- May 15, 2011
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- May 15, 2011
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LaFlorecita said:You forget Nibbles
don't worry, all the italian newspapers will remind me of him even too much, come the Sanremo and the Giro
- Jun 14, 2010
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peloton said:
Its a long ****ing interview and they jump straight in
"the worst and best for you of 2012"
The worst as you probably know the time i had to spend out.
The best - the support of the fans.
More so than the win in the Vuelta.
Yeah of course more the support, because it made me feel really supported. I will always be in debt to those who supported me.
Fuente de was where you won the Vuelta. It was like a kamikaze, what was in your mind at the time?
It was a quick thing. I thought attack and did. We knew it wasn't the best hill to attack but if we wanted to win we had to try because i didnt want to think of 2nd place. So i tried and the satisfaction when i pulled it off was incredible.
Did you think that the Vuelta was lost?
It was complicated. I knew i was running out of opportunities to put time into Joaquin. But the second rest day i thought about how to do it, and decided we had to try everything.
One of the big images was your celebration, the way you spread your arms out, stopped breathing and just let the emotion out. How did you feel at that moment
Its difficult to explain. I had sacrificed a lot. The objective had been to win and i wanted to win but it was getting very difficult so im not sure if it was an expression of relief or if it was satisfaction. there were a lot of feelings and i cant quite describe it.
Usually you celebrate with the pistol but this time you forgot it.
I dont think i forgot it it was just that it was such an incredible victory with all the emotions from the year, the help of the fans
You took the red and kept it to Madrid. What did you think when you oficially won in Madrid
I felt really relieved because it was a very important race for me. But i was also very happy with the show we put on to the fans on the road and on tv. And also because something we dont always see is the good sporting respect between all of us fighting for the win and i think we were really sporting with eachother.
Here we see you winning. You also recieved an award a few days ago. I think the Vuelta also helped the sport in light of some of hte recent complications. Do you think this vuelta helped bring the fans back and does the sport need the fans?
Without doubt. I think the Vuelta was the race with the most fans that youve seen on the road, more even than in the Tour de France. It was a big boost. And the problems that cycling has had, im an optimist and with the progress made, hopefully they are in the past. Hopefully cycling will go back to a global level
What do you think about the whole Armstrong saga.
Well if it is proven that he didnt apply to the rules then its normal that he was sanctioned.
I feel a bit sad because i looked up to him because when i began cycling, it was a bit late i was 15 years old and he was the one dominating the sport
But your relationship with him when you were together on a team, was difficult.
Well it wasnt the best. But i am a person who tries to ignore the negatives. I learnt a bit from him too.
Did you criticsised the press on their response to armstrong.
no it was misunderstood what i said. All i wanted to express was that i think they were treating him a bit unfairly, but these things get taken out of context.
2013. Your team have a guaranteed place at the TDF. your main aim is to win it?
Yes, i am relieved we got the license. It will be my main aim. last 2 years i wasnt able to be there. 1 i wasnt able to be there the other i wasnt able to be on form. And this year i would like to come to win. More than just fight for the victory i want to win which is more difficult.
The parcors is good for you?
Last year was for time trialists, a bit limited in the mountains. This year its different. Its good for me but also good for my rivals. But i think its a good parcors for a good spectacle
You mention your rivals. Is Froome a bigger rival than Andy?
Froome is a rider who is getting better every race.He is more complete in that he can tt well which makes things more difficult for me. Andy is a bit more limited in the tt. But you have to respect the tremendous quality of Andy Schleck.
Do you think if Froome hadnt been Wiggins teammate last year he would have won.
Wiggins was impressive in the tt and mountains but its difficult to say. It would have been a much more open race. But wiggins tt was impressive.
Will you do another gt this year?
I cant say exactly now. Its all for the Tour. Usually if its all towards the tour then the options for other gts are limited. We have other riders on our team capable of high gc in gts, so they might do those gts but the options are still open for me.
I heard you describe this as the best team you ever had. Why?
Because the level of riders has gone up. Rogers a world champ. Kreuziger who fights for podiums in gts and Roche who can get top 10 at least in the gts. This together with the riders i already had Sorensen, Bennati,Breschel later as well and my friends Hernandez Noval. It takes pressure off me.
Another thing that is important and that seperates some teams from others is unity. We have great unity and also the willingness to achieve the same objective. I think in our team that unity is as good as it gives me great security, having a team like that behind me.
So its a mixture of compromise and quality?
Yes
You once said you would like to do all 3 gts in 1 year. Is it still possible?
Possible yes but its costly in the great effort you have to make. Its costly in the preperation you have to make. And so many other things. So so so so so so much that you have to do and so many factors that have to go right that have doubts i could do it.
It could be that i dont have the great motivation achieve this objective.
Talking of objectives, some say you have 5 gts you say you have 7. How many do you think you have.
To me its 7 of course. I achieved those victories totally clean. After a lot of hard work a lot of sacrifices that you dont see. Fighting to the end. I always considered those victories mine.
Did you ever consider hanging up the bike.
Yes i did. Sometimes really seriously. The only thing that changed my mind was the support of the fans.
You turned 30 recently. A round figure. You achieved so much already, what do you still want to achieve. What dreams do you have left.
On a sporting level i dont have many dreams many left. I already achieved on the sporting level the main ones. More than i ever imagined even a few years ago.
Im still very motivated, I love the bike and enjoy riding it and if i didnt i would stop because its imppossible to make the sacrifices that you have to if you dont enjoy riding. There are a lot of sacrifices in every race from the Tour to the smallest race on the calendar.
In life what i want is a bit of peace, enjoy life with my friends and family, which i often dont get to do when i am away so much
To finish we are at the beginning of the year. What do you want from 2013.
There are 2 things i ask for from 2013. One is peace, for various reasons over the last few years i havent had much peace in my life. The second is to not have bad luck. I always say that all i want is to not have bad luck. The rest will come down to the work you put in.
Thanks for talking to us.
Thanks for having me and thanks for supporting our sport.
- Aug 4, 2010
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- Oct 26, 2010
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Alberto doesn't strike me as a cycling maniac. He isn't a cannibal the way guys like Merckx or Hinault were. He seems happy to be riding his stage races, winning them and don't go after records or things like that. Cycling just isn't everything in his life; he doesn't seem to be in it the way other dominant champions were. Still, Velasco you better fire some shots this season
- Jul 29, 2012
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trevim said:Alberto doesn't strike me as a cycling maniac. He isn't a cannibal the way guys like Merckx or Hinault were. He seems happy to be riding his stage races, winning them and don't go after records or things like that. Cycling just isn't everything in his life; he doesn't seem to be in it the way other dominant champions were. Still, Velasco you better fire some shots this season
You're completely wrong, at least that's why I think.
Contador wants to win everything he races, he doesn't care about stage victories like other riders cause he knows that it's not necessary to win a stage race, it's prob even the reverse.
He's a real champion, just like the others.
He wanted to win the 3 GT's in a year, how do you explain that?
- Oct 26, 2010
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I don't know but it seems to me that after the ban he is very delusioned about cycling and he just wants to picks his usual (outstanding) results and go home. Maybe I'm wrong, it's just my feeling when I read his interviews.Miburo said:
There's no talk about classics, monuments, anything different...
Miburo said:NEVER BASE YOURSELF TOO MUCH ON HIS INTERVIEWS!!!
That's a rule with Contador
Not exactly a straight talker is he ? He should be in politics.
- May 23, 2011
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Miburo said:NEVER BASE YOURSELF TOO MUCH ON HIS INTERVIEWS!!!
That's a rule with Contador
I disagree... You read what he has said, and then you go the óther way.
Out of shape means in super condition and only here for the racedays means "I really wan't to win this".
- Jul 29, 2012
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T-Nielsen said:
You remember what he said last year at san luis?
"I'm fat, don't expect anything"
And what happened?
Edit: Another example is the tour 2010. He said that he regretted that he didn't wait for AS. Based on a book of Riis Contador said to Riis that hopefully Riis understand that he went.
Another example is FW 2010.
He always does it.
Miburo said:You remember what he said last year at san luis?
"I'm fat, don't expect anything"
And what happened?
Edit: Another example is the tour 2010. He said that he regretted that he didn't wait for AS. Based on a book of Riis Contador said to Riis that hopefully Riis understand that he went.
Another example is FW 2010.
He always does it.
Yes he does which is why his interviews never seem to amount to much. It's hard to get interested. At least others have real opinions.
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