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Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

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Jelantik said:
BlurryVII said:
And for some reason today he looked leaner on the bike... go figure it out lol

CBRv4RwWEAEN_P3.jpg

Don't trust photo. long lens can make you look chubby. And also depends on the angle you take. I'm not worry about how contador looks like. At least he doesn't look like anorexic like Froome.

I think it's the hi-viz green/yellow that creates that illusion.
 
Angliru said:
Jelantik said:
BlurryVII said:
And for some reason today he looked leaner on the bike... go figure it out lol

CBRv4RwWEAEN_P3.jpg

Don't trust photo. long lens can make you look chubby. And also depends on the angle you take. I'm not worry about how contador looks like. At least he doesn't look like anorexic like Froome.

I think it's the hi-viz green/yellow that creates that illusion.

He's definitely a little chubby. But it's not too bad. I think he is exactly where he needs to be at this point. Now if he shows up like this at the Giro... :p
 
Jul 19, 2010
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hfer07 said:
really sad to see Alberto going through team issues over and over again. perhaps is his Karma. there is NO single team that he has ever had complete stability- NONE.

I foresee he will go Il Giro, then fade on Le Tour & then disappear until next season.

well, that's the million dollar question isn't it? whether he will fade or not. But disappear after the Tour, .. didn't you notice that Bjarne isn't there anymore? The Russian dictator is the one that's pulling the string now :D
 
Mar 17, 2015
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Re: Re:

Jelantik said:
hfer07 said:
really sad to see Alberto going through team issues over and over again. perhaps is his Karma. there is NO single team that he has ever had complete stability- NONE.

I foresee he will go Il Giro, then fade on Le Tour & then disappear until next season.

well, that's the million dollar question isn't it? whether he will fade or not. But disappear after the Tour, .. didn't you notice that Bjarne isn't there anymore? The Russian dictator is the one that's pulling the string now :D

You don't have to wait for the Tour, most likely he will fade in the Giro. LOL
 
Re: Re:

ICEROCK said:
Jelantik said:
hfer07 said:
really sad to see Alberto going through team issues over and over again. perhaps is his Karma. there is NO single team that he has ever had complete stability- NONE.

I foresee he will go Il Giro, then fade on Le Tour & then disappear until next season.

well, that's the million dollar question isn't it? whether he will fade or not. But disappear after the Tour, .. didn't you notice that Bjarne isn't there anymore? The Russian dictator is the one that's pulling the string now :D

You don't have to wait for the Tour, most likely he will fade in the Giro. LOL
Considering the latest developments, participation in the Giro is everything but certain.
And he doesn't have the legs for more than one GT a season any more.
 
Re: Re:

sir fly said:
ICEROCK said:
Jelantik said:
hfer07 said:
really sad to see Alberto going through team issues over and over again. perhaps is his Karma. there is NO single team that he has ever had complete stability- NONE.

I foresee he will go Il Giro, then fade on Le Tour & then disappear until next season.

well, that's the million dollar question isn't it? whether he will fade or not. But disappear after the Tour, .. didn't you notice that Bjarne isn't there anymore? The Russian dictator is the one that's pulling the string now :D

You don't have to wait for the Tour, most likely he will fade in the Giro. LOL
Considering the latest developments, participation in the Giro is everything but certain.
And he doesn't have the legs for more than one GT a season any more.

Ad he said some time ago ,legends do not make winning another Tour. Alberto is already a great champion , he doesn't have to prove nothing 'cause he won everything and he'll never be forgotten .
but he need double to join into the legend , e Berto knows it. As Merckx , Coppi, Hinault , Indurain, Pantani.
 
Jul 29, 2012
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If Contador is gonna be at his best in the giro, then it's been exactly 4 years since we saw a contador at his best in a GT.

That's a long time.
 
Feb 21, 2014
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Miburo said:
If Contador is gonna be at his best in the giro, then it's been exactly 4 years since we saw a contador at his best in a GT.

That's a long time.

Believe it or not, last time he was at his best was last year, at the Tour.
 
Feb 21, 2014
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A few interesting statements from an article about today's press conference (translated..) :

- The Spanish rider has revealed he "hypothecated/ sacrificed" the early season having a delayed preparation to arrive at the Giro at 100%.

"I believe everything is going as planned, and hopefully in a few weeks time, my form will be at the height that I want it to be"
[...]
Asked about the Vuelta again:
"I'll be at the Vuelta only if I come accross unexpected issues at the Tour"

About Riis
"Riis has been a very important person in my career, who brought me a lot, and regardless of what happened my relationship will keep being excellent with him."

About the crash: "I'm still quite bruised over some parts and a bit in pain. Yesterday (last stage) was a complicated one for me, as it was hard to finish but still happy because I don't have any fracture and in principle, it shouldn't hinder my preparation for the Giro"

About Porte, he's not surprised that he is in such a good form right now:

"I know that, back in november when most of us still didn't start training, he was already looking sharp. He did/ accumulated a lot of kilometers, and it's pretty clear to me that his intention was to have a strong early season which is what he is doing, and demonstrated here in catalunya"

The native of Madrid is looking forward to great battle against Porte at the Giro.
 
Re:

BlurryVII said:
A few interesting statements from an article about today's press conference (translated..) :

- The Spanish rider has revealed he "hypothecated/ sacrificed" the early season having a delayed preparation to arrive at the Giro at 100%.

"I believe everything is going as planned, and hopefully in a few weeks time, my form will be at the height that I want it to be"
[...]
Asked about the Vuelta again:
"I'll be at the Vuelta only if I come accross unexpected issues at the Tour"

About Riis
"Riis has been a very important person in my career, who brought me a lot, and regardless of what happened my relationship will keep being excellent with him."

About the crash: "I'm still quite bruised over some parts and a bit in pain. Yesterday (last stage) was a complicated one for me, as it was hard to finish but still happy because I don't have any fracture and in principle, it shouldn't hinder my preparation for the Giro"

About Porte, he's not surprised that he is in such a good form right now:

"I know that, back in november when most of us still didn't start training, he was already looking sharp. He did/ accumulated a lot of kilometers, and it's pretty clear to me that his intention was to have a strong early season which is what he is doing, and demonstrated here in catalunya"

The native of Madrid is looking forward to great battle against Porte at the Giro.

Cool. Thanks for the news!
 
Jul 29, 2012
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BlurryVII said:
Miburo said:
If Contador is gonna be at his best in the giro, then it's been exactly 4 years since we saw a contador at his best in a GT.

That's a long time.

Believe it or not, last time he was at his best was last year, at the Tour.

first time we see him performing since 4 years.
 
Re:

BlurryVII said:
A few interesting statements from an article about today's press conference (translated..) :

- The Spanish rider has revealed he "hypothecated/ sacrificed" the early season having a delayed preparation to arrive at the Giro at 100%.

"I believe everything is going as planned, and hopefully in a few weeks time, my form will be at the height that I want it to be"
[...]
Asked about the Vuelta again:
"I'll be at the Vuelta only if I come accross unexpected issues at the Tour"

About Riis
"Riis has been a very important person in my career, who brought me a lot, and regardless of what happened my relationship will keep being excellent with him."


About the crash: "I'm still quite bruised over some parts and a bit in pain. Yesterday (last stage) was a complicated one for me, as it was hard to finish but still happy because I don't have any fracture and in principle, it shouldn't hinder my preparation for the Giro"

About Porte, he's not surprised that he is in such a good form right now:

"I know that, back in november when most of us still didn't start training, he was already looking sharp. He did/ accumulated a lot of kilometers, and it's pretty clear to me that his intention was to have a strong early season which is what he is doing, and demonstrated here in catalunya"

The native of Madrid is looking forward to great battle against Porte at the Giro.

Thanks, appreciated the news.

Re the Bold:
If Riis can land on his feet somehow and Alberto has a way out of his contract I predict they will be together again next year :). Lots of 'ifs' but I'd like to see it!
 
Mar 27, 2015
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Oleg Tinkov
Here is my statement: World cycling has to change... or die, or maybe just lurch from scandal to scandal for another decade as we watch teams come and go. That is today's situation, where teams do not have income, just huge expense that would be unthinkable in other professional sports. Teams depend on sponsorship for 99% of their revenue and this model is neither viable nor durable. This is the origin of the doping, the endless scandals and the whole 'grey tinge' of this wonderful sport. The paradox is that cycling is the world's second most popular spectator sport, after football, but at the same time it is the poorest sport.

Why is this happening? I will try to analyse the problem funnel.

This is how the chain should look ideally:
- income (from television and participation in races) for teams
- race organisers receive MORE from TV channels
- TV channels get more viewers and more demand
- races are an interesting show - this is entertainment
- a cycling star academy should be created and we should work on increasing viewing figures (see experience of Formula 1)
- ALL!!! stars should participate in these races (here we should look to the experience of Tennis)

Of course, you could look at this funnel from the bottom up. People obviously need to watch the races rather than sleeping during siesta time in Continental Europe:).

We need to find a way to get them interested during long and boring stages. We probably need to make them shorter or start to show them later, when there is a final battle.

We need to make races more interesting and think-up new ones. As an idea: GP Monaco on Saturday before the motor racing, and sell seats in rows that are already set up. But it is important that the best sprinters come for this kind of event - the best mountain racers should go to all the grand tours. That is why I proposed the 'Three Grand Tour Challenge' which provoked such a heated discussion - which made me very happy! If you want to have a real show, you need to have the very best competing against the very best. We definitely need to reduce the number of races - noone is interested in these provincial races that get no TV coverage. Here I am talking about World Tour teams - I think that teams with lower status can participate in those more local events and so they do have a place in the sport.

Again, everything hinges on the idiotic 'ciclismo storico' . I agree with Fabian Canchelara - who needs this tradition of 'do as my grandad did'? Spain, Italy, France, Belgium are all stuck in a 20th Century paradigm - this is an anachronism in the age of the Internet, the iPhone, mass mobility and a broad-based approach to sport and life in general. In those days you really did have to ride your bike without gear changes and a lamp strapped to your forehead. We need to cut the number of races, reduce their duration and make them more viewer-friendly. For example, we could have more 'ring' races around cities, etc.

Cycling has to change. The times of Sainz, Bryneel and Riis are over - they were stuck in the 2000s and that is not necessarily about doping. They just don't get some obvious things and don't know how to manage teams in modern way. Managing a team is not just about issuing instructions from a car radio or about casting a spell over the riders at which Riis was unsurpassed, for example. Managing a team is about boring, monotonous work in the office. The day of the boring and meticulous managers has come - guys like Dave Brailsord and, I hope, our new Director Stefano Feltrin.

Directing the team and its riders from preparation today must be driven by mathematical and statistical analysis and data mining. Sport science is the king now! Today the winner is not the one that trains the most but the one who trains the right way, not the one who injects EPO, but the one with a healthy diet and the one who consumes the right drinks before, after and during lengthy training sessions.

It is for this reason that I am not considering the torrent of offers of 'Riis replacements' that I have been inundated with from all over the globe. We don't need this - this is the old way of thinking and it is no longer viable!

We have some of the best riders in the peloton, we have a superb team of trainers and specialists and, hey, cycling is a team sport - let's not forget that. So I believe in my team - Tinkoff-Saxo and in our team of like-minded professionals! We don't need a star-manager - we are a team of stars of world cycling: Stefano Feltrin, Steve de Jong, Sean Yates, Bobby Julich, Daniel Healey, etc. and together we will make our team into a Super-Team.

But of course if cycling itself doesn't change as I wrote above, then it will be that more difficult. And everything will stay the same as it is now - each man for himself fighting to save his own skin. I call out to all teams to unite to establish new rules of the game, to influence the UCI and race organisers. I realize that this is difficult task, and there needs to be more team-owners rather than former sportsmen who managed to find sponsors and survive, earning their million-a-year.

I believe in my favorite sport and I believe in the dialectic of life too....
 
Aug 4, 2011
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Oleg makes some good points, but what I don't want to see is

Pay to view races only ...so no GT'S on non paying TV
paying to watch a race live at the start and finish area.
Paying to get on to a mountain during a big stage of the Tour or Giro etc.
Even though I don't wear any sort of team Kit ,,,prices going crazy expensive.
Teams using tech that means we cannot ride the same kind of bike unless rich as F%%K
I don't want to see Cycling going the way of F1 or Soccer.
Cycling IMO is a peoples sport and a free one to go and watch.
Biggest fear is if Sky gets Cycling rights and it will turn into a pile of profit making take the people for all the money we can pile of sh%t.
 
ray j willings said:
Oleg makes some good points, but what I don't want to see is

Pay to view races only ...so no GT'S on non paying TV
paying to watch a race live at the start and finish area.
Paying to get on to a mountain during a big stage of the Tour or Giro etc.
Even though I don't wear any sort of team Kit ,,,prices going crazy expensive.
Teams using tech that means we cannot ride the same kind of bike unless rich as F%%K
I don't want to see Cycling going the way of F1 or Soccer.
Cycling IMO is a peoples sport and a free one to go and watch.
Biggest fear is if Sky gets Cycling rights and it will turn into a pile of profit making take the people for all the money we can pile of sh%t.

I swear. The day Oleg's vision takes over the sport, is the day I stop watching.
 
ray j willings said:
Oleg makes some good points, but what I don't want to see is

Pay to view races only ...so no GT'S on non paying TV
paying to watch a race live at the start and finish area.
Paying to get on to a mountain during a big stage of the Tour or Giro etc.
Even though I don't wear any sort of team Kit ,,,prices going crazy expensive.
Teams using tech that means we cannot ride the same kind of bike unless rich as F%%K
I don't want to see Cycling going the way of F1 or Soccer.
Cycling IMO is a peoples sport and a free one to go and watch.
Biggest fear is if Sky gets Cycling rights and it will turn into a pile of profit making take the people for all the money we can pile of sh%t.

I agree to some extent, and to some extent with Oleg, the problem is in not going too far. I have no wish for cycling to lose it's connection to its history, or its fans by turning it into a ticketed sporting extravaganza. I'm no football fan, but I know a number of peole who have fallen out of love with the sport because of the sense of disconnection from it now it is a massive worldwide industry with ludicrous amounts of money changing hands. Cycling benefits in some ways from not being too mainstream and going the sky ppv or 20:20 cricket route isn't what I want.

What turns my blood cold, however, is this bit:

Managing a team is not just about issuing instructions from a car radio or about casting a spell over the riders at which Riis was unsurpassed, for example. Managing a team is about boring, monotonous work in the office. The day of the boring and meticulous managers has come - guys like Dave Brailsord and, I hope, our new Director Stefano Feltrin.

Directing the team and its riders from preparation today must be driven by mathematical and statistical analysis and data mining. Sport science is the king now!

I appreciate that you need to do the numbers and use modern methods, but please God, I want there to be room for risk taking and panache in the sport. All teams work hard, but hearing all about power ratios and nothing about passion or enjoyment kills the fun for me. One of the reasons I loathe Sky is the corporate management / mood of accountancy that colours everything. I like to think that guys like Riis have a personal, even paternal connection with their riders, and share human qualities and failings with them. I want to hear about inspiration, leadership and charisma not power metres and working out the stats. I want the riders I support to come over as people, not robots, and able to still make individual choices and have a life outside the sport.

I like to think that all the training just sets up the rider to work from the best possible base during racing, but from then on its about instinct and risk-taking and a feeling for race-day tactics, not only will-to-power / crush any resistance in some dreary well-executed strategy planned with a gantt chart and calculator three weeks in advance. Winning is important, but it isn't the be all and end all. How the winning is done matters to me. Daring to do things differently and taking chances; even at the cost of being erratic / inconsistent but occasionally mercurially brilliant, has much more appeal to me. One of the reasons I loved Sagan when he appeared on the scene was his willingness to prat about - it was enjoyable to watch someone who was clearly enjoying what he was doing. There's not enough of that as it is, IMO.
 
Jul 29, 2012
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LaFlorecita said:
jens_attacks said:
i hope cycling stays the same

I agree jensie, idiots like Tinkov will ruin cycling with their "innovative" plans.

On an internation level there's not much to destroy of cycling. Let's be real.

He's an idiot most of the times but he brought up some decent points, ignoring it by calling him idiot. Now that will ruin cycling even more.

Like stop broadcasting 5 hour flat stages of the tour, what's the freaking point? Show off how beautiful france is?
 
Well it's obviously up to the organizers to decide how much they want to show. If they gain more by showing more, what is the problem?

It's clear that Oleg thinks cycling should go the same way as F1. I hope it won't. More money doesn't make the sport better. (Financial) Growth is good, but it's not the be-all and end-all.