Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Carols]

Re: Re:

is Aru really suffering with some cold or allergies?? coz even half of his team are riding better than him

Probably just not good enough. He's not ready to win a GT yet

Aru is only 24 if he podiums it will be a big accomplishment. Very Few can win the TdF at 24 like Alberto did.

 

[Velolover2]

On a hard rainy finish like this, how many riders can even beat him?

Valverde, Rodríguez, Gilbert and perhaps Alaphilippe. I think that's about it. Maybe Fantancur in super-shape.

 

[Carols]

Re:

A couple of bike lengths to Ulissi. Is Contador a top 10 uphill sprinter on 10%+ stuff?

After 12 days of hard racing he is .

 

[Electress]

Re:

It was a Grand Day to be an Alberto fan, he made all except PhilGill look like donkeys . And he opened the champagne, so his shoulder is doing better.

Yep.

 

[Ataraxus]

Re: Re:

A couple of bike lengths to Ulissi. Is Contador a top 10 uphill sprinter on 10%+ stuff?

After 12 days of hard racing he is .

Well said.
In Grand Tours where recovery is essential he brings excellent performances (Mende 2010, Bretagne 2011 etc.)
I don't think he can top 5 in a similar one-day classic, but he has seldom tried tbf.

 

[murali]

I am happy to see Bertie fit again.


Looks like he is going to slowly extend the lead from now on. TT is going to be the next big test.

 

[Publicus]

My guess is Contador's test yesterday revealed that Aru isn't good in the rain and that's why Tinkoff rode so hard today. Aru very well may bounce back when the weather improves, so it's good that Contador drew some blood. Hopefully everyone gets through tomorrow's stage without incident. Saturday should be very interesting.

 

[Jelantik]

Re:

On a hard rainy finish like this, how many riders can even beat him?

Valverde, Rodríguez, Gilbert and perhaps Alaphilippe. I think that's about it. Maybe Fantancur in super-shape.

boy, it's that's really true, Aru and Porte better hope the mountain stage won't be rain soaked!!

 

[No_Balls]

Re: Re:

Yeah for the spring classics you need another type of preparation then what comes after 12 days of stage racing where you could slowly build up your form but at this moment he is enough good and explosive to drop many of those whom probably beaten him in a classic. As i predicted he wouldnt give away the jersey before TT and this was an even further message that he is good and will do well on Saturday.

I had my hopes that TS would have made better progress over time but they seem to be at the same page since stage 1. Not worried at all about that though. AC in form is a oneman-army more or less.

 

[Jelantik]

Re: Re:

Yeah for the spring classics you need another type of preparation then what comes after 12 days of stage racing where you could slowly build up your form but at this moment he is enough good and explosive to drop many of those whom probably beaten him in a classic. As i predicted he wouldnt give away the jersey before TT and this was an even further message that he is good and will do well on Saturday.

I had my hopes that TS would have made better progress over time but they seem to be at the same page since stage 1. Not worried at all about that though. AC in form is a oneman-army more or less.

won't it be more interesting though? If contador got strong team (like astana), then it's almost lopsided. Now with Contador strong but weak team vs strong astana team w/ (maybe) less strong Aru vs sky team (question mark) w/ strong porte (question mark for 3 weeks race). Other wise people will complaint the Giro is boring since on team is so dominant

 

[rm7]

To be honest i don't think Tinkoff Saxo aren't that bad.. It's just Astana who are remarkable strong.

Tinkoff Saxo generelly only use the men that they need.. It's like in the tour last year. Rodgers, Roche and Majka dropped all the time and people were talking about them being weak. But they only turn up when they need to, and Contador can handle himself at the end of the climbs.

It's really sad about Kreuziger though. He's clearly not at his best climbing form, but more like ardenner form. He should be just behind Porte and Aru, or at the same level almost.

 

[No_Balls]

Re: Re:

I agree with that Jelantik and what more is you also describe it as a universal balance for this race.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Yes

_O_

 

[ILovecycling]

Berto looks in great form, superb uphill sprint today.I hope he won't go 100% in that TT,its time to start riding carefully (energy).

Vamos!

 

[ILovecycling]

Re: Re:

Yes

_O_

what a pic!amazing!

 

[murali]

Re:

It's really sad about Kreuziger though. He's clearly not at his best climbing form, but more like ardenner form. He should be just behind Porte and Aru, or at the same level almost.

i wont worry too much about that. kreuziger had been in the next group whenever contador has attacked.

it seems Basso's job is just to ensure that bertie reaches towards the end when other teams are expected to take up work (or do it himslf), Rogers' job is only to keep bertie company till last hour or so, (he is just behind if his services are needed), Kreuziger's job is to ensure that Bertie has him around as backup.

Kreu is at no5 spot in GC, less than 2 min from AC . He has been riding with other GC riders. I dont think we should compare him with Froome, the superdomestique, or landa.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Berto looks in great form, superb uphill sprint today.I hope he won't go 100% in that TT,its time to start riding carefully (energy).

Vamos!

Nah, let him go 100% in the TT, then he can save energy in the mountains.

 

[cellardoor]

Re: Re:

It's really sad about Kreuziger though. He's clearly not at his best climbing form, but more like ardenner form. He should be just behind Porte and Aru, or at the same level almost.

i wont worry too much about that. kreuziger had been in the next group whenever contador has attacked.

it seems Basso's job is just to ensure that bertie reaches towards the end when other teams are expected to take up work (or do it himslf), Rogers' job is only to keep bertie company till last hour or so, (he is just behind if his services are needed), Kreuziger's job is to ensure that Bertie has him around as backup.

Kreu is at no5 spot in GC, less than 2 min from AC . He has been riding with other GC riders. I dont think we should compare him with Froome, the superdomestique, or landa.

To be fair to Basso, whilst he is getting dropped very early on the climbs, I think I've seen his face at the front of the peloton more than any other Saxo rider. He seems to be making up for a lack of form with hard work.

 

[ILovecycling]

Re:

Is the ITT gap between aru and contador 3 min? Or are they gonna make it 4 minutes?

If it's 3 min contador might catch him. Depends if aru keeps declining.

Well Miburo, I was wrong.Aru will be more than a minute to Contador, I expected great from from him which was my fault.
You were right, I was not

 

[ILovecycling]

I even broke my rule about betting on favourite riders, so the 2nd place was even sweeter .Very good day indeed for AC fans Now we have to pray about calm sprint tomorrow.

 

[IndianCyclist]

Except for the hiccup of the crash it was clear Contador was going to win. Now with Porte completely out of the equation and his bad day still pending, Aru looking like something the cat dragged in, Uran get dropped in almost every climb(Sometimes even off his bike as well), Contador will have a cakewalk.

 

[SeriousSam]

Re:

A couple of bike lengths to Ulissi. Is Contador a top 10 uphill sprinter on 10%+ stuff?

He finished s.t. with winner Evans at the Mur once. He could be very good if he dedicated himself to it. Also, his recovery seems to very good so if you have a week of hard racing before, yeah.

Obviously nowhere near legends like Valverde, but top 10 is possible.

 

[SeriousSam]

Contador at more than 80% with the bookies now.

One thing I've also kept watching is how his odds for the Tour are responding to what happens in the Giro. They haven't really changed much, except briefly when he crashed, when they improved. Contador quitting and focusing on the Tour was seen as raising his chances quite a bit. When that didn't happen, they moved back to him being 3rd fav after C and Q

 

[Weapons of @ss Destruction]

Re:

Contador at more than 80% with the bookies now.

One thing I've also kept watching is how his odds for the Tour are responding to what happens in the Giro. They haven't really changed much, except briefly when he crashed, when they improved. Contador quitting and focusing on the Tour was seen as raising his chances quite a bit. When that didn't happen, they moved back to him being 3rd fav after C and Q

If Contador is sitting on a significant gap after the ITT, it could be very good for his TdF prospects, as he can measure out his remaining efforts much more carefully and avoid extending himself to his limit over the final week. That will assist for his post-Giro recovery, and even perhaps make the final week a good training block for him. Of course, he will have to reign in his more customary attacking instincts. With more experience now, I believe he will have learned from his 2011 season and will resist crushing the Giro GC too heavily, to avoid having a similar hangover effect to the TdF. This all depends on his opponents though. If one or more of them starts to claw back notably, he may not have any choice but to continue riding hard.

 

[Jspear]

Re:

Contador at more than 80% with the bookies now.

One thing I've also kept watching is how his odds for the Tour are responding to what happens in the Giro. They haven't really changed much, except briefly when he crashed, when they improved. Contador quitting and focusing on the Tour was seen as raising his chances quite a bit. When that didn't happen, they moved back to him being 3rd fav after C and Q

It might be interesting to watch, but it can hardly reflect what is going to happen. After the Giro I think most people are going to underestimate AC....he'll prove em all wrong.