LaFlorecita said:
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.