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Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

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May 19, 2011
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Jancouver said:
Glad to see the broken bike issue is cleared. It would be shame to crash of a bike failure.

That doesnt change anything for me. Even though I do appreciate that Specialized is sponsoring several teams, I will NOT buy another product from this evil company.

how many do you have now?
 
The_Juan said:
Who cares about that? Even if that's the case they should've made sure the goddamn frame was sturdy enough for his weight.

To me, him falling today has a lot to do with him not scouting many of the TdF climbs. There's traps here and there and you have to prepare for the worst.

He didn't.

His crash wasn't the result of a trap or lack of scouting. He went over a pot hole and crashed. A pot hole.
 
May 19, 2011
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Publicus said:
I don't know where you get the nerves comment from. He hit a pothole, apparently with only one hand on the handlebars while trying to get some food out of his pocket. That doesn't sound like a nervous guy to me.

because he is nervous about his current position (afraid crashing after someone?), and wants to move to the front better position. Irony is this movement caused himself to crash. According to Horner everyone else has taken the descend slow. And this is from VDB.

“I was very lucky. Contador crashed but it was his own mistake. Everybody was at ease. I was riding behind my teammates who were leading the peloton. I left a bit of a gap to keep things safe. Apparently he felt the need to overtake me. It was in his typical style, standing on the pedals. He hits a pothole and goes over the handlebars. His head was next to my front wheel. He could’ve taken me with him. I can’t understand why you take that many risks to move up one spot,” Van Den Broeck said after crossing the finish line.
 
Jul 10, 2013
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Publicus said:
I don't know where you get the nerves comment from. He hit a pothole, apparently with only one hand on the handlebars while trying to get some food out of his pocket. That doesn't sound like a nervous guy to me.

Just an opinion that's all.

Falling twice in less than 1½ kilometers speaks volumes.

There are also multiple accounts from riders describing Alberto's moves while coming down Petit Ballon as a little "wild," to put it mildly.
 
May 19, 2011
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Publicus said:
His crash wasn't the result of a trap or lack of scouting. He went over a pot hole and crashed. A pot hole.

not just pothole, a pothole plus his aggressive riding during the descending, God knows why he chose to do that.

Some riders who saw Contador crash gave their own version of what had happened. According to a tweet from Danish journalist Mikkel Condé, Astana’s Jakob Fuglsang said: “Contador took a big risk. On a descent with bad asphalt, he passed us, went 10-15 km/h faster. 1k later he fell on his bike."

Meanwhile, the Dutch journalist and commentator José Been said on Twitter that Lotto-Belisol’s Jurgen Van den Broeck had told Sporza: "It was Contador's own fault. He stepped on the pedals to overtake and rode in a hole."
 
Jul 10, 2013
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Publicus said:
His crash wasn't the result of a trap or lack of scouting. He went over a pot hole and crashed. A pot hole.

You mean a pothole.

I'm not saying that him not scouting out the Petit Ballon is what caused him to fall. In reality I have no idea whether he did that or not. What I am saying is that it may very well played a part in it.

You need to choose where to be aggressive and where to pull back. Him going all out, again, judging by other riders have said, makes no sense.
 
Apr 16, 2014
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Finally watching the race now. I can't believe Alberto rode as far as he did after the crash...with a fractured tibia :eek:

Gutted and miss Alberto Contador :( Hope for a speedy recovery and will miss seeing him racing. My 1st favorite rider: Alberto Contador. Get better soon!

Come back and win TdF in 2015!
 
maxmartin said:
not just pothole, a pothole plus his aggressive riding during the descending, God knows why he chose to do that.

Some riders who saw Contador crash gave their own version of what had happened. According to a tweet from Danish journalist Mikkel Condé, Astana’s Jakob Fuglsang said: “Contador took a big risk. On a descent with bad asphalt, he passed us, went 10-15 km/h faster. 1k later he fell on his bike."

Meanwhile, the Dutch journalist and commentator José Been said on Twitter that Lotto-Belisol’s Jurgen Van den Broeck had told Sporza: "It was Contador's own fault. He stepped on the pedals to overtake and rode in a hole."

I'm familiar with their comments and only reflect their subjective viewpoint about the situation. I assume he must have felt comfortable at the speed since he was reaching for food when he hit the pothole--that's according to his words (apparently).
 
Jul 10, 2013
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maxmartin said:
not just pothole, a pothole plus his aggressive riding during the descending, God knows why he chose to do that.

Some riders who saw Contador crash gave their own version of what had happened. According to a tweet from Danish journalist Mikkel Condé, Astana’s Jakob Fuglsang said: “Contador took a big risk. On a descent with bad asphalt, he passed us, went 10-15 km/h faster. 1k later he fell on his bike."

Meanwhile, the Dutch journalist and commentator José Been said on Twitter that Lotto-Belisol’s Jurgen Van den Broeck had told Sporza: "It was Contador's own fault. He stepped on the pedals to overtake and rode in a hole."

Exactly. Why was he risking it so bad? He surely wasn't going to attack from that far out. Or... did Alberto suspect Astana were planning an ambush going downhill? That's the only thing that makes sense to me.
 
Jul 10, 2013
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Publicus said:
I'm familiar with their comments and only reflect their subjective viewpoint about the situation. I assume he must have felt comfortable at the speed since he was reaching for food when he hit the pothole--that's according to his words (apparently).

But... didn't he fall before that? How could he have felt comfortable when the road gave him a big warning?
 
May 19, 2011
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The_Juan said:
You mean a pothole.

I'm not saying that him not scouting out the Petit Ballon is what caused him to fall. In reality I have no idea whether he did that or not. What I am saying is that it may very well played a part in it.

You need to choose where to be aggressive and where to pull back. Him going all out, again, judging by other riders have said, makes no sense.

My theory has always been he was preparing to give Nibali a surprising ATTACK, which if succeed, is a genius plan and huge blow to Nibali's confidence. Daredevil AC could do that. Another alternative theory is he was afraid Nibals's attacking, but that does not make much senses, because Nibali saw him crashing in front of him.
 
maxmartin said:
because he is nervous about his current position (afraid crashing after someone?), and wants to move to the front better position. Irony is this movement caused himself to crash. According to Horner everyone else has taken the descend slow. And this is from VDB.

“I was very lucky. Contador crashed but it was his own mistake. Everybody was at ease. I was riding behind my teammates who were leading the peloton. I left a bit of a gap to keep things safe. Apparently he felt the need to overtake me. It was in his typical style, standing on the pedals. He hits a pothole and goes over the handlebars. His head was next to my front wheel. He could’ve taken me with him. I can’t understand why you take that many risks to move up one spot,” Van Den Broeck said after crossing the finish line.

I don't know if wanting to ride in the front denotes nervousness so much as it is an oft-repeated maxim in cycling. I noticed they (Tinkoff Saxo) were fairly far back (for them) on the Petit Ballon, so it very well may have been a concerted effort by them to move up in advance of the next climb. I appreciate the subjective insights provided by JDVB and others, since it provides a perspective, but nothing Contador (or his teammates) have said suggests he was acting nervous/panicked.
 
Jul 10, 2013
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Publicus said:
I don't know if wanting to ride in the front denotes nervousness so much as it is an oft-repeated maxim in cycling. I noticed they (Tinkoff Saxo) were fairly far back (for them) on the Petit Ballon, so it very well may have been a concerted effort by them to move up in advance of the next climb. I appreciate the subjective insights provided by JDVB and others, since it provides a perspective, but nothing Contador (or his teammates) have said suggests he was acting nervous/panicked.

That's your opinion.
 
The_Juan said:
But... didn't he fall before that? How could he have felt comfortable when the road gave him a big warning?

No. The first fall was the pothole. I don't know the cause of the second, but based upon Mick Rogers comments, I don't think he was still stunned from the first fall.

And here's your comment again about the lack of scouting, which to me implies that if he had scouted the descent, he would have avoided the crash. If you intended something else, then you should perhaps make it clearer:

To me, him falling today has a lot to do with him not scouting many of the TdF climbs. There's traps here and there and you have to prepare for the worst.

He didn't.
 
Jul 10, 2013
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maxmartin said:
My theory has always been he was preparing to give Nibali a surprising ATTACK, which if succeed, is a genius plan and huge blow to Nibali's confidence. Daredevil AC could do that. Another alternative theory is he was afraid Nibals's attacking, but that does not make much senses, because Nibali saw him crashing in front of him.

Like at Fuente De?

That would have made no sense, Nibali had plenty of team members to burn through before the last climb.
 
Jul 10, 2013
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Publicus said:
And here's your comment again about the lack of scouting, which to me implies that if he had scouted the descent, he would have avoided the crash.

You're one stubborn person dude.

I said it may have played A part in him falling twice, not that it was The cause for him falling twice.

What is it that you are failing to understand? If you feel further clarification send me a PM. I really despise inundating forums with you-said-I-said BS.

Grow up.
 
May 19, 2011
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The_Juan said:
Like at Fuente De?

That would have made no sense, Nibali had plenty of team members to burn through before the last climb.

well WHY is the question? Maybe he is in the form of his life like many people claimed, maybe he is confident he can ride away just like Tony did yesterday. But tbh, his crash does not really make any sense. Because everyone else is taking it easy. I am just trying to come up with something. Or maybe the blood was all on his legs, he just kept going without much thinking. I guess only himself knew what was going on in his head.
 
Mar 14, 2009
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maxmartin said:
how many do you have now?

Still have two Specialized kids bikes that are about to be sold as I have already got a bigger bikes for them from different manufactures.

My S-Works Tarmac I already sold years back because I didnt like it.

My S-Works helmet I throw away this winter as the cheapo plastic adjustable fit system broke and they dont sell a replacement for the older models.

Thats about it. No more Specialized junk in our house.
 
Sep 29, 2012
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The_Juan said:
You mean a pothole.

I'm not saying that him not scouting out the Petit Ballon is what caused him to fall. In reality I have no idea whether he did that or not. What I am saying is that it may very well played a part in it.

You need to choose where to be aggressive and where to pull back. Him going all out, again, judging by other riders have said, makes no sense.

Can you please post your professional Palmarés?
 

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