Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[bob.a.feet]

Re:

I think I'm right in saying that he's never been to the Vuelta when he's finished the Tour. If he's planning to do the Giro next year then I think it would be best for him to skip the Vuelta even if it will then hold less interest for me personally. Perhaps targetting Milan-Turin and Giro Lombardia, either for himself or helping Mollema might be the best.

I would love to see Contador at Milano–Torino and maybe win, but I don't think he should bother with Lombardia as it doesn't really suit him.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

I think I'm right in saying that he's never been to the Vuelta when he's finished the Tour. If he's planning to do the Giro next year then I think it would be best for him to skip the Vuelta even if it will then hold less interest for me personally. Perhaps targetting Milan-Turin and Giro Lombardia, either for himself or helping Mollema might be the best.

I would love to see Contador at Milano–Torino and maybe win, but I don't think he should bother with Lombardia as it doesn't really suit him.

No it doesn't, but if he treats it as a training ride there's no harm

 

[yaco]

I hope he will do the Vuelta, the form seemed to improve since last week.

I think he should do as well. Looks like it's going to be a pretty low quality field apart from Froome as well, so definite chance of a podium there.

What - Vuelta will have a better GC field than the TDF.

 

[bob.a.feet]

Re: Re:

I think I'm right in saying that he's never been to the Vuelta when he's finished the Tour. If he's planning to do the Giro next year then I think it would be best for him to skip the Vuelta even if it will then hold less interest for me personally. Perhaps targetting Milan-Turin and Giro Lombardia, either for himself or helping Mollema might be the best.

I would love to see Contador at Milano–Torino and maybe win, but I don't think he should bother with Lombardia as it doesn't really suit him.

No it doesn't, but if he treats it as a training ride there's no harm

Usually when he rides Il Lombardia he does worse next season. Obviously this is purely coincidental but you can never be too sure!

 

[DFA123]

I hope he will do the Vuelta, the form seemed to improve since last week.

I think he should do as well. Looks like it's going to be a pretty low quality field apart from Froome as well, so definite chance of a podium there.

What - Vuelta will have a better GC field than the TDF.

Lol. No. Perhaps better than the GC field at the end of the Tour given all the withdrawals, but certainly not from the startlist.

 

[yaco]

I hope he will do the Vuelta, the form seemed to improve since last week.

I think he should do as well. Looks like it's going to be a pretty low quality field apart from Froome as well, so definite chance of a podium there.

What - Vuelta will have a better GC field than the TDF.

Lol. No. Perhaps better than the GC field at the end of the Tour given all the withdrawals, but certainly not from the startlist.

Check the startlist.

 

[cellardoor]

I hope he will do the Vuelta, the form seemed to improve since last week.

I think he should do as well. Looks like it's going to be a pretty low quality field apart from Froome as well, so definite chance of a podium there.

What - Vuelta will have a better GC field than the TDF.

Lol. No. Perhaps better than the GC field at the end of the Tour given all the withdrawals, but certainly not from the startlist.

Check the startlist.

Not that simple. e.g Dumoulin might be starting but don't think he's going for GC. Lots of riders will be starting that are tired from the Tour and won't have that high a level.

 

[klintE]

I just checked.
Giro and the Tour winner both are in the field.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I hope he will do the Vuelta, the form seemed to improve since last week.

I think he should do as well. Looks like it's going to be a pretty low quality field apart from Froome as well, so definite chance of a podium there.

What - Vuelta will have a better GC field than the TDF.

Lol. No. Perhaps better than the GC field at the end of the Tour given all the withdrawals, but certainly not from the startlist.

Check the startlist.

How is it better?
Vuelta: Nibali, A. Yates and Zakarin
vs
Tour: Valverde, Porte, Quintana, Landa and Martin

 

[Red Rick]

I'm not too sure about Contador riding the Vuelta. I'm also not too sure about him not doing anything after the Tour. The worst thing is to go into the off season late, and to go into it with a burnout.

For Contador to have a shot at something great next year, it's incredibly important to go into the off season fresh. That means no Vuelta. That also means there are very few suitable races left for him. Too bad. Trek should figure out something better than to send Contador to the Vuelta.

The last question is if what Contador did today is the best he can do. I think not, but I can't be sure and I like my delusions.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

I'm not too sure about Contador riding the Vuelta. I'm also not too sure about him not doing anything after the Tour. The worst thing is to go into the off season late, and to go into it with a burnout.

For Contador to have a shot at something great next year, it's incredibly important to go into the off season fresh. That means no Vuelta. That also means there are very few suitable races left for him. Too bad. Trek should figure out something better than to send Contador to the Vuelta.

The last question is if what Contador did today is the best he can do. I think not, but I can't be sure and I like my delusions.

That's a fair point about the freshness. But I wonder if even he knows what his schedule will be like next year yet; there seemed to be some disagreement between what De Jongh said and what Contador hinted. If he plans on Giro I think best to skip the Vuelta, but if he's going for the Tour, the Vuelta might not be a bad idea, followed by a long break in October and early November.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Interview with Mollema after that stage, Berto interrupting to tell the viewers Mollema is a big champion https://twitter.com/NOSsport/status/888064824667537409

 

[loge1884]

Re:

....
For Contador to have a shot at something great next year, it's incredibly important to go into the off season fresh. ....

I might be wrong, but I can't see Alberto C having a (serious) shot at something great next year (or the years after) anymore .... his main strenghts, the explosivity and change of cadence in climbs seem to have faded completely (which is, I believe, just a question of age anyway) and there is nothing left to compensate this .... I am not sure he's doing himself much favor in continuing racing, tbh ....

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Good ride today, only dropped off towards the end.

great ride...........if it had not been for those pesky young uns going faster...............

Mark L

Haha
That made me laugh
You make it sound like Berto is a grandpa

 

[DFA123]

Re:

I just checked.
Giro and the Tour winner both are in the field.

The guys who won just about every WT stage race this season were on the startlist for the Tour, but won't be for the Vuelta. These are the form riders this season - other guys like Chaves and Nibali are just names who haven't really performed all year.

 

[Red Rick]

I still consider it unlikely that Dumoulin will target GC at the Vuelta.

 

[loge1884]

Re: Re:

I just checked.
Giro and the Tour winner both are in the field.

The guys who won just about every WT stage race this season were on the startlist for the Tour, but won't be for the Vuelta. These are the form riders this season - other guys like Chaves and Nibali are just names who haven't really performed all year.

I find these posts about startlists a little bit silly .... I can't recall when any race had a better startlist than the tour (not just contenders for the GC, but also for stages and side-competitions) ... besides: everyone goes to Le Tour fully dedicated, which is perhaps also the case for the Giro, but certainly not for the Vuelta (just remember the Schlecks doing more work in the bars than with their hands on the bar ...)

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

I just checked.
Giro and the Tour winner both are in the field.

The guys who won just about every WT stage race this season were on the startlist for the Tour, but won't be for the Vuelta. These are the form riders this season - other guys like Chaves and Nibali are just names who haven't really performed all year.

I find these posts about startlists a little bit silly .... I can't recall when any race had a better startlist than the tour (not just contenders for the GC, but also for stages and side-competitions) ... besides: everyone goes to Le Tour fully dedicated, which is perhaps also the case for the Giro, but certainly not for the Vuelta (just remember the Schlecks doing more work in the bars than with their hands on the bar ...)

Yep, the Tour is definitely a tougher startlist. I think Contador would have a very good chance to podium at the Vuelta, but imo it was always a long shot at the Tour (although the way it actually transpired with so many DNF is a bit strange). Also the course suits Contador more at the Vuelta, lots of climbs but not too many tough enudrance stages, plus a couple of great ambush stages. Even if he didn't win, he'd have a really great chance of a good GC and a stage win.

 

[Forever The Best]

Re:

Yes in terms of results this was a bad year for him, as you say even worse than 2013, his worst year since 2004 which is just sad to think about. But that isn't a good representation of his form throughout the year, he really deserved to at least win a stage or two somewhere along the way anyway, if I were him I'd call it a season (ok, if the team wants him to race he can show up in Italy at the end of the season), rest, recover and start building again for next year.

He really deserved to win P-N and a stage in TDF.
Perhaps he can ride the Vuelta for GC if his form gets better? Or skip Vuelta and peak for Lombardia?

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

I still consider it unlikely that Dumoulin will target GC at the Vuelta.

And I still don't get why

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

I still consider it unlikely that Dumoulin will target GC at the Vuelta.

And I still don't get why

Veleta, Velefique, Calar Alto, La Cobertoria, Angliru, La Pandera, Xorret de Cati, Los Machucos and Garbi versus 40km of TT is the reason why.

 

[bob.a.feet]

Re: Re:

Good ride today, only dropped off towards the end.

great ride...........if it had not been for those pesky young uns going faster...............

Mark L

Haha
That made me laugh
You make it sound like Berto is a grandpa

"Back in my day we attacked!"

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

I still consider it unlikely that Dumoulin will target GC at the Vuelta.

And I still don't get why

Parcours
Competition
The amount of preparation it takes Dumoulin to be at a level to challenge GTs
BERGEN WORLDS ITT

Tom Dumoulin is still not a pure stage racer. He's a world class TT'er and an incredible rouleur and hilly rider so he will always have the luxury of picking his targets in the post-Tour season.

 

[Lexman]

Didn't watch a lot of todays stage, but he seemed to have a nice recovery and didnt get a setback after yesterday efforts.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Didn't watch a lot of todays stage, but he seemed to have a nice recovery and didnt get a setback after yesterday efforts.

He did say his legs felt bad all day after yesterday's effort
But the result was quite decent