Who will win the 2014 Vuelta?

[the sceptic]

Yeah, this year they said they were going to do it different, so instead of 14 sprints uphill they did 15.

If it wasn't for Quintana, I would not bother with this GT. Hopefully I get to see the other Colombian young hopefuls.

lol. I nominate Libertine to make the thread

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

After today, I think we all can agree that Ricco would have atleast top 3 this race.

 

[jens_attacks]

i wish vuelta organizers will let ricky ride this. they let all those teams so why not?

froomey vs ricco

the angel aru vs cobra di formigine

papy horner vs grande cobra

 

[the sceptic]

i wish vuelta organizers will let ricky ride this. they let all those teams so why not?

froomey vs ricco

the angel aru vs cobra di formigine

papy horner vs grande cobra

might as well give wildcards to tabriz and torku sekerspor as well

 

[Miburo]

Ricco would have destroyed the field with his current form

 

[ILovecycling]

lol. I nominate Libertine to make the thread

yeah,that would be great

might as well give wildcards to tabriz and torku sekerspor as well

leave the clinic talk


Is that Oleg in your avatar?

 

[cineteq]

Rohan Dennis in not in the poll. #fail

 

[42x16ss]

Rohan Dennis in not in the poll. #fail

??? He hasn't even finished a GT yet... Let's see how he handles 3 weeks first.

 

[MBotero]

Well after today Clasica San Sebastian,looks like competition will be closer then i thought,Valverde and Purito showing major improvements in their form so they will be ready to battle for the win.I'm curious how Movistar will handle the 2 leaders,my bet is they will go on Valverde again.

 

[icefire]

Well after today Clasica San Sebastian,looks like competition will be closer then i thought,Valverde and Purito showing major improvements in their form so they will be ready to battle for the win.I'm curious how Movistar will handle the 2 leaders,my bet is they will go on Valverde again.

Fortunately for Quintana we know for sure Valverde won't attack his teammate Hinault-style

 

[cineteq]

??? He hasn't even finished a GT yet... Let's see how he handles 3 weeks first.

Of course, I was joking

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Well after today Clasica San Sebastian,looks like competition will be closer then i thought,Valverde and Purito showing major improvements in their form so they will be ready to battle for the win.I'm curious how Movistar will handle the 2 leaders,my bet is they will go on Valverde again.

I'm not saying that they aren't improving but they beat Mollema, Nieve, Gallopin, Vanendert and Zubeldia. I wouldn't exactly call the competition fierce. I hope they're improving though, so that we'll get a great Vuelta.

 

[ILovecycling]

Well after today Clasica San Sebastian,looks like competition will be closer then i thought,Valverde and Purito showing major improvements in their form so they will be ready to battle for the win.I'm curious how Movistar will handle the 2 leaders,my bet is they will go on Valverde again.

Unzue would be a ridiculous idiot to do this.

Quintana himself said the leadership will decide on the road,probably after first mtf.

 

[Anderis]

I'm not saying that they aren't improving but they beat Mollema, Nieve, Gallopin, Vanendert and Zubeldia. I wouldn't exactly call the competition fierce. I hope they're improving though, so that we'll get a great Vuelta.

Only one of them beat Mollema.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Only one of them beat Mollema.

True.. And the one beating him is on the same team as the GC favorite.

 

[Walkman]

Well after today Clasica San Sebastian,looks like competition will be closer then i thought,Valverde and Purito showing major improvements in their form so they will be ready to battle for the win.I'm curious how Movistar will handle the 2 leaders,my bet is they will go on Valverde again.

Maybe Purito will come in and show some decent form but Valverde? Hell no. If Froome couldn't recover enough to be competitive in the Vuelta, there is no way piti can.

Valverde will not be in the top-10.

 

[Arredondo]

Maybe Purito will come in and show some decent form but Valverde? Hell no. If Froome couldn't recover enough to be competitive in the Vuelta, there is no way piti can.

Valverde will not be in the top-10.

I have never read such weird stuff. Valverde is a guy who can combine the Tour-Vuelta perfectly. Just watch last year, where he rode podium in the Vuelta after doing a hard Tour (and riding for GC).

And Froome isn't comparable to Bala. Froome will come back from a injury, Valverde just got some really good form which he wants to continue till Lombardia.

Without bad luck, Valverde will finish top-5. And of course he is a podium candidate. The only reason he will not be in the top-10, is because he will fully work for Quintana. But i can't see that happen.

 

[MBotero]

Maybe Purito will come in and show some decent form but Valverde? Hell no. If Froome couldn't recover enough to be competitive in the Vuelta, there is no way piti can.

Valverde will not be in the top-10.

Come on,he was 2nd in 2012 and 3rd in 2013.In Vuelta El Bala is always in top form,he will be competitive for sure.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Maybe Purito will come in and show some decent form but Valverde? Hell no. If Froome couldn't recover enough to be competitive in the Vuelta, there is no way piti can.

Valverde will not be in the top-10.

You must be crazy

Only once has Valverde finished outside the top 10 in a GT he's completed. That was in the Tour 2012 when he lost 10 minutes on one stage because of a broken wheel. Furthermore, he has never finished outside the top 5 in the Vuelta, including the three times he rode the Tour in the same year.

 

[MBotero]

Without bad luck, Valverde will finish top-5. And of course he is a podium candidate. The only reason he will not be in the top-10, is because he will fully work for Quintana. But i can't see that happen.

I know we won't see something like this, but a Valverde fully committed superdomestique for Quintana will be a pretty funny thing to see

 

[Walkman]

I have never read such weird stuff. Valverde is a guy who can combine the Tour-Vuelta perfectly. Just watch last year, where he rode podium in the Vuelta after doing a hard Tour (and riding for GC).

And Froome isn't comparable to Bala. Froome will come back from a injury, Valverde just got some really good form which he wants to continue till Lombardia.

Without bad luck, Valverde will finish top-5. And of course he is a podium candidate. The only reason he will not be in the top-10, is because he will fully work for Quintana. But i can't see that happen.

Come on,he was 2nd in 2012 and 3rd in 2013.In Vuelta El Bala is always in top form,he will be competitive for sure.

You must be crazy

Only once has Valverde finished outside the top 10 in a GT he's completed. That was in the Tour 2012 when he lost 10 minutes on one stage because of a broken wheel. Furthermore, he has never finished outside the top 5 in the Vuelta, including the three times he rode the Tour in the same year.

The thing is, this years Vuelta field is stacked.

Froome
Quintana
Horner
Aru
Pozzovivio
Purito
Uran
Kelderman
Martin
Kiserlovski
Sanchez
Evans
Contador (maybe)
piti


I don't believe Valverde will be in the top-10. I might be wrong, but time will tell.

 

[Miburo]

Valverde is usually better in the vuelta than in the tour, he prob really isn't but he performs always well in the vuelta.

 

[Arredondo]

The thing is, this years Vuelta field is stacked.

Froome
Quintana
Horner
Aru
Pozzovivio
Purito
Uran
Kelderman
Martin
Kiserlovski
Sanchez
Evans
Contador (maybe)
piti


I don't believe Valverde will be in the top-10. I might be wrong, but time will tell.

You think Martin will be in the top-10 then? A guy who never rode top-10 before in a GT, and who rode quite horrible in the Clasica, despite giving full gas? No way he's going to ride top-10, he should be glad with a decent level in the end of the season.

And to name Evans, and not Valverde, is an insult to Bala. Valverde at 80% is better then Evans at 100%. It's over for Cadel, a long time already.

Kiserlovski, Sanchez, Kelderman and even Pozzivivo are nothing compared to Bala. Come on, be realistic. The only guys who can finish ahead of him are Froome, Quintana, Purito and Horner. Even Uran and Aru are not certainties at all.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

The thing is, this years Vuelta field is stacked.

Froome
Quintana
Horner
Aru
Pozzovivio
Purito
Uran
Kelderman
Martin
Kiserlovski
Sanchez
Evans
Contador (maybe)
piti


I don't believe Valverde will be in the top-10. I might be wrong, but time will tell.

The only one of those who have ever beaten Valverde is Froome, Quintana, Horner and Purito. And Evans and Sanchez but there's no chance they'll beat Valverde nowadays.

 

[The Hitch]

The thing is, this years Vuelta field is stacked.

Froome
Quintana
Horner
Aru
Pozzovivio
Purito
Uran
Kelderman
Martin
Kiserlovski
Sanchez
Evans
Contador (maybe)
piti


I don't believe Valverde will be in the top-10. I might be wrong, but time will tell.

How is that different to every year? Before the Vuelta the gc field ALWAYS looks stacked. Last year I think most of the Giro top 10 was there. What did they do? Uran contested 1 stage. Betancur nothing. Scarponi nothing. Niemiec nothing. Majka nothing. Same **** happens every year. Many of the guys you listed aren't even contenders anyway.