Sunday, April 23, 2006
Historic Win for Valverde
Alejandro Valverde put paid to some criticisms that, like Hincapies, he’s good over 200 kms, but no more, winning Liege-Bastogne-Liege from a lead group of some 17 to roll into Ans. Liege is indeed La Doyenne, and in the past was always my favorite of the spring Classics. But it seems to be catching the bug that has infected Milan-San Remo, with the finishes increasingly seeming like a bunch sprint. Granted, the likes of Pettachi won’t soon be booming in at the front of the Liege “peloton,” but seemingly gone are the days when the selection was made a La Redoute, and the winning attacks were put in at the last on the climbs of Sart-Tilman or St. Nicholas.
Also seemingly gone are the days when the “Ardennes Double” (Fleche and Liege) was considered a rare achievement. The curiosity these days is of course when a rider wins one, but not the other…
Not to take anything away from Valverde’s win. An historic one at that: Alejandro was the first Spanish rider to claim the world’s oldest cycling race. Valverde has been progressing steadily over the few years of his young career, and looks now not only to fill the promise of Oscar Friere in producing an Iberian Classics winner, but perhaps more importantly for the Spanish cycling public, also looks to have what it takes to be a successful GC contender.
Indeed, immediately after the race, his team management was trying to quell what was expected to be a wildfire of speculation in the Spanish cycling press regarding Valverde’s chances in Paris. After all, Miguel Indurain and Pedor Delgado had only managed fourth in Liege. So today’s victory must be a portent of future success in Paris.
Certainly it would be sweet revenge for the runner up at the Madrid World’s to push the reigning champ out from cycling’s brightest limelight. While Boonen and Pettachi will certainly light up the opening week by rejoining swoards, Valverde could steal the attention when the real racing starts once Le Tour heads uphill. But the powers that be at Caisse d’Espargne are pooh-poohing such dreams – at least publicly and at least for now.
But then again, Valverde in the finale did handily beat Damiano Cunego, who only two years ago looked to be the archtype for the post-Armstrong generation. If not this year, the future does look to be open for Valverde’s ambitions. Indeed, to the extent that Liege is used as a barometer of the form of the major tour contenders, Valverde easily outclassed riders like Cunego and Basso. While the two arguably did more to animate the race proceedings, like his win earlier in Liege, Valverde controlled matter by not going with every break, keeping confidence in his finishing touch. He handed Cunego’s lunch to him, while Basso didn’t figure in the end…
On Tuesday the real “second season” – to borrow a phrase from the concurrent NHL playoffs – begins as the Tour of Romandie ushers in the season of the big stage races – and Jan Ullrich’s introduction to the 2006 season, period. Perhaps the greatest excitement this weekend from the pro peloton was not the racing in Belgium, but Bjarne Riis’s criticism of Ullrich in the Danish press. After meeting with his former lieutenant, Riis stated he was overweight and unmotivated. For his part, Udo Bölts, the D.S. at Gerolsteiner, and Ullrich’s top man in the mountains of the 1997 Tour who dispatched his captain to victory with the phrase “Qual Dich, du Sau!” (Dig deep, you sow) – and who gave the same title to his recently published memoir – dismissed Riis’s charges as a form of psychological warfare on behalf of Basso. While Bölts was perhaps more sympathetic to Ullrich, he was equally concerned that his tour preparations are wildly amiss. Noting that it was not only important for a Tour contender to have early season wins under his belt for self-confidence, but also that a team manager needs to see his Tour team tested under various conditions of the year – something that T-Mobile have not yet managed this season.
Defusing attention from Riis himself, but also sharpening the focus of the general criticism, Bölts notes, “it doesn’t matter if you ask Bjarne Riis, Patrick Lefèvere or me. We would all ask, why hasn’t he yet raced a single event?”
Also seemingly gone are the days when the “Ardennes Double” (Fleche and Liege) was considered a rare achievement. The curiosity these days is of course when a rider wins one, but not the other…
Not to take anything away from Valverde’s win. An historic one at that: Alejandro was the first Spanish rider to claim the world’s oldest cycling race. Valverde has been progressing steadily over the few years of his young career, and looks now not only to fill the promise of Oscar Friere in producing an Iberian Classics winner, but perhaps more importantly for the Spanish cycling public, also looks to have what it takes to be a successful GC contender.
Indeed, immediately after the race, his team management was trying to quell what was expected to be a wildfire of speculation in the Spanish cycling press regarding Valverde’s chances in Paris. After all, Miguel Indurain and Pedor Delgado had only managed fourth in Liege. So today’s victory must be a portent of future success in Paris.
Certainly it would be sweet revenge for the runner up at the Madrid World’s to push the reigning champ out from cycling’s brightest limelight. While Boonen and Pettachi will certainly light up the opening week by rejoining swoards, Valverde could steal the attention when the real racing starts once Le Tour heads uphill. But the powers that be at Caisse d’Espargne are pooh-poohing such dreams – at least publicly and at least for now.
But then again, Valverde in the finale did handily beat Damiano Cunego, who only two years ago looked to be the archtype for the post-Armstrong generation. If not this year, the future does look to be open for Valverde’s ambitions. Indeed, to the extent that Liege is used as a barometer of the form of the major tour contenders, Valverde easily outclassed riders like Cunego and Basso. While the two arguably did more to animate the race proceedings, like his win earlier in Liege, Valverde controlled matter by not going with every break, keeping confidence in his finishing touch. He handed Cunego’s lunch to him, while Basso didn’t figure in the end…
On Tuesday the real “second season” – to borrow a phrase from the concurrent NHL playoffs – begins as the Tour of Romandie ushers in the season of the big stage races – and Jan Ullrich’s introduction to the 2006 season, period. Perhaps the greatest excitement this weekend from the pro peloton was not the racing in Belgium, but Bjarne Riis’s criticism of Ullrich in the Danish press. After meeting with his former lieutenant, Riis stated he was overweight and unmotivated. For his part, Udo Bölts, the D.S. at Gerolsteiner, and Ullrich’s top man in the mountains of the 1997 Tour who dispatched his captain to victory with the phrase “Qual Dich, du Sau!” (Dig deep, you sow) – and who gave the same title to his recently published memoir – dismissed Riis’s charges as a form of psychological warfare on behalf of Basso. While Bölts was perhaps more sympathetic to Ullrich, he was equally concerned that his tour preparations are wildly amiss. Noting that it was not only important for a Tour contender to have early season wins under his belt for self-confidence, but also that a team manager needs to see his Tour team tested under various conditions of the year – something that T-Mobile have not yet managed this season.
Defusing attention from Riis himself, but also sharpening the focus of the general criticism, Bölts notes, “it doesn’t matter if you ask Bjarne Riis, Patrick Lefèvere or me. We would all ask, why hasn’t he yet raced a single event?”
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I'm not sure if the Ardennes Double is a dead feat yet. Just look at how things sorted out behind Valverde at the two races - despite the comparatively large finishing groups, no one rider was place s.t. with the winner in both Liege and Fleche, and just half of the top ten was shared between Fleche and Liege (which you might expect for two races held 4 days apart - the same level of reccurence you find between Amstel and Fleche.)
If you ask me (I'll admit most people don't), Rebellin had no business winning Liege in '04. Because of the steepness of the Cauberg, his win over Boogerd in Amstel that year might still have happened if the Dutchman hadn't idiotically jumped 300 meters from the line. But on that flat stretch that ends Liege, Rebellin's victory was entirely a result Boogerd's shaky nerves (he couldn't take the pressure of Vino' coming back on). In a finish like today's, an on-form Rebellin would have been hard pressed to take 5th.
If you ask me (I'll admit most people don't), Rebellin had no business winning Liege in '04. Because of the steepness of the Cauberg, his win over Boogerd in Amstel that year might still have happened if the Dutchman hadn't idiotically jumped 300 meters from the line. But on that flat stretch that ends Liege, Rebellin's victory was entirely a result Boogerd's shaky nerves (he couldn't take the pressure of Vino' coming back on). In a finish like today's, an on-form Rebellin would have been hard pressed to take 5th.
There is something, of course, to be said about the continuing significance of the Double. The two races have very different characteristics -- Fleche ends at the summit of a killer of a climb, albiet with only 200 kms as preparation. The flat at the end of Liege since the end was moved to Ans has been the death knell for many a rider. Perhaps the most memorable for me was Lance's defeat to Pascal Richard in 1996, after Armstrong looked like he had the same case of nerves that plagued Boogerd. (Maybe I'll post a little background story on that at some point.)
The different finish at Liege and Fleche generally sees different riders keying up for the events. And of course Fleceh also allows for an opportunistic win when the big boys eye each other and conserve their reserves for Sunday. But one thing is certain is that a larger and larger group is contesting the finish at both Belgian Ardennes classics, likely allowing for a more frequent occurance of the Double.
Still, as you can probably tell, I'm a Valverde fan, and I think this race really confirms his quality as a rider, and the increasingly (perhaps) frequent Double should not distract from beautifully executed finishes.
And given his all-around abilities, I'm sure you would join me in happily seeing some of the Boonen adolation heaped on the shoulders of the Spaniard.
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The different finish at Liege and Fleche generally sees different riders keying up for the events. And of course Fleceh also allows for an opportunistic win when the big boys eye each other and conserve their reserves for Sunday. But one thing is certain is that a larger and larger group is contesting the finish at both Belgian Ardennes classics, likely allowing for a more frequent occurance of the Double.
Still, as you can probably tell, I'm a Valverde fan, and I think this race really confirms his quality as a rider, and the increasingly (perhaps) frequent Double should not distract from beautifully executed finishes.
And given his all-around abilities, I'm sure you would join me in happily seeing some of the Boonen adolation heaped on the shoulders of the Spaniard.
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