Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[King Boonen]

There will be too many non-GC guys going for the win and yellow today, even at 75% I would think he should be fine.

 

[Miburo]

No first test is wednesday for sure

 

[Arredondo]

Le Lioran stage will be brutal. Especially if you're not 100%.

Just ask Cunego.

 

[trevim]

I feel for Alberto it's a shame to start the Tour like this, specially when you're facing such strong riders as Froome or Quintana. Why can't Tinkoff ride like Astana or Sky who are always close to the front, rarely pulling and usually united. Tinkoff is either pulling at the front or scattered all over the peloton which is not understandable with Bodnar, Gatto, Sagan, Tosatto and Valgren all there for the flats (not to mention Kreuziger who's handy as well).

I always hope he recovers and does well but at the end of the day he's already on the back foot specially if he loses time today.

Vamos Alberto!

 

[Matteo.]

Stage 5 is certainly interesting and tough. But the climbs are short and a bit far from the finish line, not to mention that the final climb is easy. Who has the balls to make a hard race on this path? Certainly not Froome or Quintana. Probably only Nibali, but has the Giro in his legs and I don't see him as pretender to the final victory.
For me, Alberto will survive without any problems

 

[boasson]

Re:

Stage 5 is certainly interesting and tough. But the climbs are short and a bit far from the finish line, not to mention that the final climb is easy. Who has the balls to make a hard race on this path? Certainly not Froome or Quintana. Probably only Nibali, but has the Giro in his legs and I don't see him as pretender to the final victory.
For me, Alberto will survive without any problems

Well, its for 100 percent sure, that Kiri, Poels and Nieve will make the pace over this climbs. Maybe Henao too. That means, there are less than 30 men together at the finish.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Stage 5 is certainly interesting and tough. But the climbs are short and a bit far from the finish line, not to mention that the final climb is easy. Who has the balls to make a hard race on this path? Certainly not Froome or Quintana. Probably only Nibali, but has the Giro in his legs and I don't see him as pretender to the final victory.
For me, Alberto will survive without any problems

Well, its for 100 percent sure, that Kiri, Poels and Nieve will make the pace over this climbs. Maybe Henao too. That means, there are less than 30 men together at the finish.

So it's irrelevant. If he can't handle that easily, he'll be too late for the pyrenees anyway

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Sounds like the finish of today's stage is not as selective as I first thought. I don't think Contador will lose any time, despite the injuries, and in fact I predict he'll lead out Sagan for the stage win

I think the main focus for Contador today is to try not to lose any time, very much doubt he'll do any leadout duties, esp. after the crash

Rodriguez and Valverde might get clear by a few seconds but that is no great concern for the overall.

 

[lenric]

Today's stage is more dangerous for Contador than the fifth one.
Contador may have not slept all that well tonight, which will hinder his performance. 3 days from now he'll be way better and the last part of the stage doesn't present a real challenge like today's one.

Apart from today, and some unexpected situations (such as a mechanical, or a fall), I don't see anything happening before friday.

 

[perico]

They sounded confident this am, according to the tour tracker

 

[HelloDolly]

In fairness with Valgren, Sagan & Bodnar and Kreuziger that this stage should suit Tinkoff skills and they should be able to keep Contador safe near the front tillthe end

Its harder than it looks on paper but really for a fast rouler stage

 

[Carols]

I just returned from a Euro vacation to find out Berto has had a bad crash on the very first stage He always seems jinxed at Le Tour..... Watching the film it's a miracle his collarbone or shoulder were not fractured so hopefully he will be okay in a few days. But it is a really Lousy way to start the race and he is already on the back foot after 1/2 stage of 21. Stinks!!!

Heal well Berto and come back strong. Good to hear his morale is still high .

 

[ILovecycling]

Re: Re:

Contador this morning to #eurosport::
"I had a bad night but my moral is still very strong."

Hard to know if that's 100% true, but it seems logical

This sucks. His recovery after (hard) flat stages will be totally rubish before Aspin because of those bruises.
His only chance to hold Quintana and Froome wheels is monster form in the 1st week which is unlikely imo.

 

[lenric]

Re: Re:

Contador this morning to #eurosport::
"I had a bad night but my moral is still very strong."

Hard to know if that's 100% true, but it seems logical

This sucks. His recovery after (hard) flat stages will be totally rubish before Aspin because of those bruises.
His only chance to hold Quintana and Froome wheels is monster form in the 1st week which is unlikely imo.

I can see Nibali as being the beacon Contador will need at the descend to reduce the differences to Froome/Quintana.

 

[fantomas]

Ouch!

 

[Billopoulos]

Bye bye Tour?

 

[Marco Pantani]

Terrible

 

[MatParker117]

If he rides like that in the mountains, Froome and Quintana will beat him to death.

 

[Scarponi]

God damn this stuff always happens

 

[Valv.Piti]

Weird situation with Kreuziger and Sagan up the road, while their captains is losing almost 1 minute.

Tour effectively over. Winning, that is.

 

[Pricey_sky]

A shame to see, obviously suffering a lot from the crash.

 

[contador_attacks]

It's over.

 

[Miburo]

Ok tour is over, at least we've an excuse

 

[cineteq]

Re:

Every year a new excuse

Ok tour is over, at least we've an excuse

 

[moi123]

What is this. I don't understand why Tinkoff was riding for Sagan there at the end. Have they given up on Contador already. Kreuzinger was pulling at the front, while Conta was struggling to keep pace. Now they have to work for the yellow also.