Round-up
I've once again been forced to take a break from blogging. I'm really sorry, but I'll try to blog more consistently in the near future. The Tour came to a close today, and the team once again ended up without a win to show for their efforts. That was a shame, as they thouroughly deserved one, but life goes on. All in all an okay Tour. Samu's 7th place was very good, so too Mikel's aggressive riding, but Haimar sadly failed to deliver. A 4th in the team ranking is not to be sniffed at, but sadly a 4th place is a very long way from 1st. A solid, yet unspectacular, Tour de France 2008 for the team. Final GC:
- 7th, Samuel Sánchez, 6:25
- 16th, Mikel Astarloza, 23:40
- 45th, Haimar Zubeldia, 1:27:00
- 50th, Egoi Martínez, 1:37:00
- 52nd, Amets Txurruka, 1:41:59
- 73rd, Gorka Verdugo, 2:08:23
- 91st, Rubén Pérez, 2:33:55
- 103rd, Juan José Oroz, 2:56:12
- 104th, Iñaki Isasi, 2:57:44
Great to see every single rider finish the race, that's always pleasing. The team also took part in the GP Villafranca Ordizia on Saturday, but that wasn't a big success. Iñigo got a 12th place, which isn't bad, but I'm afraid to say the others ended up way back. Strength in numbers will always be a challenge for the team, and to me it looks like that's what's missing this year...
7 comments:
And they miss a true leader. A leader like Iban (what's going on, it's nearly August CAS!) in the mountains. I prefer to see Sammy Sanchez acting in the hills actually. If he does his best he can win those races, look to last year, he only rode the WC and Lombardia after his moment of peaking and was with the best. What if he peaks on those races? And in the mountains, I am sorry to say, he will never be world class I think.
I want new talents, I want new hero's. Magnus, can you say anything about some new talent for the future (climbing talent that is)?
You're so right arnout. we need climbers! There are several talented Basque climbers, but sadly Intxausti and Durán are with Saunier. Javier Aramendia is a BIG talent, but will probably never be a world-class climber. Amets could develop into a top-class climber, but he's not really that young anymore. Jonathan Castroviejo from Orbea is a huge talent, in the mountains, and he'll join the team sooner rather than later. He's a big star in the making! Gorka Izagirre from Seguros Bilbao may also come good in the next few years, but he's not a pure climber. Nieve from Orbea has really impressed this year, but he's already 23 or something. Ruiz d'Erentxun and Sergio De Lis from Orbea are both young and excel in the mountains, so the future is bright...
"And in the mountains, I am sorry to say, he will never be world class I think"
I must disagree with you on that one, when you beat guys like Evans, Menchov and Andy Schleck on Alpe d'huez you pretty much are a world class climber I think. Perhaps not the best in the business, but still fucking great! (at least in the 3rd week, just like Carlos). And I'm confident that Samu will reach the podium in Paris one day, and because he rides so few races I think he'll be able to keep a high level longer, at least I hope so...
He will never reach the podium because he uses no doping
sad, but true!!!
Stupid comment, there's never been any suspicion on the 3 guys on this years podium, so no, that's not true at all...
I don't mean these guys who are on the podium this year, I believe in general there are many dopers!
Sure, there's many dopers, but if Sastre can win the Tour clean (witch I think he is) I'm sure Samu can reach the podium clean one day. And trust me, the peleton is cleaner than ever at the moment, especially in the Tour. There's still a long way to go, but the sport is definitely moving in the right direction...
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