Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[portugal11]

Re:

Jesus, stop panicking. He didn't even try to hang on. Remember what he said, he wouldn't go into the red. This doesn't tell us anything.

What? He really tried to follow froome. He is really bad but I know he will improve a lot until le tour. The problem is that he is clearly two steps below froome (who isn't in top shape at all)

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

I mean Contador is so laughably bad I actually believe him about not being in form here, hopefully. I mean he wont win Tour but I dont want to humiliate himself again

Exactly, he normally wouldn't give up without a fight. He just looked at his power meter and thought oops, I'm close to my limit, better drop. You saw him on the radio just as he was dropping.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Jesus, stop panicking. He didn't even try to hang on. Remember what he said, he wouldn't go into the red. This doesn't tell us anything.

What? He really tried to follow froome. He is really bad but I know he will improve a lot until le tour. The problem is that he is clearly two steps below froome (who isn't in top shape at all)

No, he didn't

 

[lenric]

Re:

Jesus, stop panicking. He didn't even try to hang on. Remember what he said, he wouldn't go into the red. This doesn't tell us anything.

In fact it does: he wasn't at ease following Froome. And both Froome and Porte, at least, are better than him. Not to mention Aru.

It's doubtful that his form will increase all that much.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Can we now abandon all the theories about AC's condition. He has got to retire at the end of the season. The good days are now once in a blue moon.

Who are you to tell him he's got to retire?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Jesus, stop panicking. He didn't even try to hang on. Remember what he said, he wouldn't go into the red. This doesn't tell us anything.

In fact it does: he wasn't at ease following Froome. And both Froome and Porte, at least, are better than him. Not to mention Aru.

It's doubtful that his form will increase all that much.

Was Froome at ease at the tempo he was riding? No he wasn't. But he was trying to win the race, while Contador had nothing to gain. Why bother going too far into the red?

 

[jilbiker]

Re: Re:

Can we now abandon all the theories about AC's condition. He has got to retire at the end of the season. The good days are now once in a blue moon.

Who are you to tell him he's got to retire?

I like what the commentator said, "Contador now finishing in slow motion". I don't know the training program but he looks average. He came here to train he says, train what? I cannot see anything positive to take out of this training session. Is this how he has been training all these weeks?

I just don't think he has the goods relative to other current top riders.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Can we now abandon all the theories about AC's condition. He has got to retire at the end of the season. The good days are now once in a blue moon.

Who are you to tell him he's got to retire?

I like what the commentator said, "Contador now finishing in slow motion". I don't know the training program but he looks average. He came here to train he says, train what? I cannot see anything positive to take out of this training session. Is this how he has been training all these weeks?

I just don't think he has the goods relative to other current top riders.

Yes, he's here to get some miles in his legs, not to go far into the red. He chose a more relaxed approach towards the Tour.
And so what if he doesn't have the goods? If you don't like watching him then block him out of your consciousness, but you're in no position to tell him he should retire.

 

[lenric]

Re: Re:

Jesus, stop panicking. He didn't even try to hang on. Remember what he said, he wouldn't go into the red. This doesn't tell us anything.

In fact it does: he wasn't at ease following Froome. And both Froome and Porte, at least, are better than him. Not to mention Aru.

It's doubtful that his form will increase all that much.

Was Froome at ease at the tempo he was riding? No he wasn't. But he was trying to win the race, while Contador had nothing to gain. Why bother going too far into the red?

Precisely my point: he has a lot of room to improve, despite being competitive in this year's Dauphine. Alberto wasn't and it's pretty doubtful that he will hugely improve his form.

And since his goal is to win the Tour, he should have performed better, despite all the "just training ride" shenanigans.

 

[Jspear]

What should trouble him is that everyone else is just training as well. Everyone knows the Tour is the big goal, and everyone is going to be in better form there. Does his PR manager dictate what he has to say to the public? He obviously knows that things aren't going great. Perhaps he has to say the things he says?....

 

[lenric]

Re: Re:

Can we now abandon all the theories about AC's condition. He has got to retire at the end of the season. The good days are now once in a blue moon.

Who are you to tell him he's got to retire?

I like what the commentator said, "Contador now finishing in slow motion". I don't know the training program but he looks average. He came here to train he says, train what? I cannot see anything positive to take out of this training session. Is this how he has been training all these weeks?

I just don't think he has the goods relative to other current top riders.

Yes, he's here to get some miles in his legs, not to go far into the red. He chose a more relaxed approach towards the Tour.
And so what if he doesn't have the goods? If you don't like watching him then block him out of your consciousness, but you're in no position to tell him he should retire.

Damn, so harsh. Everyone's entitled to their opinion and to voice it. If you don't like ignore it. It's as simple as that.

 

[portugal11]

He is becomig a one tricky pony like quintana. He can't descend, he suffers a lot in flat sections, his time trial is pretty average nowadays, he doesn't have a good team and his climbing ability is far from being stellar

 

[lenric]

Re:

What should trouble him is that everyone else is just training as well. Everyone knows the Tour is the big goal, and everyone is going to be in better form there. Does his PR manager dictate what he has to say to the public? He obviously knows that things aren't going great. Perhaps he has to say the things he says?....

I doubt he'd say things are going bad.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Precisely my point: he has a lot of room to improve, despite being competitive in this year's Dauphine. Alberto wasn't and it's pretty doubtful that he will hugely improve his form.

And since his goal is to win the Tour, he should have performed better, despite all the "just training ride" shenanigans.

No, you don't get the point. They were equally uncomfortable at that pace but Froome came here to win while Contador came to train. That is why Froome kept pushing on while Contador dropped when he looked at his power meter and saw he was on the limit he and his coaches had agreed on before the race.

 

[Jspear]

Re:

He is becomig a one tricky pony like quintana. He can't descend, he suffers a lot in flat sections, his time trial is pretty average nowadays, he doesn't have a good team and his climbing ability is far from being stellar

But Quintana can still climb pretty darn well.

He dropped out of the top 10 gc.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

What should trouble him is that everyone else is just training as well. Everyone knows the Tour is the big goal, and everyone is going to be in better form there. Does his PR manager dictate what he has to say to the public? He obviously knows that things aren't going great. Perhaps he has to say the things he says?....

Ah, you can read his mind?
Is his PR manager keeping his family hostage?

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

He is becomig a one tricky pony like quintana. He can't descend, he suffers a lot in flat sections, his time trial is pretty average nowadays, he doesn't have a good team and his climbing ability is far from being stellar

But Quintana can still climb pretty darn well.

He dropped out of the top 10 gc.

That is the big difference between them.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Damn, so harsh. Everyone's entitled to their opinion and to voice it. If you don't like ignore it. It's as simple as that.

what would you say if I started posting that Froome should retire?
It is just disgusting and disrespectful to say he "should" retire. It should be the man's own decision and should not be influenced by what some irrelevant fans on the internet say.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

He is becomig a one tricky pony like quintana. He can't descend, he suffers a lot in flat sections, his time trial is pretty average nowadays, he doesn't have a good team and his climbing ability is far from being stellar

Ok Mr. Negativity, we get it.

 

[perico]

Meh he'll be fine. Why should he try to win the Dauphine? He was dropping all the others (bar Valverde) all spring long (including Dawg at Catalonia). He came into this race saying he was here to build form, not race for the win, and he follows wheel, put in a dig, then calls it a day. Mission accomplished. Whether it pays off while Porte and Froome went very deep over a glorified exhibition will be known next month.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

What should trouble him is that everyone else is just training as well. Everyone knows the Tour is the big goal, and everyone is going to be in better form there. Does his PR manager dictate what he has to say to the public? He obviously knows that things aren't going great. Perhaps he has to say the things he says?....

Ah, you can read his mind?
Is his PR manager keeping his family hostage?

Don't be silly. Of course I can't read his mind, but I think it's safe to say that things aren't going perfectly. He'll have a hard time catching up to the others as far as form is concerned. He's a smart man, he has to know that. I'm actually complimenting him when I say "he has to know." If he didn't know than I think we could assume he isn't the brightest guy out there. So it's a compliment on my end.

Again don't be silly. No one was talking about a hostage situation. Perhaps though when he's told to do something while on the job, he complies because he's a good employee. I happen to know for a fact that plenty of riders can't talk to the media until they've been cleared to by their team. Similarly I thought, maybe he has to keep a positive spin on his training and prep.

 

[lenric]

Re: Re:

Precisely my point: he has a lot of room to improve, despite being competitive in this year's Dauphine. Alberto wasn't and it's pretty doubtful that he will hugely improve his form.

And since his goal is to win the Tour, he should have performed better, despite all the "just training ride" shenanigans.

No, you don't get the point. They were equally uncomfortable at that pace but Froome came here to win while Contador came to train. That is why Froome kept pushing on while Contador dropped when he looked at his power meter and saw he was on the limit he and his coaches had agreed on before the race.

Or maybe it's you that don't get the point. Stop being defensive when your boy is being criticized.

If his "numbers" and his "training" would be going well, he wouldn't ever felt the need of saying time and time again that "I'm taking a different approach. This will be only for training purposes.", when in the past few years spent his life saying "best form of my life, best numbers of my life.". Such a radical change. I'm not naive and I dont believe for a second that a guy like him would say such a thing truthfully, especially considering all the crap that he says that turn out to be false.

So stop acting so defensively. If you don't like people criticizing him and can't cope with it, especially when he fails miserably, then ignore.

 

[Sciocco]

I like this approach to take it easy in Dauphine. Yea we might a 2013 Contador but we also might get a decent Contador and this TdF route is kind of odd.

I'll be honest though, already hyped for 2018 Giro.

 

[TomLPC]

Feel bad for the old man, maybe he is finished, although I have my doubts, but he dosen't deserve his fans turning on him like this. Surely the only parameter by which he should continue is whether he is still enjoying racing his bike, not for the ratification of people on an internet forum who have been spoiled for years by his great style and vast amount of victories. The only ones tarnishing his legacy are those who are measuring the efforts of a 34 year old man in relation to his former unattainable standard.

 

[portugal11]

He will improve a lot in the next 3 weeks but the problem is that he is too far behind and froome will improve too