Betancur

specialgueststar
specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
edited April 2017 in Pro race
Non starter at Liege - has he thrown his toys out?
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Comments

  • Gone AWOL? but at Suisse - wonder how he will go
  • mr_poll
    mr_poll Posts: 1,547
    Is the plan for him to be at the tour?
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    mr_poll wrote:
    Is the plan for him to be at the tour?


    Yes. Goodness knows which Betancur's going to turn up, though
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,786
    What's happened? He was flying early season despite his chubbiness.
  • inseine wrote:
    What's happened? He was flying early season despite his chubbiness.

    He had a bit of a run in with the DS as he said they backed the wrong guy ie Betancur and should have gone for ?Bardet - forgot the details and race etc ? Amstel?
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    inseine wrote:
    What's happened? He was flying early season despite his chubbiness.


    Difficult to say. I heard he had personal problems last year, which some people think contributed to his inconsistency, after a brilliant early season. He's inconsistent again this year.
  • Turfle
    Turfle Posts: 3,762
    http://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-rout ... lus/472388

    Didn't fly back from Colombia for the Tour de Suisse. AG2R not happy.
  • Turfle
    Turfle Posts: 3,762
    AG2R confirm he's not in the 9 for the Tour.
  • serious problem now - not raced since 23 April
  • the Inner Ring ‏@inrng 2h
    Betancur in France "he's not lean, but not in a catastrophic state either" Ag2r's Jurdie tells L'Equipe, "it's clear he won't do Vuelta GC"

    Has ever a team not needed someone more

    ...although Pozzovivo out of Vuelta too...which is a shame
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    Oddly on his day he can light up a race. when not scoffing pies, of course.
  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,551
    philbar72 wrote:
    Oddly on his day he can light up a race. when not scoffing pies, of course.

    Surely he's been scoffing empanadas... :wink:

    His whole season has been bizarre. Wonder how he fares next year at E-QS
  • The_Boy
    The_Boy Posts: 3,099
    So he's out of contract at the end of the year and all parties have confirmed they have no interest in renewing. The relationship between rider and team is pretty much non-existent, and the team don't really have anything to gain by letting him ride.

    So why is he going to the Vuelta?
    Team My Man 2018: David gaudu, Pierre Latour, Romain Bardet, Thibaut pinot, Alexandre Geniez, Florian Senechal, Warren Barguil, Benoit Cosnefroy
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Maybe they want to get some money's worth?
    Contador is the Greatest
  • So Alonso gets to see him ?
  • squired
    squired Posts: 1,153
    Constant issues with weight...is he set to become the new Jan Ullrich?
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    squired wrote:
    Constant issues with weight...is he set to become the new Jan Ullrich?
    Completely different kind of rider. similar diet.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    He finished the first stage of Vuelta a Burgos 2014 over 5mins down. He looks about 10kg overweight.
    38_dsc_0243_670.jpg
    Contador is the Greatest
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    “I believe, that after racing Burgos and the Vuelta, I will be ready for the world championships. I think I will be OK by the final week of the Vuelta. I will try to win a stage or do something to show myself,” Betancur told VeloNews. “This is what I love to do. I like to race my bike. I’ve seen a lot of disparaging comments about me, including from my own team, but I’m back, and I’m ready to race.”

    “It’s annoying,” Lavenu told CyclingWeekly in June. “There are always problems with him. Betancur is special. I don’t know if other Colombians are as complicated as mine.”

    “Those comments bothered me,” Betancur told VeloNews and a reporter from Biciciclismo.com. “Everyone has the right to say what they want, but I am one of the few riders on this team who races and actually wins anything. What else can I say? I don’t know.”

    lol at that last line, but it happens to be true. He has more wins than any other teammate and is second only to Peraud and Bardet in the points (only after their Tour performances) despite missing most of the season.

    “I was sick. The team knew that I was diagnosed with a virus, yet they still didn’t support me. The plan was to race the Tour de France, but I couldn’t do it,” Betancur said. “I would have liked to have raced the Tour, but I wanted to go in condition to do it well. There was a little bit of misunderstanding, but in the end, I was right. One cannot go to the Tour when one is sick.”

    Yet one pro said before the start of Wednesday’s stage, “Betancur might be overweight, but he’ll still drop us all on the climbs.”

    “It’s been sad, and couldn’t count on the support of my team. I’ve always demonstrated that I am rider who can win,” Betancur said. “It was very sad to miss all this time. It’s something that my team doesn’t seem to understand, that I love to race the bike. After winning Paris-Nice, I wanted to continue with success in Catalunya, Basque Country, the Ardennes, and then the Tour. Normally, I would have arrived at the Tour in top shape. That’s cycling. You just have to keep looking forward.”

    “I won Paris-Nice without being at 100 percent. When I am in optimum condition, I know I can be up there with the top riders,” he concluded.

    “I am barely starting to come back. I’ve only started training a month ago. This is my first race after four or five months, I am sure it’s going to be difficult, but this is what I love to do.”

    Read more at http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/08/ ... KIw1iI0.99
    Contador is the Greatest
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    8738118980_d142070a0d_b_zps73947233.jpg
    Contador is the Greatest
  • I bet it's frustrating for AG2R as they know he's got the talent to win big races, and he definitely could have done well in the Tour, with the strong team AG2R had.
  • The_Boy
    The_Boy Posts: 3,099
    I bet it's frustrating for AG2R as they know he's got the talent to win big races,

    It's frustrating to plan a race around a rider who doesn't then make any effort to let his team know he won't be able to race, leaving the team to send someone to meet him at the airport and wondering what the fuck is going on when he doesn't get off the plane.

    It's a bit rich of him to complain about his team not supporting him through his illness, tbh. And I'm a fan of his.
    Team My Man 2018: David gaudu, Pierre Latour, Romain Bardet, Thibaut pinot, Alexandre Geniez, Florian Senechal, Warren Barguil, Benoit Cosnefroy
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 51,199
    I do not understand this scenario at all. All teams have soigneurs and doctors and every rider mus be tested regularly for viruses? If Betancur had said he was ill, was this not verified by someone medical? Surely no pro rider is left to his/her own devices, he is a professional rider in a professional squad who's plans are decided well in advance of the season.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Having heard that Carlos Betancur was going to leave Ag2r, I tried in vain to speak to him last week. Interestingly, several riders who know and train with him told me they didn't have his phone number. "Oh god no, I don't have his number, no one does. He doesn't give it to anyone."

    I suddenly remembered talking to Betancur several times at the Giro last year, as well as earlier at Amstel Gold, and never really getting him to agree to do an interview.

    -CyclingInquisition
    Contador is the Greatest
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 51,199
    So what yer sayin' FF is that Betancur is the Paul Scholes of cycling.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • Nah, he's the Thomas Brolin...

    38_dsc_0243_670.jpg
  • Bv6uRIpIAAAb0-z.jpg
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Haha, I bet he was there most of the race...should be penalised. I suspect he may not last much longer. Loser.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,786
    You've got to worry about peoples mental health when they find themselves in this position. The guy might be taking the p*** , but I suspect the problem lies a bit deeper. It's a tough sport.