Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[movingtarget]

What's so miraculous ? He got caught on the line almost and put a few seconds into Froome which he might lose in the TT. His biggest rivals are still there with a long way to go. If he was in the form of his life going into the Tour, a few weeks off the bike won't change much.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

This confirms what I thought when I watched the stage today. AC still lacks some rhythm after he makes an attack. He looked great accelerating, but he didn't look very fluid after the initial attack. Should get better with time.

http://cyclingquotes.com/news/contador_plays_down_impressive_performance/

This exactly. This was a few levels below his Dauphine form, never mind what he was about to show at the TDF. Then again, not one contender for the overall is in top shape. It will all depend on Tuesday's ITT, IMO. I don't think he has the form right now to really distance Quintana there, unless it's windy.

 

[inthepink]

And thats about where this rant should end. Instead you should talk about things you know. Like the life of Terrence Stamp, the atomic weight of a lightbulb, garbage or whatever you know about and are into.

Your are so patroninsing and condescending . How is that a rant ??? I am entitled to my opinions without being belittled by you

What is the problem with this sycophantic thread is you and others are not interested in debate but in total adulation... You cannt stomach that others may have apoint of view that is contrary to yours so you try and demean them rather than enter debate

The Tour this year was the one and only GT he has ever abandoned in his career. Calling his injury a bluff, you really must be new to the sport then...

And I didn't call his injury a bluff ...I spoke about the extent of his injury ....can you read English....I am not new to the sport ..again nothing but total adulation will do or it insult time
No point on being on here becasue no one really wants to enter debate
its Everything about Contador = great
Everything about Froome & SKY = rubbish

And I am a Contador fan btw

 

[murali]

Of course he lied about his training, but saying he lied about the severity of his injury? Have you guys paid attention. The entire time we've heard that it was a small fracture, not load-bearing etc. Sheesh.

He didn't exactly lie. you were probably not reading all his tweets. He said in one of his tweets that he attempted training once, but gave up after pain.

My gut feeling: some freaking fan's rider is not doing well. AC appears to do well. He has to be bad. Since no one can blame doping, now the easiest way for character assassination is to accuse of lying.

Also, what's this sh*t about informing others about training or not training. I dont know of a single rider who says when or how he is training. if that data was available, then clinic will go out of business.

From what I have seen so far, AC is not in his pre-tour level. He lacks explosiveness. There are hills where he is standing up where he wudn't normally do so. Even in yesterday's stage, he wasn't really riding hard enough. A tour-level AC would have made 5+sec to purito despite tht vorganov pull. I think i will trust him when he says he is not at the level he wants to be.

 

[Red Rick]

Too much whining in this thread

 

[T-Nielsen]

Your are so patroninsing and condescending . How is that a rant ??? I am entitled to my opinions without being belittled by you

What is the problem with this sycophantic thread is you and others are not interested in debate but in total adulation... You cannt stomach that others may have apoint of view that is contrary to yours so you try and demean them rather than enter debate




And I didn't call his injury a bluff ...I spoke about the extent of his injury ....can you read English....I am not new to the sport ..again nothing but total adulation will do or it insult time
No point on being on here becasue no one really wants to enter debate
its Everything about Contador = great
Everything about Froome & SKY = rubbish

And I am a Contador fan btw

It is not that your point of view is different to mine, it is that it is different from the facts that we KNÒW. That stops all debate because you are just wrong and there is nothing furter to be had.

Besides dude, chill. My comment was a playfull poke not a sledgehammer to the face.

 

[Mayo from Mayo]

This exactly. This was a few levels below his Dauphine form, never mind what he was about to show at the TDF. Then again, not one contender for the overall is in top shape. It will all depend on Tuesday's ITT, IMO. I don't think he has the form right now to really distance Quintana there, unless it's windy.

His sole aim yesterday was ensuring he started after Froome in the TT. An aim shared by Quintana and Valverde. Mission accomplished.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Unfortunately Contador will not able to achieve the goal of stage hunting in the last week

Great ride Alberto! Looked very strong; next two stages shall tell us even more.

I think it's 50/50 as to who will have red after the ITT out of Contador and Froome. One things for sure, Froome needs the time gains (and the psychological boost) more than Contador.

 

[Futuroscope]

I don't understand all this Contador is 'lying' nonsense, first of all his injury was real but why do people expect him and his team to tell the world everything? We are fans, some of Contador some not, but all fans of cycling. We aren't his wife or Bjarne Riis. I see a certain type of arrogance from certain posters where they think they are entitled to a 24/7 twitter feed into Contador's head. What I also see is that to some every inconsistency is seen as an attempt to deceive. But neither Alberto or his team are omniscient. He also said from the beginning that if there was any chance to ride the Vuelta then he would do so. And for anyone who has followed his career it should have been clear that he wouldn't line up unless he thought he could be competitive. This doesn't mean he knew exactly how his body would react though. It's also natural not to reveal everything to your rivals, every sports fan should be aware of this.

 

[ILovecycling]

Your are so patroninsing and condescending . How is that a rant ??? I am entitled to my opinions without being belittled by you

What is the problem with this sycophantic thread is you and others are not interested in debate but in total adulation... You cannt stomach that others may have apoint of view that is contrary to yours so you try and demean them rather than enter debate




And I didn't call his injury a bluff ...I spoke about the extent of his injury ....can you read English....I am not new to the sport ..again nothing but total adulation will do or it insult time
No point on being on here becasue no one really wants to enter debate
its Everything about Contador = great
Everything about Froome & SKY = rubbish

And I am a Contador fan btw

There surely are people with who you can discuss with.But like nielsen said, you have to know everything what media,contador,and we here said.otherwise its not a good discussion cuz of lack of informations.

 

[Futuroscope]

Great ride Alberto! Looked very strong; next two stages shall tell us even more.

I think it's 50/50 as to who will have red after the ITT out of Contador and Froome. One things for sure, Froome needs the time gains (and the psychological boost) more than Contador.

To me Froome is the clear favourite to be in red after the TT. I think he can put 1-1.30 into Quintana, Contador and Valverde. I think Valverde will be second after the TT. So Froome might have a lead of 30-1min after the TT.

 

[Carols]

Alberto is riding above expectations. His own, his team, the public. He set his expectations low and is exceeding them so far. His leg and body are responding better than he anticipated. The body because he still had residual Tour form, maybe. The leg is holding up under pressure. IMO no one, including Alberto, Knew In Advance how his leg would handle race pressure.

He always said his form would increase throughout, and that he was lacking explosiveness and race rhythm. Both have been true. His condition is improving. The leg is holding up.

His rivals have not shown any excellence so far. This is key. He attacked yesterday because he saw Froome in difficulty. Two rivals showed they could chase him down. Froome and Valverde lost a bit of time but nothing that will lose them the race if they recover well.

The ITT will tell us much more about where every one is including Alberto. There is a long way to go.

 

[HappyLoser]

To me Froome is the clear favourite to be in red after the TT. I think he can put 1-1.30 into Quintana, Contador and Valverde. I think Valverde will be second after the TT. So Froome might have a lead of 30-1min after the TT.

Don't really think so.

ITT results prediction (GC Conteders):
1. Froome
2. Uran + 35'
3. Contador + 50'
4. Valverde +1:00
5. Quintana +1:20
6. Aru/Rodriguez +1:30
Anacona ???

 

[No_Balls]

I don't understand all this Contador is 'lying' nonsense, first of all his injury was real but why do people expect him and his team to tell the world everything?

Although it was no "lie" he surely distorted the truth a bit when given the impression that he wasnt riding when people have seen him training some weeks later. And then we hade one of his own staff saying that he didn't even had begun training on a stationary bike, let alone would be able to ride the Vuelta. I don't think senor Vidarte was uniformed about Contadors state of affairs at that point - which was climbing cols.


What I also see is that to some every inconsistency is seen as an attempt to deceive. But neither Alberto or his team are omniscient.

Not at all. But one would have imagine experienced fans to believe that what are said in a post/pre race interview shouldnt be taken as the whole truth as the point are often based on the current feeling and emotion. If he says his leg are aching after a race then it is not necesserary the truth for the race. Alberto is a passionate rider and attacks if the feeling is right and regardless of what has been said in the interview the day before.

If this wasnt the case he wouldnt have said that yesterday was to easy for an attack. And yet he attacked.

This doesn't mean he knew exactly how his body would react though. It's also natural not to reveal everything to your rivals, every sports fan should be aware of this.

If people paid attention to this, and god knows the opportunity was there, then they wouldnt be as angry as they are.

 

[Dr. Juice]

Don't really think so.

ITT results prediction (GC Conteders):
1. Froome
2. Uran + 35'
3. Contador + 50'
4. Valverde +1:00
5. Quintana +1:20
6. Aru/Rodriguez +1:30
Anacona ???

If Alberto continues to improve and shows good form, he might limit it to around 30 seconds. Same time on top of the hill then lose 30 sec. If Froome has another bad or so-so day, it might be very close. Contador in Tour form would not have lost anything against any version of Froome.

50 seconds would be....not bad but average.
Hopefully he takes some time out of Quintana, who IMO will do better than Valverde.

 

[Futuroscope]

Don't really think so.

ITT results prediction (GC Conteders):
1. Froome
2. Uran + 35'
3. Contador + 50'
4. Valverde +1:00
5. Quintana +1:20
6. Aru/Rodriguez +1:30
Anacona ???

Isn't that basically what I said, approx 1-1.30? That should put Froome in red.

 

[inthepink]

It is not that your point of view is different to mine, it is that it is different from the facts that we KNÒW. That stops all debate because you are just wrong and there is nothing furter to be had.

Besides dude, chill. My comment was a playfull poke not a sledgehammer to the face.

Your comments are rude and I see no apology .'playful poke' my eye ...you were totally disrespectful .and don't tell me to chill with a comment like ....."You are wrong and there is nothing furter to be had" ...you don't even know what I have to say on the subject because you prefer to discard the fact the others may have a point that is contrary to you

I am out of here because there is no point in trying to engage with posters like you

 

[T-Nielsen]

Your comments are rude and I see no apology .'playful poke' my eye ...you were totally disrespectful .and don't tell me to chill with a comment like ....."You are wrong and there is nothing furter to be had" ...you don't even know what I have to say on the subject because you prefer to discard the fact the others may have a point that is contrary to you

I am out of here because there is no point in trying to engage with posters like you

Good, I have nothing to apolegize for.

You questioned if Contador had a fracture even though we factually know he did. As I pointed out, if you just ignore certain facts we can not debate anything because there is nothing to debate.

 

[Publicus]

To me Froome is the clear favourite to be in red after the TT. I think he can put 1-1.30 into Quintana, Contador and Valverde. I think Valverde will be second after the TT. So Froome might have a lead of 30-1min after the TT.

I guess we'll see, but i don't think Froome has that kind of form at the moment. Maybe if the ITT came later in the second week he could put that kind of time into them.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

I still find it amusing that folks still want to believe in what he says....i would not even believed him if i go to his house and he says ¿quien es?

 

[Miburo]

You guys shouldn't generalize. I said i would lie too about my preparation just like Contador and i never said he lied about his injury.

I really don't know how good he'll be tomorrow, he might beat Froome but Froome might beat him with 1 minutes, really no clue at all.

 

[ILovecycling]

Don't really think so.

ITT results prediction (GC Conteders):
1. Froome
2. Uran + 35'
3. Contador + 50'
4. Valverde +1:00
5. Quintana +1:20
6. Aru/Rodriguez +1:30
Anacona ???

pretty much similiar as my prediction,I think Uran and AC will be closer and Valverde won't gain 20 secs on Quintana (without bad headwind).Anacona should be around aru and murito,depends on the day.I think Aru will be a bit worse than Murito btw

 

[thehook]

IMHO I think Froome will not dominate the TT. I just don't think he has the form of last season. For whatever reason (clinic edit).

AC will lose time to Froome. But AC has 28sec on him. Not sure of the distance at the top of the climb to finish. I think AC can match him uphill or hold him very close on the 2nd half. I look at the Dauphine to make that assumption.

Quintana I feel could get hurt time wise on the second half of the TT. Not sure if he can roll the big gear on the run in.

Uran is my dark horse. Not to win. But to begin to move up in GC.

Valverde to me is riding on borrowed time here. So I don't think he will improve much.

And I'm just curious to see what Chavez does.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

You guys shouldn't generalize. I said i would lie too about my preparation just like Contador and i never said he lied about his injury.

I really don't know how good he'll be tomorrow, he might beat Froome but Froome might beat him with 1 minutes, really no clue at all.

Of course he would about his preparation.

 

[Red Rick]

In 2012, Froome got dropped on a harder climb, and he lost like half a minute to Contador in the tt. I'd say Froome is climbing worse than he was at this stage in the Vuelta two years ago. Small chance he's gonna make up that much time.

People seem to forget that Contador is a superb tt'er when he's on form. He may not be superb, but when he's attacking like yesterday he's not gonna TT on the level of Valverde