Spanish Cycling.

[limerickman]

It would appear that the Spain are now the pre-eminent power in the professional peloton.

Contador is the obvious rider that fans will cite.
And as great as he is - and he is superb - he is not the only successful rider.

Freire for me is the best rider of the current Spanish rider generation.
I know that Freire has a few years on Contador but Oscars palmares is superb.

Valverde is another superstar.

One Spanish rider, I really like is Flecha.
This man is a consistent top 10 one day rider and he could well have won P-R but for Canc.
A very very solid professional.

Throw in Sanchez, Pereiro, Rodriguez : Spanish cycling is really the world power of the peloton.

 

[Andrija]

It would appear that the Spain are now the pre-eminent power in the professional peloton.

Contador is the obvious rider that fans will cite.
And as great as he is - and he is superb - he is not the only successful rider.

Freire for me is the best rider of the current Spanish rider generation.
I know that Freire has a few years on Contador but Oscars palmares is superb.

Valverde is another superstar.

One Spanish rider, I really like is Flecha.
This man is a consistent top 10 one day rider and he could well have won P-R but for Canc.
A very very solid professional.

Throw in Sanchez, Pereiro, Rodriguez : Spanish cycling is really the world power of the peloton.

Speaking of Spanish riders it's fair to mention Sevilla, Mancebo, Heras, Santiago Perez, Beloki, Mayo, Astarloa and others who were significant forces and prospects during past decade.
Having said that, one day racers and stage hunters seem to last longer than stage racers and GT overall riders.
Spanish influence is present for a long time now. They just have to keep themselves out of trouble.

 

[limerickman]

Speaking of Spanish riders it's fair to mention Sevilla, Mancebo, Heras, Santiago Perez, Beloki, Mayo, Astarloa and others who were significant forces and prospects during past decade.
Having said that, one day racers and stage hunters seem to last longer than stage racers and GT overall riders.
Spanish influence is present for a long time now. They just have to keep themselves out of trouble.

I was only concentrating on the current generation.

You're right though.
Mancebo/Heras/Beloki etc were also successful,

 

[sopas]

I'm from Spain and I can tell you there is a lot of passion for the sport here. The post-Indurain era is giving way to a group of the best riders in the world.

 

[tambourlain]

Mancebo/Heras/Beloki etc were also successful,

So, as long as they are not Americans, you could care less if they are dopers.

 

[Eagle of Toledo]

As a Spaniard, I'm pretty chuffed at the current success they are having. When I started riding and following the races in the Hinault days I was almost ashamed to say I was Spanish, there were not many doing well then.

Indurain changed all that but he was a standout in what for many years was a pretty mediocre cycling nation. There are huge chasms between Bahamontes, Ocaña and Indurain. Post-Indurain has been great.

On the flip side Spain has recently had many riders embroiled in drug scandals, and that is not something to be proud of at all. So much so that at this years TDU I was literally 3 feet away from Valverde but I didn't even bother saying g'day in Spanish, I much preferred having a chat with some of his teammates, I'm pretty disgusted actually.

I would agree Freire is the best one-day rider Spain has in terms of pure victories in MSR and the worlds to mention only a couple. He's often called an "opportunist" but I find that term a bit derogatory, I'd say he rides smart but doesn't mind getting in a break unlike many sprinters.

As for GT stage racers, Contador is pretty much untouchable at the moment, it will be interesting to see how long he can stay that way.

 

[root]

Don't forget all the cyclists who are not Spanish, but live and train in Spain big part of the year.

Spain is just a beautiful country with great climate and terrain very conductive to cycling . I wish I could train there instead of cold, windy and smelly (from Mennonite farms) Canadian "summers".

 

[DiabloScott]

I was only concentrating on the current generation.

You're right though.
Mancebo/Heras/Beloki etc were also successful,

Hi Lim!

Mancebo's still racing. Won a stage in the Tour of California last year and is doing well in La Vuelta a Mejico this week.

Oscar Sevilla tambien, en el mismo equipo. Rock Racing is down to a non-licensed team of has beens though.

 

[Eldrack]

Contador, L. Sanchez, S. Sanchez, Valverde, Rodriguez, Flecha, Freire. All very classy riders. Question is how did they manage to lose the world championships last year? They've been the top ranked nation for the past 4 years as well I believe.

 

[Andrija]

Spanish cycling was highlight of past week.
Arroyo in the Giro, then Valverde and today Contador. Without Spanish riders cycling, certainly, wouldn't be so interesting.

 

[gtm]

As a Spaniard, I'm pretty chuffed at the current success they are having. When I started riding and following the races in the Hinault days I was almost ashamed to say I was Spanish, there were not many doing well then.

Indurain changed all that but he was a standout in what for many years was a pretty mediocre cycling nation. There are huge chasms between Bahamontes, Ocaña and Indurain. Post-Indurain has been great.

On the flip side Spain has recently had many riders embroiled in drug scandals, and that is not something to be proud of at all. So much so that at this years TDU I was literally 3 feet away from Valverde but I didn't even bother saying g'day in Spanish, I much preferred having a chat with some of his teammates, I'm pretty disgusted actually.

I would agree Freire is the best one-day rider Spain has in terms of pure victories in MSR and the worlds to mention only a couple. He's often called an "opportunist" but I find that term a bit derogatory, I'd say he rides smart but doesn't mind getting in a break unlike many sprinters.

As for GT stage racers, Contador is pretty much untouchable at the moment, it will be interesting to see how long he can stay that way.

There was (clears throat) Pedro Delgado. A strong rider with less than satisfactory time keeping skills.

Contador is the real deal & will dominate any Grand Tour he enters for the forseeable future. I suspect his goal it to win x 8 Tour De France - just to tweak Lances nose.