Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[SergeDeM]

Re: Re:

- Nibali in last year's shape would have been very close to Froome in the climbs and in other words he would had a good shot at winning this Tour.

-Contador from last year's vuelta would have been right there up with Froome on stage 10.

-Quintana has this Tour shown that he can match Froome over several mountain stages but he can't match Froome on a single all out climb if they are both fresh and in top shape.

Exactly what I think.

Agreed. Which is why they're the Fab 4.

 

[arvc40]

Re:

I wonder if Quintana could have matched Froome by just trying harder and going into the red. It blows my mind that a guy like Porte can apparently do a single long climb quicker than Quintana.

I predict Froome dropping Quintana tmoz no matter how hard he tries

 

[Energy Starr]

Re:

Contador is doing a meritable Tour. He is the best after the other big names and valverde with hot. Bot easy after to win il Giro. I thinj wothout the Giro he wanst at the lebel of Froome and Quintana, but of course with this performance it is just an opinion, becouse he is strong.

He has showed for sure he can recover well from a GT. Not everybody can do it mentally and phisically.

I think Froome is another of those guys, We will see if he go for la Vuelta if he win le Tour, becouse you are always very busy in august: criteriums, celebrations,...With Quintana, Nibali, Van Garderen and Valverde again and with Aru, Landa, Pozzovivo, Bananito from il Giro will be really difficult.

But first and 5th is a good result IMO, and it is good to see him attacking from far, that help to do the stage harder and more spectacular at the end, even with a not very strong attack.

Hey who are you and what have you done with our Taxus?

 

[Kwibus]

Re: Re:

I wonder if Quintana could have matched Froome by just trying harder and going into the red. It blows my mind that a guy like Porte can apparently do a single long climb quicker than Quintana.

It would have been very interesting if everything else in this tour would have been the same but the final climb on stage 10 would have angliru or zoncolan. I doubt very much Froome would have put 1min into Quintana in that case even if both are fresh going into that climb.

Stage 10 was most of all a huge let down by any other rider then Froome(and his doms) and Gesink.
Froome did exactly what he had to do and did it really well, but the others were simply not at their best level.

 

[Carols]

Another horrid day He has suffered this entire race......


"It was a day where I had to survive. I started with bad sensations and cramps all day so I had to save energy as much as I could. I sent Majka to pull at the front and he set the pace and it calmed a bit down. Things turned out quite well. Nibali is now ahead in the GC and I congratulate him for that. It's true he did a very good job today. In what regards me, I think it deserves more merit to have reached this point than previous victories. I had strong cramps throughout the day and I was praying to make it through. Tomorrow will be another day”, comments Alberto Contador, who finished 9th in the group of GC riders:

“We will see how I will feel tomorrow. The most important thing right now is to have a very good massage and recover. My muscles and tendons suffered a lot because the extreme heat dehydrated me. The most important aspect is to recover for tomorrow”.

 

[Jelantik]

Re: Re:

Looks like Contador will be the only one of the 4 who will get absolutely nothing out of this Tour. Last chance tomorrow.

He will obtain the best double result of the last 17 years and probably next 20

He had 1-5 in 2011 already

He will be 1-4 tomorrow

Doubt it, I think Nibali will finish with Alberto and Valverde a long ways behind Froome and Quintana. Those two will fight for the win. I can't see Nibali lose over 1 minute tomorrow, he looked super strong today

my thought so too. I hope he gave Valverde the run for his money!!! But maybe he will pay tomorrow too, for attacking that long range. I just wish it was contador who does the long range. But he just doesn't have the leg. He can wish and want, but his leg say.. 'enough'.. even jen's shut up leg won't have any effect. One can hope, it's raining, and for one last straw, he feels superb... but uhh.. it's a stretch probably.

 

[Jelantik]

Another horrid day He has suffered this entire race......


"It was a day where I had to survive. I started with bad sensations and cramps all day so I had to save energy as much as I could. I sent Majka to pull at the front and he set the pace and it calmed a bit down. Things turned out quite well. Nibali is now ahead in the GC and I congratulate him for that. It's true he did a very good job today. In what regards me, I think it deserves more merit to have reached this point than previous victories. I had strong cramps throughout the day and I was praying to make it through. Tomorrow will be another day”, comments Alberto Contador, who finished 9th in the group of GC riders:

“We will see how I will feel tomorrow. The most important thing right now is to have a very good massage and recover. My muscles and tendons suffered a lot because the extreme heat dehydrated me. The most important aspect is to recover for tomorrow”.

I guess this is a sound of a fatigue body. With the heat.. it's just make everything come to a big melt down. Can't give no more. But he hide it pretty well though. And manage to ride with Valverde. Oh gosh.. poor this guy. he is grasping his last straw

 

[Carols]

Another horrid day He has suffered this entire race......


"It was a day where I had to survive. I started with bad sensations and cramps all day so I had to save energy as much as I could. I sent Majka to pull at the front and he set the pace and it calmed a bit down. Things turned out quite well. Nibali is now ahead in the GC and I congratulate him for that. It's true he did a very good job today. In what regards me, I think it deserves more merit to have reached this point than previous victories. I had strong cramps throughout the day and I was praying to make it through. Tomorrow will be another day”, comments Alberto Contador, who finished 9th in the group of GC riders:

“We will see how I will feel tomorrow. The most important thing right now is to have a very good massage and recover. My muscles and tendons suffered a lot because the extreme heat dehydrated me. The most important aspect is to recover for tomorrow”.

I guess this is a sound of a fatigue body. With the heat.. it's just make everything come to a big melt down. Can't give no more. But he hide it pretty well though. And manage to ride with Valverde. Oh gosh.. poor this guy. he is grasping his last straw

He did a grand job of hiding it! This is the one that really makes how bad it is hit home: "I think it deserves more merit to have reached this point than previous victories." There isn't much left in the tank that is for sure!

Hang on for one more day Campeon Alberto!

 

[webvan]

Creditable race and without that unfortunate fall the podium would be within reach. Still it's a bit sad to see a great champion struggling like that, same as in 2013 except there's a clear explanation this time and not indicative of a "decline". Anyway with one year to go... Hope he can go out with a bang next year.

 

[Simurgh]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz7mxU0nZWk

Hope he will reach the heights of 2014 next year, his (probably) last year, because he's one of the greats in cycling. 9 (or 8 or 7, whatever) Grand Tour victories is not something many has achieved, and certainly not anyone in this generation (but Alberto himself). Just a repeat of 2014 without the crash in the Tour, and destroy everyone there one last time (except Pinot, coming in as a close 2nd ofc ). The man who really opened my eyes to cycling in a Tour de France, where despite bad luck and crashes, he still had the balls to risk it all on the most famous cycling stage of all: The Alpe d'Huez..

Riders like Alberto (and Nibali too) are those, who ride with brain, and with heart..

I know that all I have written above are well-known facts but sometimes, especially in these days, where Bertie isn't on top, it's good to remember how much he has given to this sport and its fans

 

[Red Rick]

Jup, pretty much sounds like he's going way too deep all Tour long which already started during the Giro. Doubling up may be possible, but with all the minor and major setbacks he's had inbetween it was always gonna be incredibly hard. That and the fact that if he has a weakness its probably heat and allergy, not allowing him to recover as well as he normally does. You see how he still tries by going with speculative moves really early on but even in that breakaway group he was hanging way back, like he has to pay for his efforst very soon. You could see that later when he was following Froome on la Toussuire and then just bonked completely. It just shows that when he goes deep, he hits the wall immediately, and this has happened all Tour long. The basis is there, but he's not had the chance to recover properly from the Giro, which was way harder than anticipated anyway.

Anyway, he tried, he didn't have the luck. He's got the Giro, if you consider this season a disaster, you clearly hold him to high standards. Hopefully he comes back next year to light things up in the Tour, which I really want him to win again because all the setbacks and heartbreak he's had there.



I was actually imagining a scenario earlier where all of the big have major crashes and end up in the gruppetto together, with Contador going like "well guys, at least there's one guy in here with a GT win this year"

 

[Rollthedice]

There was one thing bugging me all along. I think that idiot Oleg pushed Contador to do the double, he was even going with the insane proposition for the triple. In this time and age with very strong contenders and teams which focus 100% on Tour de France it is almost impossible to do the double. Chapeau for the Giro, it was very hard to win against a whole team (Astana) who rode all the stages like their life depended on it but in order to win Le Tour one has to focus entirely on it. Even the great one. Next year hopefully he'll be back stronger.

 

[warmfuzzies]

Re:

There was one thing bugging me all along. I think that idiot Oleg pushed Contador to do the double, he was even going with the insane proposition for the triple. In this time and age with very strong contenders and teams which focus 100% on Tour de France it is almost impossible to do the double. Chapeau for the Giro, it was very hard to win against a whole team (Astana) who rode all the stages like their life depended on it but in order to win Le Tour one has to focus entirely on it. Even the great one. Next year hopefully he'll be back stronger.

The 'double' PR campaign was brilliant, given Contador's age. This sets him up for max sponsorships while not really providing much downside. He competes against a lesser field in the Giro and wins (yay, he's back, and he's the best ever). If he loses the Giro, then his real objective was always the Tour.

He wins the Tour, too, and he's the GOAT. If he loses the Tour, then 'Oleg is an idiot, nobody can accomplish the double these days.' Anyway you go, it maximizes Contador's shelf-life and income prospects. . .

 

[LaFlorecita]

Warmfuzzies are you aware Contador will retire next year? He doesn't need to maximize his shelf-life as he isn't planning on staying around till it ends anyway.

 

[Miburo]

Fleur i guarantee you, he won't retire next year lol

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Fleur i guarantee you, he won't retire next year lol

I prefer to trust him on this.
Maybe he'll stay around until 2017 if he doesn't win the Tour next year.

 

[Sciocco]

2017 is 100th Giro, I want to see him stomp Nibali and Aru in that race.

Hopefully Nibali remembers there are races outside of July by then...

Any chance he really races San Sebastian? Maybe an attack on Jaizkibel...

 

[warmfuzzies]

Re:

Warmfuzzies are you aware Contador will retire next year? He doesn't need to maximize his shelf-life as he isn't planning on staying around till it ends anyway.

I recall another TdF winner retiring, sort of like a Disney movie going into the vault. . . To create a shortage and maximize long term revenue prospects. . .

 

[Jelantik]

so is contador going to do san sebastian? judging from today's performance.. it doesn't seem he has the form to even lift the pedal anymore. He must be suffered like a dog today.

Btw, I haven't heard him saying.. i've already thinking about next year. Anyway, I hope, being helpless the entire week and not being able to go with the best will be good enough motivation to give the Tour another shot next year.

 

[Poursuivant]

I can't remember what the poster was who said it, but I agree with them when they basically said Giro-Tour is possible but you need a lot of luck like, a lot of competitors crashing out, being off form etc...

Big respect to Contador for trying, and you can see he has suffered big time this tour too, but I am convinced he will be back next year.

I know there has been a lot of tiresome talk about would he of beat Nibali last year, in my opinion he would have decimated him but it is largely irrelevant apart from showing that he is capable of getting to that level again next year, because even though he has a Giro win, he has been sub-par: for his level, in my opinion.

I think it comes down to motivation, and next year he will be 10000% motivated because it may be his last.

 

[Sciocco]

so is contador going to do san sebastian? judging from today's performance.. it doesn't seem he has the form to even lift the pedal anymore. He must be suffered like a dog today.

Btw, I haven't heard him saying.. i've already thinking about next year. Anyway, I hope, being helpless the entire week and not being able to go with the best will be good enough motivation to give the Tour another shot next year.

Well, sometimes he has looked decent with some attacks, so maybe a short rest and then just a long range attack at san sebastian would be fun. Valverde will be there too, so he can wheelsuck him for fun as well.

 

[movingtarget]

Contador may have won his last GT unless he can do something special in next year's Tour which is his last according to him. Quintana will only be better next year and I can't see Froome doing the Giro. It will probably be the same four going head to head next year. No more talk of the double thankfully. Contador has looked fatigued throughout and none of his attacks have been effective. Everyone was counting on Froome having a tough time in the first half of the race but it seems that will be where he actually won the race unless Quintana can pull a rabbit out of a hat on the Alpe and Froome is knocked from his bike by an Anti Sky Droid, foaming at the mouth with a beer in his hand. Probably wearing an Astana shirt !

 

[yespatterns]

Re:

I can't remember what the poster was who said it, but I agree with them when they basically said Giro-Tour is possible but you need a lot of luck like, a lot of competitors crashing out, being off form etc...

Big respect to Contador for trying, and you can see he has suffered big time this tour too, but I am convinced he will be back next year.

I know there has been a lot of tiresome talk about would he of beat Nibali last year, in my opinion he would have decimated him but it is largely irrelevant apart from showing that he is capable of getting to that level again next year, because even though he has a Giro win, he has been sub-par: for his level, in my opinion.

I think it comes down to motivation, and next year he will be 10000% motivated because it may be his last.

I sort of agee with this, but challenging for the double just made for too many fish to fry in terms of decision making and form upkeep. Hopefully we'll see others giving it a go in the future if only for the sake of context.

 

[cellardoor]

Re: Re:

I can't remember what the poster was who said it, but I agree with them when they basically said Giro-Tour is possible but you need a lot of luck like, a lot of competitors crashing out, being off form etc...

Big respect to Contador for trying, and you can see he has suffered big time this tour too, but I am convinced he will be back next year.

I know there has been a lot of tiresome talk about would he of beat Nibali last year, in my opinion he would have decimated him but it is largely irrelevant apart from showing that he is capable of getting to that level again next year, because even though he has a Giro win, he has been sub-par: for his level, in my opinion.

I think it comes down to motivation, and next year he will be 10000% motivated because it may be his last.

I sort of agee with this, but challenging for the double just made for too many fish to fry in terms of decision making and form upkeep. Hopefully we'll see others giving it a go in the future if only for the sake of context.

Not sure I agree with this. You can't expect to turn up at the tour in this sort of form and win. There will be crashes and sickness but there will always be at least one person left standing to finish above a contador who is tired and suffering his way through France. Contador has had his share of luck with Porte quitting the Giro, Uran being sick and Aru having bad days. I do think the double is possible but he got something wrong in his prep. Possibly he held back in his winter training because he was worried about peaking too early but actually ended up struggling to make up the difference like in 2013. I wonder whether it would have been better to take the Basso approach in peaking for the end of the Giro so he could rest up for the Tour and not be caught in the conflict of trying to rest and gain his final 10% at the same time.

 

[cellardoor]

Re:

Contador may have won his last GT unless he can do something special in next year's Tour which is his last according to him. Quintana will only be better next year and I can't see Froome doing the Giro. It will probably be the same four going head to head next year. No more talk of the double thankfully. Contador has looked fatigued throughout and none of his attacks have been effective. Everyone was counting on Froome having a tough time in the first half of the race but it seems that will be where he actually won the race unless Quintana can pull a rabbit out of a hat on the Alpe and Froome is knocked from his bike by an Anti Sky Droid, foaming at the mouth with a beer in his hand. Probably wearing an Astana shirt !

What is the basis for thinking he's won his last GT? That last GT win was only a couple of months ago. We could equally have thought he'd won his last GT after the 2011 and 2013 tours but of course that was not the case. His performance in a race where he's clearly tired and/or struggling for form is not really a good indicator of his true ability. I think if he targets the tour he can get back to 2014 form and give Froome and Quintana a run for their money. Whether he'll win or not I don't know, but the point is that I believe he'll be up there battling for it.