Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Velolover2]

Re: Re:

He should let the stage wins go and just conserve energy.

He has to win at least a stage. Winning a GT without a stage win is ugly.

This. He has to have stage. He can start by winning the stage tomorrow.

 

[No_Balls]

Re:

Contador to Rai: Probably my last Giro.

Amidst the joy i felt a cloud of sadness there.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Contador to Rai: Probably my last Giro.

Amidst the joy i felt a cloud of sadness there.

 

[SeriousSam]

Re:

Plus it would look bad if this is his last giro and and he eventually finishes his career palmares with no Giro stage win.

Forgot about that, ok, one stage then in a last km sprint. He seems to be very strong this year and the Giro Tour double is starting to look quite realistic. It would be a tremendous achievement and I think he should sacrifice stages for that.

Then again, he should stay around for 2017 to win the 100th edition.

Indeed. Imagine him in the maglia rosa, on the queen stage, dropping his famed rival with an utterly savage attack and then going on to win the 100th edition in dominant fashion. Would be a memorable moment.

 

[indianfanboy]

Oleg Tinkov calls Contador tonight....look Alberto you have the pink jersey it is good but i have all my friends and family here and Sky have two victories and we zero now you need to do something about it in the mountains ok

 

[Squirbos_19]

Re: Re:

Plus it would look bad if this is his last giro and and he eventually finishes his career palmares with no Giro stage win.

Forgot about that, ok, one stage then in a last km sprint. He seems to be very strong this year and the Giro Tour double is starting to look quite realistic. It would be a tremendous achievement and I think he should sacrifice stages for that.

Then again, he should stay around for 2017 to win the 100th edition.

Indeed. Imagine him in the maglia rosa, on the queen stage, dropping his famed rival with an utterly savage attack and then going on to win the 100th edition in dominant fashion. Would be a memorable moment.

Yeah in the overall scheme of things, the double is far better than a stage win, no need to waste energy in the Giro. But in my opinion it would be nice for his palmares.

I hope the Giro 2017 is his final race, winning the maglia rosa. Would be a perfect finish.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Contador to Rai: Probably my last Giro.

Amidst the joy i felt a cloud of sadness there.

Guess 2016 will be Tour only, without risking the double?

 

[Sciocco]

Re: Re:

Plus it would look bad if this is his last giro and and he eventually finishes his career palmares with no Giro stage win.

Forgot about that, ok, one stage then in a last km sprint. He seems to be very strong this year and the Giro Tour double is starting to look quite realistic. It would be a tremendous achievement and I think he should sacrifice stages for that.

Then again, he should stay around for 2017 to win the 100th edition.

Indeed. Imagine him in the maglia rosa, on the queen stage, dropping his famed rival with an utterly savage attack and then going on to win the 100th edition in dominant fashion. Would be a memorable moment.

Yeah in the overall scheme of things, the double is far better than a stage win, no need to waste energy in the Giro. But in my opinion it would be nice for his palmares.

I hope the Giro 2017 is his final race, winning the maglia rosa. Would be a perfect finish.

Yes. Though if he were to win 2016 Vuelta, he could ride 2017 Vuelta and be the first with five..

 

[Velolover2]

Re: Re:

Contador to Rai: Probably my last Giro.

Amidst the joy i felt a cloud of sadness there.

Guess 2016 will be Tour only, without risking the double?

Maybe the Vuelta too? That's his "home race" after all.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Contador to Rai: Probably my last Giro.

Amidst the joy i felt a cloud of sadness there.

Guess 2016 will be Tour only, without risking the double?

I agree with Squirbos, he should retire after winning the 2017 Giro
2016, Tour-Vuelta, I think

 

[Squirbos_19]

His GT schedule for next year will depend on how he goes this year. If he does the double, he might go for the triple (highly unlikely). He'll probably do Tour-Vuelta then hopefully Giro in 2017.

 

[Arredondo]

Re: Re:

Plus it would look bad if this is his last giro and and he eventually finishes his career palmares with no Giro stage win.

Forgot about that, ok, one stage then in a last km sprint. He seems to be very strong this year and the Giro Tour double is starting to look quite realistic. It would be a tremendous achievement and I think he should sacrifice stages for that.

Then again, he should stay around for 2017 to win the 100th edition.

Indeed. Imagine him in the maglia rosa, on the queen stage, dropping his famed rival with an utterly savage attack and then going on to win the 100th edition in dominant fashion. Would be a memorable moment.

What's the difference between following Aru, or following him and attack in the last km to get a stage?

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

Contador to Rai: Probably my last Giro.

Amidst the joy i felt a cloud of sadness there.

Guess 2016 will be Tour only, without risking the double?

I agree with Squirbos, he should retire after winning the 2017 Giro
2016, Tour-Vuelta, I think

I love how you say "retire after winning the 2017 Giro" instead of saying "retiring after riding the 2017 Giro."

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Plus it would look bad if this is his last giro and and he eventually finishes his career palmares with no Giro stage win.

Forgot about that, ok, one stage then in a last km sprint. He seems to be very strong this year and the Giro Tour double is starting to look quite realistic. It would be a tremendous achievement and I think he should sacrifice stages for that.

Then again, he should stay around for 2017 to win the 100th edition.

Indeed. Imagine him in the maglia rosa, on the queen stage, dropping his famed rival with an utterly savage attack and then going on to win the 100th edition in dominant fashion. Would be a memorable moment.

What's the difference between following Aru, or following him and attack in the last km to get a stage?

The part where he gets the stage?

 

[SeriousSam]

Wouldn't be very pretty to win like that. Was quite grating when he did that twice to Froome last year. But yes, probably doesn't make a difference for recovery.

 

[phanatic]

Bertie and Tinkoff should try let a break go tomorrow, and just fight on the last mountain, and then really target the beautiful Giro stages of the third week for a win: Aprica and Sestriere.

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

Wouldn't be very pretty to win like that. Was quite grating when he did that twice to Froome last year. But yes, probably doesn't make a difference for recovery.

A tremendous solo win is something he should target. That will give him more mental strenght for the Tour. In all the other mountain stages he can just follow the others

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Bertie and Tinkoff should try let a break go tomorrow, and just fight on the last mountain, and then really target the beautiful Giro stages of the third week for a win: Aprica and Sestriere.

FWIW I think tomorrow is Alberto's best chance for a win (not saying he can't win a different stage)

 

[Red Rick]

He can probably win any mountain stage he wants right now, but I doubt he'll put much effort in to control the break. He might just go yolo on Mortirolo or Finestre though, especially Mortirolo if it's raining, gaining time to be able to descend very calmly

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

Bertie and Tinkoff should try let a break go tomorrow, and just fight on the last mountain, and then really target the beautiful Giro stages of the third week for a win: Aprica and Sestriere.

FWIW I think tomorrow is Alberto's best chance for a win (not saying he can't win a different stage)

As good as he is right now, any stage that goes up is his best chance for a stage win.

 

[Merckx index]

If he wins the double this year--still huge IF IMO--he should enter the Vuelta. Not because he's very likely to win it, but because it will probably be the only chance he has to go for the unheard of triple. If he wins the double, he really won't care how he does in the Vuelta--nothing to lose--and it's always possible all the breaks (literally and figuratively) will fall (also literally as well as figuratively) his way.

After all his trouble with form (2013), crashes (2014), and more crashes (2015) in the past few years, he should take whatever he can get now, and not assume he can win anything next year.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

If he wins the double this year--still huge IF IMO--he should enter the Vuelta. Not because he's very likely to win it, but because it will probably be the only chance he has to go for the unheard of triple. If he wins the double, he really won't care how he does in the Vuelta--nothing to lose--and it's always possible all the breaks (literally and figuratively) will fall (also literally as well as figuratively) his way.

After all his trouble with form (2013), crashes (2014), and more crashes (2015) in the past few years, he should take whatever he can get now, and not assume he can win anything next year.

This, he'd be the first to try, which is quite something in itself

 

[Ramira]

Re:

If he wins the double this year--still huge IF IMO--he should enter the Vuelta. Not because he's very likely to win it, but because it will probably be the only chance he has to go for the unheard of triple. If he wins the double, he really won't care how he does in the Vuelta--nothing to lose--and it's always possible all the breaks (literally and figuratively) will fall (also literally as well as figuratively) his way.

After all his trouble with form (2013), crashes (2014), and more crashes (2015) in the past few years, he should take whatever he can get now, and not assume he can win anything next year.

I agree with you it's still very unlikely he'll do the double. I mean the last was Pantani back in 1998 and he probably wouldn't have beaten Ullrich if he had remembered to eat.

But if he does manage he should definitely race the Vuelta, at the very worst it would be a 3 week victory lap. Though I'm guessing he wouldn't have much left in the tank.

Then again he's done some unlikely things before, so if no real top GT contenders ride the Vuelta (and are in for) he has a shot. Even after a Tour and Giro I find it hard to believe Contador couldn't beat the likes of Cobo, so if it's a year like 2011 you never know.

 

[Jelantik]

Re: Re:

Contador to Rai: Probably my last Giro.

Amidst the joy i felt a cloud of sadness there.

there's a chance it will not

 

[phanatic]

Re: Re:

Bertie and Tinkoff should try let a break go tomorrow, and just fight on the last mountain, and then really target the beautiful Giro stages of the third week for a win: Aprica and Sestriere.

FWIW I think tomorrow is Alberto's best chance for a win (not saying he can't win a different stage)

Perhaps. I thought the false flat near the top would bring too many other riders into contention, but it's not like Piti and Purito are here. Still, Bertie is the man who went extra deep just so he could win on Etna.