Worlds 2018 - SPOILERS

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Comments

  • hypster
    hypster Posts: 1,229
    So a 38 year old known and convicted drugs cheat almost wins the Vuelta and then goes on to take the World Championship road race in the twilight years of his career. Is there no test for monkey gland?
  • joe2008
    joe2008 Posts: 1,531
    hypster wrote:
    So a 38 year old known and convicted drugs cheat almost wins the Vuelta and then goes on to take the World Championship road race in the twilight years of his career. Is there no test for monkey gland?

    Pro cycling deserves him. You can win the Vuelta at the age of 41. :wink:
  • alanparsons
    alanparsons Posts: 529
    joe2008 wrote:
    hypster wrote:
    So a 38 year old known and convicted drugs cheat almost wins the Vuelta and then goes on to take the World Championship road race in the twilight years of his career. Is there no test for monkey gland?

    Pro cycling deserves him. You can win the Vuelta at the age of 41. :wink:
    Fair point.
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    So as someone said earlier: ‘Valverde will win the Vuelta, the Worlds, and then come and beat you at your local pub quiz’.
  • ovi
    ovi Posts: 396
    alanparsons wrote:
    joe2008 wrote:
    hypster wrote:
    So a 38 year old known and convicted drugs cheat almost wins the Vuelta and then goes on to take the World Championship road race in the twilight years of his career. Is there no test for monkey gland?

    Pro cycling deserves him. You can win the Vuelta at the age of 41. :wink:
    Fair point.
    did that man work since? seems no one wanted to touch him but that could of been his age.
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,116
    ovi wrote:
    alanparsons wrote:
    joe2008 wrote:
    hypster wrote:
    So a 38 year old known and convicted drugs cheat almost wins the Vuelta and then goes on to take the World Championship road race in the twilight years of his career. Is there no test for monkey gland?

    Pro cycling deserves him. You can win the Vuelta at the age of 41. :wink:
    Fair point.
    did that man work since? seems no one wanted to touch him but that could have been his age.

    Chris Horner, he was never (quite) at Valverde's level to be fair. Valverde has been winning for years (whether drug fueled or not). He's a friendly guy at start lines unlike some riders.

    Horner was hit by a driver following the Vuelta and that probably brought his career to a bit of an end, although he was still racing this year.
    BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
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  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    Horner was one of Lance's biggest apologists and did he not parrot the 'never tested positive' line after too?
  • joe_totale-2
    joe_totale-2 Posts: 1,333
    NervexProf wrote:
    https://www.reddit.com/r/peloton/comments/9fl5r4/a_beginners_guide_to_alejandro_valverde/

    Thanks, I enjoyed that.
  • Ben6899
    Ben6899 Posts: 9,686
    The worst thing about Valverde winning is that he'll almost certainly go with white bibs.
    Ben

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  • alanparsons
    alanparsons Posts: 529
    Ben6899 wrote:
    The worst thing about Valverde winning is that he'll almost certainly go with white bibs.
    Excellent, another reason to dispise him.
  • awavey
    awavey Posts: 2,368
    FocusZing wrote:
    TD was getting brake rub too. Damn good effort

    reports say his Di2 battery went flat in the last kms as well
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,249
    Was disappointed Valverde won but will take some consolation from seeing the bile provoked in some of the more unpleasant posters on here.

    For all the pre-race talk of the French being a bunch of individuals rather than a team, I reckon Bardet's concern for his teammate may well have cost him the race. His attack was clearly planned as a launchpad for Alaphilippe and when he realised he'd actually dropped his leader he sat in rather than pushing on and potentially dropping Valverde.
  • FocusZing
    FocusZing Posts: 4,373
    awavey wrote:
    FocusZing wrote:
    TD was getting brake rub too. Damn good effort

    reports say his Di2 battery went flat in the last kms as well
    Jeez.


    DoVBXWFXsAEe0uP.jpg

    Past winners flexing.
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,104
    Good edition, great finish, great ride by Kennaugh, shame none of the big gun GB riders were riding and on form.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    Has valverde said if he is still going to race next season?
    After this win i wouldn't be surprised if he retires, going out at the top.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    redvision wrote:
    Has valverde said if he is still going to race next season?
    After this win i wouldn't be surprised if he retires, going out at the top.
    I think he's said that he wants to keep on to the 2020 Olympics.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    Another double post. Grrrr...
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    redvision wrote:
    Has valverde said if he is still going to race next season?
    After this win i wouldn't be surprised if he retires, going out at the top.
    I would be speechless if he retires. He’s done it all now, agreed, but the guy clearly lives to race
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • alanparsons
    alanparsons Posts: 529
    DeadCalm wrote:
    Was disappointed Valverde won but will take some consolation from seeing the bile provoked in some of the more unpleasant posters on here.

    Not sure what mean by bile? A quick search of AV on here will give you a long history of comments both for and against him.
    From my pov he is an unrepentant doper, a bit like the guy in your gym who can still press 240kg dispite the fact he stopped taking steroids 30 years ago.
    On top of that he is the only winner this week who hasn't come out into the finish zone to have his photo taken with the crowds.
    # no class
  • Der Kaiser
    Der Kaiser Posts: 172
    Cheats never prosper until they have served a 2 year ban for doping.
  • craigus89
    craigus89 Posts: 887
    edited September 2018
    Has anyone ever retired whilst holding the rainbow jersey? I take it that no one would wear it for the up-coming season?
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,697
    Yup...

    I don't know if anyone's done it on the road. Not totally unlike a Stybar winning CX world's but not riding CX again the following season.
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • rozzer32
    rozzer32 Posts: 3,923
    On a bit of a side note. I think the thing that made me more ***** off about Valverdes win was listening to the BBC comentary. Jeez how rubbish was it! Stevie Wonder would have done a better job at picking out the riders.
    ***** Pro Tour Pundit Champion 2020, 2018, 2017 & 2011 *****
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,473
    Wasn't able to see it but loved reading it step by step here. Love it for Valverde. Doper yes, but class rider for years. Really deserved this!
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • stanislav
    stanislav Posts: 1,151
    rozzer32 wrote:
    On a bit of a side note. I think the thing that made me more ***** off about Valverdes win was listening to the BBC comentary. Jeez how rubbish was it! Stevie Wonder would have done a better job at picking out the riders.

    Second that, If the main commentator had done his homework he would have recognised more riders from their trade team helmets and bikes
    PTP winner 2015.
  • alanparsons
    alanparsons Posts: 529
    stanislav wrote:
    rozzer32 wrote:
    On a bit of a side note. I think the thing that made me more ***** off about Valverdes win was listening to the BBC comentary. Jeez how rubbish was it! Stevie Wonder would have done a better job at picking out the riders.

    Second that, If the main commentator had done his homework he would have recognised more riders from their trade team helmets and bikes
    Hey it's not an easy job you know.
    Carlton Kirby has been doing it for years and he still can't identify a rider. ;)
  • iron_duke
    iron_duke Posts: 117
    Craigus89 wrote:
    Has anyone ever retired whilst holding the rainbow jersey? I take it that no one would wear it for the up-coming season?

    Did Wiggins not do this after winning TT WC?
    http://www.mountain-thyme.com/index.php
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Good race I thought. Still not convinced about super steep stuff in races. There seems to be too much of it.

    It was pretty obvious Valverde would win once he got over the climb in the front. Impressive from Woods. If he's come to cycling earlier he'd have been a real force.

    I don't mind Valverde winning (prefered it to Alaphillipe) but what I find interesting is how he's generally quite popular in the peloton but the not so much with the public.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    Iron_Duke wrote:
    Craigus89 wrote:
    Has anyone ever retired whilst holding the rainbow jersey? I take it that no one would wear it for the up-coming season?

    Did Wiggins not do this after winning TT WC?
    He retired at the following year's Paris-Roubaix. He did four TTs in the jersey before then.

    Jempi Monsere, the 1970 champion, was killed in a crash early the following season.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,317
    Is it popularity or respect for Valverde amongst his peers? Didn’t Boonen say words to the effect that Valverde was the greatest rider of his generation?
    The guy is an absolute don: a supreme athlete getting the most from his physiology coupled with unparalleled race craft.

    As for the doping thing, it’s a bloody shame and a massive red mark against him - but I imagine that many pros, particularly the older ones, disallow any sanctimony to overwhelm their admiration: they know that they either dabbled themselves or we’re very close to it...

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