Although the year started well with wins for Will Barta, Pelayo Sanchez, Fernando Gaviria and Oier Lazkano, we can safely say that the start of 2024 is not going well for Movistar Team;
And as reported on Twitter @ADescenso the team was before the E3 the 18th worst team in the UCI WorldTour classification. We are not writing this article to scare you, nor to say that Movistar is currently at risk of relegation (after the E3 Saxo Classic it is 3516 points away from the relegation positions). We are writing this article to state a reality: the plan is not working.
POSSIBLE CAUSES OF LOW SCORES.
The first can be justified: the low level of form of Enric Mas. After a more than discreet Tirreno Adriatico in which he did not finish in the top 10, he is not having much luck so far in the Volta a Catalunya. These are important points that the team loses (a top 5 in Tirreno in stages and overall makes you climb);
We say that it may have justification because Enric commented before the start of the season that he had delayed his preparation to arrive in top form for the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, his two goals for the year. If he finishes as he has done in the past at the top of the Tour (at least top 7) and on the podium of the Vuelta, he will justify his bad start. We'll see...
Another cause could be the race selection of fast men Iván García Cortina and Fernando Gaviria. Cortina showed good level in classics at the beginning of the season (11th in Kuurne) but he has eaten Tirreno (8th as the only remarkable position) and is eating Catalunya (barely 20th). Nothing at all for him.
Fernando Gaviria has been demonstrating for months that he is not among the best sprinters in the WorldTour and yet he raced the UAE Tour with atrocious competition: he could not do anything. In this beginning of the campaign there are minor tours and minor classics for example in France where these two riders I think they can contribute more;
The other reason is that in this season of classics and generals with all the top riders racing Movistar doesn't have too strong a squad to shine here and there. As I say, the choice of races and the fact of not racing minor races outside Spain I think is taking away a lot of points. The absence of Alex Aranburu due to injury doesn't help the team's situation either.
KEY LOSS.
It goes without saying that losing the man who scored the most points last year, Matteo Jorgenson, hurts. So far veterans like Davide Formolo and Nairo Quintana have contributed little;
We will see how the season develops. But we can't always play the Oier Lazkano card, which at the moment seems to be the only sure thing. We have to make a better selection. We'll see how things go at the Giro, last year Einer Rubio was at a very good level. Movistar needs him again. And we will see if Nairo recovers well from his covid.
Article and analysis written by Juan Larra.
Mientras hacemos tiempo para la E3, os planteo esta cuestión: Si tuviésemos en cuenta solamente los ptos obtenidos en 2024, @Movistar_Team estaría en el puesto 18° de la clasificación, al borde del precipicio. ¿Se trataría de algo circunstancial o hay motivos para preocuparse?
