Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Beech Mtn]

Berto's lightweight climbing bike that he used for the last mountain doesn't have a power meter on it. Marginal gains!! (And a guy who isn't afraid to ride on feel without the safety net of numbers)

 

[Beech Mtn]

Berto is starting to show his age around the eyes

 

[Jelantik]

It kind of remains me of 2013 Tirreno Adriatico when Alberto attacked, NIbbs countered and both were up the road, just to be pulled back by SKY right after the Last K mark when Froome summoned the Alien powers & dropped the soul out of both without remorse....

and beyond that- Contador is the current Leader- there is no reason for him to attack earlier-it was well played out & Froome simply didn't have any to answer to when the attack took place- that's racing. Now that's an abysmal difference between what took place today between them and the Covadonga stage when Val-piti shamefully takes time on Contador by wheelsucking the entire climb without pulling a single meter and screwed him at the finish line- BIG DIFFERENCE

Big mistake by Valverde. Now, instead of down by 40 seconds (if he pulled with contador when he can), he is down by 1.36 and not to mention Froome is breathing on his neck. He can kiss goodbye the red jersey now. Because he better got a good leg for the next 5 days to fend off Froome and possibly Purito too. I don't feel sorry for him. It was his tactic and he paid for that dearly. Now he probably will sprint to every intermediate sprint to steal some bonus point. Doesn't matter, because sky might nullified all bonifications.

What contador did today was smart. He has the lead, why on earth would you pull and attack .. just because. Just wait for a sec and attack. Brilliant move. And so does Chris. He was just the vehicle for contador to distance everyone.

 

[Beech Mtn]

And, just to complete the trifecta of AC photo posts, here's Berto in his new hat.

 

[Futuroscope]

ehh, its possible he would have been better than froome or ac,so I think its clear he would have been better than Rodriguez and Valverde

My guess is that he would have been equal to Froome but Alberto would have dropped them both at the end.

 

[ILovecycling]

To me it looks like Alberto needs others to be more tired in order to accelerate away. Which is very tough to achieve with Vuelta route, but today with multiple climbs and Froome riding pace after his attack it was ideal.
He is/was used to drop climbers with superior acceleration,but against murito and valverde its not possible (as they have the smae or better acc),so he needs to tire them first.

What are your thoughts on this,dropping riders?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Berto is starting to show his age around the eyes

Yea I noticed that earlier this year

 

[arvc40]

To me it looks like Alberto needs others to be more tired in order to accelerate away. Which is very tough to achieve with Vuelta route, but today with multiple climbs and Froome riding pace after his attack it was ideal.
He is/was used to drop climbers with superior acceleration,but against murito and valverde its not possible (as they have the smae or better acc),so he needs to tire them first.

What are your thoughts on this,dropping riders?

My thought is Contador is not in top form and god help them all when he is

 

[Pricey_sky]

To me it looks like Alberto needs others to be more tired in order to accelerate away. Which is very tough to achieve with Vuelta route, but today with multiple climbs and Froome riding pace after his attack it was ideal.
He is/was used to drop climbers with superior acceleration,but against murito and valverde its not possible (as they have the smae or better acc),so he needs to tire them first.

What are your thoughts on this,dropping riders?

With Contador today he played it wisely. It's no use using up lots of energy only for Froome to go mad in the final k's and gain time. We know that Valverde and Purito like to leave it to a sprint so it works well for Contador to follow the stronger rival (Froome) and attack when Froome weakens near the end. Whether an in form Froome weakens is another question but this also is a Contador that isn't 100% either.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Berto is starting to show his age around the eyes

Yup I noticed that earlier this year

 

[Beech Mtn]

My thought is Contador is not in top form and god help them all when he is

+1.
10chars

 

[Pricey_sky]

My thought is Contador is not in top form and god help them all when he is

I think it's obvious that neither is Froome. It's what makes the thought of next years Tour so appealing.

 

[ILovecycling]

My thought is Contador is not in top form and god help them all when he is

so how he should drop them when he is not in top form? your opinion

With Contador today he played it wisely. It's no use using up lots of energy only for Froome to go mad in the final k's and gain time. We know that Valverde and Purito like to leave it to a sprint so it works well for Contador to follow the stronger rival (Froome) and attack when Froome weakens near the end. Whether an in form Froome weakens is another question but this also is a Contador that isn't 100% either.

agree pricey,wonder how they are (percentages) form wise

 

[Futuroscope]

To me it looks like Alberto needs others to be more tired in order to accelerate away. Which is very tough to achieve with Vuelta route, but today with multiple climbs and Froome riding pace after his attack it was ideal.
He is/was used to drop climbers with superior acceleration,but against murito and valverde its not possible (as they have the smae or better acc),so he needs to tire them first.

What are your thoughts on this,dropping riders?

Valverde and Rodriguez can't win TDF or Giro because they are not strong enough on hard stages like today. These type of stages have always suited Contador. Froome, Contador and Quintana are a step above Rodriguez and Valverde on these type of stages.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Edit: it's all fine now

Tinypic acting weird for me

 

[Pricey_sky]

agree pricey,wonder how they are (percentages) form wise

Impossible to tell, I have given up guessing how far Froome is off top form after some of his performances last week. I suppose we will only truly know if both make it to next years Tour in their best shape, and I hope it happens with Quintana too.

 

[henriklarsen]

Smart ride today by Contador. And great ride by Froome. I don't feel sorry for Valverde. He has his own race tactic, and good luck with that. Alberto has called it yesterday, that it was a missed opportunity not to distance Froome when they were all have a chance. Well, turns out, Froome returned the favor, and only Contador can follow him. It was the best scenario for Contador with Froome was the one who initiated the attack. He doesn't need to wait for those two clowns to jerk him around anymore. Froome attacked and Contador gained time with a timely attack.

Call it what you want. If you have a lead of 1 minute, all you need just wait until the right moment. So great job today by Contador. Clearly Froome's form is getting better. And contador's fear appears to be true. 5 more days to go, the fight isn't finished yet. What a thrilling ending today.

I agree!
It was indeed a great ride by Froome. But still, his win was loosing less than Valverde, Purito and Aru. It really shows in this picture.http://www.cyclograph.cc/Race/Get/1...ontenders,&m=General_Classification_Time&s=16

 

[forumlurker]

Just saw the last 4:00. Alberto Contador rode like a boss. Mucho fuerte! (or something like that.)

 

[ILovecycling]

Impossible to tell, I have given up guessing how far Froome is off top form after some of his performances last week. I suppose we will only truly know if both make it to next years Tour in their best shape, and I hope it happens with Quintana too.

yep,like I said in the other thread,it should be an epic battle of 7 watters
btw I wonder what Nibali is planning to do there after Giro (tired), sight seeing around france probably

 

[arvc40]

so how he should drop them when he is not in top form? your opinion

agree pricey,wonder how they are (percentages) form wise

I think maybe today Contador would have dropped the other 2 Spaniards even if Froome wasn't there. Seemed very strong.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

yep,like I said in the other thread,it should be an epic battle of 7 watters
btw I wonder what Nibali is planning to do there after Giro (tired), sight seeing around france probably

If Nibali goes giro I would want him to just stagehunt in the tour. He doesn't need a third/fourth place

 

[ILovecycling]

If Nibali goes giro I would want him to just stagehunt in the tour. He doesn't need a third/fourth place

good idea,after all he cant do anything else (even podium would be a huge task)

 

[arvc40]

good idea,after all he cant do anything else (even podium would be a huge task)

Nibali not a factor if top 2 are racing. Don't matter how he prepares.

 

[Rollthedice]

good idea,after all he cant do anything else (even podium would be a huge task)

Remains to be seen. After all this year he started with a distant third chance.

 

[ILovecycling]

Remains to be seen. After all this year he started with a distant third chance.

Thats true .I wish he rode Tour for 100% next year