Jelantik said:
that's just a matter of opinion. Maybe some of the fans don't care if you see Contador like last year. Last year most of the poster here felt like Contador was dead. Yeah, it's unbearable to see Froome walked all over Contador's head last year. Since Contador is back from his ban, he hasn't showed any glimpse of his used glorious form before, not until this year. So yeah, I would like to see him again on the top. (maybe to finally be able to say to the non Contador fans that the man still has it in him).
Every fans has different emotional reaction to see their favorite rider who used to be dominated, got tossed around like a toy. Some people calls it childish, some call it esprit de' corps.
I'm not Contador, so I don't read his mind. Every time contador lines up on the race, he intends to win it. 2011 tour, I'm sure Contador believed he can win it. If I'm not mistaken he went to the Giro, because he wasn't so sure if he would be able to ride the Tour. And then he could ride the tour. With the form like that from the Giro, why not? He got every chance to win TDF. So to me being injured and being not fresh are totally different thing. But that's just my opinion..
Again, is it real "esprit de corps"? Shouldn't it be more about supporting him even if he chooses to ride and gets his a** kicked because he's undertrained? Sure, it won't be pleasant to watch for a fan but it's a part of rooting for someone, if Contador and his team can go through it, I'm sure you'll live as well
Just try to think about comparisions with your or your friends' life. As for me, I'd be pretty annoyed if I told someone that I'm sending my articles to the magazine which is really big and kind of unlikely to publish them and they answered "you shouldn't do it, it will only cause disappointment".
Obviously I'm not in Contador's head either but one thing I know for sure is that he doesn't have a mentality of a teenage girl
Fans often have it and it's not meant as an insult, it's just that they see watching cycling (or any other sport) as an entertainment and let go of their rational side.
If you think about which wins were special for Contador (in his own words), you can see that it was usually about beating his own limits. IMO it goes with his character and Riis' way of thinking that the true champion should start if he's healthy.
What would you say about Vuelta 2012? Did you like seeing him almost losing to a guy who's a worse GC rider than Froome? Should he pull out of the Giro 2008 when he fractured his elbow in fear that Ricco could beat him? Perhaps he should give up cycling altogether when there was a big risk involved? Sure, each of those situations is different, Tour 2011 is different as well but there's a pattern of not giving up - something which Contador's fans seem to not be very good at
(And losing has nothing to do with "being a clown". Was Talansky a clown fighting with the time limit? Was Froome a clown in Vuelta 2012, when he basically fought to stay in the 4th place as soon as he realized he's too tired after the Tour to keep up with Contador, Purito and Valverde? If you do your best, you'll never come across as a clown.
Sure, he most likely cares about proving he's better than Froome, Nibali and Quintana at some point. But losing to the two of them in the Vuelta or not starting at all is pretty much the same in this regard - it'll mean it's simply not the time to do it. After Vuelta 2012 few were stupid enough to say that it proves Contador is better than Froome; it will be pretty similar.)
BTW, most people said that Nibali made a stupid choice when he decided to go for the Tour instead of Giro/Vuelta. You never know how things will pan out.
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