Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Jelantik]

is he preparing for next year tour or he is secretly going to ride vuelta?

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

Alberto won a post-Tour criterium in Netherlands today in front of Kruijswijk and Mollema, Froome wasn't even on the podium hehehe

You do know these crits are fixed.

Of course she knows that.

That's why she put in the "hehehe "

 

[Matteo.]

He beated them in a sprint?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

is he preparing for next year tour or he is secretly going to ride vuelta?

No.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Alberto looks quite chubby in yesterday's pics hopefully he doesn't let himself go too much (at least he's still training )

 

[Matteo.]

He was wearing maglia rosa

 

[ILovecycling]

Re:

Alberto looks quite chubby in yesterday's pics hopefully he doesn't let himself go too much (at least he's still training )

Yep,he looked more chubby than february,but I think its only a good feature...he needs to relax psychologically a LOT

 

[SkyTears]

few pictures from a crit
https://www.facebook.com/ProfrondeEL

 

[Red Rick]

Even Froome has put on some weight

 

[Matteo.]

i'm starting to think, he will not retire next year if he will finish on the podium of TdF. He will try the double Giro-Vuelta in 2017 to ''say goodbye'' to his fans and he retires in the end of the season

 

[DFA123]

He should give up Grand Tours now; doesn't really have anything left to prove in them and he probably can't match Quintana or Froome on top form anyway.

It would be great to see him focus for a coupe of years on one day races, see if he could win Lombardia or maybe even LBL or FW. I think he could do better than expected if he peaks specifically for those races.

Also, if he could do well in one of them he could realistically ask to be given a free role in the worlds or olympics. Currently, there is no way he should be considered as a leader for either.

 

[LaFlorecita]

He should definitely keep focusing on stage races. Changes he wins a major 1 day race next year are very very slim while he can continue building his stage race palmares.

For Rio he will definitely get a free role just like he had in some of the Worlds he raced. The Spanish coach won't refuse him. It's that simple.

"He could do better than expected in one day races" I am not sure what your expectations are but he already has top 10s in those races.

 

[Red Rick]

Yeah he should totally focus on getting a few top 10's and have a 5% shot of winning classics instead of trying to approach the records in GT's

 

[DFA123]

Re:

He should definitely keep focusing on stage races. Changes he wins a major 1 day race next year are very very slim while he can continue building his stage race palmares.

For Rio he will definitely get a free role just like he had in some of the Worlds he raced. The Spanish coach won't refuse him. It's that simple.

"He could do better than expected in one day races" I am not sure what your expectations are but he already has top 10s in those races.

I think he could challenge for the win at Lombardia and LBL if he peaked for them. He's got a few of top tens, but has only once looked in the form to win a classic (FW when he finished third).

Who cares if he wins another Vuelta or Giro? I think winning a monument, or even a prestigious classic would do more to elevate him alongside Merckx, Hinault, Anquetil, Coppi etc. than winning another GT in a fairly weak era of GC riders.

 

[Matteo.]

It's too late try seriously win a classic , it's a similar case of attempt of the double.
He is too old and not a specialist for win a Liege or a Fleche or Lombardia , and also the competition is too high.

 

[HelloDolly]

Re: Re:

He should definitely keep focusing on stage races. Changes he wins a major 1 day race next year are very very slim while he can continue building his stage race palmares.

For Rio he will definitely get a free role just like he had in some of the Worlds he raced. The Spanish coach won't refuse him. It's that simple.

"He could do better than expected in one day races" I am not sure what your expectations are but he already has top 10s in those races.

I think he could challenge for the win at Lombardia and LBL if he peaked for them. He's got a few of top tens, but has only once looked in the form to win a classic (FW when he finished third).

Who cares if he wins another Vuelta or Giro? I think winning a monument, or even a prestigious classic would do more to elevate him alongside Merckx, Hinault, Anquetil, Coppi etc. than winning another GT in a fairly weak era of GC riders.

Weak era of GT riders ? Are you insane or just mad
Quintana, Froome & Nibali,are great GT riders and this era is the best since 1980's
If it is so weak as you suggest then how come Contador has not won a Tour since 2009 He won the Giro in 2015 but it was hard going and took a lot out of him. Vuelta in 2012 was also very tough and he won with a smart move
Gosh there is bias and there is bias

 

[Miburo]

Contador had the form to win LBL '10 too, easily had the shape.

 

[KyoGrey]

GT racing is now the strongest it has been since 2005 with 3 and a half super-GT-riders in prime condition.

Contador benefited from a weak GT-riding era...in the years 2007-2011. Only him and Andy Schleck.
Menchov, Evans and Sastre etc were never true 5 stars GT riders.

 

[SeriousSam]

If you look past the hype, the Big 4 story failed to materialise. For one reason or another, tho they are all good GT riders, they aren't riding away from the field together giving each other close duels. Instead, things look like they always have, sadly, if one or two riders crushing the rest. Are Quintana and Nibali any better than Menchov, Evans and Sastre? Nibali isn't, just luckier, and Quintana might go on to be but still isn't.

That said, Lance thought that the period after his retirement till his comeback was a weak era so perhaps there is something to it!

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

If you look past the hype, the Big 4 story failed to materialise. For one reason or another, tho they are all good GT riders, they aren't riding away from the field together giving each other close duels. Instead, things look like they always have, sadly, if one or two riders crushing the rest. Are Quintana and Nibali any better than Menchov, Evans and Sastre? Nibali isn't, just luckier, and Quintana might go on to be but still isn't.

That said, Lance thought that the period after his retirement till his comeback was a weak era so perhaps there is something to it!

They are the 4 riders in the peloton with the highest peaks in terms of absolute climbing level, if you look at how the GT's unfolded last year. Contador and Froome are without a doubt the 2 biggest guns in GT cycling, and both Nibali and Quintana have dominated GT's in similar fashion with similar power outputs. Evans, Menchov and Sastre don't matter now, and the former 2 would never match the big 4 uphill on a level playing field.

The thing is, they're called the big 4 to mirror the big 4 in tennis, where all the best in the world play the slams and 8 out of 9 Masters 1000 series tournaments, and where it's not really a matter of top level, but of consistency. Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray could all reach the semi's whilst not playing their best, and that's what made the big 4. Difference in cycling is that A, riders aim for 1 race, instead of aiming to win every race they do. There's one moment they have to be in the best physical shape. 2, the mass start aspect makes it a lot different too. If you had 1 on 1 GC battles with a seeding system, the likes of Gesink would still be clubbed like baby seals and you'd have at least 3 of the 4 in the last 4.

So are Nibali, Quintana, Froome and Contador the best GC rider's right now? Yes

Does it have any meaning? No, it might have if everyone rode all the GTs and they'd make out the top 4 in all of them.

 

[Red Rick]

GT racing is now the strongest it has been since 2005 with 3 and a half super-GT-riders in prime condition.

Contador benefited from a weak GT-riding era...in the years 2007-2011. Only him and Andy Schleck.
Menchov, Evans and Sastre etc were never true 5 stars GT riders.

You must be one of those people who firmly believe Nadal is a greater player than Federer

 

[Tonton]

Re:

If you look past the hype, the Big 4 story failed to materialise. For one reason or another, tho they are all good GT riders, they aren't riding away from the field together giving each other close duels. Instead, things look like they always have, sadly, if one or two riders crushing the rest. Are Quintana and Nibali any better than Menchov, Evans and Sastre? Nibali isn't, just luckier, and Quintana might go on to be but still isn't.

That said, Lance thought that the period after his retirement till his comeback was a weak era so perhaps there is something to it!

I pretty much agree. I like your posts BTW. I think you know it by now. Only difference (maybe). Bad luck put aside, Froome is above the rest, so there's no Big 4. It's Froome and a second tier with three riders, another tier with 5-6-7 riders. Contador is one of the three: I like your point about Lance thoughts. Contador should do Giro-Vuelta next year and say goodbye. Baring something unpredictable, he'll never beat Dawg in the TdF. No way. Contador should focus on winning the Vuelta and retire.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

If you look past the hype, the Big 4 story failed to materialise. For one reason or another, tho they are all good GT riders, they aren't riding away from the field together giving each other close duels. Instead, things look like they always have, sadly, if one or two riders crushing the rest. Are Quintana and Nibali any better than Menchov, Evans and Sastre? Nibali isn't, just luckier, and Quintana might go on to be but still isn't.

That said, Lance thought that the period after his retirement till his comeback was a weak era so perhaps there is something to it!

I pretty much agree. I like your posts BTW. I think you know it by now. Only difference (maybe). Bad luck put aside, Froome is above the rest, so there's no Big 4. It's Froome and a second tier with three riders, another tier with 5-6-7 riders. Contador is one of the three: I like your point about Lance thoughts. Contador should do Giro-Vuelta next year and say goodbye. Baring something unpredictable, he'll never beat Dawg in the TdF. No way. Contador should focus on winning the Vuelta and retire.

What's your opinion about 2014 AC in relation to Froome?

 

[Big Doopie]

Um... I think it is pretty clear that it sticks in his craw that he has not been able to podium (let alone win) the TDF since he was dq-ed (not talking clinic just simple fact).

Quite rightly, I think he knows that it will always put an asterisk over his whole career, unless he can find a way post-ban.

 

[orangerider]

Bert doesn't have the speed required for one day classics. LBL might be winnable, at most, but nothing more. He's just not trained for that and is too late to change with respect to physiological decline with aging. Stage races are the appropriate choices that leverage his strength.