Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[The_Juan]

I think Froome was a little bit stronger than Contador at the Dauphine. Froome 's attack at the Dauphine were stronger than the Vuelta.

Not on paper. At Col de Béal he went all out and arrived at the top with a sizable group. At Ancares, for example, he went all out and dropped everyone except Alberto. Yet, you say that his attacks were stronger at the DL. Huh?

Contador could barely stay on Froome's wheel in Stage 2. The elastic was stretching between the 2 riders. Contador was in pain and although he half attemtped to come around Froome in the last few meters, u could see on his face, it was not happening. Contador was not dropped but it was very close.

Not so. What I saw was Alberto right behind a Froome hellbent on going all out on the first mountain stage. To me it looks as though there is a little gap, but that has to do with Alberto getting ready for Chris' deceleration, not because he was actually losing ground. Had Chris been able to maintain that attack for another 100 meters then he would've maybe been able to drop AC. Then again, had he been able to sustain that acceleration for another 100 meters he wouldn't need a bicycle to win the TdF.

 

[Flamin]

Because the majority of the climbs in the Vuelta cannot be compared to the Giro mountains. The Giro mountains are (generally speaking) longer than the Vuelta mountains.

I know that obviously, but that's beside the point. Hm, I don't know how to express myself differently to make things more clear tbh.

 

[Mellow Velo]

I know that obviously, but that's beside the point. Hm, I don't know how to express myself differently to make things more clear tbh.

Perhaps by explaining in more detail why you think the 2012 route was as difficult as the 2011?
That might move things forward.

 

[Flamin]

Perhaps by explaining in more detail why you think the 2012 route was as difficult as the 2011?
That might move things forward.

Perhaps by reading more properly? I said it comes fairly close.. What stands out most in 2012 was the brutal 3rd week, which was harder than in 2011.

 

[contador977]

Not so. What I saw was Alberto right behind a Froome hellbent on going all out on the first mountain stage. To me it looks as though there is a little gap, but that has to do with Alberto getting ready for Chris' deceleration, not because he was actually losing ground. Had Chris been able to maintain that attack for another 100 meters then he would've maybe been able to drop AC. Then again, had he been able to sustain that acceleration for another 100 meters he wouldn't need a bicycle to win the TdF.

Getting ready for Froome's deceleration? LOL as they go uphill, right.

Contador was at his absolute limit, thats the reason for the gap. Contador was in pain .

 

[LaFlorecita]

Getting ready for Froome's deceleration? LOL as they go uphill, right.

Contador was at his absolute limit, thats the reason for the gap. Contador was in pain .

and Froome was super fresh

 

[Shingshan]

I think Froome should do a close watch on Contador and do Giro and Tour

 

[contador977]

and Froome was super fresh

Not fresh but his attacking style is different than anyone else in pro cycling no?

As far as Im concerned, Froome is the only rider to attack off the front, most try the surprise tactic, including Contador. Froome goes to the front and rides everyone off his wheel, they simply can not follow him, thier is no surprise tactic here, everyone knows that he is going to kick and they cant go with him.

I may be wrong but I think Contador has been quoted in the past as saying the Tour is most important, etc, etc, maybe dating back to Astana and riding the Tour with Lance or even before. I do recall him saying this. I find it interesting that he is doing the double now and telling in a way. If he puts everything into the Tour and Froome does the same thing, Im not sure Contador can win and Im not sure he thinks he can win. Contador is the only rider that can follow Froome and he puts him thru hell with his attacks. Froome has 2 surges to his attacks, the first surge drops everyone at 80% then he cranks out the last 100% before he rides tempp. No one can drop riders like Froome, that easily, imo. The Dauphine was going to be really telling towards the end but the crash de-railed things.

 

[Publicus]

Not fresh but his attacking style is different than anyone else in pro cycling no?

As far as Im concerned, Froome is the only rider to attack off the front, most try the surprise tactic, including Contador. Froome goes to the front and rides everyone off his wheel, they simply can not follow him, thier is no surprise tactic here, everyone knows that he is going to kick and they cant go with him.

I may be wrong but I think Contador has been quoted in the past as saying the Tour is most important, etc, etc, maybe dating back to Astana and riding the Tour with Lance or even before. I do recall him saying this. I find it interesting that he is doing the double now and telling in a way. If he puts everything into the Tour and Froome does the same thing, Im not sure Contador can win and Im not sure he thinks he can win. Contador is the only rider that can follow Froome and he puts him thru hell with his attacks. Froome has 2 surges to his attacks, the first surge drops everyone at 80% then he cranks out the last 100% before he rides tempp. No one can drop riders like Froome, that easily, imo. The Dauphine was going to be really telling towards the end but the crash de-railed things.

Ummm, what???? I do believe Contador beat him this year in at least one race. Maybe even a grand tour. Why on earth would you think that he would think that he could not beat Froome?

http://www.procyclingstats.com/rider.php?c=7&id=137456&CompareToId=140869

 

[LaFlorecita]

If Alberto wins next year's Giro, he'll have won each GT 3 times, no rider has ever achieved that before

and even if we use the official records (blegh):

-he'll have won each GT at least twice, which only Hinault has done before
-if he wins a stage, he'll have won stages in all GTs too.

 

[BlurryVII]

Not fresh but his attacking style is different than anyone else in pro cycling no?

As far as Im concerned, Froome is the only rider to attack off the front, most try the surprise tactic, including Contador. Froome goes to the front and rides everyone off his wheel, they simply can not follow him, thier is no surprise tactic here, everyone knows that he is going to kick and they cant go with him.

I may be wrong but I think Contador has been quoted in the past as saying the Tour is most important, etc, etc, maybe dating back to Astana and riding the Tour with Lance or even before. I do recall him saying this. I find it interesting that he is doing the double now and telling in a way. If he puts everything into the Tour and Froome does the same thing, Im not sure Contador can win and Im not sure he thinks he can win. Contador is the only rider that can follow Froome and he puts him thru hell with his attacks. Froome has 2 surges to his attacks, the first surge drops everyone at 80% then he cranks out the last 100% before he rides tempp. No one can drop riders like Froome, that easily, imo. The Dauphine was going to be really telling towards the end but the crash de-railed things.

Contador is ultimately the best climber in the world, is it hard to understand? No need to argue over that.

Also Contador is trying the double because he is looking for a bigger & motivating challenge and doesn't want to do the same 2014 schedule all over again, not because he thinks he can't beat Froome at the Tour.

How ridiculous does it sound? It looks like it's the new fashion to say "oh Contador doesn't want to go 100% for the Tour because of Froome", is that joke? what did he just do this year? FFS.

Pretty sure he would have destroyed him at the Tour, I don't think AC was even reachable last July. But anyway, he did it at the Vuelta on one leg, so no big deal really.

 

[trevim]

-if he wins a stage, he'll have won stages in all GTs too.

Lol I had never really thought about that. Poor Velasco

 

[The_Juan]

Getting ready for Froome's deceleration? LOL as they go uphill, right.

Contador was at his absolute limit, thats the reason for the gap. Contador was in pain .

What gap? I keep getting the feeling that the gap you seem to think Chris had on Alberto was miles long, when in reality it was just ½ meter, at the beginning of a high-rep effort. Alberto not only kept up, he actually matched Chris until the Kenyan gave up.

Contador was as much in pain as was Chris and everyone else: First "real" mountain day at the DL... everyone is going all out... Chris takes the inhaler out, gets a puff of the magic smoke, he starts telling the motorcycles to move out of the way... gets all manly and sh*t... and his fans' nipples get hard with excitement. Cracker pleaze.

I've already told you that Chris' performance that day wasn't that impressive. He got to the top with 5-6 other guys for Christ sake! Are you watching the same sport I'm watching?

I, for one, opine that his ride up Ancares was way more impressive: more accelerations, more sustained efforts (not the stop-n-go crap he kept on doing at Col du Béal,) dropping big names (Valverde/Purito,) et cetera. And STILL he got beat by a Contador still recovering from a knee fracture.

C'est la vie.

 

[contador977]

Ummm, what???? I do believe Contador beat him this year in at least one race. Maybe even a grand tour. Why on earth would you think that he would think that he could not beat Froome?

Before I make my point, understand Contador is my favourite rider, by a mile.

Yes he beat Froome in the Dauphine. Froome crashed, so Contadors attacks after Stage 2, cant be viewed with any seriousness. Froome form on Col Du Beal did not just vanish for no reason.

Yes Contador won the Vuelta but the circumstances are hard to judge, Contador with the leg fracture and Froome with broken wrist, did not have proper build ups. Whether Contador can reach peak form faster does not matter, imo,...teh build up was unique and un fiar to judge.

If Contador did not ride the Giro, like this year, everyone would understand. The Tour is often talked about as most important and Contador focusing on the Tour for 2015 would be what most would expect, I think. Doing the double all of a sudden, I think is a sign of respect to Froome and the difficulties that lay ahead for him at the Tour. But I think if Contador can win the Giro by 1-2 mins and not go all out in the mountains, the double is possible. Win the Giro in boring fashion, who knows though, Aru or others might force him to go deeper into his reserves to win and that might not bode well for him when Quintana and Froome are fresher and going all out in the Tour mountains. I thought during the Vuelta the tides were changing toward the end. Contador really impressed me as I thought Froome might be able to drop him in the last few mountain stages. Froome was like Jason in friday the 13th, u think he is gone and your safe but he catches back up to you, it would drive me banana's and put fear into me how unpredictable he is and how strong he can be.

 

[Mellow Velo]

What gap? I keep getting the feeling that the gap you seem to think Chris had on Alberto was miles long, when in reality it was just ½ meter, at the beginning of a high-rep effort. Alberto not only kept up, he actually matched Chris until the Kenyan gave up.

Contador was as much in pain as was Chris and everyone else: First "real" mountain day at the DL... everyone is going all out... Chris takes the inhaler out, gets a puff of the magic smoke, he starts telling the motorcycles to move out of the way... gets all manly and sh*t... and his fans' nipples get hard with excitement. Cracker pleaze.

I've already told you that Chris' performance that day wasn't that impressive. He got to the top with 5-6 other guys for Christ sake! Are you watching the same sport I'm watching?

I, for one, opine that his ride up Ancares was way more impressive: more accelerations, more sustained efforts (not the stop-n-go crap he kept on doing at Col du Béal,) dropping big names (Valverde/Purito,) et cetera. And STILL he got beat by a Contador still recovering from a knee fracture.

C'est la vie.

The paragraph in bold: Maybe just a tad hypocritical, even for a fanboy?
To the sentence in red: Probably not.

 

[The_Juan]

The paragraph in bold: Maybe just a tad hypocritical, even for a fanboy?

Science fiction more like it. It never happened. Much like the "gap" between Chris and Alberto when going up the Col du Bèal.

 

[The_Juan]

Doing the double all of a sudden, I think is a sign of respect to Froome and the difficulties that lay ahead for him at the Tour.

So Alberto is planning his season around Froome?

Oh boy, you keep digging yourself a deeper hole.

I opine exactly the opposite: Alberto going the Giro & the TdF is sending out a message that he can beat them all in my opinion, including Froome. He's basically comoditizing his his competition, meaning he is confident in his form.

 

[Kwibus]

Imo we haven't seen a proper Froome vs Contador duel this year.

In the vuelta both weren't at their best obviously.
I think Froome 2013 vs Contador 2014 would be an epic duel with a very tight outcome.

If Froome will be at his best next year during the TdF and Contador rode the Giro then I highly doubt Contador will be a ble to beat Froome.

My opinion.

 

[Kwibus]

Im really glad contador does the Giro though, becuase he loves the race and isn't all TdF minded. Wish more people rode with the love for the sport as Contador does.

 

[roundabout]

Yes, the rest hate the sport.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Yes, the rest hate the sport.

that's not what Kwibus posted or implied

 

[Publicus]

Before I make my point, understand Contador is my favourite rider, by a mile.

Yes he beat Froome in the Dauphine. Froome crashed, so Contadors attacks after Stage 2, cant be viewed with any seriousness. Froome form on Col Du Beal did not just vanish for no reason.

Yes Contador won the Vuelta but the circumstances are hard to judge, Contador with the leg fracture and Froome with broken wrist, did not have proper build ups. Whether Contador can reach peak form faster does not matter, imo,...teh build up was unique and un fiar to judge.

If Contador did not ride the Giro, like this year, everyone would understand. The Tour is often talked about as most important and Contador focusing on the Tour for 2015 would be what most would expect, I think. Doing the double all of a sudden, I think is a sign of respect to Froome and the difficulties that lay ahead for him at the Tour. But I think if Contador can win the Giro by 1-2 mins and not go all out in the mountains, the double is possible. Win the Giro in boring fashion, who knows though, Aru or others might force him to go deeper into his reserves to win and that might not bode well for him when Quintana and Froome are fresher and going all out in the Tour mountains. I thought during the Vuelta the tides were changing toward the end. Contador really impressed me as I thought Froome might be able to drop him in the last few mountain stages. Froome was like Jason in friday the 13th, u think he is gone and your safe but he catches back up to you, it would drive me banana's and put fear into me how unpredictable he is and how strong he can be.

thanks for all of this, but you never really addressed/explained why Contador doesn't believe that he can beat Froome when they both are on top form.

 

[DFA123]

Imo we haven't seen a proper Froome vs Contador duel this year.

In the vuelta both weren't at their best obviously.
I think Froome 2013 vs Contador 2014 would be an epic duel with a very tight outcome.

If Froome will be at his best next year during the TdF and Contador rode the Giro then I highly doubt Contador will be a ble to beat Froome.

My opinion.

This would have been great to see. I think Froome would take it though on any GT with a decent length flat time trial. On 2013 form he'd probably take at least a minute on Contador in a TT and wouldn't lose that much, if anything, in the mountains.

 

[ferryman]

This would have been great to see. I think Froome would take it though on any GT with a decent length flat time trial. On 2013 form he'd probably take at least a minute on Contador in a TT and wouldn't lose that much, if anything, in the mountains.

This all a bit flawed given that we have no real idea how good Contador (or Froome for that matter) would have been in July 2014. All indications point to Contador being in the better form given his subsequent destruction of Froome in the Vuelta but who knows. If I was a betting man, and I am, my money would be on Contador every time all things being equal.

 

[Dr. Juice]

This would have been great to see. I think Froome would take it though on any GT with a decent length flat time trial. On 2013 form he'd probably take at least a minute on Contador in a TT and wouldn't lose that much, if anything, in the mountains.

A minute in a TT like Mont St.Michél , yeah. Then in the semi mountain TT a 2014 Contador would have dominated the 2013 Froome who won by 9 seconds in front of a 2013 Contador. Mountain TT's are Contador's no.1 territory. Probably taken the time back or almost.
Alpe d'Huez - good night dear opponent, if Alberto sees you eating and riding all over the place with 4-5 km to go.
Le Grand-Bornand - nobody did attack. Good descent finish - ideal for a Contador attack.
Then Semnoz - third opportunity to take time back.

That luxury to have a big cushion and the opponents riding for 2nd place...that dip in form after 2 weeks...Alberto penalises things like that. With Contador in top shape you have to be 100% perfect to beat him. 100%.