Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[LaFlorecita]

Why isn't he among teh favorites in teh cycklingnews article about the riders to watch at the Dauphiné ?

I'm thinking because he said he will take it easy he isn't a rider to watch. But we will be watching him closely, of course

 

[DanielSong39]

Dauphine is, wrongly or rightly, is being treated as a warm-up race for the Tour. Contador will probably test his legs a couple of times, but isn't a likely winner.

If the race is stolen via a break I don't think Contador will be in there. He's probably saving it for the Tour.

 

[liamito]

Re: Re:

Will this be Contador's last Dauphiné?

probably, as well as his last TDF. If he continues for another year, he'll go to the Giro & Vuelta and Dauphiné doesn't really fit in.

The Dauphiné has never really been his race anyway.

Apparently also the worst time of the year concerning his allergies.

 

[TheYouyou7]

I'm a bit surprised that no debate about his skinnyness according to pictures was launched

 

[LaFlorecita]

I'm a bit surprised that no debate about his skinnyness according to pictures was launched

No good pictures recently. I need a closer look to tell.

 

[WheelofGear]

I don't care about his overall GC chances, just want to see him winning a Tour stage and Il Lombardia. He still needs that monument.

Giro di Lombardia suits his aggressive characteristics if he route is the same or similar this year. A stage win in the Tour and a monument would be a more beautiful way of finishing his career than trying to defeat Froome and Porte without luck.

 

[WheelofGear]

Winning Il Lombardia solo with a pistol shot at the finish line >>> third step of the Tour podium behind Porte and Froome.

 

[LaFlorecita]

His chances of winning Lombardia are significantly smaller than his chances of winning the Tour though. Make of that what you will.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Winning Il Lombardia solo with a pistol shot at the finish line >>> third step of the Tour podium behind Porte and Froome.

What makes you think he has any shot at winning Il Lombardia? Contador is a pure stage racer, like Quintana and Froome, who really have no business trying to win one-day races. They are all very limited in that department compared to riders such as Nibali, Valverde, even Bardet and Chaves.¨

He has much greater chances of winning TdF. And really, lets get serious, aint nobody care about Lombardia outside of real cycling fans. TdF >>>>>>>>>>>>> Lombardia.

 

[WheelofGear]

Re:

His chances of winning Lombardia are significantly smaller than his chances of winning the Tour though. Make of that what you will.

I don't think so. And you have to admit, seeing him winning Lombardia would be beautiful.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

His chances of winning Lombardia are significantly smaller than his chances of winning the Tour though. Make of that what you will.

I don't think so. And you have to admit, seeing him winning Lombardia would be beautiful.

It would be beautiful indeed, but sadly I think it will never happen. His strength lies in long climbs and his ability to recover. With his skillset, he can finish top-10, but to win, he needs to be better than everyone else. It's very hard.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

Winning Il Lombardia solo with a pistol shot at the finish line >>> third step of the Tour podium behind Porte and Froome.

What makes you think he has any shot at winning Il Lombardia? Contador is a pure stage racer, like Quintana and Froome, who really have no business trying to win one-day races. They are all very limited in that department compared to riders such as Nibali, Valverde, even Bardet and Chaves.¨

He has much greater chances of winning TdF. And really, lets get serious, aint nobody care about Lombardia outside of real cycling fans. TdF >>>>>>>>>>>>> Lombardia.

In fairness, almost every time Contador has tried for a one day race it had gone well. A podium at Fleche, a few top 10s and a win at Milano Torino and a few decent enough performances at Lombardia and Liege. I'd be very surprised if with the Como course, Contador isn't able to top 10. A win will be hard, but we have seen him excel on similar climbs to Civiglio and San Fermo at Pais Vasco before.

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: Re:

His chances of winning Lombardia are significantly smaller than his chances of winning the Tour though. Make of that what you will.

I don't think so. And you have to admit, seeing him winning Lombardia would be beautiful.

It would be beautiful indeed, but sadly I think it will never happen. His strength lies in long climbs and his ability to recover. With his skillset, he can finish top-10, but to win, he needs to be better than everyone else. It's very hard.

Then again if a race with the 100% same profile would take place in Pais Vasco he probably would have won it five times already :lol:

 

[LeSensei]

I doubt Alberto will completely shy away from racing in Dauphine, I think he's just trying to take the pressure of himself: if he surprises himself into stellar form then he will compete, if not then everything will be more or less "according to plan."

Anyway this recent trend to limit MTF's in the Tour could really work to his advantage. I don't think Sky are bright enough to either attack or defend themselves from an ambush in the mountains. You can win this tour without being the strongest one, but being competitive and knowing when to take your chances.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

I doubt Alberto will completely shy away from racing in Dauphine, I think he's just trying to take the pressure of himself: if he surprises himself into stellar form then he will compete, if not then everything will be more or less "according to plan."

Anyway this recent trend to limit MTF's in the Tour could really work to his advantage. I don't think Sky are bright enough to either attack or defend themselves from an ambush in the mountains. You can win this tour without being the strongest one, but being competitive and knowing when to take your chances.

I agree with you that the lack of big MTFs is an advantage for him - however the large number of sprint stages is bad for him, he is crash-prone and also has a tendency to lose positions and possibly be gapped in the final kilometers.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Why isn't he among teh favorites in teh cycklingnews article about the riders to watch at the Dauphiné ?

I'm thinking because he said he will take it easy he isn't a rider to watch. But we will be watching him closely, of course

Yep. Nobody needs any recommendations to look out for Alberto, cause they would likely be doing so anyway. Good journalism for once to point out other smaller names, like Chaves, Talansky or König which the mainstream fan would maybe forget about.

Looking forward to seeing Berto in the Dauphine. Is Pantano going to Switzerland?

 

[Jelantik]

Dauphine is around the corner. It's nice to hear contador's interview about being relax. There's something he can learn from Valverde. He is like a wine, the older he gets the better he is. Reading article about Valverde and how he approached his races, maybe Contador can do the same. Maybe all this falling off his bike because he was too uptight and probably because he wants to proof badly that he can beat the best (Froome). Valverde on the other hand, seem to finally find the balance between age and performance. And he is seeing a result by winning all the time. Contador doesn't need to proof anything. He should try to find his balance just like Valverde. A great Michael Jordan always said "let the game comes to you". Maybe Contador can let the race comes to him, instead of being uptight. I hope to see him stay upright this time and he can give Froome the run for his money at TDF. Good Luck Alberto.

 

[Beech Mtn]

I'm a bit surprised that no debate about his skinnyness according to pictures was launched

No good pictures recently. I need a closer look to tell.

He better not be fatter than Betancur. That bar has been raised significantly.

 

[Red Rick]

Don't know what the parcours of Lombardia is like this year, but the last 2 years it's been a classic very much suited to the purer stage races, with the only difference that the chances of winning are levelled a bit between the climbers with slightly different levels.

 

[Climber123]

I watched a replay of La Port this morning. It was his "worst" performance in the spring but yet in hindsight he was still pretty strong. There is good reason for optimism this year...

 

[ice&fire]

Re:

Don't know what the parcours of Lombardia is like this year, but the last 2 years it's been a classic very much suited to the purer stage races, with the only difference that the chances of winning are levelled a bit between the climbers with slightly different levels.

To win Lombardia you also need a somewhat decent finish punch. Alberto can only win solo. Should he get to the line alone with Landa the world would probably collapse to deny the win to both of them.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

I watched a replay of La Port this morning. It was his "worst" performance in the spring but yet in hindsight he was still pretty strong. There is good reason for optimism this year...

Yeah. Berto just came from a gruelling Paris-Nice so it wasn't strange that he was a bit below par. Valverde was strong of course but in Andalucia Berto dropped him, in Pais Vasco Arrate he could follow and the TT the day after he took a lot of time on the climb. So thinking about it I am not too worried, I doubt we'll see Valverde ride away from Berto at the Tour (unless Berto blows himself up again). Of course, bonus seconds can be an issue.

 

[Climber123]

Re: Re:

I watched a replay of La Port this morning. It was his "worst" performance in the spring but yet in hindsight he was still pretty strong. There is good reason for optimism this year...

Yeah. Berto just came from a gruelling Paris-Nice so it wasn't strange that he was a bit below par. Valverde was strong of course but in Andalucia Berto dropped him, in Pais Vasco Arrate he could follow and the TT the day after he took a lot of time on the climb. So thinking about it I am not too worried, I doubt we'll see Valverde ride away from Berto at the Tour (unless Berto blows himself up again). Of course, bonus seconds can be an issue.

And to be fair to Berto, he was the one that had to do the attacking on La Port because of the minute lost in the TTT. Bala could just sit on him and Solar. If the shoe was on the other foot Berto may have won. Shows you how important it is to be on the front foot from the start. Not in the leaders jersey but close.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

I watched a replay of La Port this morning. It was his "worst" performance in the spring but yet in hindsight he was still pretty strong. There is good reason for optimism this year...

I thought he was very good on Lo Port as well. The disappointment was obviously getting beaten fairly convincingly by Valverde - who, rightly or wrongly - isn't generally considered a very elite climber like Froome or Quintana on those kind of tough climbs. I think his climbing should be fine inthe Tour, based on the spring. Not enough to challenge Froome if he is at his best, but certainly up there with the best of the rest. By far the key thing is staying on his bike and not losing stupid time in splits during the first week.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

I watched a replay of La Port this morning. It was his "worst" performance in the spring but yet in hindsight he was still pretty strong. There is good reason for optimism this year...

Yeah. Berto just came from a gruelling Paris-Nice so it wasn't strange that he was a bit below par. Valverde was strong of course but in Andalucia Berto dropped him, in Pais Vasco Arrate he could follow and the TT the day after he took a lot of time on the climb. So thinking about it I am not too worried, I doubt we'll see Valverde ride away from Berto at the Tour (unless Berto blows himself up again). Of course, bonus seconds can be an issue.

Valverde still won all of those races tho, so he certainly is a big rival, also for the upcoming TdF.