Candidate number 3 is the obvious one; Igor Antón, the natural heir to Ibán's crown many would say. But are all the factors there for Igor to be called 'The Next Ibán'?
- Basque? Yes
- Awesome climber? Yep, but could get even more awesomer, if that's a word (?)
- Erratic? Most definetely so
- Good in long time trials? Not at all
- Explosive? Kind of
- Classy? On a scale from 1 to 10, he'd get a 6
- Rock star looks? Nope
- GT material? Nope
- Fragile personality? No, he seems like a level-headed guy
- Cool sideburns and earrings? No
- Verdict: He's got the most important credentials: big talent, awesome climber, bad in the TTs, very erratic. That sounds like Ibán. The looks are not there though, but that's but a minor negative. The major sticking point is that, eventhough he's taken some big wins in the Vuelta, Romandie and in Suisse, his wins are not exactly Alpe d'Huez-in-the-Tour, Ventoux-record kind of wins. But he's still got some years left, so it's more than likely that he's the closest we'll get to a new Ibán.
I agree with you that he's probably the closest to being "the new Iban", but classy? Hell no :P I would give him a 3 or 4 out of 10. I'd say he has a more battling style, almost forcing his bike up the climbs. Not a bad thing, though, but not even close to the style of Mayo.
ReplyDeleteYou're onto something, he does "force" his way up the climbs...
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