Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Matteo.]

Today he did a mistake: when he realized that froome was too strong , he had to let him go.He didn't and blowed up. A big error , because i think he could equally gain few seconds on N and Q in the last 100m.
Now , the main target is loosing as little as possible tomorrow , one minute lost will be a great result . After that he can "recover" and improve until la Pierre. ( with the TTT Berto can recuperate some seconds because TS is probably the strongest team at the moment).
Finally i'm already sure he only has a problem of "racing legs " like Pantani in 98 : on La Pierre will see the truth , if he can win or not TdF

 

[Electress]

Re: Re:

This thread is in dire need of a Landa-filter.

Quoted for truth!

 

[BlurryVII]

Re:

Contador needs 5-6minutes on Froome before the mountain stages if he wants to win. Most likely on Quintana too. I think all this talk about peaking later in the race is wishful thinking. I think the first week or so will be his best week.

Thinking the first week will be his best, and Contador needing 5 or 6 minutes on CF and NQ isn't any less wishful . Don't worry about that.

 

[Metabolol]

Re: Re:

Contador needs 5-6minutes on Froome before the mountain stages if he wants to win. Most likely on Quintana too. I think all this talk about peaking later in the race is wishful thinking. I think the first week or so will be his best week.

Thinking the first week will be his best, and Contador needing 5 or 6 minutes on CF and NQ isn't any less wishful . Don't worry about that.

I want Alberto to win and if he can't then I want anyone but Froome winning.

 

[Publicus]

Re:

If Sagan can do tomorrow for Contador what spartacus did for andy 5 years ago

I believe this is the game plan. Contador just needs to stay glued to Sagan's wheel at all times.

 

[Carols]

Re:

He doesn't seem overly bothered about the time lose or that Froome is in yellow. I'm going to follow his lead....

http://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-route/Actualites/Contador-pas-inquiet-de-voir-froome-en-jaune/572300

Thanks, this has settled me a bit. Maybe sugar, maybe not. Either way he doesn't seem stressed about it just yet and that is good .

 

[TommyGun]

Re: Re:

Contador needs 5-6minutes on Froome before the mountain stages if he wants to win. Most likely on Quintana too. I think all this talk about peaking later in the race is wishful thinking. I think the first week or so will be his best week.

Thinking the first week will be his best, and Contador needing 5 or 6 minutes on CF and NQ isn't any less wishful . Don't worry about that.

I want Alberto to win and if he can't then I want anyone but Froome winning.

Don't be so pessimistic then

 

[JRanton]

The mistake was having Majka set such a hard pace on the penultimate climb. It was already clear then that Froome was the strongest.

 

[No_Balls]

Re: Re:

Contador needs 5-6minutes on Froome before the mountain stages if he wants to win. Most likely on Quintana too. I think all this talk about peaking later in the race is wishful thinking. I think the first week or so will be his best week.

Thinking the first week will be his best, and Contador needing 5 or 6 minutes on CF and NQ isn't any less wishful . Don't worry about that.

I want Alberto to win and if he can't then I want anyone but Froome winning.

No you dont want Alberto to win, you say this as an excuse to keep overrating Quintana in a thread about Contador.

 

[The Hitch]

Re:

If Sagan can do tomorrow for Contador what spartacus did for andy 5 years ago

Or bennati can do what Frank did.

 

[Carols]

What is the story with Mick? Is he ok? They need him whole for the TTT. What a dreadful place to put a TTT. I wonder how many teams will have 9 riders at the start.

 

[Miburo]

Re: Re:

If Sagan can do tomorrow for Contador what spartacus did for andy 5 years ago

Or bennati can do what Frank did.

lol

 

[Metabolol]

Re: Re:

Contador needs 5-6minutes on Froome before the mountain stages if he wants to win. Most likely on Quintana too. I think all this talk about peaking later in the race is wishful thinking. I think the first week or so will be his best week.

Thinking the first week will be his best, and Contador needing 5 or 6 minutes on CF and NQ isn't any less wishful . Don't worry about that.

I want Alberto to win and if he can't then I want anyone but Froome winning.

No you dont want Alberto to win, you say this as an excuse to keep overrating Quintana in a thread about Contador.

I have followed his career for many years, so yeah I want him to win. To see Froome distance him almost causes physical pain.

 

[jilbiker]

I know everyone is talking down about Froome and cobble. We haven't seen him riding cobble yet (even last year, he crashed out before the cobble). If I have learned so far, everything has been surprising so far. No one thought Nibali would lost almost 1+ minute on day two after his strong performance on ITT. No one thought that Froome finished second today since the climb is supposedly too explosive for him. Well, We might be surprise to see Froome riding well tomorrow, who knows?

As far as contador, I really hope his form isn't like 2013. He is a little fragile today.. dunno, just my observation. He wanted to follow Froome's wheel, but Froome was superior today. I don't know if he just lacks racing rhythm with the uphill finish comes so early in race or his base form is.. it is what it is. If we can take today as an indication of form, Froome is a little ahead, follow by Nibali, Quintana and (even) Tejay, then Contador. But 3 weeks is a long time, we'll see if Contador gets better or not. So far he is just ok. Not great, not bad. He is more or less like Quintana at the moment. Not sure how good or strong they are yet. Nibali looked strong and so does Froome. Tomorrow stage, Sagan, Benna and Tosa hopefully will proof useful to guide Contador through the cobble. At this point, I have no idea how Contador will peform against the rest of GT tomorrow. Nibali in my mind will come out as a winner tomorrow (not necessarily winning the stage, but gaining time).

Is AC is master of all mountains? No, he has his favorites which is the long steady one. The short punchy ones are not his bread and butter. Vuelta 2012 was where we had a mass of such punchy hills at the end and AC was constantly beaten by Purito, I rarely remember AC doing well on such mountain finishes. Even 2014 TDF AC might not have done well.

The concerning thing though is whether he is tired from Giro, he looked relaxed at the end of the stage though, I think he is pacing himself, riding himself back to form. He cannot go all out in this first week with a GT in his legs. Remember Froome in Vuelta 2012 with TDF in his legs went all out in the first week and blew up by the mid 2nd week. This week is to keep the errors to a minimum.

The mountains are absolutely crucial. I have not in any manner written off Quintana or Nibs. As long as they keep it 2/3mins or below the highest GC guys they are in contention.

 

[TommyGun]

Re: Re:

Contador needs 5-6minutes on Froome before the mountain stages if he wants to win. Most likely on Quintana too. I think all this talk about peaking later in the race is wishful thinking. I think the first week or so will be his best week.

Thinking the first week will be his best, and Contador needing 5 or 6 minutes on CF and NQ isn't any less wishful . Don't worry about that.

I want Alberto to win and if he can't then I want anyone but Froome winning.

No you dont want Alberto to win, you say this as an excuse to keep overrating Quintana in a thread about Contador.

I have followed his career for many years, so yeah I want him to win. To see Froome distance him almost causes physical pain.

I have to agree, it revived very painful memories.

 

[HiroAntagonist]

Bad luck can strike anyone. Froome looked super strong today, but it's early times yet. The big four are still all in contention.

 

[buchanan]

Sorry Alberto fans (and I am one), but this TDF is Froome's, unless he crashes or gets sick. Froome looks totally comfortable in the hard finishing efforts yesterday and obviously again today. Contador looked like he was redlining just to hang on and ultimately gave away a number of crucial seconds again.

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

One thing going for him is that he blew himself up following froome, he would hae easily stayed with nibali group otherwise

Yes, but I think he was already suffering when his team road very hard durning the final 20km, at one point he was really grimacing.

 

[Cimber]

Am not to concerned about Berto losing time to Froome on a stage like this. What concerns me, however, is that he couldnt follow the other big group of favorites (TJ, Nibali, Quintana etc). He should have been able to.

Sadly I feel confident that the Giro effort will effect him the Whole Tour, and that he will trail behind the whole Tour. Giro-Tour was a mistake, but still have to really respect him for giving it a shot.

I just hope Nibali can do something to upset the race tomorrow so it wont be a cruise victory for Froome, who looks super strong.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Am not to concerned about Berto losing time to Froome on a stage like this. What concerns me, however, is that he couldnt follow the other big group of favorites (TJ, Nibali, Quintana etc). He should have been able to.

Sadly I feel confident that the Giro effort will effect him the Whole Tour, and that he will trail behind the whole Tour. Giro-Tour was a mistake, but still have to really respect him for giving it a shot.

I just hope Nibali can do something to upset the race tomorrow so it wont be a cruise victory for Froome, who looks super strong.

He couldn't follow the other group because he blew up trying to follow Froome/Purito.

 

[Cimber]

Re: Re:

I bet Contador will continue to bleed small amounts of time until this weekend, maybe ending up with 1:15 - 1:30 down on Froome by the end of the week, but not more.
Then he will crush them all in the Alps... Froome will start to fade in third week, like he did in 2013 (Semnoz and Alpe d'Huez).

I agree with you. I think Alberto will grab time on Froome somewhere in the first week though, not sure when.

If at all, it will be tommorow. I just hope for rain.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

If at all, it will be tommorow. I just hope for rain.

Or on Wednesday, or on Thursday, or on Friday, or on Saturday, or on Sunday.

Fortunately it seems like we'll have dry cobbles tomorrow.

 

[Cimber]

Am not to concerned about Berto losing time to Froome on a stage like this. What concerns me, however, is that he couldnt follow the other big group of favorites (TJ, Nibali, Quintana etc). He should have been able to.

Sadly I feel confident that the Giro effort will effect him the Whole Tour, and that he will trail behind the whole Tour. Giro-Tour was a mistake, but still have to really respect him for giving it a shot.

I just hope Nibali can do something to upset the race tomorrow so it wont be a cruise victory for Froome, who looks super strong.

He couldn't follow the other group because he blew up trying to follow Froome/Purito.

ok, I only followed the race on the radio so didnt see the finish. Still I dont see him winning the Tour after the huge Giro effort. I hope I am wrong, but sadly I fear a 2011 rerun (only, without all the crashes I hope)

 

[Cimber]

Re: Re:

If at all, it will be tommorow. I just hope for rain.

Or on Wednesday, or on Thursday, or on Friday, or on Saturday, or on Sunday.

Fortunately it seems like we'll have dry cobbles tomorrow.

Nah can only see it happen tomorrow before the mountain. Nah I want wet. It will mean that Nibali will take time on Berto, but it will also mean that Berto will take time on Froome most likely. On dry cobbles I am less certain.

That said, most forecasts suggest nice weather with only a very small chance of a tiny bit of rain

 

[Jelantik]

I know everyone is talking down about Froome and cobble. We haven't seen him riding cobble yet (even last year, he crashed out before the cobble). If I have learned so far, everything has been surprising so far. No one thought Nibali would lost almost 1+ minute on day two after his strong performance on ITT. No one thought that Froome finished second today since the climb is supposedly too explosive for him. Well, We might be surprise to see Froome riding well tomorrow, who knows?

As far as contador, I really hope his form isn't like 2013. He is a little fragile today.. dunno, just my observation. He wanted to follow Froome's wheel, but Froome was superior today. I don't know if he just lacks racing rhythm with the uphill finish comes so early in race or his base form is.. it is what it is. If we can take today as an indication of form, Froome is a little ahead, follow by Nibali, Quintana and (even) Tejay, then Contador. But 3 weeks is a long time, we'll see if Contador gets better or not. So far he is just ok. Not great, not bad. He is more or less like Quintana at the moment. Not sure how good or strong they are yet. Nibali looked strong and so does Froome. Tomorrow stage, Sagan, Benna and Tosa hopefully will proof useful to guide Contador through the cobble. At this point, I have no idea how Contador will peform against the rest of GT tomorrow. Nibali in my mind will come out as a winner tomorrow (not necessarily winning the stage, but gaining time).

Is AC is master of all mountains? No, he has his favorites which is the long steady one. The short punchy ones are not his bread and butter. Vuelta 2012 was where we had a mass of such punchy hills at the end and AC was constantly beaten by Purito, I rarely remember AC doing well on such mountain finishes. Even 2014 TDF AC might not have done well.

The concerning thing though is whether he is tired from Giro, he looked relaxed at the end of the stage though, I think he is pacing himself, riding himself back to form. He cannot go all out in this first week with a GT in his legs. Remember Froome in Vuelta 2012 with TDF in his legs went all out in the first week and blew up by the mid 2nd week. This week is to keep the errors to a minimum.

The mountains are absolutely crucial. I have not in any manner written off Quintana or Nibs. As long as they keep it 2/3mins or below the highest GC guys they are in contention.

you might be right. His team wasn't concern. (a case of a low in sugar).

http://www.tinkoffsaxo.com/news/contador-remains-poised-after-mur-de-huy-sagan-conquers-the-maillot-blanc/