Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

No one mentioned, that the ultrastrong in shape of his life Contador was 2 minutes down on Nibali after 10 stages of racing in the TDF 2014, was destroyed at the cobbles and was not able to drop Nibali at the first Uphill-finish - maybe the worst stage from Nibali at this TDF.

At the TT Nibali finished at 4th place behind Tony Martin, 20 secs behind Dumo and with the same time as Barta. I doubt that Contador would have gained any little second at Niba at this Stage. So there were 5 Mountain stages left for Contador to gain 2 Min time on Nibali. Three of them were easily won by Nibali with 6,0 -6,2 W/kg power outputs. At Hautacam for example, he won with 1.10 min of Pinot who finished second at this stage. How the hell you will drop such a rider with such a power output and beeing in the yellow jersey? And how the hell you will gain 2 Minutes?

That are the facts, all the other stuff is pure speculation and wish-thinking.

Wasn't the gap closer to 3 minutes?

The gap was exactly 2:34 min to Nibali when he chrashed out. Impossible to gain that amount of time in the 5 Mountain stages against Nibali in the shape of his life.

Nothing is impossible especially for an in-form Contador.

 

[Billopoulos]

Exactly as Fleur said.
BTW, let's not discount the fact that Nibali performed without real pressure from the other riders (after Froome and Contador had crashed out).
Getting mixed in a serious battle against Contador may not have left him so fresh and safe over the course of the Tour and then things could go to a different direction.

 

[Red Rick]

It is totally ridiculous to either suggest Contador or Nibali was 100% certain to win that 2014 TdF at the moment Contador crashed out. We'll never know. All we have is one hill top finish, where Nibali lost 3s in at the end.

 

[Kwibus]

Re:

It is totally ridiculous to either suggest Contador or Nibali was 100% certain to win that 2014 TdF at the moment Contador crashed out. We'll never know. All we have is one hill top finish, where Nibali lost 3s in at the end.

Oh dear we are having this discussion again )

 

[Miburo]

Re: Re:

It is totally ridiculous to either suggest Contador or Nibali was 100% certain to win that 2014 TdF at the moment Contador crashed out. We'll never know. All we have is one hill top finish, where Nibali lost 3s in at the end.

Oh dear we are having this discussion again )

This discussion should be revived every few months, you can't blame us humans for it.

It would have been the greatest tour in the last 15 years if Contador didn't crash out.

 

[King Boonen]

I wonder if Contador fans will go on about 2014 for as long as England fans have gone on about 1966 for?


It's a shame to see him like this. Only he knows what he's capable of and where his head it at, but if I were him and I knew I didn't have it anymore I'd seriously be considering either retirement or re-defining my goals. Try for some one-day races. Another season or two of this will just diminish what has been a great career.

 

[Red Rick]

It will likely go on forever, just less frequent over time. That said, I don't think he'd diminish his career by going on for as long as he likes. That is just total bs. The greats should go on for as long as they like, and fans should enjoy it while it last. I'm happy Contador didn't retire after 2015, just as I'm happy Federer didn't retire after 2013.

 

[Angliru]

Re: Re:

I think Damian has a point here, Alberto isn't much of a leader. He has a very strong personality but that doesn't make someone a leader. Part of the blame definitely falls on him

What kreuziger did, with the tweet is rather pety, how pathetic

Baden Cooke's cycling dream team:June 06 2016

Leader: Alberto Contador

Alberto Contador was someone who really impressed me immensely. In team meetings for example, he would really take charge and go around the room, pointing out to each rider what he was expecting of him, what they did or didn't do right the day before. He really put a lot of pressure on his teammates, but in a good way. He was probably the best leader I've ridden for in the way he conducted himself. He was just a ferocious competitor, never say die and just hard. Despite all his talent, he's just hard.

I think he can just go to the next level, he's extremely impressive.

It certainly makes you go deeper when he's sitting on your wheel and you're drilling it for him. It makes you go that little bit further, that little bit deeper because it's probably going to blow everyone's doors off and put him in a better spot. It's really motivating.

I guarantee this will be ignored by most that insisted he was anything but a leader and not respected by his teammates.

 

[Angliru]

Re:

I wonder if Contador fans will go on about 2014 for as long as England fans have gone on about 1966 for?


It's a shame to see him like this. Only he knows what he's capable of and where his head it at, but if I were him and I knew I didn't have it anymore I'd seriously be considering either retirement or re-defining my goals. Try for some one-day races. Another season or two of this will just diminish what has been a great career.

Did Jordan tarnish his legacy by returning as a fraction of the athlete that he was? I would argue that he did not. He is still revered. There is a natural decline in all athletes performances over time.

 

[King Boonen]

Re:

It will likely go on forever, just less frequent over time. That said, I don't think he'd diminish his career by going on for as long as he likes. That is just total bs. The greats should go on for as long as they like, and fans should enjoy it while it last. I'm happy Contador didn't retire after 2015, just as I'm happy Federer didn't retire after 2013.

I think calling someones opinion bs is against the rules, it's pretty rude whatever the actual stand-point.

He hasn't won the TdF since '09, he won the Giro in '15 against a load of kids who are now surpassing him and watching him get dropped off the back whenever the main GT guys go is just depressing, there's nothing to enjoy there.

I'll not write him off as Cav showed that a return to form after a few years of underperforming is possible, but at the moment it doesn't look good.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

It will likely go on forever, just less frequent over time. That said, I don't think he'd diminish his career by going on for as long as he likes. That is just total bs. The greats should go on for as long as they like, and fans should enjoy it while it last. I'm happy Contador didn't retire after 2015, just as I'm happy Federer didn't retire after 2013.

I think calling someones opinion bs is against the rules, it's pretty rude whatever the actual stand-point.

He hasn't won the TdF since '09, he won the Giro in '15 against a load of kids who are now surpassing him and watching him get dropped off the back whenever the main GT guys go is just depressing, there's nothing to enjoy there.

I'll not write him off as Cav showed that a return to form after a few years of underperforming is possible, but at the moment it doesn't look good.

He can't lose races he's already won, so I disagree that they'd be worth less if he wouldn't win again. Being afraid to lose isn't something I admire, so I really think it's a poor reason to retire. I see a man riding his heart out after crashing out in the Tour, and crashing heavily in the Vuelta, why is that bad to see? Besides, in the spring he showed he can still do plenty of damage.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re:

It will likely go on forever, just less frequent over time. That said, I don't think he'd diminish his career by going on for as long as he likes. That is just total bs. The greats should go on for as long as they like, and fans should enjoy it while it last. I'm happy Contador didn't retire after 2015, just as I'm happy Federer didn't retire after 2013.

Exactly.
Speaking of great champions, I wish Fabian would reconsider his retirement

 

[jilbiker]

Re: Re:

No one mentioned, that the ultrastrong in shape of his life Contador was 2 minutes down on Nibali after 10 stages of racing in the TDF 2014, was destroyed at the cobbles and was not able to drop Nibali at the first Uphill-finish - maybe the worst stage from Nibali at this TDF.

At the TT Nibali finished at 4th place behind Tony Martin, 20 secs behind Dumo and with the same time as Barta. I doubt that Contador would have gained any little second at Niba at this Stage. So there were 5 Mountain stages left for Contador to gain 2 Min time on Nibali. Three of them were easily won by Nibali with 6,0 -6,2 W/kg power outputs. At Hautacam for example, he won with 1.10 min of Pinot who finished second at this stage. How the hell you will drop such a rider with such a power output and beeing in the yellow jersey? And how the hell you will gain 2 Minutes?

That are the facts, all the other stuff is pure speculation and wish-thinking.

For all the talk about the illusionary top form AC of 2014, I still think he would not have made up that 2 minutes on Nibali, who was in extra top form. The sky train of 2016 would have been needed to make it a close contest

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re:

How can you know Contador's form was better? We have no idea how their form was relative to each other. We only know the facts: they both crashed out of the Tour with fractures and finished 1-2 in the Vuelta, with Contador winning.

And I know you haven't said it, but it's also important to note that the conclusions we can draw from this about what would have happened in the Tour are limited in validity

 

[buchanan]

Re: Re:

No one mentioned, that the ultrastrong in shape of his life Contador was 2 minutes down on Nibali after 10 stages of racing in the TDF 2014, was destroyed at the cobbles and was not able to drop Nibali at the first Uphill-finish - maybe the worst stage from Nibali at this TDF.

At the TT Nibali finished at 4th place behind Tony Martin, 20 secs behind Dumo and with the same time as Barta. I doubt that Contador would have gained any little second at Niba at this Stage. So there were 5 Mountain stages left for Contador to gain 2 Min time on Nibali. Three of them were easily won by Nibali with 6,0 -6,2 W/kg power outputs. At Hautacam for example, he won with 1.10 min of Pinot who finished second at this stage. How the hell you will drop such a rider with such a power output and beeing in the yellow jersey? And how the hell you will gain 2 Minutes?

That are the facts, all the other stuff is pure speculation and wish-thinking.

For all the talk about the illusionary top form AC of 2014, I still think he would not have made up that 2 minutes on Nibali, who was in extra top form. The sky train of 2016 would have been needed to make it a close contest

Where do you get 2 minutes from? The gap from Nibali to Contador was closer to 3 minutes. Certainly more than 2 & 1/2 minutes.

 

[jens_attacks]

time for 7 w/kg.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Re: Re:

No one mentioned, that the ultrastrong in shape of his life Contador was 2 minutes down on Nibali after 10 stages of racing in the TDF 2014, was destroyed at the cobbles and was not able to drop Nibali at the first Uphill-finish - maybe the worst stage from Nibali at this TDF.

At the TT Nibali finished at 4th place behind Tony Martin, 20 secs behind Dumo and with the same time as Barta. I doubt that Contador would have gained any little second at Niba at this Stage. So there were 5 Mountain stages left for Contador to gain 2 Min time on Nibali. Three of them were easily won by Nibali with 6,0 -6,2 W/kg power outputs. At Hautacam for example, he won with 1.10 min of Pinot who finished second at this stage. How the hell you will drop such a rider with such a power output and beeing in the yellow jersey? And how the hell you will gain 2 Minutes?

That are the facts, all the other stuff is pure speculation and wish-thinking.

For all the talk about the illusionary top form AC of 2014, I still think he would not have made up that 2 minutes on Nibali, who was in extra top form. The sky train of 2016 would have been needed to make it a close contest

Where do you get 2 minutes from? The gap from Nibali to Contador was closer to 3 minutes. Certainly more than 2 & 1/2 minutes.

It was 2'34.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

time for 7 w/kg.

Lol

 

[Valv.Piti]

It might seem harsh, but after the work done by Tinkoff today, I think its do or die today for Contador. Hoping he at least can hold on to Quintana.

 

[Miburo]

Re:

It might seem harsh, but after the work done by Tinkoff today, I think its do or die today for Contador. Hoping he at least can hold on to Quintana.

It is do or die for sure, get dropped today and it's really over.

It's been a while since i've seen Tinkoff ride like today, we all know how Contador is after a restday.

Let the party begin

 

[portugal11]

I can't see this sh#t anymore.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

I can't see this sh#t anymore.

Then don't watch, simple.

 

[Matteo.]

Re:

I can't see this sh#t anymore.

goodbye, what can we say?!

 

[Miburo]

Well it was fun while it lasted, no ressurection. Maybe the aubisque

 

[Billopoulos]

Maybe nothing.
We 've spent so many days saying maybe there or then.
It's not going to change...

PS. I hope I get proven wrong.