Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Oh I thought they called that botox as well

Many people make that mistake

 

[Red Rick]

Always love how the most potent toxin in the world is used as a cosmetic

 

[Electress]

Re: Re:

Too much botox.

Yeah, it's awful, isn't it.

https://instagram.com/p/1-YDpEnjYT/?taken-by=veronicascognamiglio

Or I'm confusing her with this other podium girl who had huge botox lips, because in these photos she looks hot I admit.

.... botox removes wrinkles by paralyzing the muscles, it doesn't enlarge lips, that would be fillers

Collagen.

 

[Electress]

Re:

Just realised there every time he's done the Giro and the Vuelta he's always won. 6 from 6. That is incredible.

That is a pretty amazing stat.

 

[peloton]

Grande!!!

I was sure he had lost the race yesterday and today's chaotic finish took my heart rate to roof again!
Vamos
To me it's irrelevan't who was the best climber, and in a GT it's not just about the climbs.

Froome and Nairito have been very on/off this year and Nibali has been the usual shadow in the early season, guess we'll know more after Dauphine where they look, form wise now.

Contador will need some very good luck and wayyyy better team for TdF, but I hope the team knows what it's doing...

Btw. As a big AC fan, this was his 8th GT win. Taking the -10 Tour was absolutely ok, unlike the -11 Giro, which was as stupid as giving the -06 Tour win to Pereiro.

 

[T-Nielsen]

Re: Re:

Can Flo update the Vamos 8 picture?

Used my mad paint skillz

Wall of Vamos.

 

[Alcanelo]

I would love to get absolutely hammered drunk with Oleg. The coolest billionaire of all time hands down.

 

[Electress]

Re:

I would love to get absolutely hammered drunk with Oleg. The coolest billionaire of all time hands down.

I fear he would be a sloppy drunk. I'd give him a very wide berth.

 

[Carols]

Re: ew

I thought AC would win Giro but to have a chance at TDF, I felt he had to be coming out of Giro stronger than he went in and I don't think he is. I would never rule him out though, but when you look at his team who let's be honest about it, contrary to what AC says, have been really really weak. I know his team could be better at TDF, but it won't be as strong as Sky and Astana andhe could get isolated like on Stage 20 yesterday. We shall see.

This is a crucial observation and thus valid.

Every rider interview I read said this Giro was beyond difficult, in terms of SRM.

How, then, can a rider today enter such a race and come out better?

On the other hand, he crushed it in 2011 and I thought a new double was "in the bag."

Alberto says:

"Perhaps I see it like this: there were days when I could have been more ambitious. I decided to to ride more tactically, and I think it was the right thing to do, in the end, because look at yesterday: I had a bad day because my strength was declining. No, there is nothing I think that I could improve on for the Tour. Perhaps my main memory of the Giro is the leg pain with which I finished the race, and the tired body.

Telling it like it is, he is drained. It's a good thing he saved some before yesterday or it could have been something other than a courageous save.

He'll be facing much tougher competition at le Tour. Recovery will be very key. My expectations are suitably reduced that he can pull off the double. But RESPECT for going for it!

 

[Dedelou]

Thank you Alberto for another thrilling grand tour victory.. I feel happy I got to watch him ride some of the stages in southern Italy and even experience the same roads under my wheels.. More than any other riders in the currant peloton, Alberto is the one to take on the double with the intention of winning it and I am rooting for him to succeed. How much efforts it cost him to win this giro will be discussed for many years, but i know I am reserving my own judgement till i see him perform in the TDF. (i am saying that because many will say he won this giro in the ITT, hence alone) In fact his team was there at several "crucial moments and saved the day for him, but what he was reminded of yesterday is that he can't do it alone and must enter a Tour with a team that has more than what he got in the Giro in the tough part of the mountains. Perhaps Majka can do for Alberto at Tour what Landa did for Aru in the Giro and serve as a test of the other's strengths in a manner that neither Kreusiger nor Roger could deliver. I keep hoping.

 

[gunara]

Missed the last stage and the celebration, but yes Alberto did it again! Not sure there are any other sportsman I follow that has given as many thrilling moments as this great man has. Hope there are more to come, maybee soon...

 

[Carols]

Re: Re:

Can Flo update the Vamos 8 picture?

Used my mad paint skillz

Thanks for the new avatar

 

[Carols]

Re:

Missed the last stage and the celebration, but yes Alberto did it again! Not sure there are any other sportsman I follow that has given as many thrilling moments as this great man has. Hope there are more to come, maybee soon...

Oh what a shame you missed the celebration, it was pretty awesome! I wish I could share my dvr copy of the stage with you.

Yes Alberto is a very special athlete and seems to be a nice guy also! I won't go on as people already think I'm daft for calling him the best I've seen since Hinault. But then again he is .

 

[gunara]

Re: Re:

Missed the last stage and the celebration, but yes Alberto did it again! Not sure there are any other sportsman I follow that has given as many thrilling moments as this great man has. Hope there are more to come, maybee soon...

Oh what a shame you missed the celebration, it was pretty awesome! I wish I could share my dvr copy of the stage with you.

Yes Alberto is a very special athlete and seems to be a nice guy also! I won't go on as people already think I'm daft for calling him the best I've seen since Hinault. But then again he is .

Nah, the last few stages drained me, weird attack one day, dropped by everyone another day, for once just let him roll for an easy finish when I went out for some fresh air

 

[rm7]

I have this idea that if Contador get dropped in the Tour, then some people will say that he is done at toplevel.

IF that happens a lot of people will say that he never really reached the 2014 level this year, not even once.

If people should compare the first race in the season vs Froome in Andalucia and the Contador in the Giro. Have he improved, or was it the same? what do you think?

I think he was a the same level to be honest. But he was definitely a little better in the Giro than in T-A and Catalunya.

I really hope it's all part of the plan, so he'll be at his best in the Tour. I think that's the plan, but there is a long way to make a plan, and then really execute it

 

[The Hitch]

Is picture 8 him winning the Vuelta or just a stage? Due to the slope of the fans and the fact that he doesn't seem to be wearing a tt helmet I'm guessing that might be him winning an mtf.

 

[burning]

Re:

Is picture 8 him winning the Vuelta or just a stage? Due to the slope of the fans and the fact that he doesn't seem to be wearing a tt helmet I'm guessing that might be him winning an mtf.

If is from final mtf, Ancares.

 

[BlurryVII]

Re:

I have this idea that if Contador get dropped in the Tour, then some people will say that he is done at toplevel.

IF that happens a lot of people will say that he never really reached the 2014 level this year, not even once.

If people should compare the first race in the season vs Froome in Andalucia and the Contador in the Giro. Have he improved, or was it the same? what do you think?

I think he was a the same level to be honest. But he was definitely a little better in the Giro than in T-A and Catalunya.

I really hope it's all part of the plan, so he'll be at his best in the Tour. I think that's the plan, but there is a long way to make a plan, and then really execute it

You should be prepared for that, Contador is likely to get dropped at least once at the Tour but that doesn't mean he'll not win it. He might win it tactically Vuelta 12' style.
Of course there will be plenty of people / haters who will say that, that he just can't win the Tour anymore, doesn't have that level bla bla bla but who cares? Most people on this forum get excited and react in the heat of the moment.

You just cannot bring expectations on the table now after such a demanding Giro, from what he stated today, it looks like he is absolutely drained at the moment and finished this very short. You just gotta hope for him to have that decent minimal form to hang on with the best and if he happens to be in flying form then it will be a pleasant surprise. But at the moment, I just can't see how he can reach his Tour 14' levels.

To answer your other questions, there is absolutely no doubt Contador is MUCH stronger than he was in TA and catalunya and also than Andalucia where he was not consistent al all. People are really underestimating his Giro form, just because of Finestre (off day) and Aprica (worked his ass off on that stage) which don't reflect at all his global form .

To be honest, I would be really glad he just manages to keep this Giro form for the Tour, without fading this time around like he did yesterday. People are deluded thinking AC will get crushed in this kind of form by NQF , completely deluded . The only danger would be Froome in super shape.

 

[cellardoor]

Re: ew

I thought AC would win Giro but to have a chance at TDF, I felt he had to be coming out of Giro stronger than he went in and I don't think he is. I would never rule him out though, but when you look at his team who let's be honest about it, contrary to what AC says, have been really really weak. I know his team could be better at TDF, but it won't be as strong as Sky and Astana andhe could get isolated like on Stage 20 yesterday. We shall see.

This is a crucial observation and thus valid.

Every rider interview I read said this Giro was beyond difficult, in terms of SRM.

How, then, can a rider today enter such a race and come out better?

On the other hand, he crushed it in 2011 and I thought a new double was "in the bag."

It seems like when Basso attempted it in '05 and '06 he basically peaked in the Giro and then just looked to recover for the Tour. I vaguely recall that Basso had a weak first week in the '05 Tour but I may be confusing it with the previous year. I guess the main reason Basso was brought on board was to gain from his experience of being the only active rider to attempt it. Therefore, the way Contador has approached the season has probably more resembled Basso's attempts than Indurain's or Pantani's.

From that point of view it seems things are not going quite to plan as Contador seems to be missing a few percent of form at the Giro. I think that there is enough time to recover from the Giro and there is enough time to build a few percent of form, but is there enough time to do both? He needs to recover, go into an intense training block and then taper all in about a month.

But there again maybe, as Blurry says, he won't need to be in 100% form to win the Tour. It seems more likely that Froome will be in Vuelta '14 form than Tour '13 form. Nibali has shown no form at all this year. Quintana has tended to be a slow starter in GTs. The lacklustre course could also play into Contador's hands as it could be more about tactics than power.

 

[RedheadDane]

Personally I think that if UCI had been better at dealing with the clen-case he would currently have had eight GT wins.
First of all; it shouldn't have taken them almost two years to reach a verdict! But since it did he should either have been sidelined during the period, therefore not riding the 2011 Giro and obviously not winning it, having his ban after the verdict be the duration it actually was, giving him time to win the 2012 Vuelta. Or he should've been given a two-year ban from the day the verdict was given (minus any time he actually spent sidelined in the beginning of the case), letting the 2011 Giro result stand, but making him unable to win the 2012 Vuelta because he was banned. Of course this would mean that he would have only just made it in time to break his leg during the 2014 Tour and then go on to win the 2014 Vuelta.

Honestly, the biggest problem with this whole mess is the 2011 Giro. I don't think anybody believed he was doped during that race, but since he got a back-traced ban they basically had to pretend he never even rode it in the first place.


As for making The Double. Actually, even if he "only" manages a top-10 in the Tour I would still be rather impressed. When was the last time anyone did just that? Also, we're talking about a guy whose worst GT result since 2007 is a 4th place in the 2013 Tour (and worst ever a 31st place in the 2005 Tour), not counting the 2014 Tour, DNFing is not a result!
And, yes, I know that technically he got 5th in the 2011 Tour, but if I'm not going to count the good results during that period - I'm not, just easier to go with the official standings - then I'm not going to count the bad ones either.

 

[murali]

My only regret abot this giro: I can't chose bertie again for CQ game

 

[LaFlorecita]

Electress won a signed team jersey I am jealous lucky bastard

 

[gunara]

Electress won a signed team jersey I am jealous lucky bastard

Start of open war between our two high priestesses

 

[rm7]

Re: Re:

I have this idea that if Contador get dropped in the Tour, then some people will say that he is done at toplevel.

IF that happens a lot of people will say that he never really reached the 2014 level this year, not even once.

If people should compare the first race in the season vs Froome in Andalucia and the Contador in the Giro. Have he improved, or was it the same? what do you think?

I think he was a the same level to be honest. But he was definitely a little better in the Giro than in T-A and Catalunya.

I really hope it's all part of the plan, so he'll be at his best in the Tour. I think that's the plan, but there is a long way to make a plan, and then really execute it

You should be prepared for that, Contador is likely to get dropped at least once at the Tour but that doesn't mean he'll not win it. He might win it tactically Vuelta 12' style.
Of course there will be plenty of people / haters who will say that, that he just can't win the Tour anymore, doesn't have that level bla bla bla but who cares? Most people on this forum get excited and react in the heat of the moment.

You just cannot bring expectations on the table now after such a demanding Giro, from what he stated today, it looks like he is absolutely drained at the moment and finished this very short. You just gotta hope for him to have that decent minimal form to hang on with the best and if he happens to be in flying form then it will be a pleasant surprise. But at the moment, I just can't see how he can reach his Tour 14' levels.

To answer your other questions, there is absolutely no doubt Contador is MUCH stronger than he was in TA and catalunya and also than Andalucia where he was not consistent al all. People are really underestimating his Giro form, just because of Finestre (off day) and Aprica (worked his ass off on that stage) which don't reflect at all his global form .

To be honest, I would be really glad he just manages to keep this Giro form for the Tour, without fading this time around like he did yesterday. People are deluded thinking AC will get crushed in this kind of form by NQF , completely deluded . The only danger would be Froome in super shape.

Yeah, i see your point.

As i stated in a previous some days ago, I think that the only reason he didn't look super strong was because Landa was unbeveliable strong.

To be fair I think Landa was stronger that Quintana and Nibali have ever been. That includes Quintana Tour 13, and Nibali Tour 14.

But not Froome super shape of course.

If Landa was at his "normal" level, then Contador would have looked MUCH better in this Giro. Landa really was the unknown variable.

 

[ebandit]

legendary

Thank you Alberto for another thrilling grand tour victory..

..........GT legend.............and now on to france.............bonne chance

Mark L