Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

What's Porte doing in 5th?! Winning an incredibly weak TDU and failing spectacularly in the overall for Paris-Nice gives you the same points as winning Strade Bianche and Milan San-Remo?! Ridiculous

I am an Australian and I am disgusted with that (TDU being ranked alongside P-N). It would be like athletics suddenly ranking a meeting in Melbourne in February with a meeting in Zurich.

And how is Valverde not in the top ten

Valverde isn't in the top-10 because he hasn't raced many WT event.

As a matter of fact, one WT-event.

 

[Matteo.]

Re: Re:

UCI points mean nothing....the real question is - is he doing better for you with CQ points than last year?

He's doing about 60 points better he scored a little less than last year at Catalunya and Pais Vasco is worth less now, so I'm guessing he'll go into a deficit soon but I hope he can score better in the 2nd half :lol:

mah...day after day, I am more and more doubtful that he can pick up something really important. for one reason or another, this year he has not won a race.
I fear he's at a lower level of 2016 when, by this time, had already pocketed an MTF and because of a snowfall probably also a PN ... this year he has always been beaten by anyone.
I really hope that he denies to me but I do not expect great things in the PV, indeed....

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

UCI points mean nothing....the real question is - is he doing better for you with CQ points than last year?

He's doing about 60 points better he scored a little less than last year at Catalunya and Pais Vasco is worth less now, so I'm guessing he'll go into a deficit soon but I hope he can score better in the 2nd half :lol:

mah...day after day, I am more and more doubtful that he can pick up something really important. for one reason or another, this year he has not won a race.
I fear he's at a lower level of 2016 when, by this time, had already pocketed an MTF and because of a snowfall probably also a PN ... this year he has always been beaten by anyone.
I really hope that he denies to me but I do not expect great things in the PV, indeed....

Actually I think he is at a similar level this year. He was a bit below par in his first race, last year he was up against maybe worse climbers than this year and he got some freedom because he was far behind, which helped him win on Malhão (also Malhão was 5th race day vs 2nd race day Peña del Aguila). Was very close to winning Paris-Nice, both with an amazing performance on stage 8. And again a bit below par in Catalunya, keep in mind Paris-Nice was tougher this year than last year. We'll see what happens in Pais Vasco, it will be a hard fight for the win because his rivals are very strong, but regardless of what happens there (barring a disaster) I don't think he is worse this year than last year.
Also in all races but especially Paris-Nice and Catalunya, his performances on the MTFs were rather good when we look at the data.

 

[Climber123]

Re: Re:

UCI points mean nothing....the real question is - is he doing better for you with CQ points than last year?

He's doing about 60 points better he scored a little less than last year at Catalunya and Pais Vasco is worth less now, so I'm guessing he'll go into a deficit soon but I hope he can score better in the 2nd half :lol:

mah...day after day, I am more and more doubtful that he can pick up something really important. for one reason or another, this year he has not won a race.
I fear he's at a lower level of 2016 when, by this time, had already pocketed an MTF and because of a snowfall probably also a PN ... this year he has always been beaten by anyone.
I really hope that he denies to me but I do not expect great things in the PV, indeed....

Post-ban

1. 2014
2. 2016=2017
3. 2015
4. 2013

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

UCI points mean nothing....the real question is - is he doing better for you with CQ points than last year?

He's doing about 60 points better he scored a little less than last year at Catalunya and Pais Vasco is worth less now, so I'm guessing he'll go into a deficit soon but I hope he can score better in the 2nd half :lol:

mah...day after day, I am more and more doubtful that he can pick up something really important. for one reason or another, this year he has not won a race.
I fear he's at a lower level of 2016 when, by this time, had already pocketed an MTF and because of a snowfall probably also a PN ... this year he has always been beaten by anyone.
I really hope that he denies to me but I do not expect great things in the PV, indeed....

Actually I think he is at a similar level this year. He was a bit below par in his first race, last year he was up against maybe worse climbers than this year and he got some freedom because he was far behind, which helped him win on Malhão (also Malhão was 5th race day vs 2nd race day Peña del Aguila). Was very close to winning Paris-Nice, both with an amazing performance on stage 8. And again a bit below par in Catalunya, keep in mind Paris-Nice was tougher this year than last year. We'll see what happens in Pais Vasco, it will be a hard fight for the win because his rivals are very strong, but regardless of what happens there (barring a disaster) I don't think he is worse this year than last year.
Also in all races but especially Paris-Nice and Catalunya, his performances on the MTFs were rather good when we look at the data.

Those numbers don't mean much if he's getting beat. I think his rivals have pretty good numbers as well. His numbers get posted a lot...he talked about his own numbers...I dunno. They don't seem to help him in races.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

UCI points mean nothing....the real question is - is he doing better for you with CQ points than last year?

He's doing about 60 points better he scored a little less than last year at Catalunya and Pais Vasco is worth less now, so I'm guessing he'll go into a deficit soon but I hope he can score better in the 2nd half :lol:

mah...day after day, I am more and more doubtful that he can pick up something really important. for one reason or another, this year he has not won a race.
I fear he's at a lower level of 2016 when, by this time, had already pocketed an MTF and because of a snowfall probably also a PN ... this year he has always been beaten by anyone.
I really hope that he denies to me but I do not expect great things in the PV, indeed....

Post-ban

1. 2014
2. 2016=2017
3. 2015
4. 2013

Could he still do something like he did at Mortirolo. Or the incredibly good TT in that same Giro?

But overall I tend to agree. I think, based on what I have seen so far, he is sliiiightly worse this year than 2016.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Post-ban

1. 2014
2. 2016=2017
3. 2015
4. 2013

Agree
2014 was possibly the best Berto I've seen. Even better than 2009, perhaps. He just made everything look so easy.

 

[Matteo.]

Re: Re:

UCI points mean nothing....the real question is - is he doing better for you with CQ points than last year?

He's doing about 60 points better he scored a little less than last year at Catalunya and Pais Vasco is worth less now, so I'm guessing he'll go into a deficit soon but I hope he can score better in the 2nd half :lol:

mah...day after day, I am more and more doubtful that he can pick up something really important. for one reason or another, this year he has not won a race.
I fear he's at a lower level of 2016 when, by this time, had already pocketed an MTF and because of a snowfall probably also a PN ... this year he has always been beaten by anyone.
I really hope that he denies to me but I do not expect great things in the PV, indeed....

Post-ban

1. 2014
2. 2016=2017
3. 2015
4. 2013

Could he still do something like he did at Mortirolo. Or the incredibly good TT in that same Giro?

But overall I tend to agree. I think, based on what I have seen so far, he is sliiiightly worse this year than 2016.

For me no.
I don't Think He could repeat those stages...and much less Ologno's performance ( in my opinion he reached his best climbing from 2014.
Summarizing i put 2015 above 2016

 

[Valv.Piti]

I honestly don't think he could either, but he was still underwhelming in all other races that year, so ranking 16-17 ahead of that season is probably fair enough.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re: Re:

UCI points mean nothing....the real question is - is he doing better for you with CQ points than last year?

He's doing about 60 points better he scored a little less than last year at Catalunya and Pais Vasco is worth less now, so I'm guessing he'll go into a deficit soon but I hope he can score better in the 2nd half :lol:

mah...day after day, I am more and more doubtful that he can pick up something really important. for one reason or another, this year he has not won a race.
I fear he's at a lower level of 2016 when, by this time, had already pocketed an MTF and because of a snowfall probably also a PN ... this year he has always been beaten by anyone.
I really hope that he denies to me but I do not expect great things in the PV, indeed....

Post-ban

1. 2014
2. 2016=2017
3. 2015
4. 2013

Could he still do something like he did at Mortirolo. Or the incredibly good TT in that same Giro?

But overall I tend to agree. I think, based on what I have seen so far, he is sliiiightly worse this year than 2016.

I still think he has the top level of 2015 (which in my book equals 2016 aswell). 2014 is a long way gone, ofcourse.

I don't see why he should not be able to repeat his great performance in the Valdobbiadene TT. It's not his time trial that has been suffering. I also don't think he'd be troubled with repeating his Mortirolo-performance. It was not the fastest ascent compared to previous years, and I think Landa could also have made it 10-20seconds quicker than Alberto if he didn't have to wait for Aru two thirds of the way up.

 

[portugal11]

Contador made a huge attack in abetone, only porte and aru managed to follow. He lost power after the crash

 

[TheRossSeaParty]

I think Contador is getting that real 'old man' strength, but lacks the top end speed that he used to have. When you look at the 3 GTs, I think the Giro best suits his current skill set. The Giro seems to be the one race where things are decided over multiple climbs within a stage, and being able to ride hard for 1+ hrs can win you the race. The Tour really seems to be geared around 20min efforts at the end of a stage, and in that area I don't think he is good enough.

It is hard to see him get 2nd place so much this year, but he is still the biggest animator of stage races. He really provides the spectacle that made me fall in love with road racing.

Even if he doesn't win a race this year, it is still awesome to see him and Pantano tearing races apart and really making his rivals earn their wins. It will be really sad to see him retire. I doubt any current rider will match his palmares, but I also doubt any current rider will match his panache.

 

[Angliru]

Re:

I think Contador is getting that real 'old man' strength, but lacks the top end speed that he used to have. When you look at the 3 GTs, I think the Giro best suits his current skill set. The Giro seems to be the one race where things are decided over multiple climbs within a stage, and being able to ride hard for 1+ hrs can win you the race. The Tour really seems to be geared around 20min efforts at the end of a stage, and in that area I don't think he is good enough.

It is hard to see him get 2nd place so much this year, but he is still the biggest animator of stage races. He really provides the spectacle that made me fall in love with road racing.

Even if he doesn't win a race this year, it is still awesome to see him and Pantano tearing races apart and really making his rivals earn their wins. It will be really sad to see him retire. I doubt any current rider will match his palmares, but I also doubt any current rider will match his panache.

I'm in full agreement.

 

[Carols]

Re:

Even if he doesn't win a race this year, it is still awesome to see him and Pantano tearing races apart and really making his rivals earn their wins. It will be really sad to see him retire. I doubt any current rider will match his palmares, but I also doubt any current rider will match his panache.

I doubt we'll see anyone with his panache and palmares in at least a couple of decades. Alas I'm not likely to be around but then I've seen Anquetil live .

If Berto doesn't win the Tour this year I really hope he rides the Giro, Vuelta next year. If he wins the Tour this year he should do a farewell ride in the Vuelta and retire

 

[filipepc]

It´s true that he lacks a little more speed, what can be a problem against Froome in the Tour. Froome make big accelerations that Contador maybe can´t follow.

But about his performances, i think some of the guys that post forget that he is still on top. He can do the 2º place in 3 races in a row, one of them ( Paris Nice) he didn´t win just because he lost almost 1 minute to Henao in the 1 st stage. He was by far the stongest rider in that race. And we are talking about races with just 1 big mountain top, what isn´t enough to gain time to provide some losses like that in the first stage of Paris Nice.

I am liking so much his racing this year, to me he is in best shape that last year, but it´s true that he need to find that speed in the attacks. If he can´t, he has to think other ways to gain time to Froome.

To finish my idea, i am glad to see someone like Pantano doing the kind of job that he is been doing. That was missing last years to Contador. In the Tour, i´m affraid Contador need more 1 or 2 guys to do this job and help. Pantano is a great rider but he can´t be burned every stages.

Let´s wait more a little bit to see what he can do, but it´s amazing the kind of rider he is. Contador make races fun. And that doesn´t have price.

 

[Mr.White]

I think he'll win Pais Vasco quite comfortably. Him, Bala and Henao should be the strongest on Arrate, but I don't expect big gaps among them. And in the TT, he'll beat both of them, especially Henao. Valverde is sort of a riddle for that TT, considering his strong showing in Andalucia, but I think it's little too long for him.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Contador is the favourite for me as well. Pretty sure he will beat Balaverde, the time trial is a bit long for his liking me thinks. And Contador is generally really good in this kind of time trial.

 

[red zone]

Re: Re:

Even if he doesn't win a race this year, it is still awesome to see him and Pantano tearing races apart and really making his rivals earn their wins. It will be really sad to see him retire. I doubt any current rider will match his palmares, but I also doubt any current rider will match his panache.

I doubt we'll see anyone with his panache and palmares in at least a couple of decades. Alas I'm not likely to be around but then I've seen Anquetil live .

If Berto doesn't win the Tour this year I really hope he rides the Giro, Vuelta next year. If he wins the Tour this year he should do a farewell ride in the Vuelta and retire

win or lose i don't want him to retire until his fire burns out (doubtful) or he isn't at least competitive

once he's gone the sport will lose a truly great competitor/showman and someone young riders should try to emulate

 

[Lexman]

Re:

Contador is the favourite for me as well. Pretty sure he will beat Balaverde, the time trial is a bit long for his liking me thinks. And Contador is generally really good in this kind of time trial.

Roglic might be a an dangerous outsider no?

 

[DNP-Old]

Re:

I think he'll win Pais Vasco quite comfortably. Him, Bala and Henao should be the strongest on Arrate, but I don't expect big gaps among them. And in the TT, he'll beat both of them, especially Henao. Valverde is sort of a riddle for that TT, considering his strong showing in Andalucia, but I think it's little too long for him.

The route is pretty weak, me thinks Kwiatkowski will be the leader instead of Checho Henao.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re: Re:

Contador is the favourite for me as well. Pretty sure he will beat Balaverde, the time trial is a bit long for his liking me thinks. And Contador is generally really good in this kind of time trial.

Roglic might be a an dangerous outsider no?

Well, I don't see Roglic as a threat really. He's a powerful rider, and if it had been a flat time trial he could pose a problem. But in a hilly time trial, I don't think he will be beaten by Alberto. On top of that, he should lose quite some time on the steep ascent to Arrate.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Nice little docu about the Fundacion Contador team on inCycle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQUtn6hvhpA&feature=youtu.be&t=7m37s&sf66999599=1

 

[LaFlorecita]

Looks like Berto did a recon of the TT today. I expect a great performance from him.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSZEt-3F7Hn/

 

[LaFlorecita]

Berto needs training wheels!

 

[Carols]

Any pictures of what happened yet? Man needs to stay on his bike