“I have never admired Armstrong and never will.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/cycling/article6870238.ece
Lance Armstrong versus Alberto Contador has been one of the great dogfights of the year. It was a warfare that was fascinatingly psychological, a Tour de France epic that has every chance of delivering a sequel to match next summer.
And although they may now be continents apart, there is no sign of an outbreak of peloton peace; even over the course of an interview in London, Contador has not downed tools.
First of all, the Spaniard does speak English. Not good English but satisfactory. Half of what he says here is his own English, the other half is his interpreter’s, to whom he only sometimes deferred. But this is not the Contador who, en route to his second Tour de France victory in July, would meekly use the language barrier as another form of self-defence.
Throughout July, Contador presented himself as something of an innocent caught up unwillingly in a spat for which he had no verbal appetite. Armstrong, his American team-mate and arch rival, would play politics and, daily, spin a self-serving narrative through the media. And Contador would not engage, choosing to fight only in the saddle
On the road, he had the heart of a warrior and you wondered: off it, surely, he cannot be as passive as he makes out. At last, when it was all done, he let fly a quote that probably said more about himself than it did about Armstrong: “I have never admired Armstrong and never will.”
Here in London last Friday, he topped that up by giving his views on Armstrong’s chances of taking the yellow jersey back from him next year. He was here for the Cycle Show, where he was making an appearance for his sponsor, Science in Sport, but in an interview with The Times, he said that the seven-times champion is no longer his main danger and in fact does not even come second.
Armstrong has said that he will come back better and stronger next year, when he will be 38, but Contador said that, “Though he has loads of experience, he is not now the No 1 challenger. No, I think the main threat will be Andy Schleck. I think Lance is on the same level as other riders of the same calibre: Bradley Wiggins, Frank Schleck and Levi Leipheimer.”
He made his point by explaining why, if anyone was going to be coming back stronger and faster next year, it will be himself. Given his dominance this year, that is a daunting prospect, albeit a logical one. “I think it is possible to improve because I am 26 years old and normally the peak years for a rider are 28 or 29,” he said. “I am sure I can be stronger.”
He was very specific about which areas of his race he can improve. One of his more awesome achievements on this year’s Tour was his imperious victory in the time-trial around Lake Annecy, yet he said that he expects that aspect to get better. “And I think I can go faster in the mountains for longer,” he said. “As I get older, I should be able to maintain attacks for longer.”
Again, although these observations may be rooted in common sense, it takes a certain self-assurance to voice them, just as it does to add that actually his main concern is not Andy Schleck, and it is certainly not Armstrong either. “No,” he said, “my biggest danger and my main worry is my own form.”
But while Contador is confident, he does not come over as arrogant; here he is explaining how and why he may be soon be beating the rest of the world by even more, and how his biggest threat is no one but himself, yet he seems somehow modest.
He manages the same feat when discussing this year’s win, when he explains that, although he put the rest of the field to the sword, he could have destroyed them by more. His first significant move was on the Andorran climb to Arcalis, yet he acknowledges that it could have been more emphatic. “That day, I was feeling really, really good,” he said. “I went from 2km but could so easily have gone earlier.” Likewise on Mont Ventoux. “I could have attacked more,” he said. “I don’t know how much quicker I could have gone, but if I had been working with Andy Schleck, I could have done some more damage.”
Contador was, naturally, working for his team, Astana, albeit that he did not feel the team were always working for him.
“I did feel lonely,” he said. “I had good people around me, but not the number of people that I should have had.” The problem, of course, was that Armstrong and he had vaulting ambitions and both needed an entire team on their side rather than a fragmented one. And that day in Annecy, particularly, it seemed that Contador had not even a fragment.
“Working with Lance was a difficult and strange situation because there wasn’t good communication between us,” he said. “And the difficulty wasn’t just with him but it was a delicate situation for all the other riders and staff.”
In Annecy, the situation was that Contador discovered that the rest of his team had departed for the time-trial and left him behind, requiring a lift from his brother. Were his team not supporting him that day? “Well, that is possible but that wasn’t different to other moments,” he said.
The key for Contador is to find a team for next year that does work in his favour. In this respect, Armstrong has taken the lead by starting his own team, Team RadioShack, ripping out the best from Astana and bringing it in under his command.
Contador, again, is left exposed, the most valuable rider on the road and yet the least settled and, again, outmanoeuvred by the man who is now officially his rival. That the route for next year’s Tour is to be announced on Wednesday illustrates how time for Contador is running out. Sorting out his team, he acknowledges is key because possibilities for him are vast.
Armstrong was 27 when he won his first Tour de France, Contador is 26 and he has won two. He believes he can stay competitive until he is 33. At best, that gives him nine Tour wins, yet Contador has no desire to be defined by his rivalry with the American, or to go past Armstrong’s seven.
“My objective is to go year by year,” he said. “If I win three Tours, I’ll be happy; if I win four, I’ll be more happy. I don’t have an end goal.” What he has proved is that he has the potential for many. And that modestly, confidently, he will continue to collect them.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/cycling/article6870238.ece
Lance Armstrong versus Alberto Contador has been one of the great dogfights of the year. It was a warfare that was fascinatingly psychological, a Tour de France epic that has every chance of delivering a sequel to match next summer.
And although they may now be continents apart, there is no sign of an outbreak of peloton peace; even over the course of an interview in London, Contador has not downed tools.
First of all, the Spaniard does speak English. Not good English but satisfactory. Half of what he says here is his own English, the other half is his interpreter’s, to whom he only sometimes deferred. But this is not the Contador who, en route to his second Tour de France victory in July, would meekly use the language barrier as another form of self-defence.
Throughout July, Contador presented himself as something of an innocent caught up unwillingly in a spat for which he had no verbal appetite. Armstrong, his American team-mate and arch rival, would play politics and, daily, spin a self-serving narrative through the media. And Contador would not engage, choosing to fight only in the saddle
On the road, he had the heart of a warrior and you wondered: off it, surely, he cannot be as passive as he makes out. At last, when it was all done, he let fly a quote that probably said more about himself than it did about Armstrong: “I have never admired Armstrong and never will.”
Here in London last Friday, he topped that up by giving his views on Armstrong’s chances of taking the yellow jersey back from him next year. He was here for the Cycle Show, where he was making an appearance for his sponsor, Science in Sport, but in an interview with The Times, he said that the seven-times champion is no longer his main danger and in fact does not even come second.
Armstrong has said that he will come back better and stronger next year, when he will be 38, but Contador said that, “Though he has loads of experience, he is not now the No 1 challenger. No, I think the main threat will be Andy Schleck. I think Lance is on the same level as other riders of the same calibre: Bradley Wiggins, Frank Schleck and Levi Leipheimer.”
He made his point by explaining why, if anyone was going to be coming back stronger and faster next year, it will be himself. Given his dominance this year, that is a daunting prospect, albeit a logical one. “I think it is possible to improve because I am 26 years old and normally the peak years for a rider are 28 or 29,” he said. “I am sure I can be stronger.”
He was very specific about which areas of his race he can improve. One of his more awesome achievements on this year’s Tour was his imperious victory in the time-trial around Lake Annecy, yet he said that he expects that aspect to get better. “And I think I can go faster in the mountains for longer,” he said. “As I get older, I should be able to maintain attacks for longer.”
Again, although these observations may be rooted in common sense, it takes a certain self-assurance to voice them, just as it does to add that actually his main concern is not Andy Schleck, and it is certainly not Armstrong either. “No,” he said, “my biggest danger and my main worry is my own form.”
But while Contador is confident, he does not come over as arrogant; here he is explaining how and why he may be soon be beating the rest of the world by even more, and how his biggest threat is no one but himself, yet he seems somehow modest.
He manages the same feat when discussing this year’s win, when he explains that, although he put the rest of the field to the sword, he could have destroyed them by more. His first significant move was on the Andorran climb to Arcalis, yet he acknowledges that it could have been more emphatic. “That day, I was feeling really, really good,” he said. “I went from 2km but could so easily have gone earlier.” Likewise on Mont Ventoux. “I could have attacked more,” he said. “I don’t know how much quicker I could have gone, but if I had been working with Andy Schleck, I could have done some more damage.”
Contador was, naturally, working for his team, Astana, albeit that he did not feel the team were always working for him.
“I did feel lonely,” he said. “I had good people around me, but not the number of people that I should have had.” The problem, of course, was that Armstrong and he had vaulting ambitions and both needed an entire team on their side rather than a fragmented one. And that day in Annecy, particularly, it seemed that Contador had not even a fragment.
“Working with Lance was a difficult and strange situation because there wasn’t good communication between us,” he said. “And the difficulty wasn’t just with him but it was a delicate situation for all the other riders and staff.”
In Annecy, the situation was that Contador discovered that the rest of his team had departed for the time-trial and left him behind, requiring a lift from his brother. Were his team not supporting him that day? “Well, that is possible but that wasn’t different to other moments,” he said.
The key for Contador is to find a team for next year that does work in his favour. In this respect, Armstrong has taken the lead by starting his own team, Team RadioShack, ripping out the best from Astana and bringing it in under his command.
Contador, again, is left exposed, the most valuable rider on the road and yet the least settled and, again, outmanoeuvred by the man who is now officially his rival. That the route for next year’s Tour is to be announced on Wednesday illustrates how time for Contador is running out. Sorting out his team, he acknowledges is key because possibilities for him are vast.
Armstrong was 27 when he won his first Tour de France, Contador is 26 and he has won two. He believes he can stay competitive until he is 33. At best, that gives him nine Tour wins, yet Contador has no desire to be defined by his rivalry with the American, or to go past Armstrong’s seven.
“My objective is to go year by year,” he said. “If I win three Tours, I’ll be happy; if I win four, I’ll be more happy. I don’t have an end goal.” What he has proved is that he has the potential for many. And that modestly, confidently, he will continue to collect them.
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