Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Campervan man]

I'll try to find you on twitter then.
Name there is fleur?

Edit: wow Flo! Nice picture with everyone!
If I was there to help you then you'd definately had a pic with Alberto too

Good work

The more I read here the more I get the feeling i should've went to Utrecht the days before saturday...

I dunno, Alberto didn't pose for pics for anyone, signed some stuff and got into the bus then when he exited I managed to snap a pic of me with him in the back he did stop and smile for a split second but I wasn't quick enough to snap another pic

I don't use Twitter but look forward to any Tour related photo's, I'm there week 3 so will share anything of quality. It must be nice to see the Tour in your home city.

 

[perico]

Sean Kelly picked Bertie to win. LeMond picked him second behind Quintana.

 

[Red Rick]

He'll probably win.

Mostly cuz Flo has figured a way out to sabotage at least two of Froome, Quintana and Nibali and get away with it

 

[Electress]

I'll try to find you on twitter then.
Name there is fleur?

Edit: wow Flo! Nice picture with everyone!
If I was there to help you then you'd definately had a pic with Alberto too

Good work

The more I read here the more I get the feeling i should've went to Utrecht the days before saturday...

I dunno, Alberto didn't pose for pics for anyone, signed some stuff and got into the bus then when he exited I managed to snap a pic of me with him in the back he did stop and smile for a split second but I wasn't quick enough to snap another pic

Envy doesn't even come close!

So pleased for you, though, LaFlo.! i am leaving early doors Tues. so hope to get to cobbles or end of cobbles then will go as far as Le Havre - may fly down to Pyrenees as they are hanging out in Pau for ages… Trying to ensure seeing race live without spending billion quid…

All assuming no more strikes…

 

[Electress]

Re:

How did you find out which hotel they're at, I'll go this afternoon in hope of pics as well. I also need to find Katusha and Greenedge if anyone has an idea.

Katusha - Postillion, Bunnik.
Greenedge - Oud London, Zeist.

 

[ad9898]

Re: Re:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wso8BuhJkE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM3kJU1y8dI


I think he's less lean than a year ago...

Of course he does, last year was the perfect preperation, he was probably about to hit not a "peak" but a Super peak.

But he still looks really good, thinner than in the Giro. He is still close to his 2014 Tour weight. And we know AC doesn't need to be in his prime to win a GT.

It's difficult to call and only the road will let us know, however, I have to say I'm disappointed with his apparent form. It looks like he should have a leaner face for one, too much flesh on the cheeks and chin.

Normally, at this level for the Tour, you can see when a rider has hit that super low body fat mass. Froome seems to be there, so too does Nibali. I just don't see it with Contador.

Hope he isn't a flop in the mountains.

I think his prep is pretty good, having rode the Giro below peak, his form will have come slowly this season. We mustn't forget that he see the Giro and Tour as one race, the final part of that race is the mountainous third week of the tour where he needs to be at peak.

So he's nearly there now, the next two weeks will see him ride into his best shape ready for that last week. In my opinion he will be really skinny then and untouchable at that point. Froome looks to be there now but can he hold it through those three weeks ?

I think if they are both at peak Contador is ultimately the higher physiological specimen. He's going to win by a bigger margin that anyone may think.

 

[rhubroma]

Re: Re:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wso8BuhJkE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM3kJU1y8dI


I think he's less lean than a year ago...

Of course he does, last year was the perfect preperation, he was probably about to hit not a "peak" but a Super peak.

But he still looks really good, thinner than in the Giro. He is still close to his 2014 Tour weight. And we know AC doesn't need to be in his prime to win a GT.

It's difficult to call and only the road will let us know, however, I have to say I'm disappointed with his apparent form. It looks like he should have a leaner face for one, too much flesh on the cheeks and chin.

Normally, at this level for the Tour, you can see when a rider has hit that super low body fat mass. Froome seems to be there, so too does Nibali. I just don't see it with Contador.

Hope he isn't a flop in the mountains.

I think his prep is pretty good, having rode the Giro below peak, his form will have come slowly this season. We mustn't forget that he see the Giro and Tour as one race, the final part of that race is the mountainous third week of the tour where he needs to be at peak.

So he's nearly there now, the next two weeks will see him ride into his best shape ready for that last week. In my opinion he will be really skinny then and untouchable at that point. Froome looks to be there now but can he hold it through those three weeks ?

I think if they are both at peak Contador is ultimately the higher physiological specimen. He's going to win by a bigger margin that anyone may think.

I actually thought of such a scenareo, but I don't know how much he can get better in two weeks.

 

[cellardoor]

Also it could be argued that it's advantageous to carry a bit of extra weight in the first week, where it could be beneficial on e.g. stage 2 (if echelons), cobbled stage, TTs and even in the hilly sprints, Contador showed in that "Gilbert" stage in the Giro that he can do well when not at optimum weight. If he's timed it to be at optimal weight in the 3rd week then that will be ideal.

 

[murali]

i am not really sure about weight aspect.

Flo, did bertie look fatter than last year?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

i am not really sure about weight aspect.

Flo, did bertie look fatter than last year?

I did not inspect him that closely.

 

[murali]

Re: Re:

i am not really sure about weight aspect.

Flo, did bertie look fatter than last year?

I did not inspect him that closely.

i understand. you got that smile and you forgot everything ;-)


anyways, people watching the race in France; please enlighten us.

from the pics, i thought he is almost as fit as last year,

 

[Campervan man]

I'll try to find you on twitter then.
Name there is fleur?

Edit: wow Flo! Nice picture with everyone!
If I was there to help you then you'd definately had a pic with Alberto too

Good work

The more I read here the more I get the feeling i should've went to Utrecht the days before saturday...

I dunno, Alberto didn't pose for pics for anyone, signed some stuff and got into the bus then when he exited I managed to snap a pic of me with him in the back he did stop and smile for a split second but I wasn't quick enough to snap another pic

Can anyone recommend good people to follow on Twitter for good cycling news,pics,race reports and humour!! Always like a laugh at all things cycling.
Edit just joined Twitter so just finding my feet.

 

[ILovecycling]

I'll try to find you on twitter then.
Name there is fleur?

Edit: wow Flo! Nice picture with everyone!
If I was there to help you then you'd definately had a pic with Alberto too

Good work

The more I read here the more I get the feeling i should've went to Utrecht the days before saturday...

I dunno, Alberto didn't pose for pics for anyone, signed some stuff and got into the bus then when he exited I managed to snap a pic of me with him in the back he did stop and smile for a split second but I wasn't quick enough to snap another pic

Can anyone recommend good people to follow on Twitter for good cycling news,pics,race reports and humour!! Always like a laugh at all things cycling.

I'll post you some well known in a private message

 

[Campervan man]

I'll try to find you on twitter then.
Name there is fleur?

Edit: wow Flo! Nice picture with everyone!
If I was there to help you then you'd definately had a pic with Alberto too

Good work

The more I read here the more I get the feeling i should've went to Utrecht the days before saturday...

I dunno, Alberto didn't pose for pics for anyone, signed some stuff and got into the bus then when he exited I managed to snap a pic of me with him in the back he did stop and smile for a split second but I wasn't quick enough to snap another pic

Can anyone recommend good people to follow on Twitter for good cycling news,pics,race reports and humour!! Always like a laugh at all things cycling.

I'll post you some well known in a private message

Cheers for that. Any pics I can get week 3 I will post to forum when I get chance hopefully some of Alberto in Yellow, non camo.

 

[rhubroma]

Re:

Also it could be argued that it's advantageous to carry a bit of extra weight in the first week, where it could be beneficial on e.g. stage 2 (if echelons), cobbled stage, TTs and even in the hilly sprints, Contador showed in that "Gilbert" stage in the Giro that he can do well when not at optimum weight. If he's timed it to be at optimal weight in the 3rd week then that will be ideal.

This, too, I thought of. Still you'd think after the Giro he'd be leaner, while he certainly was at the start of last year's race.

 

[murali]

Re: Re:

Also it could be argued that it's advantageous to carry a bit of extra weight in the first week, where it could be beneficial on e.g. stage 2 (if echelons), cobbled stage, TTs and even in the hilly sprints, Contador showed in that "Gilbert" stage in the Giro that he can do well when not at optimum weight. If he's timed it to be at optimal weight in the 3rd week then that will be ideal.

This, too, I thought of. Still you'd think after the Giro he'd be leaner, while he certainly was at the start of last year's race.

precisely.
i thought he should be lean after the Giro, like the way he appeared for last year's tour.

with the crazy weather, i think it might be better if he has some fat in his body

 

[Publicus]

Re: Re:

Also it could be argued that it's advantageous to carry a bit of extra weight in the first week, where it could be beneficial on e.g. stage 2 (if echelons), cobbled stage, TTs and even in the hilly sprints, Contador showed in that "Gilbert" stage in the Giro that he can do well when not at optimum weight. If he's timed it to be at optimal weight in the 3rd week then that will be ideal.

This, too, I thought of. Still you'd think after the Giro he'd be leaner, while he certainly was at the start of last year's race.

How much do you think he would need to lose? Half a kilo? Kilo? The more I think about it, the first week is not about power/weight ratio. That's the last two weeks. I don't know anything particular about the finer points of racing other than what I've seen on tv, so my thinking isn't really informed by any special knowledge.

 

[rhubroma]

Re: Re:

Also it could be argued that it's advantageous to carry a bit of extra weight in the first week, where it could be beneficial on e.g. stage 2 (if echelons), cobbled stage, TTs and even in the hilly sprints, Contador showed in that "Gilbert" stage in the Giro that he can do well when not at optimum weight. If he's timed it to be at optimal weight in the 3rd week then that will be ideal.

This, too, I thought of. Still you'd think after the Giro he'd be leaner, while he certainly was at the start of last year's race.

precisely.
i thought he should be lean after the Giro, like the way he appeared for last year's tour.

with the crazy weather, i think it might be better if he has some fat in his body

Not for the mountains though. It looks to me like he needs to loose another 1.5 kilos. If he can do that in 9 days, without sacrificing power, then he should be good for the mountains. Still, with last year as a reference, I expected him to show up as lean at the start of this Tour. This is what baffles me. These guys are so looked after that you'd think (like Slongo with Nibali) that AC's trainer would have said ok, this is the weight you need to hit, with this much fat% and muscle mass and bingo, you'll be ready to go.

That he doesn't appear to be there yet leads me to suspect, either something went wrong, wasn't respected, or its planned that he needs to carry slightly more weight for the first 9 days (starting with today's tt, which is not good for the pure climbers with lots of corners for which a rider will constantly need to relaunch his effort to maintain speed), then the power blast up the Mur and, of course, the cobbles, etc.

In fact it occurs to me that this may indeed have been calculated as such, given that his super light weight of last year may have be seen as one of the causes for why he didn't go well over the cobbles. Perhaps then his entourage is betting that with an extra kilo or so, which he can loose before the mountains, Contador will go better over the pave, with the likes of Froome and Quintana being spit out the back of the front group, which, of course they think he can be in with Nibali.

Otherwise he didn't hit his bodily stats of last year, but that to me given what's at stake seems perhaps less likely than purposely starting the Tour a bit heavier to better confont part one of this essentially two part race.

Certainly the TT today will already give an indication of his form.

 

[Publicus]

I want to say it was all planned, but one never knows how the body will react. As you said, we'll see in a few hours where is form truly is at the moment. One thing not talked about is Bobby Julich and his impact on Tinkoff Saxo's time trialing. He's been out of the lime light and not really mentioned much despite Tinkoff turning in some decent ITTs of late.

 

[No_Balls]

Re: Re:

Is his weight confirmed and how much was it by the time last year? Personally i cant see a difference with the exception of perhaps his face which seems a bit "rounder".

I am confident you have something there. Like i pointed out a couple of days ago i wouldnt be surprised if the foundation for his eventual victory lays already in the first week in where he have kept a spare kilo for more powers in this one TT, do a thrilling race over the cobbles (i have a feeling they will try to distance Froome/Quintana here), and to have a mixture of power and explosiveness on Mur. Come the mountain if the plan holds he will be back in 2014 figures for damage control or just keeping an eye on things assuming he doesnt feel all that.

But the downside with the strategy of riding off that extra kilo has always been external factors like how the race is developing or the weather. Ullrich did it in 1998 but was unable to ride that off with a exceptionally slow first week and of course not helped with the Festina scandal. Some riders even gain weights on the road like Indurain 1996 when it rained the whole first week (that race also started in Holland). Now i dont think AC has any similarity with these individuals who seems to be a more stocky type naturally and i am confident this approach is the right one assuming my/our speculations is right of course.

 

[cellardoor]

It's worth noting that there were rumours floating around last year that Contador had peaked too early. The thing about comparing his weight to last year is that we don't actually know if he would have sustained it for 3 weeks or faded in the 3rd week.

Regarding the issue of his entourage knowing exactly what he needs to do to hit a certain weight - the problem is I think that there are conflicts that can't really be reconciled. For example, if he leaves it all on the road in the Giro (which I don't think he did despite the challenge from Landa) then he might finish it at a good weight, but at the same time he'd have a harder time recovering for the Tour. Equally, he could have trained intensely after the Tour to lose weight, but really he needed rest.

 

[rm7]

It's also worth mentioning that Contador have the last one to succesfull do a double in Ivan Basso by his side. They've followed the same pattern the whole year, done every race together and have become great friends and roomies at the races. I remember Contador saying that Basso told him stuff about the route the evening before etc.

Ivan Basso know how to do a double, and I remember him not coming into the Tour at his best when he tried in 2005. Also in 2006, before he eventually got pulled out before the Tour.

I think Contador is following a similar way.

And at least he is way more useful that Hernandez in terms of experience.

 

[jilbiker]

Re: Re:

Is his weight confirmed and how much was it by the time last year? Personally i cant see a difference with the exception of perhaps his face which seems a bit "rounder".

I am confident you have something there. Like i pointed out a couple of days ago i wouldnt be surprised if the foundation for his eventual victory lays already in the first week in where he have kept a spare kilo for more powers in this one TT, do a thrilling race over the cobbles (i have a feeling they will try to distance Froome/Quintana here), and to have a mixture of power and explosiveness on Mur. Come the mountain if the plan holds he will be back in 2014 figures for damage control or just keeping an eye on things assuming he doesnt feel all that.

But the downside with the strategy of riding off that extra kilo has always been external factors like how the race is developing or the weather. Ullrich did it in 1998 but was unable to ride that off with a exceptionally slow first week and of course not helped with the Festina scandal. Some riders even gain weights on the road like Indurain 1996 when it rained the whole first week (that race also started in Holland). Now i dont think AC has any similarity with these individuals who seems to be a more stocky type naturally and i am confident this approach is the right one assuming my/our speculations is right of course.

Note his answer to a question during the press conference "where would you like to be after the first week?" He said "20 minutes higher the person in 2nd place" They laughed but I think there is a glimpse into what he is thinking. If and only if there is a hit from the Giro it will be in the 3rd week, the GC folks are already nervous about the first week, why not hit them in the first week, pile up enough time time and wheel suck/chill the rest of the tdf.He certainly enjoyed the "comfort" of time buffer in the Giro where he could chill in the last mtf stage.

 

[jilbiker]

Re:

It's worth noting that there were rumours floating around last year that Contador had peaked too early. The thing about comparing his weight to last year is that we don't actually know if he would have sustained it for 3 weeks or faded in the 3rd week.

Regarding the issue of his entourage knowing exactly what he needs to do to hit a certain weight - the problem is I think that there are conflicts that can't really be reconciled. For example, if he leaves it all on the road in the Giro (which I don't think he did despite the challenge from Landa) then he might finish it at a good weight, but at the same time he'd have a harder time recovering for the Tour. Equally, he could have trained intensely after the Tour to lose weight, but really he needed rest.

I also felt the same about AC coming into the 2014 tdf and looking at him the couple of stages before he departed it seemed to me like a "false flat". I am glad he is not super thin for this 2015 tdf. I would be concerned given that at the Rol de Sol he was not thin. How do you loose 2kg in 2 weeks without losing power? Recovery is 60% eating well and providing enough nutrients to your body to rebuild.

 

[meat puppet]

I don't think the top contenders leave anything to chance. Of course, optimal preparation is not a given outcome, so perhaps he missed something in training.

However, IMHO the most logical explanation is that for one reason or another he has not subscribed into the "hole on the outer side of the knee" and/or "knee as the widest part of the leg" regime. Rasmussen & Andy did and the current contenders do, save for Quintana. Perhaps it compromises their recovery too much, or something. AC & NQ are very lean, the context just makes it look otherwise.