Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[LaFlorecita]

By being consistent, the way he won the 2008 Giro without ever being great.

Let's not kid ourselves, it wasn't his strategy to lose today. If he could have gone faster, he would have. Maybe he'll be better tomorrow, but today wasn't a 'strategy'.

That doesn't work anymore, sky is way stronger in the climbs and in the tts and also consistent

 

[LaFlorecita]

You should worship me...if you havent...remember what i predicted and that bet of ours?

yea man are you psychic pretty cool stuff

so dog, richie, andy, wiggo, what will it be

 

[luckyboy]

Disappointing today. Hope this isn't gonna be how it is now.
I'm not really a 'fan' but he has always been a better option to cheer for than who he is up against.

Would be sad if 'this is it' anyway.

 

[Angliru]

Even in his 'bad' year (2010) he won on Mende and was the strongest on the Mur.

Contador of old where art thou?

Folks, it's not like he was dropped and lost minutes. He finished within seconds of the stage winner and the same time as the season's revelation, Richie Porte of the Sky juggernaut. Of course Porte had a man up the road so his hands were tied. I too would like him to simply bring the pain to his opposition, dancing on the pedals as he accelerates away, leaving his rivals gasping for air and searching for gears that they don't have but it's not to be, at least not at this juncture.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

yea man are you psychic pretty cool stuff

so dog, richie, andy, wiggo, what will it be

amalgamation of andy and wiggins

 

[LaFlorecita]

Disappointing today. Hope this isn't gonna be how it is now.
I'm not really a 'fan' but he has always been a better option to cheer for than who he is up against.

Would be sad if 'this is it' anyway.

Dude I know but every cyclist will reach the top of the hill at some point and then it's all downhill, it's not worth being sad about. He has a nice palmares, he will surely add some podium spots and maybe some stage wins. It's not sad.

And before everyone jumps on me again, no! this is not just some pessimistic bull****. We could say he's gotten worse every year since 2009. We don't know what 2011 means, I mean Giro victory against scarponi and a not so great Nibali, is it really that good

 

[Miburo]

Dude I know but every cyclist will reach the top of the hill at some point and then it's all downhill, it's not worth being sad about. He has a nice palmares, he will surely add some podium spots and maybe some stage wins. It's not sad.

And before everyone jumps on me again, no! this is not just some pessimistic bull****. We could say he's gotten worse every year since 2009. We don't know what 2011 means, I mean Giro victory against scarponi and a not so great Nibali, is it really that good

In Contador's defence he could have won that giro with 10 minutes and his form in the tour was still good, obviously his giro form was way better.

Look at Froome in the vuelta of 2012. Compare that with what Contador did in the tour of 2011. Should tell you something of how good Contador was in the giro.

 

[trevim]

Come on Alberto, let's get that level up!
(beating Caruso is the first step by the way, Froome is down the line )

 

[Carols]

Alberto says (on FB)
Tough and explosive final today at Tour of Basque Country. Something missed, but legs are going better. Now a little massage and tomorrow more!
_____________

Tomorrow More

 

[movingtarget]

Folks, it's not like he was dropped and lost minutes. He finished within seconds of the stage winner and the same time as the season's revelation, Richie Porte of the Sky juggernaut. Of course Porte had a man up the road so his hands were tied. I too would like him to simply bring the pain to his opposition, dancing on the pedals as he accelerates away, leaving his rivals gasping for air and searching for gears that they don't have but it's not to be, at least not at this juncture.

People expect too much. Many of his fans also wrote him off in the Vuelta last year but he got the result in a classic race. He finished close to Porte who is his main rival and he was coming off an illness and had missed some racing. Maybe people expect him to walk on water. The climb as others stated is not his preferred type of climb but he was still close to the winning group. Yes he did well at Mende in the Tour, not in April. It is three months until the Tour which is his main goal and the one he is basing his season on. Just because Porte has been looking good in week long stage races does not necessarily mean he will replicate the same form in grand tours even though he has improved this year.

 

[Afrank]

For my part, I'm giving Contador until the Tour at least before declaring he has lost it. He's not been terrible, he's still up there with all the other guys. Just not able to ride away and dominate them like he has in the past. He should be better at this time of the year, but I think he'll be better come the Tour.

 

[movingtarget]

For my part, I'm giving Contador until the Tour at least before declaring he has lost it. He's not been terrible, he's still up there with all the other guys. Just not able to ride away and dominate them like he has in the past. He should be better at this time of the year, but I think he'll be better come the Tour.

He's a bit older now. Maybe some sinus issues again ? He did not dominate the Vuelta but had a very limited preparation and still looked good, all things considered. He will have to be better in July but I think in general he will be fighting much harder for his wins than he used to. Teams like Sky want to win every race they enter and like Brian Smith said on Eurosport, it's putting a lot more pressure on riders like the Schlecks who are used to performing in one or two races per year.

 

[gooner]

People expect too much. Many of his fans also wrote him off in the Vuelta last year but he got the result in a classic race. He finished close to Porte who is his main rival and he was coming off an illness and had missed some racing. Maybe people expect him to walk on water. The climb as others stated is not his preferred type of climb but he was still close to the winning group. Yes he did well at Mende in the Tour, not in April. It is three months until the Tour which is his main goal and the one he is basing his season on. Just because Porte has been looking good in week long stage races does not necessarily mean he will replicate the same form in grand tours even though he has improved this year.

People said it was only February at Oman, only March at T-A and now it's only April for PV. Dress it up all you like but you have to be in denial to not be concerned about his current form now.

His main goal is undoubtedly the Tour but T-A was a huge target as well and don't forget Oman where he went all out on the up and down circuit stage to grab the race by the scruff of the neck. Nothing suggests in any of these races that he is holding something back for to peak in perfect condition for the Tour. In fact beforehand he was talking up his chances prior to T-A and said he was in good condition to go for the overall.

Still can't have this as well about today's climb not suiting his characteristics as he was found wanting in the decisive moments on both the long steady inclines(Prato di Tivo) and the overly steep ones(Green Mountain and today). This is the third week long race in a row where I haven't seen any huge progression in his form as he races more and more. Worrying times if you ask me.

 

[movingtarget]

People said it was only February at Oman, only March at T-A and now it's only April for PV. Dress it up all you like but you have to be in denial to not be concerned about his current form now.

His main goal is undoubtedly the Tour but T-A was a huge target as well and don't forget Oman where he went all out on the up and down circuit stage to grab the race by the scruff of the neck. Nothing suggests in any of these races that he is holding something back for to peak in perfect condition for the Tour. In fact beforehand he was talking up his chances prior to T-A and said he was in good condition to go for the overall.

Still can't have this as well about today's climb not suiting his characteristics as he was found wanting in the decisive moments on both the long steady inclines(Prato di Tivo) and the overly steep ones(Green Mountain and today). This is the third week long race in a row where I haven't seen any huge progression in his form as he races more and more. Worrying times if you ask me.

The competition has improved especially Froome, Wiggins and Nibali and then you have Porte who has made progress and the racing styles have altered due to Sky. With three months to go of course he needs to improve but many have written him off already. The days of crushing the opposition seem to be over but that does not mean he can't do enough to win. Early season races can be misleading and you are not even sure how hard some riders are trying. Contador is a competitor and he is definitely trying but I don't think it's panic stations yet. It's all relative, some people think that Schleck losing 3 minutes yesterday is ok as far as he is normally a very slow starter and only really targets the Ardennes and the Tour but others think he has no chance at all in the Tour. As the Vuelta showed, Contador does not lay down easily and will try everything to win. If Contador does not get a result before the Tour, Froome will be a clear favourite at least with the bookmakers.

 

[hoerpi]

Didn't Contador just skip a competition because of illness? that should mean a minor setback form wise, don't because he doesn't dominate Itzulia.

 

[Contadoraus Schlecks]

In Contador's defence he could have won that giro with 10 minutes and his form in the tour was still good, obviously his giro form was way better.

Look at Froome in the vuelta of 2012. Compare that with what Contador did in the tour of 2011. Should tell you something of how good Contador was in the giro.

You are missing the point. He looked awesome in the Giro against weak opposition.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

By being consistent, the way he won the 2008 Giro without ever being great.

Let's not kid ourselves, it wasn't his strategy to lose today. If he could have gone faster, he would have. Maybe he'll be better tomorrow, but today wasn't a 'strategy'.

Ricco tweeted this today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlCEbUO8pIU&feature=youtu.be

 

[Miburo]

You are missing the point. He looked awesome in the Giro against weak opposition.

Nope you're missing the point of the post. Let me enlighten you.

Froome was by far the best climber in the tour but in the vuelta he was a side-character except for the first week.

Contador was miles above the rest in the giro (scarponi at his best shape, nibali) and in the tour with a tougher field that in the vuelta he was one of the main guys and he could have easily podium'd it without bad luck.

Get it now? It's obvious you're not the same in a back to back GT but Contador still was relevant and with giro-shape he would have won with 5 minutes.

Ask any respected poster in this forum. They will all tell you the same.

 

[gthx_gthx_]

Also people don't forget that most people who tried Giro Tour double in 2011 were completely out of energy by the Tour. Contador performance in 2011 was quite impressive.

Now We have to wait for the Tour to see what he is really worth nowadays , though even though he does not dominate everything this year , he is also never far from the best.

 

[Cimber]

Well tbh the whole Saxo team is performing subpar. Something seem to have gone wrong with the preperation/traning camp/clinic issues.

The february traning camp might have been wrong (veloropa.dk suggest that). Maybe the fact that Riis has more of a administrative role these days have had had an impact. But whatever it is it seems that the whole team is affected by sluggish form

 

[ILovecycling]

I definitely agree about Tour 11,about underperforming team this year,about better opponents than in 2010,2011.Sky changed everything,its true.Then its obvious that Alberto is not that good like 2009etc because of his decline.I agree that he gave 100% in Oman & Adriatico,cos he is competitor.But for me,his power was esp for GTs,so thats why I believe he will beat everyone in July;surely it will be close prob like under 1 minute advantage against 2nd...Maybe he cant win one week stage races anymore but imo he is capable to win GT.

Still hope he has better legs today and show attacks

 

[movingtarget]

Well tbh the whole Saxo team is performing subpar. Something seem to have gone wrong with the preperation/traning camp/clinic issues.

The february traning camp might have been wrong (veloropa.dk suggest that). Maybe the fact that Riis has more of a administrative role these days have had had an impact. But whatever it is it seems that the whole team is affected by sluggish form

Who would you prefer on your team at the moment, Kiryienka or Roche and Kreuziger ?

 

[Cimber]

Who would you prefer on your team at the moment, Kiryienka or Roche and Kreuziger ?

Normally I would prefer Roche and Kreuziger, but regarding current form I would go with Kiryienka. Though Kreuziger is actually one fo the Saxo guys showing OKish form. Roche is just plain bad atm.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Think Miburo will like this Berto listed on Saxo site as starting FW

http://teamsaxotinkoff.com/races.asp?r_id=2989#nu

 

[Miburo]

Think Miburo will like this Berto listed on Saxo site as starting FW

http://teamsaxotinkoff.com/races.asp?r_id=2989#nu

Awesome although he needs to get better if he wants to win again purito.

Hopefully he does LBL too.