Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Red Rick]

Jup, Froome's sooner gonna get stuck in Alberto's gravitational field than drop him.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Damn, he looks considerably thicker. RVV-PR double next year for sure.

That is it! He will trick us all into believing he will go for another Tour title but in fact he has his eyes on a way different title: best rider in the history of the sport MSR - RVV - PR triple next year with E3 and Omloop thrown in for good measure.

 

[Red Rick]

After that he'll win the WCRR on the flattest of roads for good measure, obviously

 

[LaFlorecita]

Oh my he does seem to have put on a few pounds, quite a few! The wife better cool it with the home made sweets .

Look at them cheeks anyway, he doesn't have to be in top shape at this point. Maybe it is too hard for him to be super skinny all year, in that case it would be better for him to let go in the off-season and then gradually work towards his ideal weight

 

[Carols]

Oh my he does seem to have put on a few pounds, quite a few! The wife better cool it with the home made sweets .

Look at them cheeks anyway, he doesn't have to be in top shape at this point. Maybe it is too hard for him to be super skinny all year, in that case it would be better for him to let go in the off-season and then gradually work towards his ideal weight

He is Thick!!! Soon he'll look like Ulle!!! Just as long as he doesn't go all Bentancur .

It is okay to relax the regimen a bit, heaven knows he's earned it, but he doesn't want to have to much to lose either. It is easier to gain and harder to lose the older one gets.

 

[No_Balls]

Jan Ullrich-style

Has he ever been this big during off-season?

 

[Carols]

Jan Ullrich-style

Has he ever been this big during off-season?

No and it's only September! Imagine what he'll look like after the holidays???? Hopefully he gets it under control .

2016 is the final season, he just can't make the sacrifices anymore I guess.

 

[ray j willings]

its September, get a grip people.

who's this porker?

 

[Carols]

its September, get a grip people.

Exactly, it's only early September. In one month he has turned Thick, what will he look like in 2 months??

 

[ray j willings]

its September, get a grip people.

Exactly, it's only early September. In one month he has turned Thick, what will he look like in 2 months??

like this

Seriously , Bertie has been there and done it all. He's got it under control ....Its September lets see what he looks like when its time to rock. Lean and mean. Don't worry.

 

[No_Balls]

Ray, that is zig-zag and motopacing Froome. Not very comforting.

Jan Ullrich-style

Has he ever been this big during off-season?

No and it's only September! Imagine what he'll look like after the holidays???? Hopefully he gets it under control .

2016 is the final season, he just can't make the sacrifices anymore I guess.

I picture myself that he is living out everything that he have lost during season so that he in due time doesnt need to miss out anything when it is time to go down to business. But he need to take control of that so he wont come back too much overweight. Ulle knows all about that,

 

[ray j willings]

Ray, that is zig-zag and motopacing Froome. Not very comforting.

Jan Ullrich-style

Has he ever been this big during off-season?

No and it's only September! Imagine what he'll look like after the holidays???? Hopefully he gets it under control .

2016 is the final season, he just can't make the sacrifices anymore I guess.

I picture myself that he is living out everything that he have lost during season so that he in due time doesnt need to miss out anything when it is time to go down to business. But he need to take control of that so he wont come back too much overweight. Ulle knows all about that,

Has Bertie ever come in to a tour fat?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Don't be so mean, he is a little chubby but not a pig this is a pic of a couple days ago:

 

[Carols]

Re:

Don't be so mean, he is a little chubby but not a pig this is a pic of a couple days ago:

That pic is much more flattering than the race ones....phew he's not that thick . Pics can be so deceiving.

 

[jsem94]

It's all about the angles, and lighting.

 

[The Hitch]

Re: Re:

In all reality how could Froome cope with that Astana machine for 3 weeks when he was struggling to hang onto Thomas's wheel towards the end of week 2? That's answers question 2 as well.
And I also posted"if you care to look a few pages back" exactly what Froome said when the 2015 tour route was announced. If you read it, it confirms that Froome switched his plans to avoid Contador and that is a FACT.

That is true. +1000.

Nothing Ray has ever posted about Froome has confirmed what he claims. It is entirely opinion stated as fact. I don't think Contador rode the Giro to avoid Froome and I don't think Froome avoided the Giro to ride the Tour because of Contador.

You may be right but when the 2015 tour route was announced [ you can read froomes exact words I posted a few pages back] Froome thought the Giro suited him better as the tour was very mountainous and Giro- Vuelta
double seemed a better option . He also said that" Contador would be favourite to win the tour"
It was not until Contador made his plans clear i.e.the double, then Froome /Sky announced their plans in which Froome did a complete turn around and decided He would just ride the tour.
Make of that what you will.

So he never actually said he would do Giro Vuelta. You made it up yourself.

As I thought.

 

[BlurryVII]

Re: Re:

No I'm not misreading blurry. He straight up said that nibs and froome were avoiding contador. And it's in character with other ridiculous things he has said.

And doesn't contador every year say he is open to doing the giro. I remember he refused to rule it out in 2011 (for next year) and in 2012 gazzeta even had the rumour that he would be back for 13. Ultimately he always ends up ruling it out in the season.

Same thing froome and Nibali were doing.

I thought you were a serious poster before, with some interesting opinions, but your posts are actually absolute bullcrap without even going into details. It's ridiculous what you say, all the time. Picturing yourself as someone who likes Contador more than Froome, doesn't make your posts any more objective than a die hard fan. Just so you know.

Who started the topic about who avoided who? Again, who started the argument? Wasn't it someone who claimed Contador basically avoided a direct confrontation against Froome at the Tour?

I replied that if anything, the one who more likely avoided the other are Froome (and Nibali) . BECAUSE they actually strongly considered riding the Giro. And Froome even wanted to do the Giro - Vuelta double. And changed their mind right after Contador confirmed, officially on twitter doing the Giro-Tour double. It's an observation, simple as that.

So I have no idea where you're going with your TDF business. It's simple common sense. It doesn't make any sense if someone says Contador is the one who avoided the other. Not only for the schedule annoucement timing, but also for his stellar 2014 season, and he had no problem targetting the Tour that year after an awful 2013 season.

Keep in mind that I never said Froome avoided Contador straight up. I'm not the one who starts the provocations .

 

[Electress]

Re:

Yes Electress - please stay - or at least come back next year when Alberto starts rocking again!

Aw, thanks ladies! Thanks. I will definitely be in and out once the season is over and the post-Tour nonsense has died down.

And give AC a break…just think of all the Kit Kats he's been missing!! His mind and his body need a bit of relaxation. I don't think he's going to be sporting a beer-belly any time soon!

Cheers for now.

 

[Red Rick]

Maybe make a seperate thread for that subject?

Anyway, I missed Contador today.

Or Nibali

Or any other rider not afraid of attacking with more than 1k to go

 

[ray j willings]

Re: Re:

In all reality how could Froome cope with that Astana machine for 3 weeks when he was struggling to hang onto Thomas's wheel towards the end of week 2? That's answers question 2 as well.
And I also posted"if you care to look a few pages back" exactly what Froome said when the 2015 tour route was announced. If you read it, it confirms that Froome switched his plans to avoid Contador and that is a FACT.

That is true. +1000.

Nothing Ray has ever posted about Froome has confirmed what he claims. It is entirely opinion stated as fact. I don't think Contador rode the Giro to avoid Froome and I don't think Froome avoided the Giro to ride the Tour because of Contador.

You may be right but when the 2015 tour route was announced [ you can read froomes exact words I posted a few pages back] Froome thought the Giro suited him better as the tour was very mountainous and Giro- Vuelta
double seemed a better option . He also said that" Contador would be favourite to win the tour"
It was not until Contador made his plans clear i.e.the double, then Froome /Sky announced their plans in which Froome did a complete turn around and decided He would just ride the tour.
Make of that what you will.

So he never actually said he would do Giro Vuelta. You made it up yourself.

As I thought.

I think there is a strong suggestion here that Froome favoured riding the Giro and Vuelta 2015.

These are his exact words.

" I see myself as quite a balanced GC rider and the Giro with its inclusion of a long TT of 60km [37 miles] and tough uphill finishes will make it a well-balanced race which suits me well.

“If I did the Giro I may also be able to get myself back to top shape for the Vuelta and go there with a realistic chance of aiming for the win.

“In the past I’ve only targeted one grand tour each season but it could be a good opportunity for me to focus seriously on two. It’s still early days though and we’ll have to sit down and put our heads together as a team to work out what 2015 is going to look like for us"

 

[BlurryVII]

Re: Re:

I think there is a strong suggestion here that Froome favoured riding the Giro and Vuelta 2015.

These are his exact words.

" I see myself as quite a balanced GC rider and the Giro with its inclusion of a long TT of 60km [37 miles] and tough uphill finishes will make it a well-balanced race which suits me well.

“If I did the Giro I may also be able to get myself back to top shape for the Vuelta and go there with a realistic chance of aiming for the win.

“In the past I’ve only targeted one grand tour each season but it could be a good opportunity for me to focus seriously on two. It’s still early days though and we’ll have to sit down and put our heads together as a team to work out what 2015 is going to look like for us"

But he doesn't care about facts, he knows better. It's all about the Tour, the TDF business you know. he was always gonna do the tour anyway. And contador always changes his mind even after confirming schedule on twitter.

 

[djpbaltimore]

Those quotes suggest a pretty non-committal attitude toward the Giro IMO. I have no problem with people suggesting that Froome wanted to avoid Contador, but I do have a problem with people repeatedly claiming that opinion as a fact. Prior to 2015, Froome had squared off against Contador in the last 4 GTs that he had ridden. I don't understand why losing the Vuelta by 70 seconds would all of a sudden elicit fear in Froome, but YMMV. Until someone can post a quote that actually confirms Froome's appearance at the Giro, I am not buying this argument.

 

[ray j willings]

Re:

Those quotes suggest a pretty non-committal attitude toward the Giro IMO. I have no problem with people suggesting that Froome wanted to avoid Contador, but I do have a problem with people repeatedly claiming that opinion as a fact. Prior to 2015, Froome had squared off against Contador in the last 4 GTs that he had ridden. I don't understand why losing the Vuelta by 70 seconds would all of a sudden elicit fear in Froome, but YMMV. Until someone can post a quote that actually confirms Froome's appearance at the Giro, I am not buying this argument.

He[ Froome] has just seen the tour route for 2015, those were his exact words. He obviously did not fancy riding the tour when he saw the route or he would not have made those comments. He also said exact words
" Contador would be the favourite" So at that point Bertie had not decided on his plans.
Once Bertie decided to go for the double , Sky/Froome then announced they would ride the tour which is going against all the statements that Froome made above. The fact he stated that Contador would be favourite is quite telling. Contador beat Froome all 2014 and IMO once Froome/ Sky knew Contador was riding the giro then they realised their best option/chance for a GT victory would be at the tour against a tired Contador.
Obviously you can opt to believe what you want but IMO it looks very much like Sky/ Froome wanted to avoid Contador.

 

[djpbaltimore]

Re: Re:

He[ Froome] has just seen the tour route for 2015, those were his exact words. He obviously did not fancy riding the tour when he saw the route or he would not have made those comments. He also said exact words
" Contador would be the favourite" So at that point Bertie had not decided on his plans.
Once Bertie decided to go for the double , Sky/Froome then announced they would ride the tour which is going against all the statements that Froome made above. The fact he stated that Contador would be favourite is quite telling. Contador beat Froome all 2014 and IMO once Froome/ Sky knew Contador was riding the giro then they realised their best option/chance for a GT victory would be at the tour against a tired Contador.
Obviously you can opt to believe what you want but IMO it looks very much like Sky/ Froome wanted to avoid Contador.

I really can't put much stock in what someone says in a knee-jerk reaction just after seeing a route. It is the equivalent of a football coach speaking right after a game. As I've stated before, your correlation does not equal causation when discussing the temporal chain of events. I think it is 90% likely that Froome would've been forced to ride the Tour due to sponsors even if he disliked the route (...that he eventually won anyway). That is why he was so circumspect with his comments, because he knew that it was not strictly his decision. Based on 2014, Contador should've been called the favorite.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

Don't be so mean, he is a little chubby but not a pig this is a pic of a couple days ago:

That pic is much more flattering than the race ones....phew he's not that thick . Pics can be so deceiving.

I've always thought it hilarious what we consider "fat" when talking about pro cyclist. I'd love to be as fit as he is right now!