Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[indianfanboy]

Contador really struggled today in that final 3 minute high intensity climb compared to Froome.I think he should have not dug so deep to follow Froome's wheel when Froome attacked instead should have paced himself better or maybe he should have gone earlier like yesterday.

Anyways Contador said he is lacking explosiveness and that he has not done high intensity training.Those 2 kilos didnt help him either.

Froome looks like he is in good form and i doubt that he is behind Contador form wise infact i think he is ahead of Contador all these past years of watching Froome has taught me that Froome always comes out all guns blazing

 

[Jelantik]

well, at least both of them is equal. 1-1. Bertie dropped froome 19 seconds in 7.2 km attacked. Froome dropped contador in less than 5km (what's that 800m or 3km out?) about 28 seconds. And not to mention both of the mountain are different in profile and gradient. But both of them rode a great race. It's just ashamed, Bertie lost by 1 second. Ouch!. I wold prefer to loose 1 minutes

dunno, maybe the tactic for bertie, he should attacked early when Froome is biting his time?

 

[Jelantik]

Indeed. I don't understand the people that say that Froome was closing in, because Contador wasn't going all out.
His entire body was showing he was going all out. Just like Froome.
Both ain't at their peaks and both will improve.

I just really hope Bertie's Giro won't hurt him at the Tour, but I'm confident Alberto will be ready at the Tour.

Pray all the favourites stay on their bikes this year.

bertie is gritting his teeth all the way up. that's typically when he is already on the limits. Yesterday he wasn't.

some people make a big deal about sky attacked left to right. yeah.. right. it doesn't bother bertie. He just stayed with Froome and he didn't even follow any of the attacks except from Froome.

 

[Carols]

Granted it's a lot more fun to be a Berto fan when he is the one riding away, but great riders need great adversaries. The year is young and they have both thrown down the gauntlet.

Berto may have gone a bit to deep yesterday and had heavy legs today. One second is excruciating though .

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Contador really struggled today in that final 3 minute high intensity climb compared to Froome.I think he should have not dug so deep to follow Froome's wheel when Froome attacked instead should have paced himself better or maybe he should have gone earlier like yesterday.

Anyways Contador said he is lacking explosiveness and that he has not done high intensity training.Those 2 kilos didnt help him either.

Froome looks like he is in good form and i doubt that he is behind Contador form wise infact i think he is ahead of Contador all these past years of watching Froome has taught me that Froome always comes out all guns blazing

It would make sense if Froome is in better shape at this time of the year. He only has to peak in Tirreno-Adriatico this spring, while Contador should reach his spring peak in May.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Granted it's a lot more fun to be a Berto fan when he is the one riding away, but great riders need great adversaries. The year is young and they have both thrown down the gauntlet.

Berto may have gone a bit to deep yesterday and had heavy legs today. One second is excruciating though .

Not to worry, the gap is 2 seconds now so even if Alberto somehow manages to get a small advantage tomorrow it is not likely to be enough.

I guess the good thing is that I won't have to watch Tirreno-Adriatico and Catalunya

 

[infeXio]

Not to worry, the gap is 2 seconds now so even if Alberto somehow manages to get a small advantage tomorrow it is not likely to be enough.

I guess the good thing is that I won't have to watch Tirreno-Adriatico and Catalunya

Oh dear....

 

[Arredondo]

Not to worry, the gap is 2 seconds now so even if Alberto somehow manages to get a small advantage tomorrow it is not likely to be enough.

I guess the good thing is that I won't have to watch Tirreno-Adriatico and Catalunya

Come on. The guy will finish 2nd in the Ruta with a stage win.

Be glad you don't support Purito, then you will have a hard time

 

[Dr. Juice]

As I said in the Andalucia thread...Froome and Contador both not at 100%. When you are at 85% better and worse days can happen. There was a lot of acid in the legs of Alberto today. He wasn't fluid even before Froome accelerated.

I don't think he lied when he said he was a couple of kg too heavy at this point of the season and that he didn't knew how that would translate onto the steep gradients (yesterday).
It seems like he has a good base form...good endurance....good aerobic power. Yesterday was a 20 min effort just within the aerobic limit (like in a TT).
Today was an all-out anaerobic effort, all or nothing...going absolutely in the red and he still lacks a bit in that respect.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Come on. The guy will finish 2nd in the Ruta with a stage win.

Be glad you don't support Purito, then you will have a hard time

I will refer to my signature. 2nd is worse than any other placing.

 

[BlurryVII]

Contador is going for a slower build up this year, if he' had countered and dropped Froome on such extreme gradient that would have been concerning at this point, so early in the season.

We all know what AC is able to do at his best (i.e sprinting all the way up at pais vasco last year on 15 - 20 % on the big gear - absolutely undroppable), and he'll show that he's the best when it will actually matter.

 

[Arredondo]

I will refer to my signature. 2nd is worse than any other placing.

But still it's good enough to look at TA and VC with joy.

 

[LaFlorecita]

But still it's good enough to look at TA and VC with joy.

Nope. I'm not going to watch Alberto finish 2nd over and over again.

 

[Red Rick]

I'm really sure after this year or after his career Contador is gonna wake up at night, shivering, thinking back of the day he lost the Ruta del Sol, which would've made the difference between an ok career and an absolutely stellar career. But he didn't, some British, skinny guy won the Ruta del Sol, along with all its fame for the ages









not

 

[Red Rick]

Nope. I'm not going to watch Alberto finish 2nd over and over again.

I know a way, bet your whole net worth on Froome, so you can either enjoy Contador winning, or wipe your tears with 100 euro bills

And if someone else wins, we'll be here to make silly posts

 

[No_Balls]

It is normal what happened today. This early on the form will differ from stage to stage because of the issues Alberto adressed yesterday (slight overweight) with an effort yesterday which probably made him unable to sustain power today. What he has to do is build a momentum and stabilty to his power output but that comes with racing and training. Normally he should have won but in the light of a very good antagonist (who is on the same page or slight above formwise) this becomes clearer. For those worried yesterday that he perhaps was "too good" this early should be calm: he is exactly were he needs to be.

Lesson of the day: every seconds count.

Electress: I agree. Well said.

 

[BlurryVII]

I feel like Contador will be very hurt from this loss, because he was enjoying the race in first place, probably thinking it was in the bag and now he is losing for 2 seconds.
Even if it's only andalucia, and he has to take it easy at this point in the season , it's a harsh psychological hit.
I think this will cause him to train harder and put more intensity than planned from now on to Tirreno just to beat/crush Froome in Italy and that might not be ideal for the double.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I feel like Contador will be very hurt from this loss, because he was enjoying the race in first place, probably thinking it was in the bag and now he is losing for 2 seconds.
Even if it's only andalucia, and he has to take it easy at this point in the season , it's a harsh psychological hit.
I think this will cause him to train harder and put more intensity than planned from now on to Tirreno just to beat/crush Froome in Italy and that might not be ideal for the double.

I completely agree.

 

[Dr. Juice]

Nope. I'm not going to watch Alberto finish 2nd over and over again.

What happened to you?
Seriously...Alberto is still behind in his preparation - he stated that himself.

You should be positively surprised by his performance yesterday. I thought that he'd be a bit behind Froome at this point.
Froome can do like Contador last year....100% in March/April then slow down and peak for the Tour.
He just hasn't got those all-out efforts in him at this point. But his base form is really good and he NEEDS to build up gradually.

2 kg too much weigh less on 6-8% gradients. But with every % gradient 1 kg too much gets more and more hindering. That's why he said he wasn't sure how he reacted to those brutally steep climbs. It's easy to lose 30 sec when you are over the limit.

Yesterday both Froome and Contador rode just under the limit (this is what I mean with base form) and Contador was slightly better.
At Tirreno we will see Contador in better shape although still not at 100%. He has to keep that last kg for Giro and Tour de France or he will be tired at the end of the Tour. I even think he should win the Giro with 90%.
Giro at 100% and it will be difficult to keep the form for the Tour. Giro at 90% and those 3 weeks will be the best training in the world for the Tour.

Just like Indurain won his 2 Giro d'Italia at 85-90% (in 1992 and 1993) and in those years he dominated the Tour. In 1994 he tried to win again the Giro while being at 85-90% but Pantani messed up his plan. He then dominated the Tour like never before. He NEVER went into the Giro in top form because the Tour was his main goal - even if that meant risking to lose the Giro.

Contador has to do the same.
Physiological training aspects haven't changed and humans haven't changed within 20 years - now matter how much bullsh!t Sky tells us.

You should trust a man who won 8 GT's and kicked everybody after an injury last year. Why are you SO afraid of Froome? We all know that he is a great opponent and which numbers he is able to do. He is 30 and will keep his strenght for another 3 years but he won't progress anymore.

Alberto in top form is the better package. Just chill.

 

[Carols]

I feel like Contador will be very hurt from this loss, because he was enjoying the race in first place, probably thinking it was in the bag and now he is losing for 2 seconds.
Even if it's only andalucia, and he has to take it easy at this point in the season , it's a harsh psychological hit.
I think this will cause him to train harder and put more intensity than planned from now on to Tirreno just to beat/crush Froome in Italy and that might not be ideal for the double.

I fear you are correct

 

[BlurryVII]

Alberto in top form is the better package. Just chill.

You know it mate.

 

[SeriousSam]

The cycle of happiness, depression and rationalization exhibited in this thread never loses its allure.

 

[LaFlorecita]

What happened to you?

I am disappointed and angry, as always when Alberto loses a race.

 

[Carols]

Be glad you don't support Purito, then you will have a hard time

My sympathies are with you. I love Purito but am very glad he isn't my #1 favorite. That would be so difficult to bear....

 

[LaFlorecita]

The cycle of happiness, depression and rationalization exhibited in this thread never loses its allure.

Rationalization? When