Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Red Rick]

Apart from Aru I can't see anyone coming remotely close in the Giro. Lets take a look at the top 10's of all the GT's this year

Giro
1. Quintana, not riding
2. Uran, might take a little time in the tt, not even close uphill
3. Aru, great climber, got dropped by Contador on every climb in the Vuelta cause lets face it, Aru wasn't the strongest on the stages he won
4. Rolland, don't think he'll be riding/lol
5. Pozzovivo, will ride Giro, could attack a lot, but he'll likely be harmless
6. Majka, teammate
7. Kelderman, doing Tour
8. Evans, retiring
9. Hesjedal, dunno if he rides, but lol
10. Kiserlovski, teammate

Tour
1. Nibali, very unlikely to ride
2. Peraud, very likely not riding/not gonna put up any resistance
3. Pinot, can't imagine he's riding
4. Valverde, not riding
5. TJVG, dunno, American that he is, unlikely, but given his tt pedigree, might be better of riding. Wouldn't be any problem in the mountains
6. Bardet, probably doing the Tour
7. Konig, might ride, but will probably slave for Froome in the Tour, no problemo/hasta la vista when the road goes up
8. Zubeldia, no clue wether he's riding, not gonna pose a threat cause too much spotlight, needs at least 7 riders above him/in front of him to function
9. LTD, has admitted he would likte to get a top 10 in the Giro one day
10. Mollema, if he rides the Giro, the universe will probably explode

Vuelta
1. Velasco, riding Giro. Contador's biggest rival by far it seems
2. Froome, not riding, really not suited for the actual racing of the Giro
3. Valverde, not riding, dumbass
4. Purito, not riding
5. Aru, see Giro
6. Samu, no clue what he's doing. Not winning Giro is high up on the list I guess
7. Dan Martin. Don't know, guess he's riding(?). Contador shouldn't go near him in places where crashes are likely
8. Warren Barguil, doing Tour/lol
9. Damiano Caruso, eeehm
10. Dani Navarro, also known as random spanish Vuelta top 10 finisher (or as Contador former mountain slave), lets just leave it at that.

Not mentioned

Robert Gesink, will likely be at home during the finishes of all GT's
JVDB, like he's doing the Giro
Young guns stepping up to it, not likely not suddenly win Giro

So in summary, Contador's the only one of the Big Four (suck it up, tennis) to do the Giro. Of the other rides who could pose a threat (which I think includes Aru, Purito, Valverde, Majka and Pinot), only Aru rides. The rest are just gonna be generic top 10 finishers who were never gonna win anyway.

Apart from Contador (and lesser extent Aru), the field is super likely to be a huge joke, which I'm sure Cineteq wil point out a mindnumbing amount of times when the *****ing starts next year.

Biggest threats are in following order, Velasco, Aru, **insert world-ending catastrophe here**.


Long story short, I do think he'll get the chance to save some energy if needed

 

[cineteq]

So all this Manisfesto to say that the 2015 Giro competition for Contador is very weak. Yet another reason NOT to ride it.

Apart from Aru I can't see anyone coming remotely close in the Giro. Lets take a look at the top 10's of all the GT's this year

Giro
1. Quintana, not riding
2. Uran, might take a little time in the tt, not even close uphill
3. Aru, great climber, got dropped by Contador on every climb in the Vuelta cause lets face it, Aru wasn't the strongest on the stages he won
4. Rolland, don't think he'll be riding/lol
5. Pozzovivo, will ride Giro, could attack a lot, but he'll likely be harmless
6. Majka, teammate
7. Kelderman, doing Tour
8. Evans, retiring
9. Hesjedal, dunno if he rides, but lol
10. Kiserlovski, teammate

Tour
1. Nibali, very unlikely to ride
2. Peraud, very likely not riding/not gonna put up any resistance
3. Pinot, can't imagine he's riding
4. Valverde, not riding
5. TJVG, dunno, American that he is, unlikely, but given his tt pedigree, might be better of riding. Wouldn't be any problem in the mountains
6. Bardet, probably doing the Tour
7. Konig, might ride, but will probably slave for Froome in the Tour, no problemo/hasta la vista when the road goes up
8. Zubeldia, no clue wether he's riding, not gonna pose a threat cause too much spotlight, needs at least 7 riders above him/in front of him to function
9. LTD, has admitted he would likte to get a top 10 in the Giro one day
10. Mollema, if he rides the Giro, the universe will probably explode

Vuelta
1. Velasco, riding Giro. Contador's biggest rival by far it seems
2. Froome, not riding, really not suited for the actual racing of the Giro
3. Valverde, not riding, dumbass
4. Purito, not riding
5. Aru, see Giro
6. Samu, no clue what he's doing. Not winning Giro is high up on the list I guess
7. Dan Martin. Don't know, guess he's riding(?). Contador shouldn't go near him in places where crashes are likely
8. Warren Barguil, doing Tour/lol
9. Damiano Caruso, eeehm
10. Dani Navarro, also known as random spanish Vuelta top 10 finisher (or as Contador former mountain slave), lets just leave it at that.

Not mentioned

Robert Gesink, will likely be at home during the finishes of all GT's
JVDB, like he's doing the Giro
Young guns stepping up to it, not likely not suddenly win Giro

So in summary, Contador's the only one of the Big Four (suck it up, tennis) to do the Giro. Of the other rides who could pose a threat (which I think includes Aru, Purito, Valverde, Majka and Pinot), only Aru rides. The rest are just gonna be generic top 10 finishers who were never gonna win anyway.

Apart from Contador (and lesser extent Aru), the field is super likely to be a huge joke, which I'm sure Cineteq wil point out a mindnumbing amount of times when the *****ing starts next year.

Biggest threats are in following order, Velasco, Aru, **insert world-ending catastrophe here**.


Long story short, I do think he'll get the chance to save some energy if needed

 

[Miburo]

It is, Nibali is targeting July. The Etna/Nibali comment was just an example of where I'm not convinced that's how Contador will/can play it in Italy.

As an inside, I don't think Nibali will be getting crushed by anyone any time soon...

He did it in the vuelta, did you watch that race? He crushed aru and uran with not an ideal preparation.

How someone is not convinced that contador will easily win the giro is beyond me asssuming he won't crash and Aru doesn't suddenly get 2 times better.

 

[ferryman]

He did it in the vuelta, did you watch that race? He crushed aru and uran with not an ideal preparation.

How someone is not convinced that contador will easily win the giro is beyond me asssuming he won't crash and Aru doesn't suddenly get 2 times better.

Oh, I did, every stage.

But, erm, you obviously have me wrong. I think Contador will easily win the Giro, it's how he does it that I've been posting about. What I really hope, is he does so in a way that he can be fresh enough to compete with Quintana and Nibali in July.

 

[Red Rick]

So all this Manisfesto to say that the 2015 Giro competition for Contador is very weak. Yet another reason NOT to ride it.

Why is it a reason to not ride it? It makes his chance to double a bit better. Contador has nothing to prove to anyone (anyone but you it seems). Contador found out this year that Tour only (or Vuelta after that for that matter) is a huge risk. You come to the Tour empty handed (save for some stage races in his case) and if you fail/crash out (i predict insane amounts of crashes in the first week) it's very hard to recuperate for the Vuelta. Now he can rack up an easyish Giro and if he wins the Tour too, that would be an even bigger accomplishment than normal.

 

[Jspear]

So all this Manisfesto to say that the 2015 Giro competition for Contador is very weak. Yet another reason NOT to ride it.

What Red Rick said. Plus, AC decided to do the Giro before he knew what the parcours where or who was going to be riding. Also AC and his team wanted all of the best gc riders to come and race there....they wouldn't...that isn't AC's problem anymore. He tried, they don't want to.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Why is it a reason to not ride it? It makes his chance to double a bit better. Contador has nothing to prove to anyone (anyone but you it seems). Contador found out this year that Tour only (or Vuelta after that for that matter) is a huge risk. You come to the Tour empty handed (save for some stage races in his case) and if you fail/crash out (i predict insane amounts of crashes in the first week) it's very hard to recuperate for the Vuelta. Now he can rack up an easyish Giro and if he wins the Tour too, that would be an even bigger accomplishment than normal.

What Red Rick said. Plus, AC decided to do the Giro before he knew what the parcours where or who was going to be riding. Also AC and his team wanted all of the best gc riders to come and race there....they wouldn't...that isn't AC's problem anymore. He tried, they don't want to.

just don't reply ffs

 

[Dr. Juice]

The most important thing will be not to be dropped by Chris Froome on the first MTF in the Tour in order to play his cards from an equal position.

Alberto will be in very good form for the Tour. But the first mountain stage after ~ 5 - 6 weeks without racing ...he might pay for that...a bit like Dauphiné stage 2 this year. Or similar to Basso in 2005 (Courchevel only time he was dropped).

The only one I really fear is Froome.
Quintana and Nibali will never drop an AC in solid form.

 

[contador977]

The most important thing will be not to be dropped by Chris Froome on the first MTF in the Tour in order to play his cards from an equal position.

Alberto will be in very good form for the Tour. But the first mountain stage after ~ 5 - 6 weeks without racing ...he might pay for that...a bit like Dauphiné stage 2 this year. Or similar to Basso in 2005 (Courchevel only time he was dropped).

The only one I really fear is Froome.
Quintana and Nibali will never drop an AC in solid form.

Froome is the hot favourite for the Tour, imo. Even if Contador didnt ride the Giro, Id still consider Froome the favourite. My reference point is the 2013 Tour. I realize COntador has much better form now. I just wanted to see a Froome vs Contador battle without having a Grand Tour in their legs. Maybe 2014 Tour was the only chance and we know how that ended. IF Contador loses the Tour or is dropped in the mountains after winning the Giro, people will say he was not fresh and paid for his efforts in the Giro. In 2016 people can play the Age card. 2014 Tour still stings with me.

 

[BlurryVII]

To be honest, I'm not a fan of this Giro-Tour attempt-hype whatever. I can't believe he decided to go to the Giro without having won the Tour .

He has nothing to prove in the Giro, and the competition will be non existent.

All the big GC riders will be at the Tour (Quintana, froome, nibali, Rodriguez, Valverde), that is literally the perfect opportunity to show he is the best, crushing them all at once on the biggest scene.

But as usual, he decides to make things difficult so that when he doesn't win, haters will still come over and say " AC can't / won't win the Tour anymore" while he perfectly can but it is everytime down to a negative turn of events.

2011 - had to race the Giro because suspension threat - Hardest route in the last decade - 4 crashes at the Tour + knee injury
2012 - suspended
2014 - The most unfortunate crash ever .

And now he is going to the Giro again... easy route or not, if he doesn't win that Giro as a build up race, he won't be 100% at the Tour. I want him to be at 2014 Tour form but that most likely won't be the case.

He can win the Giro by 15 mins, but losing the Tour once again against the main riders will discredit him a LOT, tired or not.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Stay calm and do not panic

trust Alberto

 

[Red Rick]

If he takes the Giro by 15 minutes the Tour winner loses credit if it's not Velasco, imo

 

[cineteq]

Why is it a reason to not ride it? It makes his chance to double a bit better. Contador has nothing to prove to anyone (anyone but you it seems).

Competition's too weak, not worth it. It's funny that you support this, yet you said Nibali had a weak competion in the Tour, thus that's why he won (paraphrasing).

AC and his team wanted all of the best gc riders to come and race there....they wouldn't...that isn't AC's problem anymore. He tried, they don't want to.

The best GT race is the Tour, and it favors lots of climbers. Why the best riders/climbers would want to do the Giro?

just don't reply ffs

Guys do as she says, LOL!

 

[BlurryVII]

Stay calm and do not panic

trust Alberto

As red rick said, discussions will go over to 2016 as to whether AC could've won the Tour had he not raced the Giro, all of that because he randomly decided to get a tasteless Giro win over poor field.

But you already know the risk yourself, you'll be going nuts if he gets dropped by Froome & co at the Tour ...

 

[ferryman]

Froome is the hot favourite for the Tour, imo. Even if Contador didnt ride the Giro, Id still consider Froome the favourite. My reference point is the 2013 Tour. I realize COntador has much better form now. I just wanted to see a Froome vs Contador battle without having a Grand Tour in their legs. Maybe 2014 Tour was the only chance and we know how that ended. IF Contador loses the Tour or is dropped in the mountains after winning the Giro, people will say he was not fresh and paid for his efforts in the Giro. In 2016 people can play the Age card. 2014 Tour still stings with me.

Oh dear. We saw what happened this year. Contador swept Froome aside without a thought. It's clear Contador needs a bigger challenge this late in his career, hence him manning up for the Giro/July challenge.

If you really think Froome is hot favourite in July, and assuming you are old enough, fill your boots at the bet makers, All of which have Froome at good odds after Quintana and Gods above a Giro laden Contador.

2014 Tour still stings with me.[/QUOTE] Aye, it's a pity it didn't happen. But luckily, we saw what would have happened a few months later.

 

[BlurryVII]

Competition's too weak, not worth it.

That's exactly my point, it's not worth it really. He is no Nibali, all he needs to do now at 32 yrs old is beat the best GC riders, on the most hyped / known race in the world.

 

[LaFlorecita]

As red rick said, discussions will go over to 2016 as to whether AC could've won the Tour had he not raced the Giro, all of that because he randomly decided to get a tasteless Giro win over poor field.

But you already know the risk yourself, you'll be going nuts if he gets dropped by Froome & co at the Tour

Better a 99% sure Giro win and a 40% chance for the TDF, than a 50% for the Tour and nothing else.

Who cares what some useless idiots on the internet think. The fans will know what Alberto could have achieved. Arguing what if's with the idiots is pointless.

You're all acting as if it's a sure thing he won't win the Tour. IT'S NOT. Else he wouldn't be attempting the double.

Have some faith FFS. If he gets dropped massively by Froome, he would not have won it without riding the Giro either. If he does not win, but rides a good race, so be it. He knew the risks. If he wins, it'll be epic.

You guys are driving me nuts

 

[LaFlorecita]

That's exactly my point, it's not worth it really. He is no Nibali, all he needs to do now at 32 yrs old is beat the best GC riders, on the most hyped / known race in the world.

He'll get to add another GT win to his palmares.

He'll have won every GT 3 times, which no rider has ever achieved before.

even if you disregard his stripped results he'll have won every GT 2 times which only the Badger managed

and if everything goes according to plan he'll be the first rider in the 2000's to win the Giro-Tour double

Exactly because he hasn't got anything to prove, he should ride the Giro.

Besides, perhaps he wouldn't even be able to gather enough motivation for another risky Tour attempt. The double is a challenge for him. He needs a challenge to motivate him.

 

[Red Rick]

Contador has to choose which goal he wants to pursue for the remainder of his career.

1. Winning the Tour as often as he can (boring, anglophone, crap, etc option)
2. Wining as many GT's as he can, which means Giro, Vuelta most years (coward option)
3. Continue being a badass, doing as he likes, going for badass goals, doing doubles, etc (Velasco option)

I don't think anyone should blame him for choosing the 3rd option

 

[Sciocco]

**** the Tour, ride Giro next 3 years and then retire. Vuelta too.

Just delete the Tour, have everyone ride Giro-Vuelta every year, perfect.

 

[LaFlorecita]

**** the Tour, ride Giro next 3 years and then retire. Vuelta too.

Just delete the Tour, have everyone ride Giro-Vuelta every year, perfect.

Oh.. I agree so much... unfortunately it'll never happen

 

[LaFlorecita]

Contador has to choose which goal he wants to pursue for the remainder of his career.

1. Winning the Tour as often as he can (boring, anglophone, crap, etc option)
2. Wining as many GT's as he can, which means Giro, Vuelta most years (coward option)
3. Continue being a badass, doing as he likes, going for badass goals, doing doubles, etc (Velasco option)

I don't think anyone should blame him for choosing the 3rd option

exactly. Go Alberto! do whatever you want and whatever motivates you

 

[contador977]

[/B]

Oh dear. We saw what happened this year. Contador swept Froome aside without a thought. It's clear Contador needs a bigger challenge this late in his career, hence him manning up for the Giro/July challenge.

No thats not accurate. Anything post Stage 2 at the Dauphine doesnt mean anything. U must weigh the Crashes.

Unless your convinced Froome max efforts in the mountains at 100% will never drop Contador. I havent seen that yet.

Id rather him go to the Tour fresh, no one is going to the Giro. When Froome attacks 7-8 times in alien mode with Contador having the Giro in his legs, I cant imagine thats a better scenario than skipping the Giro. During his career he usually skips the Giro to focus on the Tour and be Fresh. This is what riders who want to win the Tour, this is the template. Why now?

 

[BlurryVII]

Exactly because he hasn't got anything to prove, he should ride the Giro.

I would be the first one to say that he has nothing to prove but after all this time, I'm thinking he's got to win the tour one more time. Even though, most people (barring haters) know he is the best GC rider, 2010 is long time ago.

The Tour is overhyped, its winner is usually considered the best, look at all the votes Nibali got for Vélo d'or just for winning one race in the year, against 2nd tier riders. It's sick. AC barely got that title winning plenty of races against great field.

I guess you have to risk a lot to win a lot, we'll see. If they all had accepted Oleg's challenge, everything would've been easier.

 

[BlurryVII]

Contador has to choose which goal he wants to pursue for the remainder of his career.

1. Winning the Tour as often as he can (boring, anglophone, crap, etc option)
2. Wining as many GT's as he can, which means Giro, Vuelta most years (coward option)
3. Continue being a badass, doing as he likes, going for badass goals, doing doubles, etc (Velasco option)

I don't think anyone should blame him for choosing the 3rd option

I'd hate seeing him targetting the Tour every year, I love 3rd option, but my point was: he needs to make sure (which means maximize his odds) to win the Tour alone just one more time and then go for doubles.

Not go for crazy *** doubles while he hasn't won the Tour for 4 years .