Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[KyoGrey]

Never understood that some Contador fans despise Valverde. Greatness recognises greatness, and better than being fan of one of them is being fan of both champs!!!

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Never understood that some Contador fans despise Valverde. Greatness recognises greatness, and better than being fan of one of them is being fan of both champs!!!

I dislike him mainly because he seems quite arrogant and seems to dislike and disrespect Berto. I'm not a fan of his style of racing, but for me that's not a reason to dislike a rider. I like Gerrans, for example. It's all about the personality. A very exciting rider is easier to like though.

 

[dacooley]

Re: Re:

Never understood that some Contador fans despise Valverde. Greatness recognises greatness, and better than being fan of one of them is being fan of both champs!!!

I dislike him mainly because he seems quite arrogant and seems to dislike and disrespect Berto. I'm not a fan of his style of racing, but for me that's not a reason to dislike a rider. I like Gerrans, for example. It's all about the personality. A very exciting rider is easier to like though.

do you tolerate any bertie's principal challengers? movistar, sky, porte - no comments. how about nibs?

 

[arvc40]

Re:

Never understood that some Contador fans despise Valverde. Greatness recognises greatness, and better than being fan of one of them is being fan of both champs!!!

Both great riders to watch !

 

[Amazinmets87]

Re: Re:

Never understood that some Contador fans despise Valverde. Greatness recognises greatness, and better than being fan of one of them is being fan of both champs!!!

I dislike him mainly because he seems quite arrogant and seems to dislike and disrespect Berto. I'm not a fan of his style of racing, but for me that's not a reason to dislike a rider. I like Gerrans, for example. It's all about the personality. A very exciting rider is easier to like though.

The guy has been winning everything since age 13. Who wouldn't be arrogant?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

The guy has been winning everything since age 13. Who wouldn't be arrogant?

It depends on personality. Others are able to keep their feet firmly on the ground.

 

[Forever The Best]

Re:

https://twitter.com/Movistar_Team/status/850737263399116800

I don't think Movistar are trying to rub it. They just say the victory is better when it is against riders like Contador who have so much calibre.
About todays stage, he once again went flat out on the beginning. I am not happy that he is 2nd again but at least it wasn't a small margin. (17 seconds on this route is a pretty big margin)

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

https://twitter.com/Movistar_Team/status/850737263399116800

I don't think Movistar are trying to rub it. They just say the victory is better when it is against riders like Contador who have so much calibre.
About todays stage, he once again went flat out on the beginning. I am not happy that he is 2nd again but at least it wasn't a small margin. (17 seconds on this route is a pretty big margin)

So they should keep it among themselves, Contador isn't going to take it as a compliment or feel better after reading it. The worst thing someone could say to you after finishing 2nd for the umpteenth time is "hey, at least you're a good #2, you make us look better!" especially when the ones saying it aren't exactly your friends.

 

[LaFlorecita]

All these Movistar victories remind me, when are they going to repay Contador for what he did at the 2016 Vuelta? At the Tour? Or are they planning to repay him once he's retired? Or perhaps they're just not as classy as Alberto and never planned on repaying him anyway?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Anyway, I digress, this isn't the Movistar thread nor is it the Piti thread.

Back to Alberto.

"I'm satisfied because it's been a race in which I've been through everything: falls, punctures, breakdowns, the fall of Samu (Sanchez) in front of me and, to top it all, today the radio did not work almost from the start," said Contador about the misfortunes he has had to overcome all week. "Not much luck has accompanied me, but if that changes for me in another race, which is what I want, I'm okay with it happening here."

"We decided to start with the road bike because I crashed three days ago and I'm sore, and it was easier to not hold the [TT] position when I was climbing," explained Contador. "We had tested it this morning, and we decided to opt for the normal handlebars to avoid the aerodynamic position at first, and I think it was a good option."

"I'm satisfied with my performance here and since the beginning of the season, which has been really good," Contador emphasized. "I have missed the victory in all races for a little bit, but for me, instead of taking away my morale, it gives me extra motivation. It's going to make me work harder because you have to wait for good things."

At least he stays optimistic or tries to come across as optimistic, but even he must realize time is running out. There are probably only two races left on his schedule and he's unlikely to win either.

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

Never understood that some Contador fans despise Valverde. Greatness recognises greatness, and better than being fan of one of them is being fan of both champs!!!

I dislike him mainly because he seems quite arrogant and seems to dislike and disrespect Berto. I'm not a fan of his style of racing, but for me that's not a reason to dislike a rider. I like Gerrans, for example. It's all about the personality. A very exciting rider is easier to like though.

maybe in your eyes

 

[sir fly]

I expected a better tt result from him, but the experiment with the bike exchange didn't pay off.
I really don't see a reason to worry. He rode this race from the downside of his form curve (the peak was in March) and still was with the best on Arrate.
That's a good shape.

 

[lenric]

Re:

All these Movistar victories remind me, when are they going to repay Contador for what he did at the 2016 Vuelta? At the Tour? Or are they planning to repay him once he's retired? Or perhaps they're just not as classy as Alberto and never planned on repaying him anyway?

Why should Movistar repay Contador? That's what strikes me as odd, you seem to take this very personally instead of what it is: racing and business. Contador wanted to do as much as he could to improve his general classification and Movistar seized the opportunity. They worked together and both Contador and Quintana benefited.

Jeez, stop being so emotional.

 

[Red Rick]

Yeah I would't be surprised if PN had had a bigger effect on his spring compared to last gear

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

All these Movistar victories remind me, when are they going to repay Contador for what he did at the 2016 Vuelta? At the Tour? Or are they planning to repay him once he's retired? Or perhaps they're just not as classy as Alberto and never planned on repaying him anyway?

Why should Movistar repay Contador? That's what strikes me as odd, you seem to take this very personally instead of what it is: racing and business. Contador wanted to do as much as he could to improve his general classification and Movistar seized the opportunity. They worked together and both Contador and Quintana benefited.

Jeez, stop being so emotional.

They don't have to, although it would look good on them if they did, but after that stage I was assured that Movistar would repay Contador, then when the perfect opportunity presented itself it didn't happen, I was assured that it wasn't the right time and would surely happen another time. So yeah, just wondering if I should keep waiting or forget about it?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

I expected a better tt result from him, but the experiment with the bike exchange didn't pay off.
I really don't see a reason to worry. He rode this race from the downside of his form curve (the peak was in March) and still was with the best on Arrate.
That's a good shape.

I don't think anyone is worried about his form, I think most are worried he'll finish the season with zero wins and 20 second places.

 

[lenric]

Re: Re:

All these Movistar victories remind me, when are they going to repay Contador for what he did at the 2016 Vuelta? At the Tour? Or are they planning to repay him once he's retired? Or perhaps they're just not as classy as Alberto and never planned on repaying him anyway?

Why should Movistar repay Contador? That's what strikes me as odd, you seem to take this very personally instead of what it is: racing and business. Contador wanted to do as much as he could to improve his general classification and Movistar seized the opportunity. They worked together and both Contador and Quintana benefited.

Jeez, stop being so emotional.

They don't have to, although it would look good on them if they did, but after that stage I was assured that Movistar would repay Contador, then when the perfect opportunity presented itself it didn't happen, I was assured that it wasn't the right time and would surely happen another time. So yeah, just wondering if I should keep waiting or forget about it?

Again, they don't have to repay anything to anyone. This is racing and business.
Contador made a move to improve his classification. Movistar seized the opportunity and went along with him, thus providing Contador with valuable company with a mutual interest: distancing their rivals.
If Contador had not made the move, Movistar wouldn't have benefited. If Movistar had not joined Contador, Contador would have probably been catched further down the stage.

I must tell you again, though knowing its uselessness: stop being so emotional.

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

Never understood that some Contador fans despise Valverde. Greatness recognises greatness, and better than being fan of one of them is being fan of both champs!!!

I dislike him mainly because he seems quite arrogant and seems to dislike and disrespect Berto. I'm not a fan of his style of racing, but for me that's not a reason to dislike a rider. I like Gerrans, for example. It's all about the personality. A very exciting rider is easier to like though.

The guy has been winning everything since age 13. Who wouldn't be arrogant?

i never saw him winning le tour... if he is such a winner, why was he crying after make top3 at 2015 tour?
i will always say this, for his tremendous talent, valverde has a terrible palmares and that's the reason why he isn't a legend fo me, meanhile contador is a freaking legend!!! is so exciting seeing him ride. who watch le tour 2007, will love him forever.

 

[sir fly]

Re: Re:

I expected a better tt result from him, but the experiment with the bike exchange didn't pay off.
I really don't see a reason to worry. He rode this race from the downside of his form curve (the peak was in March) and still was with the best on Arrate.
That's a good shape.

I don't think anyone is worried about his form, I think most are worried he'll finish the season with zero wins and 20 second places.

There's enough races left for him to take a victory. Being second is far better than being off the podium. Means that he has more than one season left in his legs.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Again, they don't have to repay anything to anyone. This is racing and business.
Contador made a move to improve his classification. Movistar seized the opportunity and went along with him, thus providing Contador with valuable company with a mutual interest: distancing their rivals.
If Contador had not made the move, Movistar wouldn't have benefited. If Movistar had not joined Contador, Contador would have probably been catched further down the stage.

I must tell you again, though knowing its uselessness: stop being so emotional.

Not sure what part of my post is emotional, maybe that's just your go-to reply when you don't have real arguments left? It's almost as if you didn't even read my post, so I'll do the same as you and just post exactly the same again:
They don't have to repay him, as you say it's racing, but it would show class if they did, I guess we can't expect everyone to have as much class as Berto. After that stage, though, I was assured by some Movistar fans on here that their team would definitely repay Contador, then when the perfect opportunity presented itself it didn't happen, I was assured that it wasn't the right time and would surely happen another time. So to conclude yet again, should I keep waiting or just accept Movistar isn't as classy of a team as the fans seem to think?

Please don't make me post this a third time?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

There's enough races left for him to take a victory. Being second is far better than being off the podium. Means that he has more than one season left in his legs.

He most likely has two races left, 1 of them he's never won and he wants to take an easier approach to it this year, the other he hasn't won or even podiumed in over half a decade. As for stages, he rarely wins road stages these days and he hardly ever wins road stages without being by far the strongest. Pretty sure we can't expect him to win a stage purely based on strength at the Dauphiné or the Tour, unless he loses half an hour on purpose and gets into the break.

Sure, he may have another season in his legs but we can all agree it's only downhill from here. Can't get very excited about it. At this point I kinda hope he either drastically changes his approach to racing and morphs into a stagehunter, or just retires at the end of the season, leaving us with mainly nice memories (won't happen, I know). I don't want him to retire, but I also don't want to watch him fail over and over again at something he used to be the best at.

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

The guy has been winning everything since age 13. Who wouldn't be arrogant?

It depends on personality. Others are able to keep their feet firmly on the ground.

Arrogant? His teammates says that he's the biggest joker in the team, and only time he's serious is during a race. Seriously I never heard such complains about Valverde in the peloton, on the contrary he seems to get a long with almost everyone. As for relationship between those two, I think it's mutual respect, and more than that. They get a long pretty fine, I always see them talking before the race, during the race, after... Never heard anything bad from either of them about the other one. I don't know where you get that idea that they're not on good terms

 

[lenric]

Re: Re:

Again, they don't have to repay anything to anyone. This is racing and business.
Contador made a move to improve his classification. Movistar seized the opportunity and went along with him, thus providing Contador with valuable company with a mutual interest: distancing their rivals.
If Contador had not made the move, Movistar wouldn't have benefited. If Movistar had not joined Contador, Contador would have probably been catched further down the stage.

I must tell you again, though knowing its uselessness: stop being so emotional.

Not sure what part of my post is emotional, maybe that's just your go-to reply when you don't have real arguments left? It's almost as if you didn't even read my post, so I'll do the same as you and just post exactly the same again:
They don't have to repay him, as you say it's racing, but it would show class if they did, I guess we can't expect everyone to have as much class as Berto. After that stage, though, I was assured by some Movistar fans on here that their team would definitely repay Contador, then when the perfect opportunity presented itself it didn't happen, I was assured that it wasn't the right time and would surely happen another time. So to conclude yet again, should I keep waiting or just accept Movistar isn't as classy of a team as the fans seem to think?

Please don't make me post this a third time?

You lack rationality when Alberto Contador is the subject of the conversation. I thought it was pretty obvious, but it wasn't. Not you fault though.

Also, seeing that you're also lacking the ability to understand what I wrote, I will explain again: you're being emotional, because Movistar doesn't have to repay Contador anything. Because of that, they don't have to be classy about anything regarding last year's Vuelta, because there's nothing to be classy about.
In fact, I addressed this part specifically in my previous post, but your blind love for Alberto prevented you from getting it: Contador benefited from Movistar's help when he made his move, otherwise it wouldn't have sticked. He would be catched up further down the stage. Movistar was also benefited, because they seized the opportunity that Contador created. None of them said a thing on interviews that the other one had not said. Do you see the explanation now, or is that your go-to reply when you lack any real arguments, just blind love for Contador?

I'll even summarize it to you: the premise of your post/whining is a fallacious one. You're making an argument based on false premises. And one of them is: Movistar isn't classy, because they have yet to repay Contador for the help he gave them during last year's Vuelta. However, you're ignoring that Movistar also helped Contador. In fact, if it wasn't Movistar's Help, Contador's attack wouldn't have sticked. Get it now, or is it useless trying to be rational on this discussion with you?

Also, about this: "After that stage, though, I was assured by some Movistar fans on here that their team would definitely repay Contador, then when the perfect opportunity presented itself it didn't happen, I was assured that it wasn't the right time and would surely happen another time."

You're writing fancy things like "real arguments" and then you say that some Movistar fans on Cycling news forum assured you of something... really, LaFlorecita? This is a childish and emotional belief, not to mention a naive one.

Again, I'm presenting my real arguments, not what "some Movistar/Contador fans" assured me of.

 

[lenric]

Re: Re:

The guy has been winning everything since age 13. Who wouldn't be arrogant?

It depends on personality. Others are able to keep their feet firmly on the ground.

Arrogant? His teammates says that he's the biggest joker in the team, and only time he's serious is during a race. Seriously I never heard such complains about Valverde in the peloton, on the contrary he seems to get a long with almost everyone. As for relationship between those two, I think it's mutual respect, and more than that. They get a long pretty fine, I always see them talking before the race, during the race, after... Never heard anything bad from either of them about the other one. I don't know where you get that idea that they're not on good terms

I may be wrong, but I think I read somewhere they're friends.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

The guy has been winning everything since age 13. Who wouldn't be arrogant?

It depends on personality. Others are able to keep their feet firmly on the ground.

Arrogant? His teammates says that he's the biggest joker in the team, and only time he's serious is during a race. Seriously I never heard such complains about Valverde in the peloton, on the contrary he seems to get a long with almost everyone. As for relationship between those two, I think it's mutual respect, and more than that. They get a long pretty fine, I always see them talking before the race, during the race, after... Never heard anything bad from either of them about the other one. I don't know where you get that idea that they're not on good terms

I read a few years ago that Valverde developed a deep hatred against Contador at the 2012 Vuelta, when Contador supposedly attacked when Valverde was getting back after a puncture. It was after this race that Valverde started racing against Contador almost exclusively, forgetting everything else, just look at recent TDFs for example. It would be foolish to say there isn't some form of jealousy involved, Valverde said multiple times in interviews that he considers himself the best Spanish cyclist of his generation, I have a hard time imagining Contador saying something similar. I don't know why he would do this unless he's arrogant or wants to assert himself as better than Contador. There may be a some form of respect between them, collegial if you will, but it's clear they're not friends, and they don't have to be. Riders chat before and during the stage, happens all the time and it doesn't mean anything. I've even seen Contador chat with Cavendish and Boonen many times and I'm sure you don't think they're friends.

PS. You can be arrogant and the biggest joker among friends. In fact it could even be related in some cases.

But, once again, this isn't the Valverde thread.