Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

The Tour de France is just a level or 3 too high for the current Alberto Contador. He should retire at the end of the year really.

No. He. Should. Not.

Why not? He can't even fight anymore. We all knew before he isn't in a physical state anymore to win the Tour, but he should be able to at least spice things up and fight for a decent result (podium). However, the reality is he can't even follow the 15 best climbers in the race at the moment. What's the point of going on in that case?

Contador is one of the greatest champions of the past decades. And not someone who's just an ordinairy climber in the biggest stage race in the world.

Just who cares what you think. Only he decides when it's time to retire.

 

[Arredondo]

Re: Re:

This is just painful. For the first time since ages, he arrived the mountains without any major problems.

The Tour de France is just a level or 3 too high for the current Alberto Contador. He should retire at the end of the year really.

He might still be just about good enough to have a reasonable chance to win a Vuelta or a Giro without strong competition

I don't think he is tbh. He's getting worse and worse.

 

[Amazinmets87]

Re:

One theory I've been thinking about is that maybe AC knew he had no real chance of winning, even before signing with Trek, but after all the pain cycling has brought him (and it has; he has spoken bitterly about pro cycling before), he wanted to milk it for what its worth. A big f u to pro cycling.
Although, i admit, that would be very out of character. Just a thought.

by "pain" are you referring to his ban?

 

[Arredondo]

Re: Re:

The Tour de France is just a level or 3 too high for the current Alberto Contador. He should retire at the end of the year really.

No. He. Should. Not.

Why not? He can't even fight anymore. We all knew before he isn't in a physical state anymore to win the Tour, but he should be able to at least spice things up and fight for a decent result (podium). However, the reality is he can't even follow the 15 best climbers in the race at the moment. What's the point of going on in that case?

Contador is one of the greatest champions of the past decades. And not someone who's just an ordinairy climber in the biggest stage race in the world.

Just who cares what you think. Only he decides when it's time to retire.

I'm entitled to have my own opinion. Just like everyone here. But you really think you are the only one who can have an opinion about him.

Just like Contador, you're sour and past your prime.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

I mean... how can you have ONE goal for the whole season and be SO sh*t is beyond me. What will he do now? And he has the guts to say he is in 2014 shape. Why lie? Why not just tell that he isn't confident about his form...

He can't win either way. If he tells the truth he's called defeatist by his fans for whom a win is the only acceptable result. He's basically just riding the same as he did in the Dauphine - if you ignore all the talk and statements and ingenious training plan ideas, then the signs have been there.

Just stop with this nonsense about the Dauphiné

Well, he actually lost more time today than he did there, so maybe he's got worse. Either the Dauphine training idea has been a total disaster. Or it was simply a lie to hide his poor form there, and they were hoping for some hail mary style recovery before the tour.

How do you explain his form in the early season then?

Not sure, it was certainly a bit better. Although getting beaten by Henao and Valverde still offered a few small question marks imo. After Pais Vasco though he has just looked awful. And with today's performance you've certainly got to look at his strategy or form around the Dauphine. Something between April and July seems to have gone seriously wrong.

 

[silvergrenade]

Re: Re:

Let him lose minutes and try for a stage.

he is losing minutes

Not enough

He will be let off in a breakaway only if hes 30 minutes or something back.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

I'm entitled to have my own opinion. Just like everyone here. But you really think you are the only one who can have an opinion about him.

Just like Contador, you're sour and past your prime.

I just think it's extremely disgusting for someone to feel entitled to tell a rider he should retire, especially such a big champion as Contador.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Let him lose minutes and try for a stage.

he is losing minutes

Not enough

He will be let off in a breakaway only if hes 30 minutes or something back.

Closer riders are let in breakaways every day.

 

[Hayabusa]

Re: Re:

The Tour de France is just a level or 3 too high for the current Alberto Contador. He should retire at the end of the year really.

No. He. Should. Not.

Why not? He can't even fight anymore. We all knew before he isn't in a physical state anymore to win the Tour, but he should be able to at least spice things up and fight for a decent result (podium). However, the reality is he can't even follow the 15 best climbers in the race at the moment. What's the point of going on in that case?

Contador is one of the greatest champions of the past decades. And not someone who's just an ordinairy climber in the biggest stage race in the world.

Just who cares what you think. Only he decides when it's time to retire.

I'm entitled to have my own opinion. Just like everyone here. But you really think you are the only one who can have an opinion about him.

Just like Contador, you're sour and past your prime.

Contador hasn't been sour about anything has he?

He should go to the Vuelta, try get a stage win and end on a high. If he goes one more year then he'll just decline further.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

One theory I've been thinking about is that maybe AC knew he had no real chance of winning, even before signing with Trek, but after all the pain cycling has brought him (and it has; he has spoken bitterly about pro cycling before), he wanted to milk it for what its worth. A big f u to pro cycling.
Although, i admit, that would be very out of character. Just a thought.

This thought has crossed my mind as well. Although I think it's fair play to him if he has done that, if you've got enough credit in the bank from 5 years at the top, and another 5 years amongst the challengers, that you can get one more big move, then you might as well cash in that credit when you have the chance.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Let him lose minutes and try for a stage.

he is losing minutes

Not enough

He will be let off in a breakaway only if hes 30 minutes or something back.

Yes that was my point

 

[silvergrenade]

Re: Re:

Let him lose minutes and try for a stage.

he is losing minutes

Not enough

He will be let off in a breakaway only if hes 30 minutes or something back.

Closer riders are let in breakaways every day.

Yes, they are..
But if there's a guy in the whole peloton you dont want in the break is Bertie..
You never know what he might do.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Let him lose minutes and try for a stage.

he is losing minutes

Not enough

He will be let off in a breakaway only if hes 30 minutes or something back.

Closer riders are let in breakaways every day.

In 2013 when he was like 10 minutes back they didn't give him 10 meters.
They won't risk bringing him back into the GC battle.

 

[Red Rick]

This is obviously not consistent with what he showed earlier in the season. There's 4 possibilities

1. Seasonal build up went wrong
2. peaked in the spring
3. No 3-week recovery anymore
4. Crash affected him, something else is wrong.

GC is obviously out the window. Nothing to do but accept that, and either stop watching the race or focus on the positive things you can see.

 

[Jelantik]

Re:

Absolutely terrible show from Contador. Crazy watching him unable to muster even one aggressive acceleration.

One aggressive acceleration? Just holding wheel is already a huge task for him. And he can't even hold it until 1 km of the climb. I'm still puzzled with his performance. I don't buy the age thing. He was so worst compare to Yates, Bennet, even Quintana with his giro leg? Come on. It's not an age. That's just an easy excuse. He should be at least descent. Not sure what was that plan in Dauphine. He said to arrive fresh. But he seems to lack form now? under perform? Waiting for 3rd week? the last time he said that (2013), it never came. He even got dropped like a stone.

 

[Arredondo]

Re: Re:

I'm entitled to have my own opinion. Just like everyone here. But you really think you are the only one who can have an opinion about him.

Just like Contador, you're sour and past your prime.

I just think it's extremely disgusting for someone to feel entitled to tell a rider he should retire, especially such a big champion as Contador.

Of course he decides when he should retire. I'm not his boss. But when i think of Alberto Contador, i remember his beautiful mountain raids in the Tour 2009, Giro 2011, Vuelta 2012 or Vuelta 2014. Or his mythical performances on Verbier, Plateau de Beille, Etna, Tirreno '14.....

Now i see a rider who's extremely vulnerable. Who rides on a way too heavy gear, and drops with every significant attack.

It's makes me sad

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

[quote="rick james"Captain_Obvious":3cafpra0]Let him lose minutes and try for a stage.

he is losing minutes

Not enough

He will be let off in a breakaway only if hes 30 minutes or something back.

Closer riders are let in breakaways every day.[/quote]
In 2013 when he was like 10 minutes back they didn't give him 10 meters.
They won't risk bringing him back into the GC battle.[/quote]

He was 4'30 back in the AdH stage, and he wasn 2nd in GC.

 

[Hayabusa]

Re: Re:

I'm entitled to have my own opinion. Just like everyone here. But you really think you are the only one who can have an opinion about him.

Just like Contador, you're sour and past your prime.

I just think it's extremely disgusting for someone to feel entitled to tell a rider he should retire, especially such a big champion as Contador.

Of course he decides when he should retire. I'm not his boss. But when i think of Alberto Contador, i remember his beautiful mountain raids in the Tour 2009, Giro 2011, Vuelta 2012 or Vuelta 2014. Or his mythical performances on Verbier, Plateau de Beille, Etna, Tirreno '14.....

Now i see a rider who's extremelt vulnerable. Who rides on a way too heavy gear, and drops with every significant attack in GT's.

It's makes me sad

It's getting to the point where it reminds me of Schleck's last few years.

 

[lenric]

Re:

This is obviously not consistent with what he showed earlier in the season. There's 4 possibilities

1. Seasonal build up went wrong
2. peaked in the spring
3. No 3-week recovery anymore
4. Crash affected him, something else is wrong.

GC is obviously out the window. Nothing to do but accept that, and either stop watching the race or focus on the positive things you can see.

5. All of the above.

 

[Red Rick]

Also, if you look at the names of riders ahead of him, those aren't just the best of the best who are beating him. Many of them he has ridden against competitively earlier in the year.

 

[laurensde+]

Re:

This is obviously not consistent with what he showed earlier in the season. There's 4 possibilities

1. Seasonal build up went wrong
2. peaked in the spring
3. No 3-week recovery anymore
4. Crash affected him, something else is wrong.

GC is obviously out the window. Nothing to do but accept that, and either stop watching the race or focus on the positive things you can see.

1. It's 2017, not 2010.
2. See 1.

 

[infeXio]

From the race thread:

From CN live stream:
"Contador, it transpires, received a heavy blow to the knee in the same crash that saw Thomas abandon. The Spaniard also hit the deck when Nairo Quintana bumped into him on the Grand Colombier. In the end, he fell away on the Mont du Chat and lost 4:19."

 

[portugal11]

Re:

From the race thread:

From CN live stream:
"Contador, it transpires, received a heavy blow to the knee in the same crash that saw Thomas abandon. The Spaniard also hit the deck when Nairo Quintana bumped into him on the Grand Colombier. In the end, he fell away on the Mont du Chat and lost 4:19."

More excuses? He is past his prime

 

[Captain_Obvious]

Es secundario hablar de dolor, no he estado como me hubiera gustado estar y ya está. Tenía buenas sensaciones esta mañana. De hecho habíamos metido a Bauke (Mollema) y a Jarlinson (Pantano) por delante pensando en un posible ataque. Pero luego las piernas no me han respondido"

Didnt have the legs.

 

[infeXio]

Re: Re:

From the race thread:

From CN live stream:
"Contador, it transpires, received a heavy blow to the knee in the same crash that saw Thomas abandon. The Spaniard also hit the deck when Nairo Quintana bumped into him on the Grand Colombier. In the end, he fell away on the Mont du Chat and lost 4:19."

More excuses? He is past his prime

No ***, Sherlock. Him being past his prime doesn't mean he won't be harmed by crashes. Smh.