Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

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Delicato

May 15, 2009
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LaFlorecita said:
Very light on the climbing side, yes. But if Rogers and Kreuziger show up in great form that should suffice.
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In theory he would only need Kreuziger come the final mountain and anyway no team has all-around tempo setting borgs (Kiryienka, Kennaugh, Thomas, let alone Porte) who can lead the peloton for hundreds of k's except Sky and Contador doesn't need one's team tempo launching pad like Froome so the team shouldn't be too inclined towards mountains.
 
LaFlorecita

LaFlorecita

May 15, 2011
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Netserk said:
I think it'll be last year's team with either Mørkøv or Breschel instead of Noval.
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Yeah I think so. Though I really hope they don't take Roche (and Paulinho). They're pretty useless as domestiques. Roche because he'd much rather ride for himself, and Paulinho because he's simply not good enough.
 
LaFlorecita

LaFlorecita

May 15, 2011
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GuyIncognito said:
With this form and doing the Vuelta, I don't exclude the possibility:

Contador double world champion in Spain?
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Both the TT and the road race aren't hilly enough. I think Spain will chose other riders for the TT anyway. And he'll probably work for Valverde and Rodriguez in the road race.

Also, I think he might get tired towards the end of the Vuelta, so I don't think he'll have a very good autumn. If he decides to race after the Vuelta, which wouldn't surprise me if he didn't.

Actually, I hope he doesn't race the WC. Don't want to see him work for Valverde.
 
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Nilsson

Jan 10, 2012
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LaFlorecita said:
Yeah I think so. Though I really hope they don't take Roche (and Paulinho). They're pretty useless as domestiques. Roche because he'd much rather ride for himself, and Paulinho because he's simply not good enough.
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I don't believe Roche wants to ride for himself. Of course he does when he starts as a leader and/or races in a team without Alberto, but not with Alberto in it. Roche is always (at least) somewhat decent, has always been loyal to Contador and has a track record of being better in the second consecutive GT he rides. He will be there, and he'll probably be strong.

It's the others I'm worried about. Will Rogers be as good as he was in the Giro? I'm afraid it's not a certainty, since he did way better there than expected and things might just as well be very different in the Tour.

Will Kreuziger be as good as last year? I think he was phenomenal last year, and it will be a hell of a job to repeat that.

How is Bennati doing? I've a feeling he's not fully recovered yet. He's very experienced, but I'm not sure if he will be in top condition in time (and if he'll be honest about it).

And the list goes on, I'd say. I think it's very important everyone is honest and not claim a spot on the team they don't deserve. Also for the 'flat guys' that is important, because it's difficult to tell who's in better shape and directors may choose on reputation/status instead of merit.
 
jaylew

jaylew

Mar 19, 2009
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I'm a bit concerned about relying on a bunch of guys who did the Giro as your mountain doms (Rogers, Roche, and possibly Majka). That said, Rogers started his season late, so in theory he should have plenty left in the tank and Roche has a history of doing back to back GTs and performing at least as well in the 2nd.
 
rhubroma

rhubroma

Apr 2, 2009
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Contador has demonstrated himself to be the best cyclist since Hinault, though hat's off to Talansky for his strategic victory.

Today's stage showed us that cycling is poetry and it took just two drops of water to make Sky's computer go berserk.
 
ILovecycling

ILovecycling

Aug 4, 2010
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LaFlorecita said:
Yeah I think so. Though I really hope they don't take Roche (and Paulinho). They're pretty useless as domestiques. Roche because he'd much rather ride for himself, and Paulinho because he's simply not good enough.
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Yeah,esp Roche,he is a joke when riding as a domestique.
Paulinho looks to be on serious decline from 2012:(
LaFlorecita said:
Hmm strange. Maybe De Jongh told him that if he wants to climb out of the saddle, he needs to spin a bigger gear because it's more effective?
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I believe it is,at least I tried it and it feels like its better,try it!:D
 
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arvc40

Jul 1, 2013
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Contador strong as an ox. He will be lighter and faster at the Tour.

Very strong on strong on occasions when he's had to close gaps like today in the valley.

No doubt Froome will be his main obstacle.

I hope for a great battle.
 
Rollthedice

Rollthedice

May 11, 2013
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Fans tend to go to extremes, I understand. Now, I think Froome is not done yet. Maybe it's true what he said that he was blocked today because of the injury. Maybe he has some other problems. Maybe that damn plus kilo is dragging him down. But he showed this year that when he's fit and when the sky boys don't face unpredictable race situations, he is still the strongest. The battle is still on.
 
Jelantik

Jelantik

Jul 19, 2010
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Delicato said:
In theory he would only need Kreuziger come the final mountain and anyway no team has all-around tempo setting borgs (Kiryienka, Kennaugh, Thomas, let alone Porte) who can lead the peloton for hundreds of k's except Sky and Contador doesn't need one's team tempo launching pad like Froome so the team shouldn't be too inclined towards mountains.
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He doesn't need for the last km, but he does need to fend off other GC contenders who attacked like today or chase them down from long distance. Strong team mate on the last km is not as important as prior to the 2/3 climbs prior to the final climb. Just like to day. Clearly, he needed his team mate. He can't be isolated again like that at TDF.

Rogers showed a good form in the Giro but there's no telling for sure that he can repeat the same performance. Kreuzigers is in switzerland, I anxiously following him. He looked good so far. But not enough to know until the real mountain finish kicks in. Roche? I'm never sure about this guy. On paper, he should have been the last man with kreuziger, but even in the Giro, I've never seen him stays with Majka. (which I thought that's the logical thing, since he was co-captain, so his form should be up there). Maybe he isn't a good domestique like Kreuziger. Majka? I would save him for Vuelta. CAS maybe is better than Paulinho. Jesus is probably the best out of the rest of TS Dauphine team. He was present at least on the last climb but not today. However he wasn't even close to freakin' Thomas, let alone try to match Nieve. TS needs a better domestique, that's for sure aside from kreuziger and rogers.

And now Oleg rather spending his money buying Sagan, instead of buying a good domestique and pay them handsomely. 1 sagan = 4 domestiques like kiryenka/nieve/henao. That's money well spent.
 
Jspear

Jspear

Feb 23, 2014
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Rollthedice said:
Fans tend to go to extremes, I understand. Now, I think Froome is not done yet. Maybe it's true what he said that he was blocked today because of the injury. Maybe he has some other problems. Maybe that damn plus kilo is dragging him down. But he showed this year that when he's fit and when the sky boys don't face unpredictable race situations, he is still the strongest. The battle is still on.
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That's one of Sky's biggest problems. They won't know what to do when Contador and Nibali attack in unconventional places. Contador has learned here some of Sky's (as a team) weaknesses and I have know doubt he'll exploit them. :D
 
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