Whats up with Popovich?

espoir
espoir Posts: 61
edited July 2008 in Pro race
Is Popovich the most dissapointing rider in this years race?

He has given very little support for Evans in the high mountains and did better for AC last year.

Also, Nibali seems to be going well, but two grand tours may be a bit to much for a young rider

Comments

  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    Perhaps he's clean this year and wasn't last year?
    I like bikes...

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  • calvjones
    calvjones Posts: 3,850
    redddraggon wrote:
    Perhaps he's clean this year and wasn't last year?

    +1

    Along with [insert name of struggling former star here]
    ___________________

    Strava is not Zen.
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    No more magic mayonnaise from Bruyneel...
  • Moomaloid
    Moomaloid Posts: 2,040
    They Should've kept Horner!
  • sportzchick
    sportzchick Posts: 45
    he and Lotto will loose Cadel the Tour

    I can feel it :(
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    espoir wrote:
    Is Popovich the most dissapointing rider in this years race?

    He has given very little support for Evans in the high mountains and did better for AC last year.

    Also, Nibali seems to be going well, but two grand tours may be a bit to much for a young rider

    Nibali was involved in the roundabout crash yesterday, which is a shame... I think Schleck is a bit too far back to take the white jersey, plus he's gonna be occupied doing the early work for Sastre and his big bro.

    Nibali and Kreuziger are both good in the TTs, but I think Kreuziger has a slight edge. Hopefully Nibali wasn't badly hurt by the crash and will climb better on the next two stages... it's gonna be a close fight for the maillot blanc :shock:
  • donrhummy
    donrhummy Posts: 2,329
    Wouldn't you say Ricco's the most dissapointing rider this year?
  • Moomaloid
    Moomaloid Posts: 2,040
    Valverde is the most disappointing for me. Ricco's always been suspect.
  • Jez mon
    Jez mon Posts: 3,809
    Evan's team should be renamed Silent Lotto. Surely they could have done a better job at building a team to win the tour.
    You live and learn. At any rate, you live
  • richa
    richa Posts: 1,632
    Particularly as with the exception of Robbie that is their focus for this year's tour.
    Rich
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Kléber wrote:
    No more magic mayonnaise from Bruyneel...

    And they had to get rid of their doping doctor last year...
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    By the way, the most disappointing rider of the Tour is surely Cunego. Dropped on every single climb so far. Maybe that stupid tattoo thing is really true.

    Also Devolder. Or the entire Quick Step team.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    The odd thing with Silence is that they have some decent climbers, van den Broek, Lloyd, maybe van Huffel even, but they sent them to the Giro.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,549
    afx237vi wrote:
    Also Devolder. Or the entire Quick Step team.
    I think Devolder's expectation were only believed within his own head and maybe the Quick Step team management. How a rider, who has never cracked the top ten of a three week tour, can be seriously touted as a contender is beyond me.

    Is Stijn Devolder Flemish for Tom Danielson? :wink:
  • Jez mon
    Jez mon Posts: 3,809
    BUT Tom Danielson promises the ingredients of a GT contender, in that he was a decent climber, OK TTer and picked by the Disco/USPS Cycling team. OK so these are also the ingredients of a doper but still...

    Devolder OTOH looks like a classics rider, rides like a classics rider and is a classics rider. He's not quite as good as Tom Boonen but he ain't half bad...at riding classics. Seriously I'm not sure even QS really thought he was a contender.

    The big disappointment for me has been Cunego he just sucks this tour.
    You live and learn. At any rate, you live
  • Cumulonimbus
    Cumulonimbus Posts: 1,730
    Zubeldia has been a disappointment although he tends to be fairly anonymous anyway. I dont think Valverde has been that disappointing (yet). He lost time on one stage and he could have still been getting over his crash. He did well yesterday and could still do well as he sits out the big GC battle. Cunego has been very disappointing, maybe he will try for alpe d'huez unless he finds form tomorrow? Given the amount of work doen for him i think that Pozzatto has been disappointing - Liquigas must have been wondering why they have bothered.
  • Cumulonimbus
    Cumulonimbus Posts: 1,730
    afx237vi wrote:
    espoir wrote:
    Is Popovich the most dissapointing rider in this years race?

    He has given very little support for Evans in the high mountains and did better for AC last year.

    Also, Nibali seems to be going well, but two grand tours may be a bit to much for a young rider

    Nibali was involved in the roundabout crash yesterday, which is a shame... I think Schleck is a bit too far back to take the white jersey, plus he's gonna be occupied doing the early work for Sastre and his big bro.

    Nibali and Kreuziger are both good in the TTs, but I think Kreuziger has a slight edge. Hopefully Nibali wasn't badly hurt by the crash and will climb better on the next two stages... it's gonna be a close fight for the maillot blanc :shock:

    As Nibali is an Italian, I would have thought that he would have tried to peak for the Giro so his performance so far has been good IMO. Sastre could still take the white jersey but as you say his priorities will be for the others in his team so it will probably be one of the Liquigas boys. Monfort could still do something in this comp but i dont really think he is capable of finishing significantly ahead of both of the Liquigasses
  • ms_tree
    ms_tree Posts: 1,405
    Moomaloid wrote:
    They Should've kept Horner!

    I read somewhere last year that Cadel was really angry over SL letting Horner go. Dave Harmon was saying yesterday that SL had paid loads of their budget of Popovych.

    Cunego really disappointing for me, too considering Bib Bruze had to drag up the mt yesterday and then waved him ahead over the line. Also Samuel Sanchez hasn't shown his face until now but this is more his terrain,
    'Google can bring back a hundred thousand answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.'
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  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    Cumulonimbus wrote:
    Sastre could still take the white jersey

    He's a bit old though isn't he....
    I like bikes...

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  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    I think our cloudy friend means Andy Schleck.
  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    andyp wrote:
    I think Devolder's expectation were only believed within his own head and maybe the Quick Step team management. How a rider, who has never cracked the top ten of a three week tour, can be seriously touted as a contender is beyond me.

    Is Stijn Devolder Flemish for Tom Danielson? :wink:

    The touting of Devolder as a contender was, as we say over here, a "ball-hop". Lance has done this before, probably just to laugh at how seriously everyone takes his predictions. Remember when he told us Hincapie was a Tour contender
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
  • tony_s
    tony_s Posts: 237
    Menchov is looking like a bit of a danger man, judging by his performance so far. I have to say I'd hate for him to win- it'd be back to the Indurain years: A champion with all the charisma of a shop window dummy. Not very objective, I know but I'd like to see a winner with even a tiny bit of personality and/or passion.
    You can\'t have everything.... Where would you put it?

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  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    LangerDan wrote:
    The touting of Devolder as a contender was, as we say over here, a "ball-hop". Lance has done this before, probably just to laugh at how seriously everyone takes his predictions. Remember when he told us Hincapie was a Tour contender

    He's becoming the cycling equivalent of Pele, who is famously rubbish at making predictions about football
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • redbicycle
    redbicycle Posts: 271
    Ms Tree wrote:
    Moomaloid wrote:
    They Should've kept Horner!

    I read somewhere last year that Cadel was really angry over SL letting Horner go. Dave Harmon was saying yesterday that SL had paid loads of their budget of Popovych.

    Cunego really disappointing for me, too considering Bib Bruze had to drag up the mt yesterday and then waved him ahead over the line. Also Samuel Sanchez hasn't shown his face until now but this is more his terrain,
    well, he was certainly a better deal - they paid Horner a measley amount compared to the loads they're paying Popo and he was there much later on the climbs!!!
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,549
    LangerDan wrote:
    The touting of Devolder as a contender was, as we say over here, a "ball-hop". Lance has done this before, probably just to laugh at how seriously everyone takes his predictions. Remember when he told us Hincapie was a Tour contender
    I do. What was more alarming was the number of journalists who believed him - didn't Cycle Sport predict that Hincapie would be on the podium in the 2006 Tour? :roll:

    I would have given up then - the chemists would have won.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    "LangerDan wrote:
    The touting of Devolder as a contender was, as we say over here, a "ball-hop". Lance has done this before, probably just to laugh at how seriously everyone takes his predictions. Remember when he told us Hincapie was a Tour contender

    Lance didn't say he was a contender though, did he? He said Devolder would be an interesting project. So the right "coaching" and the right DS on the remote control he could do something.

    I believe Lance said Cadel was the man for this year and that Cunego would implode. Not too far off.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    How come a thread on Popovych morphed into one on the peloton's simpleton?

    I'll give "Poppy" one thing. He maybe riding the tour like a granny, but as DH said, he looks tres hard in his shades.
    Maybe he ought to just sit on Frankie boy and give him the "look", so he can't embrace the fear.... 8)
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • bossman13
    bossman13 Posts: 106
    anyone any ideas what the popo tactic was today :?:

    not been able to support CE all tour and then part of a break looking for stage win
  • donrhummy
    donrhummy Posts: 2,329
    Well, not sure why he was taking turns at the front but I think they sent him up ahead so if Evans needed help, Popo could just drop back to help him. If he'd stayed with Evans' group and been dropped, he'd likely never make it back up to Evans so it was a "being extra careful" decision.

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