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Roberto Velásquez: The Story of A Legend |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 29-09-2012 08:03
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Thanks  Well, it's the first weekend and the camera I ordered will arrive Wednesday, so I've got nothing to do this weekend! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 29-09-2012 09:27
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Vuelta Ciclista a Andalucia 2012
Being a champion isn't only about winning, it's about taking a beating once in a while, too. No one knew this better than Roberto Velásquez. Although his specialty (or one of the many) was uphill finishes, his following two did not result in a win.
His aggressive style of riding tired the competition out, but himself, too. In Andalucia, he was beaten in the sprint by a Rabobank-duo Martens and Boom.
Two days later, he was beaten up a hill again, by Costa and Moreno.
We found a small fragment of a radio-interview with a local Colombian broadcasting network.
Network: Welcome back in Colombia, you left here an unknown rider, but you return as the hope of Colombia.
Velásquez: I don't know. All I know is it feels good to be back.
Network: You had a lot of success in your first races, resulting in many wins. Only your latest race was a bit less.
Velásquez: Oh, I wouldn't say that. The competition was much stronger, losing against Costa and Moreno uphill isn't something I'd call a lesser achievement. And I managed to get the KoM jersey. I'd say it was quite a success, actually.
[...]
Network: What are your future plans?
Velásquez: First there is another race in Spain, which consists out of a mountain stage and a time trial. And then I return home again, in order to prepare myself for the Volta a Catalunya. That will be my first World Tour event.
Network: What do you expect out of the race?
Velásquez: I expect a strong opposition and a hard race. I will definitely try to pull something, and some of the later stages have some uphill finishes, so I might play for the jackpot there. But it'll be a whole other level there, so I wouldn't expect too much.
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 29-09-2012 09:28
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8389
Joined: 08-09-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Roberto already showing signs of a superstar.  |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 25-11-2024 03:08
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| TimoCycling |
Posted on 29-09-2012 09:33
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Sprinter
Posts: 1765
Joined: 27-08-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Haha nice to see you're back! Also cool 2030 perspective, what are his stats? Looking forward to see you dominate! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 29-09-2012 09:48
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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FreitasPCM: He's developing extremely fast (Sagan style  )
TimoCycling: Thanks! I adjust his stats now and then, according to how he's doing. I want him to become a superstar but I don't want him to win TDF at 21, for example Maybe at 22, who knows |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 29-09-2012 10:04
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Volta a Catalunya 2012
We now know that he skipped the planned Vuelta a Murcia. The reason why is still a debate among fans. All we know is that he stayed in Colombia and prepared for his first World Tour event.
Volta a Catalunya of 2012 was a 7-stage race without any flat races. 6 of the stages were classified as hilly and one as mountainous. While the largest part of the world was looking forward to seeing the big guns in action, cycling experts were wondering if the young gun Velásquez would confirm his supposed talent. A minor thread on a (now-)famous community site PCM Daily said the following:
TomBoonen3579 wrote: I'm very curious to see what Velásquez will do at Catalunya. He was pretty impressive so far.
PelikanMan wrote: He won some things, but he didn't have any competition.  But maybe he can ride top 10, max.
I agree with Pelikan, he won sprints uphill, but he didn't meet Valverde or Gilbert yet. Colombia's gotten a wildcard for Amstel Gold Race, we'll see how he faces the pro's there. Still, he's fast! Don't disagree there. But if Danny Pate had been there, things would've turned out differently!
We'll talk about Catalunya in more detail than the previous races, because this was an important event in his professional career, his first WT race.
Edited by Ian Butler on 29-09-2012 10:05
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 29-09-2012 11:36
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Lets hope for some good reports from Catalunya |
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| fred947a |
Posted on 29-09-2012 11:44
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Under 23
Posts: 61
Joined: 08-03-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Already good story. Really good race reports and concept ( 2030 ) |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 29-09-2012 12:00
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Some great results so far! also I have a question for you... was the ordering the camera to arrive on Wednesday a clever plan so you can play more pcm?
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 29-09-2012 12:42
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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sutty68: Thanks
fred947a: I'm glad you like it, because it's quite a new way of working for me!
the_hoyle: I can see why you'd think that I ordered it to arrive on Wednesday because Monday and Tuesday I'm in Brussels all day long (long courses), but Wednesday the trains go on a strike so I'm at home |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 30-09-2012 07:49
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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It's pretty safe to say the next reports will be later today, I'll definitely be able to find some time either this afternoon or this evening! |
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| TimoCycling |
Posted on 30-09-2012 08:14
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Sprinter
Posts: 1765
Joined: 27-08-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Goodluck, looking forward to them! |
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| JuanMotr |
Posted on 30-09-2012 11:02
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Domestique
Posts: 701
Joined: 29-07-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Perfect idea I´m looking forward to your film one day
I would coment earlier but i didn´t knew about this story!
I was still waiting for an update on François and Fréderique 
Good luck with this one |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 30-09-2012 12:03
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Thats nice to hear Ian |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 30-09-2012 13:55
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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TimoCycling: Thanks
JuanMotr: I'm glad you found it, though! I can't imagine doing a story without you  Hope you will like this one, it's a different thing from my previous ones.
sutty68: Thanks, it's nice to have a follower so consistent as you! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 30-09-2012 13:55
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Volta a Catalunya 2012 - Stage 1
Roberto's first experience with World Tour was one of many attempts and no success.
He tried breaking away on the longest climb of the day.
However, it seems that Radioshack had been following the .1 races in February, and so they didn't hesitate to reel him back in.
Roberto Velásquez himself was a calm man, but it seems as if he had put all his aggressiveness in his racing. And the world would get to know him as an attacker, a real animal.
He exploded out of the peloton and managed to stay ahead until after the descent.
But the terrain and the wind wasn't in his favor. He was caught at 5km before the finish, barely able to finish in the pack.
Much information is lost, but we do have a text message he sent after the race, to his mother, who was in Colombia.
I tried but I didn't succeed. Will try again tomorrow, and the day after. Hope you are feeling better. PS did you watch it on the television?
We also managed to track down a coach of him, and he's helping us in this reconstruction of Roberto Velásquez' life. This is what he says about that day:
I remember it well. At first he was really disappointed. But I told him this was World Tour level. These guys were pros. I mean, Froome was there, Sanchez, Schleck, Vanendert, Nibali, Evans, De Gendt, they were all there! He had a lot of ambition, but you can't expect to beat those men in your first World Tour event. You just simply can't. The weird thing is, he listened. He payed a lot of attention to other people's advice. And when I was done, he thanked me and started his warm-down, preparing himself for stage 2.
With Velásquez planning to attack again, stage 2 promised to be a spectacle. It looks like he really wanted to win a stage there, that much was certain. And if Velásquez wanted something, there wasn't much to be done against it. |
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| JuanMotr |
Posted on 30-09-2012 15:11
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Domestique
Posts: 701
Joined: 29-07-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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It´s great to read. I feel so much suspense in it . |
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| maxime86 |
Posted on 30-09-2012 15:42
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2950
Joined: 01-03-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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I already love this story |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 30-09-2012 16:29
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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JuanMotr: I'm glad you like this one
maxime86: It gives me much pleasure to read this, thanks |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 30-09-2012 16:30
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Volta a Catalunya 2012 - Stage 2
We know Roberto promised to attack in this stage, and looking at the profile of the race, we understand why he thought it might lead to a victory.
Seeing how there's only a descent left after the climb, this should've been Roberto's terrain.
As we now also know, Roberto Velásquez was a man of his word. If he said he'd attack, he would certainly try to. And so he did.
He and Vinokourov scattered the entire peloton into little pieces. Unfortunately, he didn't manage to get to the front of the small groups. Peter Velits took the win.
He was quite close, though. This picture shows us a sprinting Roberto and Velits winning in the background. So he was sprinting for a top 10 place.
He finished 8th.
Result
| 1 | Peter Velits | Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team | 3h48'30 | | | 2 | Daniel Moreno | Katusha Team | s.t. | | | 3 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel Euskadi | s.t. | | | 4 | Maxime Monfort | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 38 | | | 5 | Carlos Barredo | Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. | | | 6 | Nicolas Roche | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. | | | 7 | Matteo Carrara | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | | 8 | Roberto Velásquez | Colombia Coldeportes | s.t. | IanButler | | 9 | Amets Txurruka | Euskaltel Euskadi | s.t. | | | 10 | Richie Porte | Sky Pro Cycling | s.t. |
GC after stage 2
| 1 | Peter Velits | Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team | 7h29'22 | | | 2 | Daniel Moreno | Katusha Team | + 4 | | | 3 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel Euskadi | + 6 | | | 4 | Matteo Carrara | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | + 44 | | | 5 | Nicolas Roche | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 48 | | | 6 | Amets Txurruka | Euskaltel Euskadi | s.t. | | | 7 | Carlos Barredo | Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. | | | 8 | Maxime Monfort | Radioshack Nissan Trek | s.t. | | | 9 | Carlos Alberto Betancourt | Acqua & Sapone | s.t. | | | 10 | Richie Porte | Sky Pro Cycling | s.t. | | | 11 | Marco Pinotti | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | | 12 | Christian Vandevelde | Team Garmin-Barracuda | s.t. | | | 13 | Roberto Velásquez | Colombia Coldeportes | s.t. | IanButler | | 14 | Julien Antomarchi | Team Type 1 - Sanofi | + 2'19 | | | 15 | Anthony Geslin | FDJ-BigMat | + 4'46 | |
The world started to get to know his name a little bit. Not yet among the big public, but definitely among the cycling fans. Stage 3 would be a mountain stage. Roberto's coach recollects Roberto's preview on stage 3:
Roberto was definitely looking forward to this stage. It was very tough, but he could handle that. It finished on a slope, which suited him fine. However, he also realized it would be hard to win against big names as Froome and Nibali. He was eager to prove his talent and thought stage 3 would be an opportune time to do so. |
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