Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[HelloDolly]

There is obviously a difference between racing and training ...and we have heard from many teams where riders kill it in training but not at the race ...I have always wondered about this....but it may be possible that it is partly psychological and not just physical as to why Contador has under performed.... Maybe fear of crashes, anxiety over not being up there, etc can bring with it a drop in performance ... Most riders will tell you that wining at GT is as much about the mind as it is about the legs...remember there are really only margins between these riders in physical ability...and they know it

It is psychologically harder each year to prepare fro a GT Tour esp if you know your chances of wining are getting slimmer....but I dont buy that Contador is physically past it...

However he is probably jaded from trying ...so bowing out and that is understandable

The parcours at this years Tour were not his forte so maybe one last Giro/Vuelta and then goodbye would be fine

 

[HelloDolly]

As for a list of excuses....riders themselves sometimes do not know what has gone wrong

Last year Quintana prepared for the Tour and was in his best shape....see what happened there ..and he said his numbers before this Tour were his best ever....but where is he ??

Trying to understand why your body is not working as you thought is not an exact science

 

[lenric]

Re:

beating the record on the training climb in Madrid is quite possible, one would be stupid to completely deny it. still, it's only indicative and pretty much guarantes you nothing on if you'll manage to match froome, bardet or aru bombing the climbs going full gas. that's a real problem.

IT doesn't even guarantee nothing on how he'll perform at a 10x longer stage in the middle of 3000 kms racing. In fact, the opposite isn't impossible: by focusing on shorter efforts, the capacity to endure longer efforts may get reduced.

Anyway, almost everything he says is ***, especially when he knows he's not the top dog.

 

[arvc40]

His numbers in training are pretty irrelevant if other riders produce equal or better, so when he comes out with that *** it's aimed at the vast number of stupid people that want to believe it. He making $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ anyway.

 

[arvc40]

His position in multiple races through the last few years is the best indicator that his numbers quite often do not match those of the best.Does make me shake my head when I see Yates ahead of him.

As I stated before he should be flying this week. No doubt he will try.

 

[HelloDolly]

Gawd there are some rude people on this forum....
Try to understand the issue rather than attack the man ....some talk as if he had murdered their mother ...such is their aggression and arrogance ( 'number of stupid people' !!!) ....

As I said before I hope Contador does not read this forum as he would not find many real fans on here

 

[bob.a.feet]

Re: Re:

All I can say its super frustrating. And many fans will believe him because they want to.

Yeah, perhaps we're being a little harsh on him though. He must know he can't win the Tour these days, so maybe it's just self promotion, getting himself a nice retirement fund. And fair play to him; if you see it that he's managed to convince enough fans that he's still a top level rider, which in turn has convinced Trek that he's still marketable enough to pay him a huge salary for another couiple of years, then all his statements start to make a lot more sense.

Yes, millions of dollars in the bank yet all he cares about is money. **** that.

Well, he certainly wouldn't be the first rich guy to try to milk the cash cow even more. I doubt very much it's his sole motivation for continuing riding, but it certainly seems to be the most logical explanation for these statements which seem more based in marketing than reality.

I think it's clear that he is racing for more than just money. Going all out to try to win PN was something he did because he wanted to win. If he was riding for money he could have just relaxed and settled for 3rd, but he didn't.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

All I can say its super frustrating. And many fans will believe him because they want to.

Yeah, perhaps we're being a little harsh on him though. He must know he can't win the Tour these days, so maybe it's just self promotion, getting himself a nice retirement fund. And fair play to him; if you see it that he's managed to convince enough fans that he's still a top level rider, which in turn has convinced Trek that he's still marketable enough to pay him a huge salary for another couiple of years, then all his statements start to make a lot more sense.

Yes, millions of dollars in the bank yet all he cares about is money. **** that.

Well, he certainly wouldn't be the first rich guy to try to milk the cash cow even more. I doubt very much it's his sole motivation for continuing riding, but it certainly seems to be the most logical explanation for these statements which seem more based in marketing than reality.

I think it's clear that he is racing for more than just money. Going all out to try to win PN was something he did because he wanted to win. If he was riding for money he could have just relaxed and settled for 3rd, but he didn't.

Agreed, I'm sure he's not in it just for the money. I'm referring more about the statements (excuses) he makes which don't seem to have much basis in reality. It's almost like someone at Trek tapped him on the shoulder on the rest day and said 'look, we don't want a guy as the face of Trek, who people think can't win GTs anymore - go out and convince them you've still got it'. If he can get fans hyped up and believing he still can compete at the highest level, then it's good for Trek and, by extension, good for his bank balance.

 

[Kokoso]

Re:

Pantano will be huge help to Contador - like 2013 Kreuziger

Wishful thinking.

There was a lot of bashing Kreuziger last year and talking about how he'll have superb support with Trek at the Tour.

We can speculate that Kreuziger or Sagan were spot on last year.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

There is obviously a difference between racing and training ...and we have heard from many teams where riders kill it in training but not at the race ...I have always wondered about this....but it may be possible that it is partly psychological and not just physical as to why Contador has under performed.... Maybe fear of crashes, anxiety over not being up there, etc can bring with it a drop in performance ... Most riders will tell you that wining at GT is as much about the mind as it is about the legs...remember there are really only margins between these riders in physical ability...and they know it

It is psychologically harder each year to prepare fro a GT Tour esp if you know your chances of wining are getting slimmer....but I dont buy that Contador is physically past it...

However he is probably jaded from trying ...so bowing out and that is understandable

The parcours at this years Tour were not his forte so maybe one last Giro/Vuelta and then goodbye would be fine

Not physically past it but the drop off is noticeable. Maybe his recovery is not what it was and the crashes never help. He is off by enough to make reaching podiums difficult and Bardet and co have definitely improved. This is a Tour of what could have beens. Froome is definitely off his best, what remains to be seen is whether it is just for this year or will Froome not be the force he used to be ? Contador has already reached that point. This Tour is far from over, I think there are more twists to come. Even picking the podium from today is not easy and in that sense it resembles this year's Giro. Fans may not like the course but the race hasn't been too boring. Like the Giro this will probably go down to the final TT as well as no one has dominated or looks like dominating.

 

[YavorD]

Well. maybe Contador is really not good enough. He says "if it wasn't for the crashes...bla-bla". Crashed most probably effecting your performance, BUUUT if you crash in pretty much EVERY GT more than once, probably you are to blame. Either your concentration, either positioning, either bike-handling, either fear.. But since you're not good enough to stay up on your bike and staying UP is one of the most important things to win a GT, you are simply not good enough to win one. Contador is a great rider, attacking and animating the races, but his excuses are way too much.

 

[perico]

Barring misfortune, still finishes higher than Nairo.

 

[perico]

Re: Re:

Pantano will be huge help to Contador - like 2013 Kreuziger

Wishful thinking.

There was a lot of bashing Kreuziger last year and talking about how he'll have superb support with Trek at the Tour.

We can speculate that Kreuziger or Sagan were spot on last year.

Considering that most of last year's team have spoken of their admiration for Bertie (Majka, Valgren, Jensen), I tend to think Oleg was blowing smoke. Throw in obvious love from Mick, Basso, and one wonders if their was an East/West split. Most of it likely stems from the fallout over the firing of Bjarn Riis than Bertie's popularity on Tinkoff.

 

[Kokoso]

Re: Re:

Pantano will be huge help to Contador - like 2013 Kreuziger

Wishful thinking.

There was a lot of bashing Kreuziger last year and talking about how he'll have superb support with Trek at the Tour.

We can speculate that Kreuziger or Sagan were spot on last year.

Considering that most of last year's team have spoken of their admiration for Bertie (Majka, Valgren, Jensen), I tend to think Oleg was blowing smoke. Throw in obvious love from Mick, Basso, and one wonders if their was an East/West split. Most of it likely stems from the fallout over the firing of Bjarn Riis than Bertie's popularity on Tinkoff.

I have no clure what you are talking about and/or where are you going? What has love of some or dislike of others to do with that?

Anyway, speaking about that, I don't believe that when rider x says "I love rider y" to the media really means he loves him. That's naive stance. Deeds are more real in this regard albeit of course not deciding; what has Majka ever did for Contador? Again, saying that, I don't think doing or not doing something for someone relates to relationship of the two people. Not only in the professional sport, but generally. When tells you do something you'll do it even if you don't like him and when someone asks you how do you like your boss you don't say he's a jerk; you'll probably say you are going with him pretty well

 

[elfed68]

Just announced that this is Alberto's last TdF, Giro or Vuelta next year.
Landa to Trek?

 

[bob.a.feet]

Re:

Just announced that this is Alberto's last TdF, Giro or Vuelta next year.
Landa to Trek?

Landa's going to Movistar

 

[benzwire]

Even if Contador decided to ride for 2 more years, I don't think he should ever ride the Tour again. I don't understand why he doesn't ride World's or Lombardia. Hopefully he will this year, but I don't get calling it a season in August. I'd like to see him ride the Giro and Vuelta next year. He should also line up for Paris-Roubaix and Flanders just for the hell of it!

 

[LaFlorecita]

Even if Contador decided to ride for 2 more years, I don't think he should ever ride the Tour again. I don't understand why he doesn't ride World's or Lombardia. Hopefully he will this year, but I don't get calling it a season in August. I'd like to see him ride the Giro and Vuelta next year. He should also line up for Paris-Roubaix and Flanders just for the hell of it!

If he wants to target the Giro next year, it makes no sense to ride on until October. He needs to rest in September/October so he can start building his form early.

 

[Netserk]

Before his best seasons ('09 and '14) he finished the year late. Same before he won his last Giro. I really hope he'll ride the Vuelta.

 

[arvc40]

let's face it, if this is Contadors last Tour your not going to be missing much. Let's hope for a big bang rather than the long fade so far.

 

[portugal11]

I would love to see him in the tour next year but without his normal peak in march.

 

[Carols]

Re:

If he's going to Giro, Carols, I will meet you there ! ;o)

. Sounds good to me!

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Before his best seasons ('09 and '14) he finished the year late. Same before he won his last Giro. I really hope he'll ride the Vuelta.

& Also before his worst season (2013)...

 

[Captain_Obvious]

Ugh...not again :/

 

[iGROTROn]

Tomorrow many cyclists from top 10 will lost a lot of time.They spent a lot of energy today. I think alberto finished very fresh.