issoisso wrote:
I suddenly realise that having commented the reason for Valverde's lack of form constantly for about 5 months has been quite pointless
OK, I'll repeat it again:
Valverde was never supposed to be the leader here, and his form is actually far better than it was supposed to be, which will probably harm him at the Tour (if he rides).
He's gambling everything on the Tour. Until the last minute he wasn't even supposed to ride here.
RodrÃguez was the team leader. End of
I assumed this as well however:
Alejandro Valverde will not, as previously scheduled, participate in the Vuelta a Catalunya coming up in May. Instead, the Caisse d'Epargne rider opted to take part in the Tour de Romandie from April 28-May 3.
The change came about "to take advantage of the fact that I'm approaching my peak of form," the Spaniard announced on Sunday evening, after finishing 19th in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
so something is up
That's a screwed up translation
What he said to the spanish press is that he's in slightly better form than expected (hence why he finished top 20 in the classics), so his programme had to be adjusted accordingly. He'll ride Romandie and rest later, instead of resting now and riding Catalunya.
According to the team's coaches, that will enable him to be at the same form, but less tired when he starts his Tour preparation.
I guess it's the "Part" he has to play. He has to look confident. It's that whole image of "I did nothing wrong, there's no way they'll convict me" that somehow manages to convince blind fans.
