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AC appears to have very real problems next year

A

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http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-fans-flames-surrounding-his-future

"If I was not currently contracted I wouldn't continue with Astana,"

"Quite a few teams are interested in me, but I have a year on my contract and I'll see what comes up,"

"I've been talking with Fernando Alonso about this possibility, but something must be done well in advance. God knows, it could be the year after next,"


Oh boy, this does not sound real promising. We have talked about this before but it seems as though the closer AC gets to his September 5th announcement the more "stuck" he appears to be.

Unless Astana pulls a rabbit out of the hat we will find out if AC can win the TdF by himself... assuming Astana gets an invite.
 
Jul 28, 2009
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That's quite a blunt statement, Contador is usually pretty careful with what he says maybe his lawyer was on vacaciones or he is getting desperate.

Not invited after winning - again :D Then again whoever wins will forever have "you only won as AC was not invited" thrown at them not that Lance would care, but Liggett would. He would bang on INCESSANTLY about "how hard AC would have found this stage" and "how impossible the radioshack team are to beat" etc.

Good chance for Andy S. to win it imo, as no one will win any once AC is back with his own even half-decent team.
 
Jun 15, 2009
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He is in a pretty rough position. He needs a big investor to buy him out of his contract, or he might be facing a pretty tough year at Astana.

I wonder what the situation is going to be like with regards to ProTour license, whether they will have one or not. Surely they shouldn't have an issue getting invites though, even with AV in the squad (eg Basso racing the Giro).
 
Mar 11, 2009
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anubisza said:
He is in a pretty rough position. He needs a big investor to buy him out of his contract, or he might be facing a pretty tough year at Astana.

I wonder what the situation is going to be like with regards to ProTour license, whether they will have one or not. Surely they shouldn't have an issue getting invites though, even with AV in the squad (eg Basso racing the Giro).

theo de rooy is going to be the ds. aso might still hold him responsible for the rasmussen debacle.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Maybe he'll just have to try and win the Giro and Vuelta again. I doubt Armstrong has two years left in him at the professional level, so it would be a pity not to see the Contador v Armstrong show down in the TdF. Let's hope ASO sees some sense in not banning the defending champion ... again.
 
Scott SoCal said:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-fans-flames-surrounding-his-future

"If I was not currently contracted I wouldn't continue with Astana,"

"Quite a few teams are interested in me, but I have a year on my contract and I'll see what comes up,"

"I've been talking with Fernando Alonso about this possibility, but something must be done well in advance. God knows, it could be the year after next,"


Oh boy, this does not sound real promising. We have talked about this before but it seems as though the closer AC gets to his September 5th announcement the more "stuck" he appears to be.

Unless Astana pulls a rabbit out of the hat we will find out if AC can win the TdF by himself... assuming Astana gets an invite.

A guy with F1 connections could fund a team or buy a contract with the loose change found under their sofa cushion. Don't expect A/C to be with Vino or Astana in 2010.
 
Jun 18, 2009
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It will be really sad if AC is denied another TdF participation next year. I wasn't a big fan of his until this years TdF where he held himself up very well under extremely trying circumstances. Hopefully something gets sorted out to his benefit.
 
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Bustedknuckle said:
A guy with F1 connections could fund a team or buy a contract with the loose change found under their sofa cushion. Don't expect A/C to be with Vino or Astana in 2010.

Hmmm... perhaps, but then there is this;


http://bicycling.com/blogs/boulderreport/2009/09/01/jonathan-vaughters-interview-evolution-at-garmin-not-revolution/

Q: So it sounds like there won’t be any earth-shattering signings - mostly sticking with the guys you have and tweaking the roster a bit.

A: No, we won’t be doing anything major. To what are you referring?

Q: Contador for certain. But this has been a funny transfer season. There are guys like Vinokourov and Rasmussen coming back and that and RadioShack and Sky coming in means there are a lot of changes happening out there - some teams are changing a lot and you guys are just tweaking some lesser roles.

A: Well, we’ve proved that the formula is working, so we just tweak it a little more – add a little power for Tyler, add some power to the classics mix, add a couple of climbers. Yeah sure, for 15 months, people have said “You need to replace Tom Danielson with another climber.” And then all of a sudden it’s like ‘Oh, maybe you don’t.”
 
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Some others have said this and I will echo the same - whatever happens next year, if AC is with Astana, then it is very likely Astana will get invited. The ASO already gave them 1 year "off" because of Vino, and Vino has served his time.
 
A

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bianchigirl said:
Since Contador won this year's Tour on his own, doing it again - especially in the face of the Team Zimmer onslaught - shouldn't prove a problem


OK, but what if there is an early TTT? I can easily imagine a situation where AC, like Evans this year, could be 2 to 3 minutes down to A.Schleck before the first uphill finish.

I would be extremely interested to see how a scenario like that would play out...
 
Scott SoCal said:
OK, but what if there is an early TTT? I can easily imagine a situation where AC, like Evans this year, could be 2 to 3 minutes down to A.Schleck before the first uphill finish.

I would be extremely interested to see how a scenario like that would play out...

A lot of that time would be offset by the ITTs. So, it could actually make it very interesting.
 
Sep 1, 2009
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athletesbooks.com
The Tour de France organizer M. Prudhomme alreaady stated that he's looking forward to seeing the Contador - Armstrong - Schleck battle next year. Does the TdF itself have a say which teams get invited to participate?
 
Sep 1, 2009
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athletesbooks.com
The Tour de France organizer M. Prudhomme already stated that he's looking forward to seeing the Contador - Armstrong - Schleck battle next year. Does the TdF itself have a say which teams get invited to participate?
 
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leander said:
Does the TdF itself have a say which teams get invited to participate?
They (ASO - TdF organization) are the one's who decide. So if they are truly interested, they will invite Astana (assuming AC is still on that team next year).
 
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Cobber said:
The ASO can deny entry of a single rider without denying the entire team can't they?

They can - they tried unsuccessfully with Virenque previously and Boonen this year, but successfully with Boonen last year.
 
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Scott SoCal said:
OK, but what if there is an early TTT? I can easily imagine a situation where AC, like Evans this year, could be 2 to 3 minutes down to A.Schleck before the first uphill finish.

I would be extremely interested to see how a scenario like that would play out...

Not happening again (at least not without time limit losses). I'm sure the organizers weren't happy with what happened this year.

Astana gets an invite for sure with Contador. LA vs AC is big bucks for TDF.
 
Scott SoCal said:
OK, but what if there is an early TTT? I can easily imagine a situation where AC, like Evans this year, could be 2 to 3 minutes down to A.Schleck before the first uphill finish.

I would be extremely interested to see how a scenario like that would play out...

I think it would play out much the way it did this year. Recall that AC didn't have any problems in the mountains getting time when he wanted or needed it. If he were 2 minutes down, I suspect he would figure out how to get it back, and unlike Evans this year, he has the ability to do that.

Armstrong is the one that I think is severely disadvantaged if there is no TTT next year.
 

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Alberto

Alberto won the TdF with the fantastic support of Astana. Unfortunatley for AC he had LA taking the spotlight and I am sure that hurt Als' feelings. Wahh!

Don't be a princess like Cadel and Levi;Puleeze Al grow a pair.

When I hear pro-cyclists whine in what I see as one of the tougher sports I am disgusted. Man up Al. If you need to buy out go to the King of Spain or the pope they will write the check to Astana.

Maybe they'll create help Al create a new team Conquistadore de Americas'/Vatican Shack.http://forum.cyclingnews.com/images/smilies/eek.gif
 
Were AC to lose time in any hypothetical scenario folks wish to debate, it would simply mean that he would attack earlier in a mountain stage.

It's like saying, what if there are 5 MTF' s in next year's tour route?

How would the "Old Boy Network" cope with that scenario?

Astana will be at the next year's Tour, if AC remains. No question.

There's too much obsessing, over too few riders and only one event in the calander.

Please.
We've had a truly dramatic day at the Vuelta. Surely this deserves more of our immediate attention, than something that may, or may not take place, in 10 months time?
 
A

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Publicus said:
I think it would play out much the way it did this year. Recall that AC didn't have any problems in the mountains getting time when he wanted or needed it. If he were 2 minutes down, I suspect he would figure out how to get it back, and unlike Evans this year, he has the ability to do that.

Armstrong is the one that I think is severely disadvantaged if there is no TTT next year.

But what if AC is 3 minutes down to Andy Schleck? Schleck would (try to) mark AC on the mountain stages. I think that AC trying to take serious time back over AS in the mountains might be really interesting. Imagine AS having 1:30 over AC going in to the final TT....

Hmmmm....
 
Scott SoCal said:
But what if AC is 3 minutes down to Andy Schleck? Schleck would (try to) mark AC on the mountain stages. I think that AC trying to take serious time back over AS in the mountains might be really interesting. Imagine AS having 1:30 over AC going in to the final TT....

Hmmmm....

I believe the operative words are "try to." We only saw two stages where AC was actually trying to get time, Andorra and Verbier. When he was ready to go, he went. And no one, including Andy Schleck, could do anything about it. Conversely, AC was able to ride Andy Schleck's wheel with relative ease.

But I think Andy's weakness (relatively speaking) in the ITT would be the difference maker.
 
A

Anonymous

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Publicus said:
I believe the operative words are "try to." We only saw two stages where AC was actually trying to get time, Andorra and Verbier. When he was ready to go, he went. And no one, including Andy Schleck, could do anything about it. Conversely, AC was able to ride Andy Schleck's wheel with relative ease.

But I think Andy's weakness (relatively speaking) in the ITT would be the difference maker.

It would be attack-city and fun to watch.
 

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