Ryaguas said:
So far Froome's maximum capabilities were shown when he attacked Cobo on Pena Cabarga with 1800VAM and only 6.4w/kg at the 2011 Vuelta. Given Sky have said that their tactics will not change, there's only one stage that will suit Froome's tactic of a final km attack, and even then if he left it too late the final km is flat so better sprinters would destroy him.
maxmartin said:
Froome has at no point shown any indication throughout his entire career of being able to replicate the figures that Contador produces when he attacks. So if Contador were to attack as his old self (and not an attack at his current form), and Froome were to match it and counter, I'd certainly be raising my eyebrows in surprise. The fact that Froome would able to even keep up with Contador would be suspicious enough in itself. Big jumps in performance obviously don't happen over night as you are suggesting.
Even the fact that Contador claims he's improved by 15% in a matter of weeks made me surprised. Sky have taken nearly exactly the same approach with Froome as Wiggin's in 2012. Wiggin's form was nearly identical in the Tour as it was throughout the year, so I realistically expect a similar situation with Froome. Both are trying to maintain a high level of form for a long period of time. Froome tried this last year, but to a smaller extent and failed miserably come the Vuelta. Even if Froome were to improve (and i'm being extremely generous toward Froome in saying that), it'd only be by a few percent, which wouldn't make a big difference as the other GC rider's have up to 20% of their form that they can improve by. I also noted last year that Wiggins was less dominant climbing than during the year as riders were at a higher level at the Tour than before and there were more GC riders at the Tour than when Wiggins raced
. Froome has already said that he's been peaking for most of the year, so an increase by that much would only occur with Clinic related products. Froome can only climb at 1600 VAM and put out a maximum of 6.4w/kg. Whereas before his comeback, Contador was doing climbs at over 1800VAM and 7w/kg - he was doing those figures in multiple stages in GT's he raced in per year. Contador has only been back from his comeback for only 8 months, so it's unrealistic to expect him to do that currently, but if he peaks for the TDF then those figures will be evident in his climbing. You're obviously a Froome fan so massively over-estimate Froome's abilities. I am neither a Froome or Contador fan so I actually can see who's the better rider from a neutral point of view. You may get your wish of Froome winning. As I said before, it's not whether Froome is better than Contador (he clearly isn't), it's whether Contador can reach his old form that will determine who wins the TDF.
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