Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[IMA]

Interview with Don Alberto (in Spanish):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPXvNeYgiHA

 

[LaFlorecita]

Interview with Don Alberto (in Spanish):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPXvNeYgiHA

Thanks for sharing

 

[Red Rick]

Did he say anything interesting?

 

[IMA]

Re:

My pleasure, LaFlorecita.

Did he say anything interesting?

Some interesting points:

-He said his Specialized was 400 grs heavier than some of his rivals´bikes in 2016.

-In the training camp in El Teide before the start of the season he took it easier than in 2016, because he´s 100% focused on le tour. Also that he´s very happy with how he´s recovering from the spring races and with his team.

He´s focused on reaching the same physical level than Froome or Quintana in july. Only if that doesn´t happen he´ll try to defeat them through strategy.

-He´ll take it easy in Dauphiné. He´ll only test his legs in one or two stages.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Berto going for that elusive first victory of the season in Dauphiné

Is there a TT? If yes, that'll definitely be a stage to test his level compared to Froome.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Berto going for that elusive first victory of the season in Dauphiné

Is there a TT? If yes, that'll definitely be a stage to test his level compared to Froome.

Yes there is. Generally, a pretty good route, he will test himself on Plateau Solaison

 

[deValtos]

Re: Re:

-He said his Specialized was 400 grs heavier than some of his rivals´bikes in 2016.

This is the one thing I never understood. I hear the teams complain all the time about the weight limit yet everyone's bike's are different weights and most are a good few hundred grams over the limit.

 

[silvergrenade]

They go up Angliru in the Dauphine.
#BikePorn

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

They go up Angliru in the Dauphine.
#BikePorn

Surely not?

 

[Netserk]

They also descent Crostis. On a Fixie.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Just listened to that again, not 100% sure because my Spanish isn't great but when talking about the pros and cons of disc brakes, it sounds like he's saying that ultimately the limit of braking power is the grip between the tire and the road and disc brakes don't change that, which has been one of the main arguments in the disc brakes discussion vs the pro disc mob.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Ooooh
Exciting news!
Sounds like the professional future of the Fundacion Contador team could be confirmed in the coming weeks
Alberto's brother is currently in Italy at the Giro, presumably to talk with potential sponsors
http://www.marca.com/ciclismo/2017/05/09/59115b8d22601d1a508b45c8.html

Have to think they'd start at ProConti level

 

[Valv.Piti]

Interesting he says he has taken it easier this winter and is going all-in, as in planning to peak 100% for the TdF, also not caring that much about Dauphine etc. I would like to believe that its indeed the approach he has taken and will be good this July. First of all he obviously needs to stop crashing, but I actually believe he (along with Porte and the Movistar-duo) can do something meaningful against Froome and Sky.

 

[Pennino]

Re:

Ooooh
Exciting news!
Sounds like the professional future of the Fundacion Contador team could be confirmed in the coming weeks
Alberto's brother is currently in Italy at the Giro, presumably to talk with potential sponsors
http://www.marca.com/ciclismo/2017/05/09/59115b8d22601d1a508b45c8.html

Have to think they'd start at ProConti level

That is great indeed. Because they care about the youth program also. And how nice would it be to see him finishing his career with his own team, doing the Giro-Vuelta double...

 

[StryderHells]

Re: Re:

-He said his Specialized was 400 grs heavier than some of his rivals´bikes in 2016.

This is the one thing I never understood. I hear the teams complain all the time about the weight limit yet everyone's bike's are different weights and most are a good few hundred grams over the limit.

Looking at the bikes he was riding last year and the kit it was decked out in I'd be surprised if it was heavier that the UCI weight limit

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

-He said his Specialized was 400 grs heavier than some of his rivals´bikes in 2016.

This is the one thing I never understood. I hear the teams complain all the time about the weight limit yet everyone's bike's are different weights and most are a good few hundred grams over the limit.

Looking at the bikes he was riding last year and the kit it was decked out in I'd be surprised if it was heavier that the UCI weight limit

I also think it sounds a bit weird, 400 grs is pretty noticeable at that level. In such a professional sport at this moment in time with so much attention to detail, or marginal gains if you will, and a superb bike manufacturer such as Speciliazed, I don't really know what to believe.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

-He said his Specialized was 400 grs heavier than some of his rivals´bikes in 2016.

This is the one thing I never understood. I hear the teams complain all the time about the weight limit yet everyone's bike's are different weights and most are a good few hundred grams over the limit.

Looking at the bikes he was riding last year and the kit it was decked out in I'd be surprised if it was heavier that the UCI weight limit

FWIW his chrome bike had a heavy paint job
He said he used the black bike (which was cursed) because it was closer to the weight limit
I think 400g is exaggerated and probably the weight of his chrome bike (which he still used quite a bit uphill because the black bike was cursed)

 

[LaFlorecita]

Also if Speshy's Tarmac really was on the UCI weight limit, I don't think they'd accept Berto going around saying the bike was too heavy

His Trek Emonda is right on the limit, I saw a pic of the weight check before the start of the Pais Vasco ITT.
6.83kg, just checked.

 

[StryderHells]

Re:

Also if Speshy's Tarmac really was on the UCI weight limit, I don't think they'd accept Berto going around saying the bike was too heavy

His Trek Emonda is right on the limit, I saw a pic of the weight check before the start of the Pais Vasco ITT.
6.83kg, just checked.

It shouldn't be hard to get that Trek bang on the weight limit, those Emonda frames sets are stupidly light. Was he using a deeper section rim for that Pais Vasco TT?
Oh I remember that chrome coloured Specialized from last year and wish I didn't, it was an awful looking bike

 

[DFA123]

Weight isn't the only consideration though. A heavier, very aero optimised bike, will be faster than a 400g lighter less-aero bike in many racing situations. The most aero bikes are often around 7kg or more. I'm sure Contador knows that though; but he needs to explain away his failure from last season somehow.

 

[Jspear]

Re:

Weight isn't the only consideration though. A heavier, very aero optimised bike, will be faster than a 400g lighter less-aero bike in many racing situations. The most aero bikes are often around 7kg or more. I'm sure Contador knows that though; but he needs to explain away his failure from last season somehow.

Climbing bikes are usually a little less aero than the bikes they use for flat stages.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Weight isn't the only consideration though. A heavier, very aero optimised bike, will be faster than a 400g lighter less-aero bike in many racing situations. The most aero bikes are often around 7kg or more. I'm sure Contador knows that though; but he needs to explain away his failure from last season somehow.

Most bike brands have 3 or 4 bikes: an aero, slightly heavier one for sprint stages (in Speshy's case the Venge, Trek's case Madone), a super aero & heavy TT bike (Speshy Shiv, Trek SpeedConcept), lightweight climbing bike, not as aero (Speshy Tarmac, Trek Emonda) and then both also have a bike specifically for the cobbled classics (Roubaix - Domane). Obviously, aerodynamics don't matter much at all uphill, for climbing bikes any aero advantage that adds more weight, is a disadvantage.

Of course, Contador isn't comparing Speshy's aero Venge to Trek's climby Emonda. He barely used the Venge anyway. He's comparing the Tarmac to the Emonda: Specialized lightest bike to Trek's lightest bike.

Actually, while googling for frame weights, I found out the Tarmac isn't even meant as just a climbing bike, it's meant for allround racing which would explain why Alberto never used the Venge and is using a Madone for flat stages this year. It also explains why the Tarmac is presumably heavier than the Emonda. Still, the issue remains: it is Specialized's lightest bike. And to answer your swipe at Berto that he "needs to explain away his failure from last season somehow", I'm sure you're aware that 400g makes a huge difference, 1kg lighter equals 30s faster on Alpe d'Huez. So, with a lighter bike, he might have won both Catalunya and Paris-Nice last year.

Unfortunately, I can't find the video in which Alberto talks about the Trek bikes, but I distinctly remember him mentioning that the Emonda is actually below the weight limit (so they need to add weight).

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

Weight isn't the only consideration though. A heavier, very aero optimised bike, will be faster than a 400g lighter less-aero bike in many racing situations. The most aero bikes are often around 7kg or more. I'm sure Contador knows that though; but he needs to explain away his failure from last season somehow.

Most bike brands have 3 or 4 bikes: an aero, slightly heavier one for sprint stages (in Speshy's case the Venge, Trek's case Madone), a super aero & heavy TT bike (Speshy Shiv, Trek SpeedConcept), lightweight climbing bike, not as aero (Speshy Tarmac, Trek Emonda) and then both also have a bike specifically for the cobbled classics (Roubaix - Domane). Obviously, aerodynamics don't matter much at all uphill, for climbing bikes any aero advantage that adds more weight, is a disadvantage.

Of course, Contador isn't comparing Speshy's aero Venge to Trek's climby Emonda. He barely used the Venge anyway. He's comparing the Tarmac to the Emonda: Specialized lightest bike to Trek's lightest bike.

Actually, while googling for frame weights, I found out the Tarmac isn't even meant as just a climbing bike, it's meant for allround racing which would explain why Alberto never used the Venge and is using a Madone for flat stages this year. It also explains why the Tarmac is presumably heavier than the Emonda. Still, the issue remains: it is Specialized's lightest bike. And to answer your swipe at Berto that he "needs to explain away his failure from last season somehow", I'm sure you're aware that 400g makes a huge difference, 1kg lighter equals 30s faster on Alpe d'Huez. So, with a lighter bike, he might have won both Catalunya and Paris-Nice last year.

Unfortunately, I can't find the video in which Alberto talks about the Trek bikes, but I distinctly remember him mentioning that the Emonda is actually below the weight limit (so they need to add weight).

This is exactly the kind of nonsense that his comment was bound to provoke. Weight is only one factor; even when climbing, aerodynamics is a huge factor (especially for a rider with such an unaerodynamic position like Contador), so 400g may not make a huge difference. In fact, it may not make any difference, or the lifhter bike may even be slower. A 1kg heavier bike may lose 30 seconds on Alpe d'Huez to an aerodynamically identical lighter bike. But that is not the case here.

It's a nice maketing line by Trek, but there is simply no way that they are producing a bike 400g lighter than specialized are, but with exactly the same aerodynamics, stiffness, groupset, wheels and everything else.

Of course, you can just look at the results to see this. If Contador has a bike this season that was a significant improvement on the last few seasons, then you would expect significantly better performances from him. If anything though, this has been his worst early season form for a long time.

 

[carolina]

Lol... So many riders already won in the mountains with a specialized tarmac, using the weight argument makes no sense. It's only 400 g. That's less then a water bottle.

 

[lenric]

Re:

Lol... So many riders already won in the mountains with a specialized tarmac, using the weight argument makes no sense. It's only 400 g. That's less then a water bottle.

Imagination will take your skill to find excuses everywhere.