Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[LaFlorecita]

The blood vessel malformation (cavernoma) in his brain started leaking blood which caused a stroke.
I think.

 

[oldcrank]

Re: Re:

Already out on the bike again

He looks cranky. Get your hands off my bike before I show you my Superman Lopez impersonation.

Yep, a little cranky because everybody is saying how nice it was of Froomey and Wout to gift him the stage. :lol:

 

[LaFlorecita]

"Everybody" = a few clueless Sky fanboys who believe the world of cycling revolves around Sky and Froome.
Most people know it was not a gift and Berto won that stage thanks to his strong legs, perfectly timed attack and the help from a few young riders.

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

Already out on the bike again

He looks cranky. Get your hands off my bike before I show you my Superman Lopez impersonation.

Yep, a little cranky because everybody is saying how nice it was of Froomey and Wout to gift him the stage. :lol:

And that's why they rode like a two madmen to catch him :lol:

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

And that's why they rode like a two madmen to catch him :lol:

exactly :lol: they wanted to catch him but couldn't
Kinda sad that some Sky and Froome fanboys can't give Berto the credit he deserves

 

[Pennino]

Re:

"Everybody" = a few clueless Sky fanboys who believe the world of cycling revolves around Sky and Froome.
Most people know it was not a gift and Berto won that stage thanks to his strong legs, perfectly timed attack and the help from a few young riders.

Even a journalist whom I appreciate very much, Hans Vandeweghe, has written it which I surely didn't like.

I don't know, can't say it's a comfortable feeling that they might have gifted him that win. But if so, he was still the strongest that day, having had some help from Pantano and Mas only for a short time.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Well, I am entirely comfortable because I know it wasn't gifted. Poels and Froome chased as hard as they could to catch him, but the distance was too short to make up a full minute. If they had started their full on chase a km or 2 earlier, they almost certainly would have caught him. But they didn't, tough luck. In the end it doesn't matter, Alberto had built a big advantage earlier and as such had enough of a buffer to be first to cross the line, which is what counts.

 

[Bot. Sky_Bot]

Re:

Well, I am entirely comfortable because I know it wasn't gifted. Poels and Froome chased as hard as they could to catch him, but the distance was too short to make up a full minute. If they had started their full on chase a km or 2 earlier, they almost certainly would have caught him. But they didn't, tough luck. In the end it doesn't matter, Alberto had built a big advantage earlier and as such had enough of a buffer to be first to cross the line, which is what counts.

 

[Electress]

Re:

Well, I am entirely comfortable because I know it wasn't gifted. Poels and Froome chased as hard as they could to catch him, but the distance was too short to make up a full minute. If they had started their full on chase a km or 2 earlier, they almost certainly would have caught him. But they didn't, tough luck. In the end it doesn't matter, Alberto had built a big advantage earlier and as such had enough of a buffer to be first to cross the line, which is what counts.

Me too. I watched it again, in fact, with this thought in mind, wondering how much I might feel it was gifted after the tension was gone. I didn't at all. To believe it was orchestrated involves just too many people to be willing to take risks on their position. Yeah, obv. Mas was involved from the get go; Soler clearly chipped in. But that's not exactly a shocker.

 

[Jspear]

Re:

Well, I am entirely comfortable because I know it wasn't gifted. Poels and Froome chased as hard as they could to catch him, but the distance was too short to make up a full minute. If they had started their full on chase a km or 2 earlier, they almost certainly would have caught him. But they didn't, tough luck. In the end it doesn't matter, Alberto had built a big advantage earlier and as such had enough of a buffer to be first to cross the line, which is what counts.

I think you're being to generous to Froome.
If Froomie had started super hard earlier, he would have blown himself up and lost even more time. He attacked when his computer told him to. Regardless he wasn't going to be able to stay with AC that particular day.

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

Well, I am entirely comfortable because I know it wasn't gifted. Poels and Froome chased as hard as they could to catch him, but the distance was too short to make up a full minute. If they had started their full on chase a km or 2 earlier, they almost certainly would have caught him. But they didn't, tough luck. In the end it doesn't matter, Alberto had built a big advantage earlier and as such had enough of a buffer to be first to cross the line, which is what counts.

I think you're being to generous to Froome.
If Froomie had started super hard earlier, he would have blown himself up and lost even more time. He attacked when his computer told him to. Regardless he wasn't going to be able to stay with AC that particular day.

what? the took over 1 minute from Bertie in just over 1.5k...they went earlier they were catching bertie.

but its all done now, Contador got his win and his fans can be happy

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

Well, I am entirely comfortable because I know it wasn't gifted. Poels and Froome chased as hard as they could to catch him, but the distance was too short to make up a full minute. If they had started their full on chase a km or 2 earlier, they almost certainly would have caught him. But they didn't, tough luck. In the end it doesn't matter, Alberto had built a big advantage earlier and as such had enough of a buffer to be first to cross the line, which is what counts.

:razz:

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re: Re:

Well, I am entirely comfortable because I know it wasn't gifted. Poels and Froome chased as hard as they could to catch him, but the distance was too short to make up a full minute. If they had started their full on chase a km or 2 earlier, they almost certainly would have caught him. But they didn't, tough luck. In the end it doesn't matter, Alberto had built a big advantage earlier and as such had enough of a buffer to be first to cross the line, which is what counts.

I think you're being to generous to Froome.
If Froomie had started super hard earlier, he would have blown himself up and lost even more time. He attacked when his computer told him to. Regardless he wasn't going to be able to stay with AC that particular day.

what? the took over 1 minute from Bertie in just over 1.5k...they went earlier they were catching bertie.

but its all done now, Contador got his win and his fans can be happy

Even Sky'bots' are not machines. There is no guarantee that they would have caught Contador if they had attacked earlier.

No gift.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

Not a gift. I posted this earlier in a different thread, but I'm not above repeating myself. Froome had blown up badly on the similar stage a few stages before, only this was much longer and the potential losses much larger. He was likely concerned he'd blow up again and lose his lead over Nibali. Therefore, his strategy was to mark Nibali and hold onto his lead. When it became apparent that Nibali did not have it and that Froome had survived without blowing up, he and Poels attacked. They went full gas from there to try to catch Contador and came close. Not a gift. They were able to attack so hard because they'd been riding in a bunch relatively conservatively. If they'd been riding alone or attacked sooner, they would have been more fatigued. It's silly to assume that because they attacked so hard they could have maintained that pace if they'd attacked sooner. Contador put 1:20 into everyone pretty quickly, by he didn't continue adding time at that rate. That's why they're called attacks. It's a violent expenditure of energy designed to quickly put time into rivals at an unsustainable rate.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Re:

Well, I am entirely comfortable because I know it wasn't gifted. Poels and Froome chased as hard as they could to catch him, but the distance was too short to make up a full minute. If they had started their full on chase a km or 2 earlier, they almost certainly would have caught him. But they didn't, tough luck. In the end it doesn't matter, Alberto had built a big advantage earlier and as such had enough of a buffer to be first to cross the line, which is what counts.

Have to agree that he won it rather than being gifted. Froome had to make sure he had Nibali where he wanted before he could go on the chase to Contador as Nibali was the bigger threat to him. Contador deserved his stage win after all the work he did trying in previous stages. I think he knew deep down that he wouldn't be able to win overall but as long as he got his stage win, he was happy, and that it happened on the Angliru made it all the more special. Hope he has a happy retirement and his foundation produces something special in the future.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Well, I am entirely comfortable because I know it wasn't gifted. Poels and Froome chased as hard as they could to catch him, but the distance was too short to make up a full minute. If they had started their full on chase a km or 2 earlier, they almost certainly would have caught him. But they didn't, tough luck. In the end it doesn't matter, Alberto had built a big advantage earlier and as such had enough of a buffer to be first to cross the line, which is what counts.

Yes they made the wrong call, Poels was very strong. It's all hypothetical but he looked to be the strongest on the final climb (I mean, how else can you freewheel through a 25% inner corner...). But in the end Contador completed the course in the fastest time and by a pretty large margin in fact despite riding a large part of the climb alone. For many km's he managed to consolidate and build his advantage vs a large group of riders with domestiques working for them. He was definitely the 2nd strongest rider on the day and possibly the strongest and that win showed strength, determination, skill and class. It's a shame Sky fanboys can't admit that.

Edit: oh, just saw at least one wheresmybrakes was prepared to admit Contador won fair and square. Thank goodness.

 

[Angliru]

Re:

Not a gift. I posted this earlier in a different thread, but I'm not above repeating myself. Froome had blown up badly on the similar stage a few stages before, only this was much longer and the potential losses much larger. He was likely concerned he'd blow up again and lose his lead over Nibali. Therefore, his strategy was to mark Nibali and hold onto his lead. When it became apparent that Nibali did not have it and that Froome had survived without blowing up, he and Poels attacked. They went full gas from there to try to catch Contador and came close. Not a gift. They were able to attack so hard because they'd been riding in a bunch relatively conservatively. If they'd been riding alone or attacked sooner, they would have been more fatigued. It's silly to assume that because they attacked so hard they could have maintained that pace if they'd attacked sooner. Contador put 1:20 into everyone pretty quickly, by he didn't continue adding time at that rate. That's why they're called attacks. It's a violent expenditure of energy designed to quickly put time into rivals at an unsustainable rate.

I do recall a post stage interview with Froome stating that they were cautious out of fear that he may blow if they pushed too hard too early for too long. Once Nibali lost contact they decided to attempt to win the stage with Poels. For anyone to use the fact that a rider that had been on the attack since even before the start of such a climb as l'Angliru and had lost a portion of their original advantage is pretty much clueless. Of course they lost a big portion of their gap. They had been riding hard for a significant period of time and aren't likely to hold that advantage to the finish.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

The tunnel vision of certain posts is a really hillarious read.

Alberto rode the climb only 8 seconds slower than Froome/Poels (and 10 seconds faster than Zakarin) despite riding alone and taking more wind (which there was plenty of) for the last 8 or 9 km's. If Alberto had not attacked on the descent of Cordal and waited with his attack, it is certain that he'd have had much more power saved for the Cueña les Cabres sector (where Nibali cracked). Could he have followed or beaten Froome/Poels with that strategy? Probably yes, but we can never tell.

In the end, it's a matter of how the riders disposed their powers. Alberto stretched his lead in the opening kilometers of the steep part of Angliru. Froome/Poels saved energy and had more left for the last part. So the "took over 1 minute from Bertie in just over 1.5k"-argument (actually closer to 50 seconds) is not a proof that Froome/Poels was stronger, like some posters desperately want it to be.

 

[yaco]

It'.s more important that Contador personally thanked every rider ( no matter how small ) who helped him climb Angliru.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

The tunnel vision of certain posts is a really hillarious read.

Alberto rode the climb only 8 seconds slower than Froome/Poels (and 10 seconds faster than Zakarin) despite riding alone and taking more wind (which there was plenty of) for the last 8 or 9 km's. If Alberto had not attacked on the descent of Cordal and waited with his attack, it is certain that he'd have had much more power saved for the Cueña les Cabres sector (where Nibali cracked). Could he have followed or beaten Froome/Poels with that strategy? Probably yes, but we can never tell.

In the end, it's a matter of how the riders disposed their powers. Alberto stretched his lead in the opening kilometers of the steep part of Angliru. Froome/Poels saved energy and had more left for the last part. So the "took over 1 minute from Bertie in just over 1.5k"-argument (actually closer to 50 seconds) is not a proof that Froome/Poels was stronger, like some posters desperately want it to be.

Love your profile picture

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

It'.s more important that Contador personally thanked every rider ( no matter how small ) who helped him climb Angliru.

No surprise of course, he is a gentleman

 

[Kwibus]

I was surprised the yatesies helped him, but pleasantly

 

[ice&fire]

Re:

I was surprised the yatesies helped him, but pleasantly

It looked as if everybody wanted to be next to him in his farewell ride. Even Froome and Poels wanted to join

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: Re:

It'.s more important that Contador personally thanked every rider ( no matter how small ) who helped him climb Angliru.

No surprise of course, he is a gentleman

I'd like to see a picture out of the same camera perspective but 5 seconds earlier to see Alberto's confused face thinking "god damnit, which one was it"

 

[d-s3]

Funny reading about Froome giving presents to Contador.
Yes, should it be the fight between Contador and Froome for the stage with no GC, I'd bet on Froome. He would start chasing sooner and he would quite possibly catch Contador.
But there was Vuelta at stake and should Froome go for the stage (=start chasing Contador sooner) he would risk his Vuelta GC.
He made calculated decision to play it safe by marking Nibali and he went for the stage only when he felt it was safe (too late).