Samu 2nd on third stage
Samu is showing surprisingly good form at the Vuelta a Ciclista Castilla y León. Today he got 2nd on the tough uphill sprint into Villa del Libro de Urueña. He looked to have won it for a second, before Ventoso came right out of the blue to win comfortably. Samu perhaps mistimed his dash for the line a little, so he'll no doubt be a bit disapointed today. But on the bright side he's showing excellent condition, and he advanced to 4th overall with two stages left. Koldo also performed remarkably well, claiming 6th on the uphill sprint. Jon was also impressive, coming home 8th, and as a result giving Euskaltel a clear win in today's team competition. The other Euskaltel riders also came in with the pack, so it was a good day overall. Tomorrow will see the riders tackle the queen-stage of the race, and Samu will be one of the favourites to take the win alongside Contador, Dekker, Mollema and Soler, just to name a few.
8 comments:
I really fear that Samu is already in a too good shape this year... normally, for riding the classics and/or the Vuelta al País Vasco, his form would be perfect, but now he should still calm down for the Tour...
I think it all looks very good! He'll be in perfect form for the big April-classics, and after that he can slow down a bit and build up a new top for the Tour and Olympics! There's no problem to top at least 2 times in a season, as long as you do it right, and I think Samu knows what he is doing. But I do doubt that he'll be 100% fit for the Tour start, that would not be perfect for the Olympics. I think he will arrive in ok condition, and then get better and better during the three weeks, as we've seen in the Vuelta/Worlds...
He said that he won't ride the classics...
Oh? I knew he had changed a lot on his program, but I didn't know he wouldn't do the classics! Can't really understand why, he's in good form now, and he would obviously be a candidate to win one of them...
Monika is right, he won't do any of the Classics I'm afraid. One could ask why, though...
I believe Sanchez has always a good form, he is a rider who can perform well all over the year. We saw it also last year, he won stages in Pais Vasco, Catalonia, took a rest and was great in the last part of the season. I do not think we have to panic. He is not in topform yet, because today he finished 4 minutes behind Contador. He will be great in the Tour! (And also you can be good in spring and in the Tour, that's no problem I think. Someone like Evans is also in good form now, finished first on Ventoux and today also scored another victory. He knows how he can be good in Le Tour I believe!)
What's more, not many cyclists peak to the Vuelta Castilia y Leon :)
You know, the problem is that he will ride the Tour and an other big goal are the Olympic Games, so he has to be in form later than normally when his goals were the spring classics and the Vuelta al Pais Vasco... he stated also that training for now is a bit boring because he is not "allowed" to train like normally, he only sums up kilometers...
There are other riders as well. E.g. Evans seasongoal is the Tour, but he is riding well in this spring and also some years ago in le Tour de Romandie. I do not think we have to panic, and Samu is smart enough to be in top form in the Tour.
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