Will Joaquim "Purito" Rodriguez retain the MR to the end?

[Fetisoff]

ok, 3 team fan. but really from your posts here you're not that different from dlwssonic

Oh yeah, because I always hype /random Katusha rider/ before every race, never ridicule a Katusha rider, totally disappear from all the threads about races with no Katusha, and never praise riders from any other teams, like Euskaltel. Oh wait....

Go away troll

 

[dlwssonic]

Oh yeah, because I always hype /random Katusha rider/ before every race, never ridicule a Katusha rider, totally disappear from all the threads about races with no Katusha, and never praise riders from any other teams, like Euskaltel. Oh wait....

Go away troll

You should actually read my posts properly, I do post in a lot of threads which do not involve BMC. And I do praise other riders.

 

[vcampbell]

he is just awesome.

i believe in awesome riders (canc, conti, tom, valv, purito, sagan, cav. no andy, no evens, no greipel, no gil, no hushovd.)

Hushovd is not an awesome rider? Ok in this year he sucks, but winning moutain stages in Tour, being the last teammate for Sastre, after all day in a break where he droped all break riders. Actually for me he is much more awesome rider than Cavendish ever will be. (How can we say Cavendish is awesome?)

About Purito: I don't really like him. I don't know why, but he is not my type But regardless from this, I don't think he can take this Giro. Pampeago, Mortirolo, Stelvio. I just can't see him to survive this.
Maybe good for a podium, but nothing more.

 

[hrotha]

football = soccer

Its perfectly normal as a sports fan to support particular teams instead of most of the teams. And I actually do support riders outside of BMC like cancellara, schlecks.

Actually, supporting a particular team is rather odd in cycling, I'd say. It's not a normal team sport, and teams come and go pretty fast. Historically, there have been exceptions, like Flandria or Euskaltel, but that was mostly for nationalistic reasons which don't explain why you'd root for a gargantuan and filthy rich America-based team that signs anybody and has no real geographical ties with any region on Earth.

 

[c&cfan]

Yeah I don't understand rooting for the absolute best riders. That's so easy and lame.

easy and lame? rooting for riders? what do you mean?

if you admire cycling and the techniques/genetics/guts/intelligence necessary to win GTs, sprints, TTs, all sorts of classics how can you not understand me? I won't enjoy this giro any differently (unless something weird happens) no matter if basso or scarponi wins instead of purito. i won't root for someone just because he isn't good enough to always beat others. no.. that's not me. i will admire any amazing attack, every amazing feat, every brilliant attack, who does it is secondary.

however one cannot be blind and cannot follow cycling all season long, all life long, without realizing who are the riders that do this must of the time.

who is the one that has the talent/technique/courage/intelligence to demolish any GT he enters?
who has the talent/technique/courage/intelligence to ride everyone out of the real wheel at the most beautiful and important classics?
and the list goes on..

if by being a fan of someone you mean "liking or enjoying" what that someone does, how can you not be fan of those riders i mentioned?

you can also talk about those riders that do not have the talent but are always trying and going out of the "healthy" pain level in order to try something.. but who said that i do not admire them? of course i do.

they give meaning to great performances, but they do not write legendary performances in your memories.

that's why i do not understand how someone rational can be fan of andy, for example. he has the talent but he lacks in every other necessary aspect to make someone be his "fan" (by some standards).

maybe i am wrong.. but i enjoy cycling, music, life this way. but i'm also learning.. i know nothing.

i'm not the kind of guy that is dancing like a mad men when he is listening to led zeppelin/acdc/nirvana/beatles/depeche mode/ scorpions etc etc. just like i do not root for any particular team. i don't have any sort of blind loyalty to any brand in any sector etc.

i will just sit and enjoy the best music (for my standards) and be a fan of that artist/band, i will enjoy the best moves/players/tactics on every football game i watch, i will enjoy and drive the car/computer/smartphone the suits me (what i want) best, etc.

the way i see things, this makes me admire led zeplin/depeche mode/smiths/nirvana/radiohead, barcelona/messi, mercedes and apple, etc.... contador/cancellara/boonen/cavendish/bettini/valverde so what?

 

[c&cfan]

Hushovd is not an awesome rider? Ok in this year he sucks, but winning moutain stages in Tour, being the last teammate for Sastre, after all day in a break where he droped all break riders. Actually for me he is much more awesome rider than Cavendish ever will be. (How can we say Cavendish is awesome?)

About Purito: I don't really like him. I don't know why, but he is not my type But regardless from this, I don't think he can take this Giro. Pampeago, Mortirolo, Stelvio. I just can't see him to survive this.
Maybe good for a podium, but nothing more.

because of this:

thor did what he did not because he was strong enough to do it, but because he was weak to do anything else. he never rode the peloton out of his rear wheel.

he was weak (compared to cav) and tried his luck. those wins were awesome and a pleasure to watch, but those were "let's see if i get lucky" wins and not this "i'm gonna destroy you all at once":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJNLMYpr2TM :

or this "catch me if you can, losers":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDPVFX2vvKY

you are talking like if he got those 12 wins this way, witch he didn't and you are forgetting why he tried his luck. it wasn't "for fun" like contador did.. it was because it was his only way to win.. and that's quite sad to have a former world champion that can only try and and see if he gets lucky.

that is what i think. if i'm wrong, please.. show me.

 

[roundabout]

Oh yeah, because I always hype /random Katusha rider/ before every race, never ridicule a Katusha rider, totally disappear from all the threads about races with no Katusha, and never praise riders from any other teams, like Euskaltel. Oh wait....

Go away troll

Ok, you are a Katusha fanboy with occasional moments of clarity.

Still doesn't change my point that you are one of the more obvious "team fans" here.

 

[WindLessBreeze]

Basso'

If he could stay under two minutes, with the stong team at his disposal; he'd certainly win, as he could easily make that time up on the last ITT in Milan. He dicho.

 

[nesocip]

Back to the "support team or rider" off-topic which i find very interesting, sorry mods.

In regards of support I treat cycling as any other team sport. I support Euskaltel through and through (im not Basque, not even remotely) because when i started watching cycling it was TdF of 2003. It was Armstrong (I knew he was some kind of super duper unbeatable guy, so i took immediate dislike despite being the only active rider ive heard of), or one of the guys bouncing around him on the hills. I picked the ugly dude in orange jersey because he was super ugly and because he was the most aggressive. Since then its the Carrots for me, through watching the same ugly dude get dropped on the 1st mountain of every tdf afterwards, the rise and reign of Samu, Txurruka's pointless attacks, and Anton breaking his bones every time he has the form to do something. This Giro i care more where Nieve ended up then who won the stage.

When riders leave Euskaltel there are some emotions left (negative or positive depending on the circumstances of their leaving) but nothing special. There are other teams i sympathize, mostly smaller pro-continental teams. I dont know if ill have the will to watch cycling once euskaltel inevitably folds. Lucky for me it turned out that the carrots i decided to cheer for turned out to be one of the longest lived teams out there and total opposite of big budget out-of-nowhere teams i dislike such as BMC and Leopard and to an extent Katusha, Astana and Greenedge, although i expect them striving to keep some kind of national identity. (Man City, Chelsea, PSG, Malaga if you want to talk football).

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

easy and lame? rooting for riders? what do you mean?

if you admire cycling and the techniques/genetics/guts/intelligence necessary to win GTs, sprints, TTs, all sorts of classics how can you not understand me? I won't enjoy this giro any differently (unless something weird happens) no matter if basso or scarponi wins instead of purito. i won't root for someone just because he isn't good enough to always beat others. no.. that's not me. i will admire any amazing attack, every amazing feat, every brilliant attack, who does it is secondary.

however one cannot be blind and cannot follow cycling all season long, all life long, without realizing who are the riders that do this must of the time.

who is the one that has the talent/technique/courage/intelligence to demolish any GT he enters?
who has the talent/technique/courage/intelligence to ride everyone out of the real wheel at the most beautiful and important classics?
and the list goes on..

if by being a fan of someone you mean "liking or enjoying" what that someone does, how can you not be fan of those riders i mentioned?

you can also talk about those riders that do not have the talent but are always trying and going out of the "healthy" pain level in order to try something.. but who said that i do not admire them? of course i do.

they give meaning to great performances, but they do not write legendary performances in your memories.

that's why i do not understand how someone rational can be fan of andy, for example. he has the talent but he lacks in every other necessary aspect to make someone be his "fan" (by some standards).

maybe i am wrong.. but i enjoy cycling, music, life this way. but i'm also learning.. i know nothing.

i'm not the kind of guy that is dancing like a mad men when he is listening to led zeppelin/acdc/nirvana/beatles/depeche mode/ scorpions etc etc. just like i do not root for any particular team. i don't have any sort of blind loyalty to any brand in any sector etc.

i will just sit and enjoy the best music (for my standards) and be a fan of that artist/band, i will enjoy the best moves/players/tactics on every football game i watch, i will enjoy and drive the car/computer/smartphone the suits me (what i want) best, etc.

the way i see things, this makes me admire led zeplin/depeche mode/smiths/nirvana/radiohead, barcelona/messi, mercedes and apple, etc.... contador/cancellara/boonen/cavendish/bettini/valverde so what?

I followed you completely until that 1

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Ok, you are a Katusha fanboy with occasional moments of clarity.

Still doesn't change my point that you are one of the more obvious "team fans" here.

yea, hate those guys

 

[vcampbell]

it was because it was his only way to win.. and that's quite sad to have a former world champion that can only try and and see if he gets lucky.

that is what i think. if i'm wrong, please.. show me.

What? His only way is to attack on a high moutain stage with all of the 80+ kg, and beat much better climbers? Are you kidding, right? You underestimate him so much...
It's not just a luck if he's attacking on a moutain stage and wins it. You can't say it's just lucky if he succeed 2 from 3 times. He attacked because he knew that he can take those stages.
Cavendish is awesome because he is the fastest. Wow, yes, that's something. 3 weeks, and he only need to sprint a few time, and after that finish the stage inside the limit, pull himself up on the moutain with a car.

Cavendish is the best sprinter in the world, there is no question, but awesome? No way. I just want him to be in a break on a medium moutain stage, and not lose contact in the first hill. That could be the first step.
It's not an outstanding performance if you win when you are the greatest favorite, you have the best teammates.
Petacchi was awesome when he was able to surprise Cavendish and win a stage before him.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Rodriguez will falter in the final weekends stages.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Oh yeah, because I always hype /random Katusha rider/ before every race, never ridicule a Katusha rider, totally disappear from all the threads about races with no Katusha, and never praise riders from any other teams, like Euskaltel. Oh wait....

Go away troll

I am disappointed in your lack of support for Lokosphinx. Shalunov has been performing very well this year.

Actually, supporting a particular team is rather odd in cycling, I'd say. It's not a normal team sport, and teams come and go pretty fast. Historically, there have been exceptions, like Flandria or Euskaltel, but that was mostly for nationalistic reasons which don't explain why you'd root for a gargantuan and filthy rich America-based team that signs anybody and has no real geographical ties with any region on Earth.

I can see why people might form an attachment to various long-lasting teams like Abarcá in their various guises and Lotto, though. A lot of the modern teams are appealing to patriotism to create fans of the team, too - Sky, Greenedge, Astana, Katyusha and so on.

 

[taiwan]

I'll say yeah to be consistent. I'm a fan and have backed him for GTs before. However, my confidence did wane a bit during the last couple of GT campaigns.

 

[Fetisoff]

I am disappointed in your lack of support for Lokosphinx. Shalunov has been performing very well this year.

As a lifelong Spartak fan I cannot fully support a Locomotiv franchise. But yeah, Shalunov has been great, still can't believe Radioshack let him go.

 

[theyoungest]

Somehow I don't think J-Rod can win a GT. But then again, who really looks better than him so far? Couldn't say.

 

[rhubroma]

Rodriguez will falter in the final weekends stages.

I tend to support this thesis. Besides everything I've said about this Giro has been perfectly spot on (but of course ), and thus when the ramps go up and up and up, he will struggle to maintain that advantage which has thus far gotten him in pink. His punchyness.

On the other hand in the rare possibility that I'm wrong, if he passes the exams on Weds. and Fri., then he has a fighting chance. At the same time if he hasn't got 2 minutes in the Canadian going into the final TT then he risks big time.

 

[El Pistolero]

Yeah I don't understand rooting for the absolute best riders. That's so easy and lame.

I root for those who have guts and attack. I don't root for spineless cyclists who do nothing all day and get no results in the process. What's the point in cheering for pack fodder?

 

[El Pistolero]

I tend to support this thesis. Besides everything I've said about this Giro has been perfectly spot on (but of course ), and thus when the ramps go up and up and up, he will struggle to maintain that advantage which has thus far gotten him in pink. His punchyness.

On the other hand in the rare possibility that I'm wrong, if he passes the exams on Weds. and Fri., then he has a fighting chance. At the same time if he hasn't got 2 minutes in the Canadian going into the final TT then he risks big time.

Jrod was third on the Angliru stage in 2008. So he can handle the coming stages. The problem is his inconsistency. I hope he doesn't have any bad days. I'm actually surprised he didn't bonk on the 2 mountain stages we got already. He bonked on them in Vuelta after all... He's looking better than last year, that's for sure...

 

[hfer07]

On the other hand in the rare possibility that I'm wrong, if he passes the exams on Weds. and Fri., then he has a fighting chance. At the same time if he hasn't got 2 minutes in the Canadian going into the final TT then he risks big time.

I don't think Hesjedal will be a GC threat after the big mountains-Stage 15 proved to be hard for him-let alone the monsters ahead this week

 

[jsem94]

Why has Hesjedal's TT skills suddenly been so hyped? He's not even going to be close to putting 2 min into J-Rod in the final TT.

 

[Red Rick]

I don't think Jrod will ever get a bigger chance to win a GT

 

[Eyeballs Out]

Why has Hesjedal's TT skills suddenly been so hyped? He's not even going to be close to putting 2 min into J-Rod in the final TT.

I suppose it's in comparison with the other GC contenders here

His record is fairly poor but his opening day TT showed a lot of improvement (think he was the best of the GC riders there) and we haven't seen him quite as strong as this before. Really he should be a lot better than he has been - maybe he's figured it out. I'd say he'll probably beat everyone bar De Gendt

 

[airstream]

I think pressure test and trampling down already await Purito on Giau . He will channel off on the climb. And this will be only a start... I predict, he will take 5th or 6th place in Milan.