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Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

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jilbiker

jilbiker

Jul 10, 2009
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Miburo said:
Riis doesn't agree, he says vuelta is still possible.
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Unrealistic. Recover from broken bone, begin training and then get back to competitive state in 6wks? But I think Riis is under pressure. Tinkoff must be ticked off, after all the money spent. Its all about bottom line.
 
LaFlorecita

LaFlorecita

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BshfokxCUAE40lg.jpg
 
LaFlorecita

LaFlorecita

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http://www.ridemedia.com.au/tour-de-france/mick-rogers-alberto-no-apologies-youve-done-us-proud/

Great interview with Mick

RIDE spoke to Rogers a few hours after he finished 105th in the stage to La Planche des Belles Filles and the veteran talked us through what he admits was a very emotional moment for him and his team.

“It certainly wasn’t supposed to end this way,” said Rogers about the incident that forced the rider who had been ranked ninth on GC out of the race. “We had so much planned for the stage today but unfortunately a split second can change everything.”

Rogers was following his leader on the rapid descent and he admits to witnessing the crash. “I was about five or six positions back and he just fell,” he explained. “I think he might have hit a small pothole or a rock. The road was wet and he just slipped and went straight down onto the ground.

“We stopped straight away and could see he was in agony. He was struggling to have an understanding of where he was.

“I don’t know if he hit his head but he seemed a bit far from… well, not it’s not that he was unconscious – he knew where he was – but he still wasn’t 100 per cent as it is when you hit the ground at 80 kilometres an hour.”

Contador has been known to take daring risks on descents so, in Rogers’ appraisal, was he doing anything extraordinary at the time of the accident? “No. It was just a straight section of road and that’s why it’s just so peculiar. He just hit something and lost his handlebars and, before we knew it, he was on the ground the poor guy.

“We were going fast but it was straight.”

It took around five minutes for the medicos to patch up Contador enough for him to get riding again. And in that time there was an obvious truce in the peloton that contained the rider in the yellow jersey and other favourites for the title, but the race was still being contested up front with Michal Kwiatowski becoming the virtual leader.

There was hesitation and confusion. Rogers explained how he and his team managed things before it was confirmed that Contador could not continue: “We took a decision that we’d leave a few guys with him – the majority of the team – and then prepare for later on. Rafa [Majka] and myself, we started to ride and at least put someone in between Alberto and the group so that the guys could get Alberto to us and then we could hopefully bridge back to the group.

“There was no point in us all staying there and waiting.
“But by the time he got to us, I could really see that he didn’t have his trademark dancing pedalling style.

“He was in pain. And we now know that he’s broken his tibia… that’s why he was in agony the poor guy. He was just a hero to get up and pedal with a broken tibia.”

There was a key moment when Contador put his arm around Rogers and it was clear that a decision had been made and that he’d have to abandon. What words were exchanged in that time? “He was apologetic,” said Rogers. “He was like, ‘Sorry, I can’t keep going.’

“I said, ‘Alberto, you’ve done nothing but make us proud.’

“It’s tough stuff. It was a pretty touching moment for the whole team… I’m choking up now just thinking about it,” said Rogers, clearly holding back tears as he spoke.
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:(:(:(
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

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Am I the only one who thinks that VDB2, a man who's crashed a grand total of 14293 times in the Tour de France over the course of his career, is a total drooler with his comments about Contador? He's mad cause he apparently Contador's head hit VDB2's wheel in one of his crashes
 
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thehook

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Wow Rodgers interview with RIDE!

Forget Vuelta! Let him heal proper and get back to his training. The man loves to ride his bike and compete. He will be back! If you have been following AC for a long time you would know. That he is one tuff customer. He probably was laying in the hospital thinking about all the people who wanted to see him win. And how he feels he let you down. As a fan the guy is Class! He will fly again. We just have to wait some time to see it.

Get Well Berto
 
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richwagmn

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Red Rick said:
Am I the only one who thinks that VDB2, a man who's crashed a grand total of 14293 times in the Tour de France over the course of his career, is a total drooler with his comments about Contador? He's mad cause he apparently Contador's head hit VDB2's wheel in one of his crashes
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Do you have a link to the comments?
 
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No_Balls

Jul 30, 2009
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“I said, ‘Alberto, you’ve done nothing but make us proud.’
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Extraordinary man. Nothing more to say. What a class-act

Hearing more details about the crash i'd say his injuries could have been worse. Accidental crashes on descents are not to been taken lightly. I'll hope he recovers well in the proper time. No need to hurry things.
 
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paperbackwriter

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Red Rick said:
Am I the only one who thinks that VDB2, a man who's crashed a grand total of 14293 times in the Tour de France over the course of his career, is a total drooler with his comments about Contador? He's mad cause he apparently Contador's head hit VDB2's wheel in one of his crashes
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That and if every rider had VDB2's sense of "too risky", cycling would be the most boring sport in the world.
 
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