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Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

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Carols

Carols

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tobydawq said:
Perhaps true but he was as good in 2017 as in the preceding years. Especially in the Vuelta.
Click to expand...
His 2017 results were NOT as good as the previous 2 years when he won WT stage races and the Giro.
Yes for 95% of the peloton his 2017 results were great. For him they were not acceptable. 2nd Best is Not good enough!
2017
2nd Overall Paris–Nice
2nd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
2nd Overall Volta a Catalunya
2nd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
5th Overall Vuelta a España
1st Stages 20
Combativity award Overall
9th Overall Tour de France Combativity award Stages 13 & 17
10th UCI World Tour

EDIT: Removed 2017 Vuelta stage victory.
 
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tobydawq

tobydawq

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Carols said:
His 2017 results were NOT as good as the previous 2 years when he won WT stage races and the Giro.
Yes for 95% of the peloton his 2017 results were great. For him they were not acceptable. 2nd Best is Not good enough!
2017
2nd Overall Paris–Nice
2nd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
2nd Overall Volta a Catalunya
2nd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
5th Overall Vuelta a España
1st Stages 17 & 20
Combativity award Overall
9th Overall Tour de France Combativity award Stages 13 & 17
10th UCI World Tour
Click to expand...

Sorry but I really don't think you're making a compelling case by showing his results. Sure, he didn't win much but he did have a really high level, only losing the first four stage races by a grand total of 1:23, 1:03 of that being his deficit in Catalunya alone. Further, his poor GC result in Vuelta was only owed to a very bad first few stages.

If it had been some newcomer he had lost to most of the times, I could maybe understand it if he only rode to win but three of the four GC second placings was behind Valverde. Who is two years older than him. And he had just suffered a career-threatening injury.

But I guess it's a matter of preference. To me, it's a waste of opportunities when good riders stop at the top. I thought the same of Cancellara, whereas Purito seemed to pick a good time for the end of his career without reducing himself to grupetto content.

I think, in hindsight, Contador could have had a few very good seasons in 2018 and 2019 before the Slovenians really made their mark (I know Roglic was dominant in one-week stage races in those years, too).

But discussing this is probably an exercise in futility.
 
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Carols

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tobydawq said:
Sorry but I really don't think you're making a compelling case by showing his results. Sure, he didn't win much but he did have a really high level, only losing the first four stage races by a grand total of 1:23, 1:03 of that being his deficit in Catalunya alone. Further, his poor GC result in Vuelta was only owed to a very bad first few stages.

If it had been some newcomer he had lost to most of the times, I could maybe understand it if he only rode to win but three of the four GC second placings was behind Valverde. Who is two years older than him. And he had just suffered a career-threatening injury.

But I guess it's a matter of preference. To me, it's a waste of opportunities when good riders stop at the top. I thought the same of Cancellara, whereas Purito seemed to pick a good time for the end of his career without reducing himself to grupetto content.

I think, in hindsight, Contador could have had a few very good seasons in 2018 and 2019 before the Slovenians really made their mark (I know Roglic was dominant in one-week stage races in those years, too).

But discussing this is probably an exercise in futility.
Click to expand...

I'll let Contador decide when he should retire. He seems very happy, owns a team, created a bike company, rides constantly.

He or I have Nothing to prove to you :). Enjoy your day!
 
Netserk

Netserk

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Carols said:
I'll let Contador decide when he should retire. He seems very happy, owns a team, created a bike company, rides constantly.

He or I have Nothing to prove to you :). Enjoy your day!
Click to expand...
What's the point of replying to someone if you flat-out deny to engage with any arguments? Wouldn't it be better to just ignore the post?

It comes across as disrespectfully denouncing others' opinion without offering anything else in return.
 
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TourOfSardinia

TourOfSardinia

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vuelta17st20-contador-pistola-920.jpg
 
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Samu Cuenca

Samu Cuenca

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Carols said:
His 2017 results were NOT as good as the previous 2 years when he won WT stage races and the Giro.
Yes for 95% of the peloton his 2017 results were great. For him they were not acceptable. 2nd Best is Not good enough!
2017
2nd Overall Paris–Nice
2nd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
2nd Overall Volta a Catalunya
2nd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
5th Overall Vuelta a España
1st Stages 17 & 20
Combativity award Overall
9th Overall Tour de France Combativity award Stages 13 & 17
10th UCI World Tour
Click to expand...

He didn't win stage 17 of the Vuelta though.

Surely these results were still good enough for him to have continued, if he had wished to do so, without damaging his legacy at all. Actually not winning the races, but still making them entertaining with aggressive riding, made him (at IMO) a much bigger rider than he was when he did win a lot.

Still going out with a bang on Angliru was a fairytale ending to his career. Better to leave the fans wanting more than making them grow tired of you. Of course 10 or 20 years later people will mostly be remembering the high notes instead of the low points anyway, so prolonging a fantastic career without any big results near the end won't really matter in the long run.
 
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tobydawq

tobydawq

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Salvarani said:
He said he could have continued for another 2-3 years... but he had things that appealed more. Like his family and other things in life. I respect the decision.
Click to expand...

Of course that needs to be taken into account too. But at a purely sporting perspective, it was sad to see him bow out so early.

Five years before Valverde who is two years older than him (I'm not saying he should have continued seven more years, though).
 
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