Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[No_Balls]

Expecting Movistar and Astana to do a dog work before putting their guys up in launching mode. Nibbles is expecting something from Alberto tomorrow (said in post-race interview) why they will try to not let Tinkoff gearing up for something.

If Piti has some overall ambitions (and he looked quite good in Arenberg) he will try to advance and going for it. Stage is tailormade for him. That could be something to capitalize from from Alberto using their groundwork before attacking on steeper sections. Whatever happens, and im not convinced Nibbles looses time here, the key is making him work here.

 

[mrhender]

But if we're only looking at TDF, we have last year, when he was in very poor form, and then before that 2011, where he almost beat Evans on one of the earlier stages on a similar finish

The bolded

I wrote primarily and there's a difference..
And I probably should have said GT's..(and include other observations) my bad..
Anyway I may be wrong, but the AC I remeber was not a responder but an attacker.. And since coming back from his suspension I haven't seen him the same way (not meant as a clinic reference) He seems to be smarter and more cunning but IMO has lost some of the explossiveness i remember him for..

 

[mrhender]

i disagree with ur analysis of the short climb. The Jenkin roads seems to imply tht he wud simply ride within top-5 of the group. with @ 9 km from the peek to the bottom of the last climb, this wud just be a selection climb, not a launch point for the favorites.

I catch you drift and may be giving you kudos tommorrow.. (hope so actually)
But it also depends on who you categorize as favorites and selection..
For me selection is down to 3-5 guys and I think they will be 10-25 before the last climb.. But we will see..

 

[murali]

Expecting Movistar and Astana to do a dog work before putting their guys up in launching mode. Nibbles is expecting something from Alberto tomorrow (said in post-race interview) why they will try to not let Tinkoff gearing up for something.

If Piti has some overall ambitions (and he looked quite good in Arenberg) he will try to advance and going for it. Stage is tailormade for him. That could be something to capitalize from from Alberto using their groundwork before attacking on steeper sections. Whatever happens, and im not convinced Nibbles looses time here, the key is making him work here.

Piti will look at this for stage win, whether or not he has GC ambitions.

But i think every thing will depend on the final selection. if it is less than 10 guys, then things are going to be entirely different.

i expect the final selection to be 15-25 riders.

 

[myrideissteelerthanyours]

The bolded

I wrote primarily and there's a difference..
And I probably should have said GT's..(and include other observations) my bad..
Anyway I may be wrong, but the AC I remeber was not a responder but an attacker.. And since coming back from his suspension I haven't seen him the same way (not meant as a clinic reference) He seems to be smarter and more cunning but IMO has lost some of the explossiveness i remember him for..

If his team can't control things doesn't he HAVE to respond to attacks? Will they be there when needed? Will they be able to set him up to take back some of this time lost already? Theres no more sky express train to Mars and Movistar has done something to shore up their abysmal tactics from what I can tell. Of course not bringing Quintana was huge in taking the pressure off of their management.

 

[LaFlorecita]

The bolded

I wrote primarily and there's a difference..
And I probably should have said GT's..(and include other observations) my bad..
Anyway I may be wrong, but the AC I remeber was not a responder but an attacker.. And since coming back from his suspension I haven't seen him the same way (not meant as a clinic reference) He seems to be smarter and more cunning but IMO has lost some of the explossiveness i remember him for..

Hmmm.... I disagree. At the 2012 Vuelta he was very explosive but didn't have the stamina to keep up the attacks... After that he's only riddin the Tour. But at other races he's shown himself to be very explosive still.

And of course he's still an attacker, not a responder

 

[mrhender]

If his team can't control things doesn't he HAVE to respond to attacks? Will they be there when needed? Will they be able to set him up to take back some of this time lost already? Theres no more sky express train to Mars and Movistar has done something to shore up their abysmal tactics from what I can tell. Of course not bringing Quintana was huge in taking the pressure off of their management.

Posted this a few pages ago:

This is a stage where he really needs his team to be there to set tempo until the last one.. Otherwise he will have to be selective in responding and may use a lot of unnecessary energy..

I dont know if they will be there tomorrow, we get a lot of mixed signals I think..
If they are not there he will have to do more work and use up more energy beeing on the toes all the time as no-one will help him..

I hope that they will set very high pace untiol the last climp and the see him off in the horizon.. But hope can be very fragile..

About Movistar, I agree no-one really expects anything other than Valverde to top-10 and maybe a stage victory.. They are certainly in the role of underdogs..

 

[Energy Starr]

all I am saying timing is suspicious, it is not like they are pushing the pace all along, they just started pushing pace immediately after TJVG crashed

I thought you were joking ater the first post or two about TJVG crash...however now I'm guessing you're serious. I'll help you. Bertie doesn't care at all about TJVG.....at all. He wants to stay in the front prior to the climbs. That had nothing to do with TJVG's crash.

 

[mrhender]

Hmmm.... I disagree. At the 2012 Vuelta he was very explosive but didn't have the stamina to keep up the attacks... After that he's only riddin the Tour. But at other races he's shown himself to be very explosive still.

And of course he's still an attacker, not a responder

Hmmm

We will probably never meet in terms of perception (and that should never be the goal) so I won't pursue this further.. However I enjoyed the discussion and that is why I'am here

 

[maxmartin]

I thought you were joking ater the first post or two about TJVG crash...however now I'm guessing you're serious. I'll help you. Bertie doesn't care at all about TJVG.....at all. He wants to stay in the front prior to the climbs. That had nothing to do with TJVG's crash.

you live in his head? lol

 

[Energy Starr]

you live in his head? lol

I don't need to....I actually watch cycling races and know a little about them.

 

[ILovecycling]

Good evenin folks,Im back after short summer break and I spent like 2 hours of reading this thread

Its really funny these talks between Nibali and Contador fans,very interesting indeed.
I'll keep up with this trend then...

be scared Shark fans,remember last time?

For me,only Contador's real big danger disappeared - Froome TT.Now he should prove his form in mountains,avoid crashes,mechanicals and everything will be fine.
VAM8S

 

[maxmartin]

I don't need to....I actually watch cycling races and know a little about them.

I can tell from your post number.

 

[inthepink]

mrhender ...you are way off

Firstly Valverde is in great shape and will be there at the end...definite for the podium

Secondly Contador does not need to respond to attacks ....nor to set tempo....he wants to let Astana do this and tire them out for the 3rd week
He is only interested in Nibali ..one attacker (maybe)

3rd he can then use his team on final climb

TS setting tempo on 2nd last climb will achieve what exactly ...they will drop no one of significance and not be there on the final climb???

You tactics are very unoriginal, do not suit the team nor the stage nor the GC standing and reek of SKY

 

[maxmartin]

Good evenin folks,Im back after short summer break and I spent like 2 hours of reading this thread

Its really funny these talks between Nibali and Contador fans,very interesting indeed.
I'll keep up with this trend then...

be scared Shark fans,remember last time?

For me,only Contador's real big danger disappeared - Froome TT.Now he should prove his form in mountains,avoid crashes,mechanicals and everything will be fine.
VAM8S

glad you called it last time? We are living in this time. Let's find out as early as tomorrow. I am sure if AC get dropped, some one will come up with some theory. But it is never about AC's legs.

 

[Energy Starr]

I can tell from your post number.

Yeah the number of posts is directly proportional to cycling knowledge. Maybe while you were posting I was watching, racing, and learning...

 

[maxmartin]

Yeah the number of posts is directly proportional to cycling knowledge. Maybe while you were posting I was watching, racing, and learning...

good for you, everyone here think he is an expert.

 

[LaFlorecita]

be scared Shark fans,remember last time?

For me,only Contador's real big danger disappeared - Froome TT.Now he should prove his form in mountains,avoid crashes,mechanicals and everything will be fine.
VAM8S

Vamosss!!

 

[ILovecycling]

glad you called it last time? We are living in this time. Let's find out as early as tomorrow. I am sure if AC get dropped, some one will come up with some theory. But it is never about AC's legs.

When I was reading those last 20 pages,firstly I thought you are joking about Nibbs to beat AC,but finally I found out you are serious

 

[maxmartin]

When I was reading those last 20 pages,firstly I thought you are joking about Nibbs to beat AC,but finally I found out you are serious

let's us find out then. See you this time tomorrow.

 

[LaFlorecita]

let's us find out then. See you this time tomorrow.

We'll have to wait till Monday before we draw any conclusions.

 

[maxmartin]

We'll have to wait till Monday before we draw any conclusions.

sure I will give you a few days to change your mind

 

[Jack_89]

We'll have to wait till Monday before we draw any conclusions.

I Agree, tomorrow climbs are too short

 

[ILovecycling]

We'll have to wait till Monday before we draw any conclusions.

I agree on 100% señorita Florecita



Tomorrow is no decider...or actually its time to shine for your 'favourite' rider which I dont dare to write his name to this very thread

 

[mrhender]

mrhender ...you are way off

Firstly Valverde is in great shape and will be there at the end...definite for the podium

Secondly Contador does not need to respond to attacks ....nor to set tempo....he wants to let Astana do this and tire them out for the 3rd week
He is only interested in Nibali ..one attacker (maybe)

3rd he can then use his team on final climb

TS setting tempo on 2nd last climb will achieve what exactly ...they will drop no one of significance and not be there on the final climb???

You tactics are very unoriginal, do not suit the team nor the stage nor the GC standing and reek of SKY

I may very well be -Only time can tell

We certainly have different wievs on Valverde, and that's fine..
If he is as strong as you say then why should AC not respond to his attacks.. Is it guarantied that Astana will be able to do so?
My bet is that he finishes just outside top 5 and his form was great in early season yes, but haven't seen much of him since..

We are early in the race and he just can't let go of riders like Talansky, Kwitkowski, Fuglsang or others... What if he has an accident when Nibali decides to go after and looses 4 or more minutes to some/all of those?
Just too risky at this stage IMO..

He has to be at the front and in these early stages it is a good idea to set high pace to prevent others from attacking, the point is not to drop them but certainly not a bad thing if happens..
If AC it at the front in the last climb it won't matter much if his teammates drops off quickly as he himself is able to control the situation (a smaller field) and they can't follow him anyway.. He can't do that with dangerous guys taking of early and relying on others to catch them..

We saw today that Roche set the pace up the final climb to eliminate ugly surprises. I suspect they will do the same thing until the GC has settled more.. Never did I say they should do this for eternity but they are dooing it now for a good reason IMO..
I would consider it prefererable to spare one guy to the final climb if possible.. But the main task is preventing things from getting out of control..