- Feb 20, 2010
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How about Pello Bilbao? He can go pretty decent in hilly one day races, certainly as an engine. De la Cruz too.
- Dec 28, 2010
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Unless Roson does a great Vuelta, I don't see him in the squad. Bilbao is more likely, or someone like Fraile. Lulu needs to be there, the Izagirres too. Nieve is a good suggestion. He doesn't ride a lot of one-day races, but he has some very good results from Lombardia and San Sebastian.
- Jun 30, 2014
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Re:
I've were talking about a small region of a big country maybe Trentino to a lesser extend.Netserk said:
Re:
The weirder part is that so many of them are climbers. It’s a mountainous area, but not at significant altitude and I’ve never noticed a preponderance of flyweight midgets walking the streets there.
Netserk said:
The weirder part is that so many of them are climbers. It’s a mountainous area, but not at significant altitude and I’ve never noticed a preponderance of flyweight midgets walking the streets there.
- Mar 26, 2015
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For worlds, even if the climbs are shorter than big GT mountain stages, it is more about picking riders with longevity in the mountains, because of the many repetitions.
The riders that are best on shorter/sharper climbs, will burn out too soon, because there is more climbing at worlds, than at any other single day of the year.
I don't expect to see a single guy in the top 10, who did not do a top 20 in a GT this year.
The riders that are best on shorter/sharper climbs, will burn out too soon, because there is more climbing at worlds, than at any other single day of the year.
I don't expect to see a single guy in the top 10, who did not do a top 20 in a GT this year.
- Feb 20, 2010
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There are plenty of less waifish climbers from the region though - Miguel Indurain, Abraham Olano, Aitor González and so on.
Climbers have historically dominated in Spain for a number of reasons. Most of the country's most supportive cycling regions are mountainous - País Vasco, Navarra, Asturias, Cantabria, and as a result many of the most important amateur races are in those regions. In cycling's formative years, the biggest races in the country were based there too, including those one-day races finishing on key climbs like Arrate, Urkiola and Monte Naranco. And back in those days the GPM was considered the second most important thing in a race after the overall win. Let's not forget that it was a Spaniard - Vicente Trueba - whose exploits led to the creation of the GPM in the first place. Also, the types of roads winding up the climbs in País Vasco and Asturias in particular (less so Catalunya, at least in the last 50 years since the development of the skiing industry) are steep, inconsistent and variable, which benefits a flyweight climber who can change tempo fast over a solid tempo climber, meaning that more of the riders who rise to the top out of the region are likely to be those flyweights than the heavier riders unless they have other strings to their bows (like the Izagirre brothers coming from cyclocross for example). Of the three sprinters mentioned above, Lobato's not Basque, only joining the team at the very end, and Isasi and Koldo are both from Álava, easily the flattest Basque province.
Climbers have historically dominated in Spain for a number of reasons. Most of the country's most supportive cycling regions are mountainous - País Vasco, Navarra, Asturias, Cantabria, and as a result many of the most important amateur races are in those regions. In cycling's formative years, the biggest races in the country were based there too, including those one-day races finishing on key climbs like Arrate, Urkiola and Monte Naranco. And back in those days the GPM was considered the second most important thing in a race after the overall win. Let's not forget that it was a Spaniard - Vicente Trueba - whose exploits led to the creation of the GPM in the first place. Also, the types of roads winding up the climbs in País Vasco and Asturias in particular (less so Catalunya, at least in the last 50 years since the development of the skiing industry) are steep, inconsistent and variable, which benefits a flyweight climber who can change tempo fast over a solid tempo climber, meaning that more of the riders who rise to the top out of the region are likely to be those flyweights than the heavier riders unless they have other strings to their bows (like the Izagirre brothers coming from cyclocross for example). Of the three sprinters mentioned above, Lobato's not Basque, only joining the team at the very end, and Isasi and Koldo are both from Álava, easily the flattest Basque province.
- Oct 14, 2017
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That actually goes back to the discussion we've had about why Valverde is so good and has so many of his wins in Spanish races vs really anywhere else. The Spanish climbs are perfect for a rider who can climb well and has the classic puncheur characteristics.
Laboto is from Andalucia.
Libertine Seguros said:
That actually goes back to the discussion we've had about why Valverde is so good and has so many of his wins in Spanish races vs really anywhere else. The Spanish climbs are perfect for a rider who can climb well and has the classic puncheur characteristics.
Laboto is from Andalucia.
btw. what is Basque comparing to Tuscany, where the real legend of cycling grew up, not like in Basque, country of mostly GPM only riders
you always can find some special region in Country where most of country cyclist grow up
you always can find some special region in Country where most of country cyclist grow up
Re:
Yeah, he is clear and it is clear that he have very few chance to win, ardennes clasics just showed that his era is over, he can not handle hard race like this like noone of spain actually, they are not factor in this race
DNP-Old said:Valverde
Landa
Luisle
Soler
Ion
Gorka
Nieve
Bilbao
Herrada
De La Cruz
Alarcon
Roson
Mas
Castroviejo
Fraile
Navarro
Moreno
De La Parte
The best part about this team is that it's leader is clear, all for one. Whereas with the other countries; not so much. Valverde is also one of only few riders who can confidently wait for a sprint if he has to.
Yeah, he is clear and it is clear that he have very few chance to win, ardennes clasics just showed that his era is over, he can not handle hard race like this like noone of spain actually, they are not factor in this race
- Oct 14, 2017
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Re: Re:
Oh please. He started his season a lot closer to peak than he usually does and by the time the Ardennes rolled around he'd been trying to hold a peak since February. Also in case you missed it, he has never won LBL two years in a row and he has never actually won Amstel Gold. As for Fleche Wallone, he was out of position on the climb and actually climbed it at the SAME speed he's climbed it for all but one of his wins. That win is the all-time record to climb the Mur de Huy.
bassano said:DNP-Old said:Valverde
Landa
Luisle
Soler
Ion
Gorka
Nieve
Bilbao
Herrada
De La Cruz
Alarcon
Roson
Mas
Castroviejo
Fraile
Navarro
Moreno
De La Parte
The best part about this team is that it's leader is clear, all for one. Whereas with the other countries; not so much. Valverde is also one of only few riders who can confidently wait for a sprint if he has to.
Yeah, he is clear and it is clear that he have very few chance to win, ardennes clasics just showed that his era is over, he can not handle hard race like this like noone of spain actually, they are not factor in this race
Oh please. He started his season a lot closer to peak than he usually does and by the time the Ardennes rolled around he'd been trying to hold a peak since February. Also in case you missed it, he has never won LBL two years in a row and he has never actually won Amstel Gold. As for Fleche Wallone, he was out of position on the climb and actually climbed it at the SAME speed he's climbed it for all but one of his wins. That win is the all-time record to climb the Mur de Huy.
- Feb 20, 2010
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Now, sure, there are similar cradles to the sport in other traditional cycling nations as well - Brétagne, Toscana, Varese - as well as in less traditional ones - Thüringen, Colorado - but the Basque region's very strong and separate cultural identity relative to the rest of Spain and its having its own team with its own inward-looking philosophy means that that identity as a cycling cradle has been much more ingrained in fans more recently than a lot of those others. And again, while País Vasco may be the land of mostly GPM riders, as I mentioned before, this is in a country where large amounts of the national calendar takes place in mountainous regions, the GPM has historically been highly prized, climbers have always been the favoured types of rider. The Vuelta in the 50s and 60s was deliberately focusing the parcours around the international stars it wanted to attract, and towns with improving infrastructure, so that often the home heroes would be out of contention before they reached their playgrounds in the mountains anyway.
Of course, but we were talking about the Spanish team, and in Spain, Euskadi is the most overrepresented area, proportionally, in both the cycling calendar at the amateur and professional levels, both in respect of races and of riders.bassano said:
Now, sure, there are similar cradles to the sport in other traditional cycling nations as well - Brétagne, Toscana, Varese - as well as in less traditional ones - Thüringen, Colorado - but the Basque region's very strong and separate cultural identity relative to the rest of Spain and its having its own team with its own inward-looking philosophy means that that identity as a cycling cradle has been much more ingrained in fans more recently than a lot of those others. And again, while País Vasco may be the land of mostly GPM riders, as I mentioned before, this is in a country where large amounts of the national calendar takes place in mountainous regions, the GPM has historically been highly prized, climbers have always been the favoured types of rider. The Vuelta in the 50s and 60s was deliberately focusing the parcours around the international stars it wanted to attract, and towns with improving infrastructure, so that often the home heroes would be out of contention before they reached their playgrounds in the mountains anyway.
- Oct 14, 2017
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Re: Re:
Are those guys down for the Vuelta as well as the Tour?[/quote]
The Izagirre brothers are. They are supposed to be leading the Bahrain team at la Vuelta.
Originally Soler was supposed to be racing the Giro and Vuelta. At this point who knows.
jaylew said:
Are those guys down for the Vuelta as well as the Tour?[/quote]
The Izagirre brothers are. They are supposed to be leading the Bahrain team at la Vuelta.
Originally Soler was supposed to be racing the Giro and Vuelta. At this point who knows.
Cookster15
Moderator
- May 14, 2011
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