Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Pennino]

A podium would be absolutely great given the position he was in after the Andorra stage. You know, I don't like Froome nor Sky, especially for everything they are. But you have to give them the credit they deserve. Beating a hyper aggressive Contador on his home turf certainly is big and will be even bigger if achieved after a heroic fight.
But all this won't ever stop me thinking that the Tour unfortunately has become a riciculous event which has nothing to do with racing anymore. One monster team having almost carte blanche into the yellow jersey and all the others just looking for a GC placing as high as possible. Ridiculous and definitely not fully worth any credit. A shame, also for Sky themselves.

 

[arvc40]

Re:

A podium would be absolutely great given the position he was in after the Andorra stage. You know, I don't like Froome nor Sky, especially for everything they are. But you have to give them the credit they deserve. Beating a hyper aggressive Contador on his home turf certainly is big and will be even bigger if achieved after a heroic fight.
But all this won't ever stop me thinking that the Tour unfortunately has become a riciculous event which has nothing to do with racing anymore. One monster team having almost carte blanche into the yellow jersey and all the others just looking for a GC placing as high as possible. Ridiculous and definitely not fully worth any credit. A shame, also for Sky themselves.

Fair enough. Froome would be winning the Tour whatever Team he was on ! and somebody with his talent would always be picked up by a decent Team. In life, somebody always comes along who is better or for whom it is there time.

Podium would be great result for Contador, no doubt about that. The reason being that it will be the best he can achieve and that's good enough for me and real fans. He will proudly stand next to Froome whatever there final placings.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I doubt Contador dislike Froome at all. They often speak before, during the race, and after, always greet each other when they meet, one would say they get along pretty well...

I think Alberto can get along well with anyone and he isn't the kind of person to dislike someone.

 

[Forever The Best]

Contador should attack on every opportunity and make this a very memorable GT.
And he shouldn't ride for a podium, he should ride onpy for win

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

A podium would be absolutely great given the position he was in after the Andorra stage.

This I agree with. A podium doesn't mean much to him, at least not much more than a 4th or 5th place, but I understand that he wants to finish as high up as possible and because Froome is unbeatable especially with the 3 minute headstart 2nd would be the best possible achievement. However personally I would just rather see him win a stage, seeing Alberto on the 2nd step next to Froome even at a meaningless race like Ruta del Sol was already hard for me, but to see it here, it would be too frustrating, I don't want to have to avoid images of the podium ceremony, it will be sad enough without the added humiliation. Although I suppose considering previous years there's a big chance we won't even see the podium ceremony on TV which may be a blessing in disguise!
What worries me is that Alberto is highly unlikely to win a stage as long as he's still relatively close on GC so this dual aim of a stage win and high GC placing may kill his chances of achieving what he would obviously rate higher. It's understandable because he's always been a GC rider and he isn't going to resort to stage hunting in his final race, but I think he may regret it afterwards.

 

[arvc40]

I doubt Contador dislike Froome at all. They often speak before, during the race, and after, always greet each other when they meet, one would say they get along pretty well...

I think Alberto can get along well with anyone and he isn't the kind of person to dislike someone.

He probably dislikes Oleg Tinkov ?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Contador should attack on every opportunity and make this a very memorable GT.
And he shouldn't ride for a podium, he should ride onpy for win

Good point Death or Glory

 

[Pennino]

Re: Re:

A podium would be absolutely great given the position he was in after the Andorra stage.

This I agree with. A podium doesn't mean much to him, at least not much more than a 4th or 5th place, but I understand that he wants to finish as high up as possible and because Froome is unbeatable especially with the 3 minute headstart 2nd would be the best possible achievement. However personally I would just rather see him win a stage, seeing Alberto on the 2nd step next to Froome even at a meaningless race like Ruta del Sol was already hard for me, but to see it here, it would be too frustrating, I don't want to have to avoid images of the podium ceremony, it will be sad enough without the added humiliation. Although I suppose considering previous years there's a big chance we won't even see the podium ceremony on TV which may be a blessing in disguise!
What worries me is that Alberto is highly unlikely to win a stage as long as he's still relatively close on GC so this dual aim of a stage win and high GC placing may kill his chances of achieving what he would obviously rate higher. It's understandable because he's always been a GC rider and he isn't going to resort to stage hunting in his final race, but I think he may regret it afterwards.

He and Froome together can shred the whole field to pieces, that would be very exciting. Throughout my whole life as a cycling fan I didn't care much about those stage wins gifted to stage hunters out of GC contention, especially when they used to be big GC contenders. Just let him try and fight. Contador spitting blood for the rest of this freaking bike race, what more excitement can one ask for?

 

[LaFlorecita]

In his rest day presser Alberto said he believes the climbs that are still to come will suit him better (ok, maybe...) but also that he hopes the pace will be really high in those stages because the gaps will be bigger and that will benefit him. Could this be some reverse psychology?? Trying to make other teams believe they'd be playing into his hands by pushing a hard pace to make them decide to do exactly the opposite? I refuse to believe Alberto actually feels this way, we've seen many times that he struggles after a fast stage...

 

[arvc40]

Re:

In his rest day presser Alberto said he believes the climbs that are still to come will suit him better (ok, maybe...) but also that he hopes the pace will be really high in those stages because the gaps will be bigger and that will benefit him. Could this be some reverse psychology?? Trying to make other teams believe they'd be playing into his hands by pushing a hard pace to make them decide to do exactly the opposite? I refuse to believe Alberto actually feels this way, we've seen many times that he struggles after a fast stage...

He will get the high pace he wants that's for sure !.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

In his rest day presser Alberto said he believes the climbs that are still to come will suit him better (ok, maybe...) but also that he hopes the pace will be really high in those stages because the gaps will be bigger and that will benefit him. Could this be some reverse psychology?? Trying to make other teams believe they'd be playing into his hands by pushing a hard pace to make them decide to do exactly the opposite? I refuse to believe Alberto actually feels this way, we've seen many times that he struggles after a fast stage...

CN have just published in English
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-its-been-a-vuelta-of-two-halves-already/

 

[rune1107]

Re: Re:

In his rest day presser Alberto said he believes the climbs that are still to come will suit him better (ok, maybe...) but also that he hopes the pace will be really high in those stages because the gaps will be bigger and that will benefit him. Could this be some reverse psychology?? Trying to make other teams believe they'd be playing into his hands by pushing a hard pace to make them decide to do exactly the opposite? I refuse to believe Alberto actually feels this way, we've seen many times that he struggles after a fast stage...

CN have just published in English
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-its-been-a-vuelta-of-two-halves-already/

I feel like he has only struggled in 2017 with the highly paced stages. I still believe that if he is in good shape, which he seems to be, he will do well in the multi MT stages

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

In his rest day presser Alberto said he believes the climbs that are still to come will suit him better (ok, maybe...) but also that he hopes the pace will be really high in those stages because the gaps will be bigger and that will benefit him. Could this be some reverse psychology?? Trying to make other teams believe they'd be playing into his hands by pushing a hard pace to make them decide to do exactly the opposite? I refuse to believe Alberto actually feels this way, we've seen many times that he struggles after a fast stage...

CN have just published in English
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-its-been-a-vuelta-of-two-halves-already/

I feel like he has only struggled in 2017 with the highly paced stages. I still believe that if he is in good shape, which he seems to be, he will do well in the multi MT stages

In my mind it was the same in 2015 and 2016 to some extent, although I don't really have any particular examples to back it up. Perhaps the Dauphiné in 2016.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

A podium would be absolutely great given the position he was in after the Andorra stage.

This I agree with. A podium doesn't mean much to him, at least not much more than a 4th or 5th place, but I understand that he wants to finish as high up as possible and because Froome is unbeatable especially with the 3 minute headstart 2nd would be the best possible achievement. However personally I would just rather see him win a stage, seeing Alberto on the 2nd step next to Froome even at a meaningless race like Ruta del Sol was already hard for me, but to see it here, it would be too frustrating, I don't want to have to avoid images of the podium ceremony, it will be sad enough without the added humiliation. Although I suppose considering previous years there's a big chance we won't even see the podium ceremony on TV which may be a blessing in disguise!
What worries me is that Alberto is highly unlikely to win a stage as long as he's still relatively close on GC so this dual aim of a stage win and high GC placing may kill his chances of achieving what he would obviously rate higher. It's understandable because he's always been a GC rider and he isn't going to resort to stage hunting in his final race, but I think he may regret it afterwards.

I understand what you're saying - him going for a stage win over a high GC position - and I agree. That said, there really is so much left to race. He can definitely win a stage somewhere. I personally think he's got a great chance to win a stage.

 

[HelloDolly]

For me Contador wining stage 15 and stage 20 would eb better than a podium

In order to do tht he may need to bleed time ...but will he do that ?

If he did he would cetainly havea great chance to win both stages .....
Otherwise its podium/top 5

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

For me Contador wining stage 15 and stage 20 would eb better than a podium

In order to do tht he may need to bleed time ...but will he do that ?

If he did he would cetainly havea great chance to win both stages .....
Otherwise its podium/top 5

At the press conference, he confirmed he will go for both a stage win and a high GC placing.
Maybe he will change his mind sometime next week if things go badly.

 

[Angliru]

Re:

For me Contador wining stage 15 and stage 20 would eb better than a podium

In order to do tht he may need to bleed time ...but will he do that ?

If he did he would cetainly havea great chance to win both stages .....
Otherwise its podium/top 5

He's never been one to give up minutes in order to free himself from being a threat to his gc rivals and then pursue stage wins. I doubt he will start now. I think he enjoys competing with his rivals, win or lose.

 

[Singer01]

I doubt Contador dislike Froome at all. They often speak before, during the race, and after, always greet each other when they meet, one would say they get along pretty well...

I think Alberto can get along well with anyone and he isn't the kind of person to dislike someone.

Maybe try being a little bit like him????

'I don't give two shits about Froome and his image in the "traditional cycling world".
He doesn't deserve the honor of having Alberto next to him on the podium'.

 

[Bot. Sky_Bot]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[LaFlorecita]

I doubt Contador dislike Froome at all. They often speak before, during the race, and after, always greet each other when they meet, one would say they get along pretty well...

I think Alberto can get along well with anyone and he isn't the kind of person to dislike someone.

Maybe try being a little bit like him????

'I don't give two shits about Froome and his image in the "traditional cycling world".
He doesn't deserve the honor of having Alberto next to him on the podium'.

I remember what I wrote a few hours ago, thanks.
I admit it, Alberto is a much better person that I am, I've said it many times.

 

[jsem94]

I don't see where he's going to gain lots of time unfortunately. I see him getting on the podium but no one will crack Froome. Stage 12 or 18 (maybe even 19 if Sky drop the ball early on) are probably the best opportunities for creating something clever, but Froome won't be dropping minutes on the MTFs, at least I don't think so. There's a lack of proper multi-mountain stages this year.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

If he needs to lose lots of time to be able to get in a break to have any chance of winning a stage, that is more or less being given a stage win, which I doubt is what he wants. If he wants to win a stage, he needs to beat the big boys fair and square. So unless he's half hour behind it ain't gonna happen so might as well take his chance of a top ten finish.

 

[Angliru]

I was somehow hoping that Vincenzo would give some sort of resistance considering he comes in well rested and prepared (supposedly) but he is a huge disappointment. I realize it's the midpoint but I don't hold out much hope that there will be a change in his form, as in it getting better.

 

[Red Rick]

Nibali has come out about as well as you could've expected. The route hasn't suited him at all so far. The race and form should head to more favourable terrain for him, but the only problem could well be Froome's raw power. He could match Froome in the high mountains and still be minutes away from victory.

 

[LaFlorecita]

If he needs to lose lots of time to be able to get in a break to have any chance of winning a stage, that is more or less being given a stage win, which I doubt is what he wants. If he wants to win a stage, he needs to beat the big boys fair and square. So unless he's half hour behind it ain't gonna happen so might as well take his chance of a top ten finish.

"Take his chance of a top ten finish"