He attacked countless times, he fought for every inch of the road and never gave up! The great @MikelLandaMeana finished 8th overall at #LaVuelta24 for his 10th top ten result in a Grand Tour! #LandismoSiempre #WayToRide Photo: @GettySport
"There have been days when I have regretted having come" - Mikel Landa reflects on up-and-down 2024 Vuelta a Espana
CyclingSunday, 08 September 2024 at 23:30
It has not been an easy Vuelta a Espana 2024 for home crowd favourite Mikel Landa. The Basque rider arrived after a spectacular Tour de France and a lot was expected. He was in the fight for the podium or, at least, very well placed to finish in the top five for the majority of the race too. However, he fell away in the third week, eventually finishing 8th overall.
However, he came to the race with not very good feelings and suffered a lot as, on the other hand, almost always happens in a Vuelta a España in which he has never been able to perform as well as in Giro and Tour. In spite of everything, he leaves the race satisfied and with his batteries full to continue performing in 2025. These were his feelings after crossing the finish line in Madrid:
"Difficult feelings, which were not good, I am satisfied in the end. It makes me want to continue, the years go by, it's a routine, it's a bit the same, you lose the illusion, but this year I've recovered it again and I'm looking forward to next year. In the Tour I flew, with a freshness that I hadn't had for a long time and here I haven't had, but even so we've been ahead and that's what I'll keep. To Landismo and the fans in general I give a 10, I can't be more grateful. There have been days when I have regretted having come, but then in the end you enjoy it too," Landa assessed post-stage 21.
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- the “cloud of shame” thing has a lot to do with the cycling world’s REACTION to a doped rider, not simply whether or not they doped. merckx got caught over and over, but clearly no cloud of shame affixed by cycling culture to him. same with countless tdf champions and other legends i won’t list again at risk of belaboring the point.OCexile07-11-2024
- He was supposed to race Tour + Vuelta, but since Pogacar and Vingegaard are going there, he changed to Giro + Tour (just to try to win the yellow jersey at the 1st week and the ITT probably). Against Roglic he has a bit more chances in Italy. Press will consider him as the favourite anyways, as usual. Other contenders not to underestimate will be Ayuso and Jorgenson. Now he's just waiting to see how many kilometers the ITTs will have. to formalize his participation.Acapulco07-11-2024
- Oh look. CUD leans into another doper for commentary. Hey guys - there are other people to talk to... You know... people who didn't leave the sport in a cloud of shame...critguy07-11-2024
- Its results will mainly depend on him, though.Acapulco07-11-2024
- He needs a team fully commited where he is the lone capable of winning. In RBB there is several men who can, he would have been in competition.Acapulco07-11-2024
- agreed. and in spite of his doping, his TDF win was validated by the UCI with the mere addition of an asterisk.OCexile07-11-2024
- He was always a great tactician. But he pushed doping on his riders from back in the CSC days big time. I read Tyler's book, it was dark...awp07-11-2024
- wow, this is a shock. this guy is a major talent on the MTB, and he just won the WC. I'm surprised he doesn't want to spend a year enjoying the rainbow jersey.mij07-11-2024
- This is true. But also, for some reason the amount of Athletes who are getting asthma related to sports is on a steady climb. Not in just cycling but around the world in seemingly every single sport. I don’t have any explanation for this. Could it be the changes in weather conditions and such compared to 20yrs ago? Or is something going on in relation to doping? I have not read enough on this to have a solid understanding or opinionmd197507-11-2024
- "Armstrong won his 7 wins. Fair and square. Doping was rampant during his time. He did was just to level the playing field" comment from KHWong. He cheated, he enticed/forced teammates to cheat, he affected other's families and tainted other's reputations, he sued those who factually accused him of cheating in their attempt to prove breach of contract, he got paid to admit to his lies. Nice guy; right? Anyone who has not been prosecuted for cheating per THEIR OWN SPORT'S RULES THAT THEY AGREE TO ABIDE BY and continues to deny in public or to themselves, and rationalizes the reasons for doing so is weak of mind and body, has no integrity or ethics and ahould find another job or form their own cycling federation where anything goes. The fans will not care if you screw up your bodies for their entertainment. Just take look at boxing and American football. Even worse when fans of the sport themselves make those rationalizations for the cheaters. There has been cheating of all types throughout the history of many sports; nearly 150 years in cycling itself since competitions started, and the gambling and revenue that came along with them. Cheat if you want, but lack any personal integrity. If that is what you to be, or want to emulate fine; but no one should expect or receive pity for a premeditated decision to cheat in any manner. You are deceiving yourself if competing, and also deceiving the fans. Cycling will soon be like "professional wrestling": choreographed and with the winner being known in advance. Oh wait; that is what already has happened this year. It has been found that many of cycling's "greats" (i.e. Coppi, Merckx, et al.) were cheating and possibly caused (did cause) one or more premature deaths in cycling. Go ahead and enjoy a sport that you cannot trust; I will not.BraneDed07-11-2024