European pro peloton, at European pro peloton speeds, in the sort of weather that often goes along with the Giro.

Will he be fine for the Giro? Quite possibly, but it's not a ridiculous suggestion that it may take him longer to adjust. Even if he is Colombian.

he rode in colorado which had a better field than 90% of any european races. what colombians take long to adjust?? only very young ones, less talented ones or very light ones, henao is none of those

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I know just what he rode, it was me spent an absolute age putting his palmares together on wikipedia.

There is a mass of difference between the U23 Tour of Flanders, and the Giro d'Italia..Puccio won the U23 Flanders but I dont hear great cries for him to ride Flanders this year and have a chance of winning. Geraint Thomas won the Junior Roubaix..

Besides, i was talking about the differences in Europe, tactics, speed of racing, but the differences on being on a big pro team. Diet, having someone control your food, spending times in testing looking at position etc, having someone anyalyise your power metre figures every day and working on things like that. Theres going to be a hell of a lot of things for him to learn and get used to.

Its not just about the bike.

that's what will only make him better, so if he's already adapted to european peloton which he is it will only make it easier. also henao is great steerer he is like cunego. no trouble riding in it. he's no soler, no quintana. the guy is from antioquia like botero, ardila and betancourt. no problems in flat