Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Angliru]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lighter-racing-programme-for-contador-in-2014

That is great to hear!

 

[TANK91]

1 thing, you say remind me who got the wins for saxo again, actually it is Breschel who got the wins, Contador and Kreuziger got 1 each.

I disagree with everything else.

Well you bloddy would no surprise their then, wow shock horror she disagree's Kreuziger was stronger. #FANGIRL

 

[LaFlorecita]

Well you bloddy would no surprise their then, wow shock horror she disagree's Kreuziger was stronger. #FANGIRL

Poor guy

 

[ferryman]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Yeah sorry not a great post. At the TTT in Nice where there were cycling fans from every part of the Globe, there was a buzz waiting for and seeing Bertie and his boys. Including when they were out doing a recon of the course. He got big cheers.

The next day when we went to the start at Cagnes and a mainly French crowd there was a fair bit of booing when he went up to sign on.

Not a dig, as you know I'm an AC fan but it was an interesting insight.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Yeah sorry not a great post. At the TTT in Nice where there were cycling fans from every part of the Globe, there was a buzz waiting for and seeing Bertie and his boys. Including when they were out doing a recon of the course. He got big cheers.

The next day when we went to the start at Cagnes and a mainly French crowd there was a fair bit of booing when he went up to sign on.

Not a dig, as you know I'm an AC fan but it was an interesting insight.

Poor Berto oh well

 

[LaFlorecita]

The AC junior team finished 1 and 2 in the Copa de España what a great team

 

[PeteTheSpinner]

Contador is on a steep decline.
It was obvious that things changed already in March.
Before the Tour we were hearing PR things we've never heard before. Like he was encouraging himself and the fans.
Then the Tour showed the truth.
It wasn't like he just didn't have the legs or form, he simply gave up after the second time trial. Not exactly the most promising state of mind.
He should concentrate on Vuelta in the future and retire at the top of his domestic GT.

 

[Pentacycle]

Contador is on a steep decline.
It was obvious that things changed already in March.
Before the Tour we were hearing PR things we've never heard before. Like he was encouraging himself and the fans.
Then the Tour showed the truth.
It wasn't like he just didn't have the legs or form, he simply gave up after the second time trial. Not exactly the most promising state of mind.
He should concentrate on Vuelta in the future and retire at the top of his domestic GT.

He needs to have a good preparation for next season, which is basically what he lacked this year. If he can start winning again, instead of crawling back from illness and fatigue, he'll be a force to be reckoned with in Le Tour.

Often the best riders of the season start off well, performing well in their first races and taking that form to their main season goals, while the strugglers will only very rarely recover and reach their 'normal' level.

There's nothing wrong with Contador's state of mind, and La Vuelta will never be his main goal; the Tour's all there is for him. He wants to win the Tour and he knows he still can do that, especially when there's no guarantee that this year's podium riders will be at the same level next year. He'd rather retire right now than ride around helping others and never being in contention for victory.

 

[Netserk]

This year Contador had a season similar to Boonen in 2011. I hope he next year will have one similar to Boonen's 2012 _O_

 

[PeteTheSpinner]

He needs to have a good preparation for next season, which is basically what he lacked this year. If he can start winning again, instead of crawling back from illness and fatigue, he'll be a force to be reckoned with in Le Tour.

Often the best riders of the season start off well, performing well in their first races and taking that form to their main season goals, while the strugglers will only very rarely recover and reach their 'normal' level.

There's nothing wrong with Contador's state of mind, and La Vuelta will never be his main goal; the Tour's all there is for him. He wants to win the Tour and he knows he still can do that, especially when there's no guarantee that this year's podium riders will be at the same level next year. He'd rather retire right now than ride around helping others and never being in contention for victory.

What do you mean by: "He lacked a good preparation this year"?
He entered the season with a GT under his belt and blank, free to fill, schedule sheet.
He won't win the Tour ever again.
He's passed his prime, he's mentally beaten and the Vuelta is the GT he can still win.
You can disagree and wish more, but the future will tell.
Just like the latest Tour did.
... He has lost even the podium without trying something spectacular, daring, insane... Call it however you want.

 

[LaFlorecita]

This year Contador had a season similar to Boonen in 2011. I hope he next year will have one similar to Boonen's 2012 _O_

Exactly

 

[airstream]

Contador is on a steep decline.
It was obvious that things changed already in March.
Before the Tour we were hearing PR things we've never heard before. Like he was encouraging himself and the fans.
Then the Tour showed the truth.
It wasn't like he just didn't have the legs or form, he simply gave up after the second time trial. Not exactly the most promising state of mind.
He should concentrate on Vuelta in the future and retire at the top of his domestic GT.

What an opinion. I bet it will get a hot support here. LOL, sorry guys)))

 

[LaFlorecita]

What an opinion. I bet it will get a hot support here. LOL, sorry guys)))

Are you Oleg Tinkov

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

Are you Oleg Tinkov

Wow! Everything makes sense now!

They're both Russian after all........

 

[airstream]

I expected Contador to lose 3-4 minutes before the Tour with 1 or 2 crackers like Ax 3 and Ventoux because Froome was obviously prepared not perfectly at the Dauphine and pushed an extreme gear to drop Contador at Valmorel. On-form Froome usually riders ergonomically on small gears. But eventually it turned out to be even worse. And I think Tinkoff was blame for that. Lol on Russian Eurosport he was harping on cue of 'Contador is by far stronger than Froome' and 'Are you kidding? Sky are way weaker than us. And don't tell me the opposite otherwise you won't be able to call me and lose an exlusive interview' every day. I can only imagine how he worked with team. Seemingly Tinkoff used to zombie riders and instilled that they were the best while they were not.. Even Contador, with all his grandiose winning experience, couldn't handle such a pressure. Hardcore fans just became a victim of numerous myths they built themselves, like 'Froome is a terrible descender' [while Chieti stage was not about descents etal]. 'Contador is not beatable when it's 100% Contador', '100% of Froome is significantly weaker than 100% of Contador', 'Froome is a big fat zero at tactics' and all the jazz...I can understand you. You just inspire yourself with any kind of belief but it was a little bit thick..

I'm not Russian.

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

I'm not Russian.

Right, sorry, for some reason I thought Minsk was in Russia, but it's the capital of Belarus of course. My bad!

(Belarus is called 'white Russia' in my native language though
but maybe Belarus is Russian for 'white Russia'?)

 

[airstream]

Right, sorry, for some reason I thought Minsk was in Russia, but it's the capital of Belarus of course. My bad!

(Belarus is called 'white Russia' in my native language though
but maybe Belarus is Russian for 'white Russia'?)

It's ok. All the more so seems like I'm the only one from ex USSR on here lol. There are really very ignorant people. I presume 1 of 5.000.000 knows who is Contador in Russia & Belarus. -)

 

[Dedelou]

It's ok. All the more so seems like I'm the only one from ex USSR on here lol. There are really very ignorant people. I presume 1 of 5.000.000 knows who is Contador in Russia & Belarus. -)

I bet he is a household name in Kazakhstan

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Cant wait for the worlds champ to finish, only the worlds left for fleur to have a wiggins/froome avatar.

 

[karlboss]

This year Contador had a season similar to Boonen in 2011. I hope he next year will have one similar to Boonen's 2012 _O_

Will that require Froome to crash out and break his collar bone?

 

[airstream]

Will that require Froome to crash out and break his collar bone?

Necessarily

 

[Gloin22]

Contador is past his peak. It's so easy to see, even Flo, his biggest fan can see it clearly..

Contador has been a great rider, too bad he was inflicted in the 'scandal' as it for sure affected him. But's he is past it.

He won't become better. He'll stay at this level and slowly decrease.

However he still has the weapons to create some great racing for sure. Although I am not sure targeting Tour is a right choice for him now.

 

[Contadoraus Schlecks]

Evans is an even better example than Boonen. There were few in 2010 who predicted his 2011 win. That was because the majority (myself included) were of the certainty that Contador would be winning the Tour for the subsequent 5 years. Look how that turned out. Riders gain form, lose form, gain motivation, lose motivation, are caught up in doping scandals, injured, family issues etc. There are so many variables. Wiggins is another perfect example. Last year he could do no wrong, and it leads to the assumption that this will continue. Clearly that has not been the case. Andy is another. 3-4 years of luck, or whatever you want to call it, then a terrible period.

My point is that while at this point Sky and Froome look invincible, that will change at some point for the negative. Whereas Contador, given his still relative youth could go the other way and surprise everyone.

I'm not saying that this will definitely happen, but on the balance of probabilities it may at some point.

 

[airstream]

Evans is an even better example than Boonen. There were few in 2010 who predicted his 2011 win. That was because the majority (myself included) were of the certainty that Contador would be winning the Tour for the subsequent 5 years. Look how that turned out. Riders gain form, lose form, gain motivation, lose motivation, are caught up in doping scandals, injured, family issues etc. There are so many variables. Wiggins is another perfect example. Last year he could do no wrong, and it leads to the assumption that this will continue. Clearly that has not been the case. Andy is another. 3-4 years of luck, or whatever you want to call it, then a terrible period.

My point is that while at this point Sky and Froome look invincible, that will change at some point for the negative. Whereas Contador, given his still relative youth could go the other way and surprise everyone.

I'm not saying that this will definitely happen, but on the balance of probabilities it may at some point.

100%. No one knows the future. To say one is a big candidate for 3-4 Tour wins in upcoming years is stupidity. In theory a better rider can hit the picture at any moment. I don't really think Froome improved significantly compared to the 2011 Vuelta level to be honest. One gets stronger. Other one inevitably gets weaker. Plots of eras intertwine and all this can not be objected to precise esmitations and predictions. We can easily get another monster in 1-2-3 years. No one knows.

 

[movingtarget]

Evans is an even better example than Boonen. There were few in 2010 who predicted his 2011 win. That was because the majority (myself included) were of the certainty that Contador would be winning the Tour for the subsequent 5 years. Look how that turned out. Riders gain form, lose form, gain motivation, lose motivation, are caught up in doping scandals, injured, family issues etc. There are so many variables. Wiggins is another perfect example. Last year he could do no wrong, and it leads to the assumption that this will continue. Clearly that has not been the case. Andy is another. 3-4 years of luck, or whatever you want to call it, then a terrible period.

My point is that while at this point Sky and Froome look invincible, that will change at some point for the negative. Whereas Contador, given his still relative youth could go the other way and surprise everyone.

I'm not saying that this will definitely happen, but on the balance of probabilities it may at some point.

Evans was simply a case of the perfect race for him. Evans was consistent throughout. Many thought he had blown his chance for a Tour win but the reality is he could have quite easily had three Tour wins. Many of Evans rivals crashed out although although the only one who had a serious chance was probably VDB. He still had to beat both Schlecks, Contador post Giro with knee issues, Basso, Sanchez and a few others. The falls made the race more predictable but Contador and Andy made up for it in the final few days. Wiggins win was the same sort of. Perfect route and like Evans had been in the form of his life pre Tour. Froome as right hand man, strongest team and much too consistent for Nibali and VDB.

Even though Contador is still young, the authority of Froome's win by 5 minutes or so means Contador has a lot of ground to make up. Then you have Quintana and younger riders improving. I hope Andy gets back to his best as that will add another dimension to next year's race along with Nibali. Will be interesting to see how Nibali goes in the Tour. He is an improved rider but I still think he will have a hard time winning the Tour. If Contador never wins another Tour, the reasons for that will always be contentious. Either Froome is much better than many give him credit for or Contador has hit the wall and simply has not got another Tour win in him against new opposition. Not everyone carries on into their thirties with the same dominance as before and Contador was very good when he was young. Let's face it if Porte and Kreuziger were riding for different teams in the Tour, they would have beaten Contador as well.