A Yates brother will win the Vuelta. I don't think Nibali has the form. If Tao Geoghegan Hart rides, I think he will finish top 8. He just finished 5th at the Burgos and the course looks suited to him- he has a very powerful engine.
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He will win a Grand Tour within the next four years. He is the next man on the Sky production line.
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Vuelta is looking good, MS will stacked with climbers taking Yates X2 and Haig, Sagan is confirmed, Pinot, Porte, keen to see who Sky have lead, there was talk Froome was going during the TDF.
I doubt Froome will be doing the Vuelta, given the levels of fatigue he showed during the latter stages of the Tour.
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Yeah I agree its too much but it leaves Sky without a proven GC leader at a GT which wouldnt have happened for a while. Whether they go with somebody like Henao or just chase stage wins.
Let's face it... every UK Postal rider other than Froome is unproven as a GC leader. Including Geraint Thomas.
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Bardet is riding the Vuelta, gotta be the favourite, doesn't he?
Not after he failed so spectacularly in the Tour. Fatigue will be a factor for any rider who finished the Tour - less so for Porte & Nibali, who abandoned early.
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He didn't live up to the hype but it was hardly a spectacular failure finishing 6th.
History says its easier to back up from the Tour to the Vuelta than it is to back from the Giro to the Tour.
Until the Yates brothers can hold their form for an entire GT they are no threat to anybody. Ditto for Mitchelton Scott.
Porte is too soft to win a GT.
Nibali might be fresh for abandoning early but he abandoned because he couldn't physically ride on, also he has looked anything but a GT contender for a few years now.
The best riders ride the Tour, not the Giro. By the time we get to the Vuelta we have Tour riders who are equally fatigued, and 2nd string riders who did the Giro and are now relatively fresh. That makes for a more even field. A-grade riders like Porte & Nibali, who don't have the fatigue of the Tour, are at a distinct advantage.
Did you read what you wrote here?
Porte's problem isn't "softness", it's an inability to remain upright on the bike - particularly when going downhill fast. If he can stay upright, then there's no reason to think he can't win. IF.
Nibali hasn't been at his best, but that's only in comparison to Froome. Against this field, his traditional big bag of blood on the 2nd rest day should see him flying home to Madrid in the last week.
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The best riders ride the Tour, not the Giro. By the time we get to the Vuelta we have Tour riders who are equally fatigued, and 2nd string riders who did the Giro and are now relatively fresh. That makes for a more even field. A-grade riders like Porte & Nibali, who don't have the fatigue of the Tour, are at a distinct advantage.
Did you read what you wrote here?
Porte's problem isn't "softness", it's an inability to remain upright on the bike - particularly when going downhill fast. If he can stay upright, then there's no reason to think he can't win. IF.
Nibali hasn't been at his best, but that's only in comparison to Froome. Against this field, his traditional big bag of blood on the 2nd rest day should see him flying home to Madrid in the last week.
Porte's problem is softness.
He doesn't have the killer instinct to win a GT. You've got to be a ruthless, selfish bastard to win a GT. Look at the list of winners.
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An inform Porte should finish top 2 in the Vuelta, while if S.Yates reproduces his Giro form he should finish on the podium - David De la Cruz is the leader for Team Sky - His form has been far from convincing but could finish in the bottom reaches of the top 10 - Of course according to the leading protagonists no-one is riding for GC - Anyway it's my favorite GC of the year.
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Pantskyle
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What a ridiculous statement. Porte has crashed out numerous times, doesn't make him soft. Porte should be clear favourite for the Vuelta, one of the best climbers in the GT world and has a far better time trial than any of the other contenders riding the Vuelta.
Still assumes he can stay upright for 3 weeks. Not a given.
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True but surely his bad luck has to end sometime. He might be soft, I beat him in a triathlon once.
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Where did I say crashing out makes him soft?
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So what's your reasoning behind him being "soft"?
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Rigo is in. 
I question whether Nibali has had enough time in training after the injury. Think he will be coming in underdone.
I question whether Nibali has had enough time in training after the injury. Think he will be coming in underdone.
In the report I read he acknowledged that he wouldn't be a contender.
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Just minor things here and there that I have noticed about him.
He doesn't strike me as having the requisite attitude to win a GT.
Soft is probably harsh, but I think it is fair.
An example...
Porte & BMC made a big song and dance about being a powerful team in last year's Tour. They sent Kung and others to ride at the front, & they were all cooked after the first week.
If you're a tough/strong team you do it by racing tough not capitulating after pretending to be tough.
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So your argument is that his former team was soft, not Porte himself? Before he crashed on Stage nine he was sitting 5th @39 secs behind Froome, hardly soft.
This year he was sitting 10th @57 secs behind Thomas with all the other contenders, hardly insurmountable. I'm not sure what you are basing your claim off?
You could argue that he is unproven over a 3 week race as a protected rider, how ever he did finish 5th in 2016 on his first try as a team leader and if you take a drugged up Froome out of the equation there was only 1 min between 2nd and 5th.
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There is no disputing he is a good bike rider.
On talent, could easily win a GT.
BUT...GT's aren't won on talent alone.
Before you again reference crashes...crashes are just bad luck and have nothing to do with softness.
As I said earlier, IMO he lacks the killer instinct. That is one of the reasons IMO he is soft.
You still haven't explained why you think he "lacks the killer instinct".
You waffled something about BMC having shitty team tactics and burning themselves out before the competition even began... but none of that waffle had anything to do with Porte.
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That particular tactic had everything to do with softness, it was supposed to show the other teams how strong BMC were, but all it showed was they were soft. They capitulated. Porte was front & centre of the "we are a strong team" talk. Your team can only take you so far, especially when up against Team Sky.
It is just my opinion, and like I have said before, it is only little things that I have seen about Porte, but I 100% stand by my assessment that he lacks the killer instinct. IMO it will stop him from winning a GT.
He whinged about the dangers of that descent after he crashed last year. That was 100% rider error. He still occasionally whinges about that crash. He's not game enough to take on the descents, he will be even more cautious in the future. Froome has crashed many times, but when it's time to go he takes on the challenge.
