Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Netserk]

where did i ever state this? I said that if they are included, the race is heavily defined by them. Of course the winner will always be a good climber.

A gt winner should be a good climber and a good tter, include some hilly stages and stages with a downhill finish, cobbles once every 3 or 4 years for all i care, but not cobbles each year. If you include cobbles each year, certain riders would never be able to win the tour (quintana-type).
Wiggins would never win a mountain-heavy route with little tt km (2015) contador would never win a tt-heavy route with little mtfs (2012)
but they both got their chance on a route that suited him. If cobbles were included every year, the route would never suit quintana, and always suit nibali. Is that what we're going for? A race that always suits the same type of rider?

2007 .

 

[LaFlorecita]

2007 .

there were quite a few hard mountains iirc

 

[TANK91]

Catalunya twice (valter 2000 + molina) - Dauphiné twice (emosson + montagny) - Vuelta ( 4 times: Valdélinéares + Convadonga + Farrapona + Ancares ) .

Technically, Contador dropped Froome 8 times this year. So you can safely say he's been getting dropped all year.

You can argue Froome wasn't at his best, Contador was worse than ever in 2013.

Also, Froome did one hell of a show on Ancares and Farrapona to a lesser extent, the 3rd week Vuelta 14' Froome is arguably much better than 3rd week Tour 13' Froome when he was being quite average with harmless accelerations (alpe d'huez + semnoz) .

Eh no he as not been getting dropped all year, how can you even say the Dauphinee do you no why he got dropped?. He could not even respond he hardly got dropped, crash changed everything. And Catalunya haha, Froome lost by a whopping 8 seconds and 5 seconds... Contador lost that race aswell.


I aint saying he as not been far better but Froome was not dominated this year he lost 2 races to him and the won race he looked better was the Daupphinee untill the crash, just check Contador wincing on the stage 2 of the Dauphinee he puled the same face he was pulling in 2013 but he jst managed to stay in the wheel but barely, Froome is the only guy who had Contador under threat really this year apart from Purito.

Yes he did alright in the Vuelta but he had barely any acceleration even in first week, since Froome has been a good GT rider every GT he starts off better than he finishes except maybe 2011. Froome did not even get beat once by Contador on a stage i don't think last year.

The race where there form is close to the TDF, Froome was better. He beat him by a big margin if you factor in the distance and the gaps behind Contador in the ITT, Froome also won stage 2 then you try saying he was getting dropped lol? I wonder why he got dropped and flew out the top 10 of GC...

 

[TANK91]

2007 was the only GT he was very lucky to win imo, yes he crossed first but it was disgusting what Rabobank done. He as also been very unlucky in 2011 how Scarponi wins that is beyond me it was horrible seeing him wear number 1 the next year. You could say though he would not have won La Vuelta in 2012 if he got a 2 year ban. What do you think was better losing Giro or missing a few years?. I think what happend is better in long run may have been alot harder to return.

 

[LaFlorecita]

You could say though he would not have won La Vuelta in 2012 if he got a 2 year ban. What do you think was better losing Giro or missing a few years?. I think what happend is better in long run may have been alot harder to return.

yes I think the back dated ban was better for him, but I would swap 2012 Vuelta for the 2011 Giro any day of the week

& Jrod would have a GT win

 

[Jspear]

Eh no he as not been getting dropped all year, how can you even say the Dauphinee do you no why he got dropped?. He could not even respond he hardly got dropped, crash changed everything. And Catalunya haha, Froome lost by a whopping 8 seconds and 5 seconds... Contador lost that race aswell.


I aint saying he as not been far better but Froome was not dominated this year he lost 2 races to him and the won race he looked better was the Daupphinee untill the crash, just check Contador wincing on the stage 2 of the Dauphinee he puled the same face he was pulling in 2013 but he jst managed to stay in the wheel but barely, Froome is the only guy who had Contador under threat really this year apart from Purito.

Yes he did alright in the Vuelta but he had barely any acceleration even in first week, since Froome has been a good GT rider every GT he starts off better than he finishes except maybe 2011. Froome did not even get beat once by Contador on a stage i don't think last year.

The race where there form is close to the TDF, Froome was better. He beat him by a big margin if you factor in the distance and the gaps behind Contador in the ITT, Froome also won stage 2 then you try saying he was getting dropped lol? I wonder why he got dropped and flew out the top 10 of GC...

Stage 13 of the 2013 Tour.
I think this stage in the cross winds was the only time - and that was just because he and his team were smarter....not stronger.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Stage 13 of the 2013 Tour.
I think this stage in the cross winds was the only time - and that was just because he and his team were smarter....not stronger.

Stage 6 Tirreno

 

[damian13ster]

where did I ever state this? I said that if they are included, the race is heavily defined by them. Of course the winner will always be a good climber.

A GT winner should be a good climber and a good TTer, include some hilly stages and stages with a downhill finish, cobbles once every 3 or 4 years for all I care, but not cobbles each year. If you include cobbles each year, certain riders would never be able to win the Tour (Quintana-type).
Wiggins would never win a mountain-heavy route with little TT km (2015) Contador would never win a TT-heavy route with little MTFs (2012)
But they both got their chance on a route that suited him. If cobbles were included every year, the route would never suit Quintana, and always suit Nibali. Is that what we're going for? A race that always suits the same type of rider?

Post #20635
Or, maybe certain riders should learn how to ride a bike on different terrain? You dont have to be heavy in order to be good on cobbles relative to other GT riders. So yeah, a route should never be made for a rider like Quintana, it should be made to reflect who the better all around cyclist is (bike-handling, tactics, TT, hills, mountains, cobbles), not just who is the better climber (the only route that could potentially suit Quintana).
Let one-trick ponies do races such as Trentino, etc. Leave GTs to best cyclists.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Post #20635

Perhaps you should read that post again, and the post you replied to.

Or, maybe certain riders should learn how to ride a bike on different terrain? You dont have to be heavy in order to be good on cobbles relative to other GT riders. So yeah, a route should never be made for a rider like Quintana, it should be made to reflect who the better all around cyclist is (bike-handling, tactics, TT, hills, mountains, cobbles), not just who is the better climber (the only route that could potentially suit Quintana).
Let one-trick ponies do races such as Trentino, etc. Leave GTs to best cyclists.

GTs are just bigger versions of stage races. A stage race should not always suit the same type of rider period.

And no, you can't just learn to ride on the cobbles, it doesn't work that way. You can ride some cobbled races, train on the cobbles, but did that help Valverde and Contador? No. The only way to improve massively when you're a featherweight climber is to gain weight and focus your training on cobbles. Which of course jeopardizes said rider's climbing skills. Not every rider is born with a perfect body type like Nibali. And besides, you can be as good as you want, the risk of crashing or getting a flat is much higher than in TTs or on mountains. Hence it is not just about skill but also a lot about luck. But I understand that is hard to accept as a diehard Nibali fanboi.

 

[damian13ster]

I am not even a Nibali fan..... I just want biggest 21 day races to be won by riders who can do more than just climb.
And I agree those shouldn't suit a certain rider, thats why they should have EVERYTHING in them so all riders- including cobble-riders have a chance at stage win, etc.

The risk of getting a flat is higher, but those aren't that common, and besides, did any GT contender get it in this years Tour (despite conditions, weather, etc.)?
It is mostly about skill, bike-handling, positionning, power.

Again, one-dimensional riders have their own rewards. Green jersey, polka-dot jersey. Yellow should go to the best all around rider.
Thats why Wiggins is a worthy Tour winner. He is terrific in TT, very good in the mountains, good in flat stages, and good in cobbles.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I am not even a Nibali fan..... I just want biggest 21 day races to be won by riders who can do more than just climb.
And I agree those shouldn't suit a certain rider, thats why they should have EVERYTHING in them so all riders- including cobble-riders have a chance at stage win, etc.

The risk of getting a flat is higher, but those aren't that common, and besides, did any GT contender get it in this years Tour (despite conditions, weather, etc.)?
It is mostly about skill, bike-handling, positionning, power.

Again, one-dimensional riders have their own rewards. Green jersey, polka-dot jersey. Yellow should go to the best all around rider.
Thats why Wiggins is a worthy Tour winner. He is terrific in TT, very good in the mountains, good in flat stages, and good in cobbles.

edit: nevermind

 

[Red Rick]

Froome got dropped at least 82 times on his way to San miguel de aralar, but came back 81 times

 

[BlurryVII]

Eh no he as not been getting dropped all year, how can you even say the Dauphinee do you no why he got dropped?. He could not even respond he hardly got dropped, crash changed everything. And Catalunya haha, Froome lost by a whopping 8 seconds and 5 seconds... Contador lost that race aswell

I aint saying he as not been far better but Froome was not dominated this year he lost 2 races to him and the won race he looked better was the Daupphinee untill the crash, just check Contador wincing on the stage 2 of the Dauphinee he puled the same face he was pulling in 2013 but he jst managed to stay in the wheel but barely, Froome is the only guy who had Contador under threat really this year apart from Purito.

Yes he did alright in the Vuelta but he had barely any acceleration even in first week, since Froome has been a good GT rider every GT he starts off better than he finishes except maybe 2011. Froome did not even get beat once by Contador on a stage i don't think last year.

The race where there form is close to the TDF, Froome was better. He beat him by a big margin if you factor in the distance and the gaps behind Contador in the ITT, Froome also won stage 2 then you try saying he was getting dropped lol? I wonder why he got dropped and flew out the top 10 of GC...

As long as you'll bring out 2013 to the discussion , I won't care about Froome's crashes or bad form or whatever .
He dropped him 8 - 9 times this year, and defeated him fair & Square at the Vuelta, and as I said Froome was better in the last week of the Vuelta 14' than he was in the last week of the Tour 13' . He was a bit inconsistant but still got beaten when he found good form back.

As long as Dauphiné is concerned, Froome will always have the edge on Contador since he races Romandie and is almost at 100% at the Dauphiné. While Contador usually comes back from 2 months competition break and lacks race rhythm .

 

[scholar]

Contador would never win a TT-heavy route with little MTFs (2012)

Wait, did you just say that Contador wouldn't have won the 2012 Tour if he'd been allowed to compete? WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH LaFlorecita?

 

[Red Rick]

The problem in 2012 wasn't only the route, it was also the strenght of the dom's. If Froome isn't there, Contador can go from way out on at least 3 stages

 

[LaFlorecita]

 

[Amsterdam]

I'm curious to know the schedule of Contador and his approach of the races. Is - like last year - he going to Tirreno, Catalunya and Pais Vasco to win or is he gonna ride less races before the Giro and just for build up?

 

[LaFlorecita]

I'm curious to know the schedule of Contador and his approach of the races. Is - like last year - he going to Tirreno, Catalunya and Pais Vasco to win or is he gonna ride less races before the Giro and just for build up?

I expect him to ride Tirreno, Catalunya, Pais Vasco (ftw) and then Giro + TDF

 

[ILovecycling]

I expect him to ride Tirreno, Catalunya, Pais Vasco (ftw) and then Giro + TDF

too heavy imho, he shouldnt ride vasco I think

 

[Granville57]

It's my understanding that the UCI will be adopting a new, season-wide theme song for 2015.

At least that's what I read on the internet.

Good choice, if you ask me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDdjwpPM3Y&t=3m37s

 

[trevim]

too heavy imho, he shouldnt ride vasco I think

Perhaps Trentino instead of Basque Country could lift some heavy racing. Basque Country is probably the hardest 1 week race of the calendar, brutal in bad weather although it suits him great. Anyway it really depends more on the training load he'll have and how that works out with races.

 

[Red Rick]

It's my understanding that the UCI will be adopting a new, season-wide theme song for 2015.

At least that's what I read on the internet.

Good choice, if you ask me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDdjwpPM3Y&t=3m37s

I never thought I'd see the day that something with Niki Minaj in it would be referred to as a "good choice" especially on this forumIn this very thread goddamnit

 

[Granville57]

I never thought I'd see the day that something with Niki Minaj in it would be referred to as a "good choice" especially on this forumIn this very thread goddamnit

Oh just you wait. I plan on getting plenty of mileage out of the tune once the 2015 GTs are upon us.

 

[Red Rick]

Oh just you wait. I plan on getting plenty of mileage out of the tune once the 2015 GTs are upon us.

At least come up with less terrible hip hop artists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDvr08sCPOc

 

[contador977]

The problem in 2012 wasn't only the route, it was also the strenght of the dom's. If Froome isn't there, Contador can go from way out on at least 3 stages

That would have been an interesting Tour. Wiggins would have been toast trying to follow Contador but Froome had a chance. If I was Froome that 2012 would eat at me still and something I have to learn to forget about. If I felt as strong as him, I would have done what Cunego did at the Giro. There are no gifts at the Tour De France. I guarantee u, Froome regrets that Tour, even if he wont admit it. That should have been his Tour.