Christian Vande Velde ... does he actually race?!

frenchfighter

It occured to me that I have only seen this fellow in a single race. Has anyone else seen him in more and does anyone know his racing schedule for the rest of the year?

As far as it seems, he will race nothing Jan-June apart from Paris-Nice (where his mate Contador deliberately gifts him the Stage 4 win - Contador admits to doing so in a recent interview), then rock up to the Tour de France then fade back into obscurity.

Not the knid of rider that pleases the Tifosi...not someone who has been racing and attacking all season long regardless of wins, entertaining the fans like Cadel for instance.

And if you understandably forgot who he is then he is the number one rider for Garmin-Slipstream, a supposed potential winner of the Tour and this is what he looks like (it took me about 4hours to find a photo of him given his lack of appearences).

afx237vi

This year he's already finished:

Tour of California
Paris-Nice
Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, and
Vuelta al Pais Vasco

28 race days so far, which is actually better than average for most grand tour riders:

Cadel Evans, 24
Alberto Contador, 24
Carlos Sastre, 21
Samuel Sanchez, 21
Levi Leipheimer, 14
Alejandro Valverde, 13

(Pulled from http://www.cqranking.com )

I agree that he's not the most flamboyant rider, but he's hardly some layabout slacker.

frenchfighter

Interesting stats there. Many more than I epxected. However, I guess you could say he participated or he hung around in those races rather than raced them which is why he is no where on the rankings - 54th compared to the least of the ones you cited above which is Sanchez at 22nd.

And for 2009 Contador has 10 times more points than him.

Sastre is another rider that we can forget about - Contador has 31 times as many points as him!

Contador's efficiency for 2009 is crazy too at 38.83 vs CVV's 3.32 vs Satre's 1.43

Great link by the way.

missingmillar

http://www.slipstreamsports.com/tag/chr ... ande-velde

he's also been busy with new baby boy

see here: http://twitter.com/ChristianVDV

Lets wait and see what happens when we're all done in Italy, France and Spain before we start talking about who has had a good season or not.

frenchfighter

I am afraid that even if CVV won the TdF I still wouldn't like him or respect him in the same way I don't like or respect Sastre just because he won in 2008. For me a season doesn't mean won big win.

If all riders were like CVV and Sastre then there would be no point watching pro races from one end of the seaon to another as the races would be incredibly boring. I follow it all season so want to be entertained all season not just when the Giro and TdF land.

The Prodigy

frenchfighter wrote:

It occured to me that I have only seen this fellow in a single race. Has anyone else seen him in more and does anyone know his racing schedule for the rest of the year?

As far as it seems, he will race nothing Jan-June apart from Paris-Nice (where his mate Contador deliberately gifts him the Stage 4 win - Contador admits to doing so in a recent interview), then rock up to the Tour de France then fade back into obscurity.

Not the knid of rider that pleases the Tifosi...not someone who has been racing and attacking all season long regardless of wins, entertaining the fans like Cadel for instance.

And if you understandably forgot who he is then he is the number one rider for Garmin-Slipstream, a supposed potential winner of the Tour and this is what he looks like (it took me about 4hours to find a photo of him given his lack of appearences).

entertaining the fans like Cadel for instance.......I need to think hard about this one, because I'm struggling to find Cadel in the entertaining memories box, unless of course you include the comedy routines he does after races when he puts on that Mickey Mouse voice, thats a classic.

frenchfighter

I deliberately didn't choose the best rider in my comparison to demonstrate how poor CVV's performances are. Not too sure how many races you have watched this year but he has attacked often and has 423 CQ for this year compared to CVV's 93 and Sastre's 30. His most recent example of an attack was TODAY. He went with Gilbert with 10k or so to go and was caught with 5k. And finally, he has had 11 top ten placings.

It speaks for itself doesn't it.

You can see the video of him today here if you missed it: http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza.be/wielr ... r/1.517461

frenchfighter

Contador's comments on CVV are rather too nice:

"Christian's a very good friend of mine and apart from that he is a very focused rider who can do a good major Tour. He's ultra-motivated. In fact, he could start an entire war, just by himself."

And Contador on Cadel:

"A tough guy. He very rarely makes a mistake or cracks and he is very hard to drop."

And Contador on attacking (this is the kind of rider that entertains the fans):

[Talking about the Saint Etienne stage in Paris-Nice] "I gained more fans than I would have had I won Paris-Nice outright."

"There are races when I have to attack, go for it in each climb, and that's something the fans like. I like being a rider who attacks more, I prefer it when there is a lot going on because it makes it more intersting."

The Prodigy

I guess you will be proved right when Cadel dances off the front of the peleton at the foot of Ventoux then. You could have applied your logic on Vandevelde this season so far to A Schleck up until a couple of weeks ago, oh except he hadn't won a thing up until then

frenchfighter

If you cannot see from the paragraph I wrote on Cadel Evans how his performance in 2009 has been impressive than I am not so sure what to say - it is glaringly obvious.

As for Andy Schleck, do you watch pro cycling? That guy and his brother attack like crazy. Oh and Frank has 350 CQ for 2009 and Andy has 493.

As for winning, if someone doesn't it doesn't mean that they didn't make the race enjoyable to watch. I much prefer a rider who attacked all day and didn't win because he was caught with 10m to go by a rider who sheltered in the bunch all day. How you cannot see this point is also beyond me.

My point is simple, I want to be entertained and I am afraid CVV doesn't come close to doing that.

The Prodigy

Deary me.......you're not a clever one you.

There was a thread on this very forum, approx 3 weeks ago about Andy Schleck. The subject.....why has he done nothing so far this season.

A few weeks down the line and things look different.

I will reiterate this to you again. If you apply your logic on Vandevelde this season to Andy Schleck, just two weeks ago, then you would have said he ain't much of a rider.

frenchfighter

My logic as per my original post is that he has not been in many races. As per my subsequent post, he is not an interesting rider.

Applying this logic to Andy - he has not raced less races thatn CVV and he is a very exciting rider. Maybe if you had read my post properly you would have seen that I value an exciting rider much more than a win.

rogsmer

frenchfighter did you actually pay any attention during last years tour de france?
who attacked on super besse and had to be pulled in by the whole caisse d'epargne team?
who survived a whole stage of constant attacking by team columbia at the tour of missouri by pulling each rider back in by himself?
who managed to beat evans at prato nevoso and match him easily on all the summit finishes at the tour?
and you're forgetting he was racing flat out since january last year trying to impress aso to get a place at the tour

The Prodigy

frenchfighter wrote:

My logic as per my original post is that he has not been in many races. As per my subsequent post, he is not an interesting rider.

Applying this logic to Andy - he has not raced less races thatn CVV and he is a very exciting rider. Maybe if you had read my post properly you would have seen that I value an exciting rider much more than a win.

The point is Andy had done nothing this season until 2 weeks ago, up until that point he was incredibly boring

The Prodigy

Andy Schleck 26 race days this year..... so please do tell me how this logic of yours works

frenchfighter

Just like the majority of threads on this forum the people whop reply are incapable of discussing and seem to believe that the object of participation is to rubbish and attack and find flaws in what the OP said. Maybe try a little collaboration as that way things advance into an interesting dicussion.

frenchfighter

rogsmer wrote:

frenchfighter did you actually pay any attention during last years tour de france?
who attacked on super besse and had to be pulled in by the whole caisse d'epargne team?
who survived a whole stage of constant attacking by team columbia at the tour of missouri by pulling each rider back in by himself?
who managed to beat evans at prato nevoso and match him easily on all the summit finishes at the tour?
and you're forgetting he was racing flat out since january last year trying to impress aso to get a place at the tour

All well and good but you obviously didn't read what I wrote. I was talking about this year not last and about the fact that one big performance at the Tour is not what I value. The stats on CQ tell their own story.

flattythehurdler

frenchfighter wrote:

I am afraid that even if CVV won the TdF I still wouldn't like him or respect him in the same way I don't like or respect Sastre just because he won in 2008. For me a season doesn't mean won big win.

If all riders were like CVV and Sastre then there would be no point watching pro races from one end of the seaon to another as the races would be incredibly boring. I follow it all season so want to be entertained all season not just when the Giro and TdF land.

I disagree entirely. Whatever his preparation entailed, sastre dropping the peloton, and then menchov on the Alpe last year was one of the most compelling pieces of cycling I have seen (don't laugh iain, beauty is in the eye of the beholder)

disgruntledgoat

He rode a decent Giro last year too, wearing the jersey for a few days.

Plus, as I get older and more cynical I'm less inclined to go gooey over guys dancing off the front of the race on a climb. Is it possible that VdV's slow build up and lack of showmanship early in teh season is somehing to do with the regieme he rides under, ie no needles and all that?

frenchfighter

flattythehurdler wrote:

I disagree entirely. Whatever his preparation entailed, sastre dropping the peloton, and then menchov on the Alpe last year was one of the most compelling pieces of cycling I have seen (don't laugh iain, beauty is in the eye of the beholder)

So for you one event in a bluemoon makes you like a rider - that is perfectly understandable. For me however, this is the main sport I follow all season so I don't just want to enjoy a few weeks in June (or in Sastre's case one afternoon). However if a rider performs and entertains all season as well as taking the G-Ts then that person will be respected and liked by me. So Contador.

On that Sastre ride (I assume you meant Sastre on the Alpe), don't neglect the Schleck brothers superb work covering attacks, which was a major factor in his win. Don't forget also that Frank could easily have done what Sastre did and the reason he didn't was because Sastre said at the beginning of the climb that he was going. Had Frank gone instead we could easily have seen him in the yellow jersey on the Champs Elsyee (before you mention his TT performance, know that he deliberately slowed down to give Sastre something to chase). That Sastre went off was not appreciated by the team either when he was leaving them at the end of the year.

It is also interesting that you enjoyed a moment when a rider attacked his team mate who was wearing the yellow jersey - not so in my book, but demonstrates Sastre's character.

Menchov's attack (on stage 15, not the Alpe) was good and I wished he hadn't crashed.

calvjones

Yeah, Frank could have done it, then Evans would have mullah'd him in the TT and won the Tour.

epr

frenchfighter wrote:

For me however, this is the main sport I follow all season so I don't just want to enjoy a few weeks in June (or in Sastre's case one afternoon). However if a rider performs and entertains all season as well as taking the G-Ts then that person will be respected and liked by me. So Contador.

I don't understand why people slag off Sastre for being a boring rider who only got lucky. He has 3 TDF stage wins each of which he won on his own and by taking the initiative. In 2008, he did a lot more than just put in one attack: he took almost exactly his winning margin from Evans on Prato Nevoso. So he beat his main rival in 2/3 summit finishes and level with him in the other.

Hardly a one-hit wonder.

eh

Sastre is a class rider and was clearly team leader for the TDF from the beginning despite what may have been put out by the team.

As for CVV well he's pretty dull and I expect to be a bit of a one hit wonder, the new Bobby Julich prehaps.

But seriously the most boring rider in the bunch is Cadel yawn, appart from when he has his diva strops, what a tw*t.

frenchfighter

I am not denying that Sastre is a good Tour rider - he has countless top ten placings for the overall so has been very consistent. He just isn't much good at anything else and even in the Tour he is the the Tifosi's favourite or mine for good reason.

Cadel attacks more than people give him credit for and more than Sastre. The thing is that he isn't a pure climber so if you don't see him attacking all the time it is because he can't take the speed up. See the comment I posted earlier about what Contador had to say on Evans.

The Prodigy

frenchfighter wrote:

I am not denying that Sastre is a good Tour rider - he has countless top ten placings for the overall so has been very consistent. He just isn't much good at anything else and even in the Tour he is the the Tifosi's favourite or mine for good reason.

Cadel attacks more than people give him credit for and more than Sastre. The thing is that he isn't a pure climber so if you don't see him attacking all the time it is because he can't take the speed up. See the comment I posted earlier about what Contador had to say on Evans.

Cadel's attacks are very few and far between, you seem to confuse attacking with following wheels

donrhummy

frenchfighter wrote:

Interesting stats there. Many more than I epxected. However, I guess you could say he participated or he hung around in those races rather than raced them which is why he is no where on the rankings - 54th compared to the least of the ones you cited above which is Sanchez at 22nd.

And for 2009 Contador has 10 times more points than him.

Sastre is another rider that we can forget about - Contador has 31 times as many points as him!

Contador's efficiency for 2009 is crazy too at 38.83 vs CVV's 3.32 vs Satre's 1.43

Great link by the way.

He's not trying to win those races, he's trying to train for the TDF. He and Vaughters have both said that; he's only trying to peak once this year: for the TDF.

frenchfighter

I know that, but take someone like Conatador who can still win the Tour and the Giro (if he entered) and the Vuelta AND perform all year round at the highest level. Therefore he is not only a significantly better rider than CVV and Sastre but he is also a lot more interesting and by far more liked by the real fans.

The Prodigy

frenchfighter wrote:

I know that, but take someone like Conatador who can still win the Tour and the Giro (if he entered) and the Vuelta AND perform all year round at the highest level. Therefore he is not only a significantly better rider than CVV and Sastre but he is also a lot more interesting and by far more liked by the real fans.

Unfortunately not everyone can have the ability of AC, it is very harsh to compare all other riders to him.

mike ives

What is Firefighter on? What a load of c**p! Cadel Evans has to be one of the most boring, wheel hugging, professional cyclist I have ver seen on tv, (except of course for his post race interview antics. I bet his sponsors love those.

Carlos Sastre - along with his team mates; probabaly one of the best bits of professional cycling I have ever seen.

I'd sooner watch traffic lights change colour than suffer Cadel Evans!

Moomaloid

i can't understand the CVV bashing. We need to remember that until last years TDF, he wasnt aware that he'd be a contender. This year his team believes that he can be and as such they're gonna give him a preparation geared toward the TDF. Its not exactly a new concept is it? Discovery did it every season for 7 seasons. CVV will become more visible the closer we get for sure.

frenchfighter

I draw your attention to the fact that there are other ways of preparing for the Tour then riding races in which you don't let your heart rate get above 130. How many times to I have to give you the example of Contador. And your reference to LA well frankly I never liked him as a rider and like him even less now. He was not the rider Contador is and will be. A one-race wonder is not a cyclist to be remembered in my book.