Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[BlurryVII]

In my opinion, Froome rode the Vuelta '14 already thinking of the Tour '15. He even has said as much. The purpose was to get a grand tour in the legs. Sure he tried to win. He's a competitor. Contador was better. Not the case this year.

Oh I forgot, Froome said he rode the Vuelta just for racing miles?

Well, Contador said he was just aiming a stage in the third week.

 

[rhubroma]

Tinkoff rode a good TTT, the problem of course is that they lost 27 seconds to a certain Froome who is un toro scatenato (a raging bull).

I expect Froome to win on Tuesday and extend his lead. Contador simply doesn't convince me and will have to rely upon Astana and Movistar isolating Froome to have any chance of winning. Dropping Froome on his own I don't think is possible.

 

[hfer07]

I'm sure Contador is pleased with this first week GC standings-perhaps he would have liked to be closer to Froome, but overall he managed to stay out of trouble. As far as current shape- he might be playing mind games, perhaps misguiding the other contenders- although is true he might be a bit behind from his desired level, but I believe he's looking ahead towards the last week to peak & perhaps ally with Quintanita to hurt the Alien. The next two weeks are going to be exciting

 

[SeriousSam]

Re:

I'm sure Contador is pleased with this first week GC standings-perhaps he would have liked to be closer to Froome, but overall he managed to stay out of trouble. As far as current shape- he might be playing mind games, perhaps misguiding the other contenders- although is true he might be a bit behind from his desired level, but I believe he's looking ahead towards the last week to peak & perhaps ally with Quintanita to hurt the Alien. The next two weeks are going to be exciting

He didn't do much wrong thus far, except blowing up at the Mur de Huy. That actually cost him a lot of time, worth a clear and decisive MTF victory over his rivals.

 

[LaFlorecita]

_O_

Damn, Roman, Rafa and Berto are going to blow up the mountains, I am sure of it. The Stick Man better watch out, and remember, Roman is a good descender too.......

Who would have thought Basso of all people would make it all the way to the finish in the TTT

I think losing Bennati and Tosatto early on really cost them..

 

[LaFlorecita]

http://www.marca.com/2015/07/12/ciclismo/tour_francia/1436718672.html

Berto comments (hope my translation is correct):

- I believe everyone will have a bad day this Tour, the most consistent rider will win
- I am more unsure about my form than at the Giro, one thing I have noticed is that I miss the "spark" that others do have, I hope this will not have any effect in the long run
- [about Tuesday's stage] It is a hard climb, anything can happen, we will see how I feel after the rest day, if I feel good I will try to attack, because I believe I must take every opportunity
- Tejay is also a big rival not just N Q F

 

[casati]

Re:

I'm sure Contador is pleased with this first week GC standings-perhaps he would have liked to be closer to Froome, but overall he managed to stay out of trouble. As far as current shape- he might be playing mind games, perhaps misguiding the other contenders- although is true he might be a bit behind from his desired level, but I believe he's looking ahead towards the last week to peak & perhaps ally with Quintanita to hurt the Alien. The next two weeks are going to be exciting

Agreed, whether he wins or loses, Contador will make his presence known.

 

[Miburo]

Get ready for robobasso

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

_O_

Damn, Roman, Rafa and Berto are going to blow up the mountains, I am sure of it. The Stick Man better watch out, and remember, Roman is a good descender too.......

Who would have thought Basso of all people would make it all the way to the finish in the TTT

I think losing Bennati and Tosatto early on really cost them..

I think Bennati and Tossatto going all out early and taking the longest pulls was the plan, maybe they lost them earlier than expected but stuff like that can happen. It wasn't a bad performance, I don't think it that the Giro TTT was that much better, this time they just had way stronger competition.

 

[No_Balls]

Re: Re:

- I am more unsure about my form than at the Giro, one thing I have noticed is that I miss the "spark" that others do have, I hope this will not have any effect in the long run
- [about Tuesday's stage] It is a hard climb, anything can happen, we will see how I feel after the rest day, if I feel good I will try to attack, because I believe I must take every opportunity
- Tejay is also a big rival not just N Q F

Yes. Yes. We are getting there. Few things are as revealing of Albertos form then post/pre-stage interviews. Dark were the moments when he after every stage was all like "great/good sensations". But this is a massive jump: "anything can happen". "Hard climb". "Will see how i feel". "If i can i will try". "Tejay is also a rival".

 

[BlurryVII]

The plan is simple from now on, just about biding the time and limiting losses on Pierre saint martin for Contador then all out by Plateau de Beille on to the 3rd week.

Plateau de Beille stage is really hard, multiple climb stage, that's where the first differences with Froome should be made.

As of Tuesday, I think Froome will have the edge and add a couple 10 - 15 - 20 seconds on Contador together with Quintana. Froome just looks like he is peaking right now.

Of course, anything more than 30 seconds or an Ax 3 repeat and it's over. And we will all be thankful to the Giro ..

 

[Matteo.]

Re: Re:

- I am more unsure about my form than at the Giro, one thing I have noticed is that I miss the "spark" that others do have, I hope this will not have any effect in the long run
- [about Tuesday's stage] It is a hard climb, anything can happen, we will see how I feel after the rest day, if I feel good I will try to attack, because I believe I must take every opportunity
- Tejay is also a big rival not just N Q F

Yes. Yes. We are getting there. Few things are as revealing of Albertos form then post/pre-stage interviews. Dark were the moments when he after every stage was all like "great/good sensations". But this is a massive jump: "anything can happen". "Hard climb". "Will see how i feel". "If i can i will try". "Tejay is also a rival".

Good observation.
Knowing "Alberto's speaking" he is getting better

 

[SeriousSam]

Is that really a robust association? Contador doing well when post stage sandbagging and not doing well when talking about good sensations? Seems spurious.

 

[jilbiker]

Bertie fans are constantly reliving the nightmare of 2013. If Bertie had 2013 in his mind like his fans he would have packed up his bags and stayed at home.

Lets get over it.

Its two years ago , AC has changed, Froome has changed, cycling has changed. Some fans have already given up, this is the same AC that came back after being almost 1 minute behind Rodriguez in Vuelta 2012, beaten all over place, came back from 1 minute down (in that race) almost singlehandly at Montirolo in Giro 2015. He is not a loser and while some fans cannot see any light in the tunnel, he sees plenty of light.

His plan is to peak physically and race sense week 2 and 3. A strong Froome means a worthy opponent, but the bottom line is that its the smartest that will win the battle.

I do think AC needs to add something to his normal strategy, he waits to see weakness in his opponent before he drives the nail in. He does not normally force weakness in his opponent. Froome uses his team to force weakness in his opponent and then drives the nail in. Although in 2011 Giro (and that is the only time I have seen AC do that in a GT) he was so strong he simply drove his opponents to weakness. If he is waiting to see weakness in Froome, he better get a suntan lotion and enjoy the sun. He needs to force that weakness someway or the other.

 

[Matteo.]

Re:

Is that really a robust association? Contador doing well when post stage sandbagging and not doing well when talking about good sensations? Seems spurious.

Contador is always a "liar" when he speaking of shapes , attack plans ecc.
Do you discover today?
Don't you remember when he talking of winning stages in Vuelta 2014 ? This is only an example

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Bertie fans are constantly reliving the nightmare of 2013. If Bertie had 2013 in his mind like his fans he would have packed up his bags and stayed at home.

Lets get over it.

Indeed, sometimes I can't help but think about 2013, and expect him to get dropped like a stone

But NO.

It will not happen, I refuse to believe it. As you said, it is a good thing Alberto is not as pessimistic as most of his fans. Alberto has not been brilliant so far but in 2013 he was in horrific shape.

He seems to be riding into form. On Tuesday, I believe he will follow Froome or lose maybe 10-15 seconds in the final km.
Froome is in monster shape right now, but I doubt he can keep it up.

 

[cantpedal]

Re: Re:

_O_

Damn, Roman, Rafa and Berto are going to blow up the mountains, I am sure of it. The Stick Man better watch out, and remember, Roman is a good descender too.......

Who would have thought Basso of all people would make it all the way to the finish in the TTT

I think losing Bennati and Tosatto early on really cost them..

I think Bennati and Tossatto going all out early and taking the longest pulls was the plan, maybe they lost them earlier than expected but stuff like that can happen. It wasn't a bad performance, I don't think it that the Giro TTT was that much better, this time they just had way stronger competition.

the problem may be not that AC road the Giro but that most of his team did as well.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

the problem may be not that AC road the Giro but that most of his team did as well.

Kreuziger, Rogers and even Basso are looking stronger than at the Giro

 

[cantpedal]

Re: Re:

the problem may be not that AC road the Giro but that most of his team did as well.

Kreuziger, Rogers and even Basso are looking stronger than at the Giro

those racing days don't go away, but at times AC looked like he raced the Giro alone so maybe

 

[Jelantik]

maybe the pessimistic atmosphere in this forum, because there's no air of invincibility on Contador's performance so far. We are used to have the confidence every time he lines up on GT, that he is the strongest and ready to demolish everyone along the way. But as someone mention previously, Contador changes, cycling has changed too and his opponent, fitness, marginal gain etc are changes too. He doesn't have that air of dominance again at this TDF. In fact probably more vulnerable (that's why all this pessimistic atmosphere starts). Even most people are busier talking about Quintana (who got 1+ deficit) to get the better of him and will the only one who will most likely challenge Froome. well, If Contador in his 2013 shape maybe. But same can be said that it's not that easy to gain time from AC (unless he sucks like 2013) and same goes to it's hard for everyone try to gain time to Froome. Froome said it best on last year Vuelta. You never gives up time to Contador. If that rings true, Quintana better bring his extra extra A game to gain time from him. Before Quintana can face froome, he needs to leapfrog contador first. And with Contador's preparation, he won't dare to show up like 2013. Nuf said about Giro leg. it's part of his programme formula to win the double. So like Mic Rogers says below, it will be interesting to see how the preparation between coming fresh vs giro leg play out at the coming days.

Mick rogers:

“The Tour is always a grind. The Giro is more about legs whereas at the Tour you need that mental aspect to keep pushing on. The physical difference between the top 10 or 20 guys is minimal and sometimes you can make a lot of difference if you’re prepared to suffer on for ten more minutes.”

for that.. AC got lots of them

 

[ad9898]

Re: Re:

Bertie fans are constantly reliving the nightmare of 2013. If Bertie had 2013 in his mind like his fans he would have packed up his bags and stayed at home.

Lets get over it.

Indeed, sometimes I can't help but think about 2013, and expect him to get dropped like a stone

But NO.

It will not happen, I refuse to believe it. As you said, it is a good thing Alberto is not as pessimistic as most of his fans. Alberto has not been brilliant so far but in 2013 he was in horrific shape.

He seems to be riding into form. On Tuesday, I believe he will follow Froome or lose maybe 10-15 seconds in the final km.
Froome is in monster shape right now, but I doubt he can keep it up.

Froome won't win the Tour, I expect Alberto to lose a few seconds in the Pyrenees. He will be in shape for the Alps, needing around 1.30 on Froome, he'll get that as Froome starts to lose his form. Of course at the moment 1.03 behind Froome with Froome's form doesn't look good, have faith.... it won't last.

 

[Ramira]

Re: Re:

the problem may be not that AC road the Giro but that most of his team did as well.

Kreuziger, Rogers and even Basso are looking stronger than at the Giro

those racing days don't go away, but at times AC looked like he raced the Giro alone so maybe

That depends how they rode the Giro though. Most of them were thoroughly disappointing in the Giro, if that was cause they couldn't do better that's one thing, if it was because they were riding into form it could be fine. Remember Ullrich used to ride the Giro to prepare for the TDF, and he used to finish somewhere near 100th place.

 

[jmdirt]

I think AC's form is going to get better. He rested after the GdI, trained easy, and did a small camp. The first week of the TdF was still part of his build phase. We'l see...

 

[The Hitch]

Re: Re:

lol, take a deep breath and count to 10 flo. End of the day its just a sport. As I told you once before in the long run you'll be better off experiencing heartbreak by watching sport, since it prepares you for the traumas that real life can bring, without offering any real consequences. You can take it out on me, and other posters, if you want, but what does it really get you? And anyway, what do you think was wrong with my post? I don't really see how my opinion on Contador's failure thus far and chances to take time, warrant Wiggins like insults.

Why the f would I be experiencing heartbreak? That's just nonsense. You're just making me depressed with your pessimistic bullcrap and I can't stand that.

Flo, all I said was what Ive always said. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. One can't expect Contador to have a guaranteed minute on the downhill because that's not how cycling works. ANd Froome does look like he will have the advantage, which is what every single person who saw the first week thinks.

Don't get where the accusation of bitterness comes from. What the hell is bitter about saying that.

The other post I made was criticising the team for not doing their job because if you go for a Giro Tour double you need to be squeezing every second out of every opportunity. This is common sense really, and I think everyone has said it at some point.

Don't see what you find so upsetting.

 

[SeriousSam]

Re: Re:

Is that really a robust association? Contador doing well when post stage sandbagging and not doing well when talking about good sensations? Seems spurious.

Contador is always a "liar" when he speaking of shapes , attack plans ecc.
Do you discover today?
Don't you remember when he talking of winning stages in Vuelta 2014 ? This is only an example

His statements aren't useful for predicting how he'll fare against his competitors. Seems a clear case of tea leaf reading.