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Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

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Re:

LaFlorecita said:
It was clear even before the start that the team had no faith in Alberto whatsoever. This is just salt in the wounds.
I hope he drops out, wins the Vuelta, burns his Tinkoff jersey in front of Oleg and rides off on a Trek bike.
So what has Tinkoff exactly done? They supported a way inferior rider for 21 days last year, this was due.
 
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Valv.Piti said:
LaFlorecita said:
It was clear even before the start that the team had no faith in Alberto whatsoever. This is just salt in the wounds.
I hope he drops out, wins the Vuelta, burns his Tinkoff jersey in front of Oleg and rides off on a Trek bike.
So what has Tinkoff exactly done? They supported a way inferior rider for 21 days last year, this was due.

What did Movistar do last year? They backed the wrong horse as well. It happens
 
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Actually, Sky an BMC were the ones who put Contador in trouble. In anything, fanboys, they're the ones to be blamed...
hrotha said:
It's simple, really. If Contador is seriously hurt or sucks in general, 10 seconds ain't gonna make any difference. He won't be anywhere in the GC, and this stage win might well end up saving Tinkoff's Tour. And if Contador isn't seriously hurt and can recover, then sure, he lost some time, but it's not like it's over. If your leader can't stay with the other contenders in a finale like today's, no amount of babysitting is going to help.
 
Jul 19, 2010
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this looks like that it's not going to be Contador's TDF year .. yet again!. Sigh. Bad luck after bad luck.. You can't fight that. From the way Kreuziger said in the interview, Contador should have been there in the front. They did their job to keep both Sagan and Contador up front. He wasn't. So he lost time. Pity. But Tour is still long. But if this bad luck keeps continue, no matter how much he fights, how much his monster form he has, if this isn't his TDF year, he can forget about winning it. Hope his luck gets better and who knows, maybe it's another turn of the other GC.
 
sunnyIce said:
Wow. Just poor positioning and bike handling skills for bertie. Another crash today and loss of 48 seconds. Booyah!

What a lovely thing to do: Coming into AC thread to gloat after someone gets hurt? Today's crash was at the front and affected lots of riders. Just bad luck.

I'm a huge Contador fun, but I think Tinkoff made the right decision. AC's clearly hurt; his recovery is uncertain whatever his pre-race form is like. The team had to take the golden opportunity presented, putting Peter in yellow for the first time in his career.
 
For me it's over instead.He had probably already a level less than froome and quintana.
I do not see to retrieve both 47s in these poor conditions. it is evident that the fall was more serious than expected and it will take much time to recover
Now he can fight for the podium, the victory is definitely waned
 
Jul 19, 2010
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Re:

rhubroma said:
Contador's Tour ended yesterday. Froome 5th...there is only Nairo to ruin the party.

after today, he definitely will ride the Vuelta. Besides, he did say in his interview, froome will most likely take time on the first mountain stage. I didn't expect to be today.
 
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Red Rick said:
Valv.Piti said:
LaFlorecita said:
It was clear even before the start that the team had no faith in Alberto whatsoever. This is just salt in the wounds.
I hope he drops out, wins the Vuelta, burns his Tinkoff jersey in front of Oleg and rides off on a Trek bike.
So what has Tinkoff exactly done? They supported a way inferior rider for 21 days last year, this was due.

What did Movistar do last year? They backed the wrong horse as well. It happens
Yeah, thats surely very relevant to this discussion. You guys are amazing, you, LF and the others. Amazing.
 
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Valv.Piti said:
LaFlorecita said:
It was clear even before the start that the team had no faith in Alberto whatsoever. This is just salt in the wounds.
I hope he drops out, wins the Vuelta, burns his Tinkoff jersey in front of Oleg and rides off on a Trek bike.
So what has Tinkoff exactly done? They supported a way inferior rider for 21 days last year, this was due.
And everything pointed towards Contador being stronger this year, yet the team discarded him from the start.

He's cursed, he should never ride the Tour again. Better to drop out now than ride for a 4th or 5th place and risk more crashes. He would have a good chance to win La Vuelta.
 
Re: Re:

LaFlorecita said:
Valv.Piti said:
LaFlorecita said:
It was clear even before the start that the team had no faith in Alberto whatsoever. This is just salt in the wounds.
I hope he drops out, wins the Vuelta, burns his Tinkoff jersey in front of Oleg and rides off on a Trek bike.
So what has Tinkoff exactly done? They supported a way inferior rider for 21 days last year, this was due.
And everything pointed towards Contador being stronger this year, yet the team discarded him from the start.

He's cursed, he should never ride the Tour again. Better to drop out now than ride for a 4th or 5th place and risk more crashes. He would have a good chance to win La Vuelta.

I agree, everything points towards Contador being stronger this year (he definitely is), but discarded him yesterday? How? I didnt see that.
 
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Jelantik said:
rhubroma said:
Contador's Tour ended yesterday. Froome 5th...there is only Nairo to ruin the party.

after today, he definitely will ride the Vuelta. Besides, he did say in his interview, froome will most likely take time on the first mountain stage. I didn't expect to be today.

It's a pitty, not to be in the condition to fight optimally. The years pass and Sky keeps manufacturing the robocyclist.
 
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Matteo. said:
For me it's over instead.He had probably already a level less than froome and quintana.
I do not see to retrieve both 47s in these poor conditions. it is evident that the fall was more serious than expected and it will take much time to recover
Now he can fight for the podium, the victory is definitely waned

I hope not. I'd rather he target the Vuelta.
 
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mr. tibbs said:
Matteo. said:
For me it's over instead.He had probably already a level less than froome and quintana.
I do not see to retrieve both 47s in these poor conditions. it is evident that the fall was more serious than expected and it will take much time to recover
Now he can fight for the podium, the victory is definitely waned

I hope not. I'd rather he target the Vuelta.
Agree with you Tibbs. A podium wouldn't mean anything to him, his team and his fans.
 
Two crashes in two days, obviously he is hurting badly. He may have even told them, 'I'm empty' ride for Peter. I think he is injured much worse than we know :(. Regardless, Tinkoff did what they should, support the guy who was going to take the yellow while leaving one guy to bring in Alberto. Granted they really laid it on and he might have lost less.

But let's face it Froome, Nairo and any other contenders were going to put him to the sword today knowing he was injured. It is the way of cycling, take advantage of weakness when you can.
 
Re: Re:

Valv.Piti said:
Red Rick said:
Valv.Piti said:
LaFlorecita said:
It was clear even before the start that the team had no faith in Alberto whatsoever. This is just salt in the wounds.
I hope he drops out, wins the Vuelta, burns his Tinkoff jersey in front of Oleg and rides off on a Trek bike.
So what has Tinkoff exactly done? They supported a way inferior rider for 21 days last year, this was due.

What did Movistar do last year? They backed the wrong horse as well. It happens
Yeah, thats surely very relevant to this discussion. You guys are amazing, you, LF and the others. Amazing.

You give criticise the team. I argue that the thing you criticise them for is quite common. I give an example.
 
Jul 19, 2010
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Re:

LaFlorecita said:
It was clear even before the start that the team had no faith in Alberto whatsoever. This is just salt in the wounds.
I hope he drops out, wins the Vuelta, burns his Tinkoff jersey in front of Oleg and rides off on a Trek bike.

That's the toughest task when you have two objective. Yellow and Green. Whether we like it or not, Tinkoff did the right thing. Sagan has a chance to win a stage and grab a yellow jersey. He is a world champs so he deserves to get the support as well (not like how sky treated Cavendish). On a flip side, Contador lost time. But if he wasn't there with the rest of the GC, then he deserves to get dropped. So far his luck wasn't that great in the past of two days. I don't know if that's saying something. Watching his crash yesterday, what on earth causing his to skid while others just flies by if it's not a bad luck?
 
Dec 28, 2009
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Contador's body language after that crash early on said it all. He was like 'oh yeah whatever'. He should target the Vuelta. Yes he can recover and probably will, but it won't be enough I'm afraid.