Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[LaFlorecita]

Quick question: When did we actually know the details of Albertos injury.

I ask because there is a journalist that claims TS was the one misleading with the broken leg. I suspect it is the media, including his own, that just did not check their facts and just wrote, broken leg broken leg broken leg.

That is exactly what happened. Media should just do some research.

 

[LaFlorecita]

He's always lying. He looked pretty uncomfortable and he couldn't follow Froome this time. The question is - is he able to follow Froome on Saturday?

Not sure where you guys saw Alberto looking uncomfortable. He seemed to be freewheeling behind Valverde most of the time. The Spaniards just didn't want to close the gap for one another.

 

[Electress]

That is exactly what happened. Media should just do some research.

I don't really get the mystery here…A broken leg is a fracture or crack in a bone. Just check with the definition of the Mayo Clinic. (They even talk about breaks in the tibia being more subtle and difficult to diagnose). So TS or anyone else for that matter saying 'he's got a broken leg' wasn't a lie or even an exaggeration, it just happens that the break was a crack rather than a bone broken in half. Of course the media are going to have a field day deliberately conjuring the image of a broken femur with the bone sticking out of a bloody gash in everyone's mind, even if it was quite obvious that his leg wasn't broken in half like that, as anyone watching television could see. And no doubt the TS PR people didn't mind they could legitimately say 'broken leg, broken leg, broken leg' even though it wasn't a severe break, simply because it was true.

I recall from very early on people saying that the wound being so deep may well be more of an issue than the severity of the leg break.

What is it about Contador that makes people so willing to believe that he's got rafts of these people all too ready to lie on his behalf? Or that he and his team expend so much time and energy plotting ways to dissemble and deceive? Yes, so every team has a PR machine, but it seems mad to me to imagine that he was deliberately sending tweets out ruling himself out of the Vuelta but secretly training knowing he'd go…seems much more plausible that he over-reacted to the infected wound debacle - he's only human - then found out the healing accelerated once it'd been cleaned out.

I don't doubt he downplayed how he was feeling and how much training he was doing after that…who wouldn't in the circumstances? No one is going to come out of that injury and say 'I'm feeling 100% brilliant and back to my old self' because you're just setting yourself up to fail big time. So yeah, maybe he underplayed his training and recovery and how he was feeling, but at least some of this would also be genuinely not knowing how his condition would hold.

As for lying all the time…no athlete gives away their game plan or admits their weakness with so much of the game still in play…Whatever was the reason for his not following Froome, I would never expect him or anyone else to go 'I was just feeling rubbish, and so couldn't follow'. He'd have to be insane !

 

[jyhjyh]

As for Valverde, I think AC gave him the big payback. When they had the chance to put Froome away days ago, Valv and Purito did not want to help. They thought they were going to put time on AC. Big mistake. So Froome has new lifw and Purito is off the podium and Valverde lucky he is in third.
Ac will win Vuelta. Absolutely no question about it. Today was game for him.

I think you are right - and:

Valverde is 55 points ahead of Contador in the UCI World Tour.
If Valververde wins 2. spot on the podium and Contador wins, Valverde will still be ahead of Contador.
Anything less than 2. spot for Valverde will have Contador as nr. 1.

So it's better for Contador that Froome wins the 2. spot on the podium

 

[Walkman]

That is exactly what happened. Media should just do some research.

For once we seems to agree! Feels kind of nice if you ask me!

 

[ILovecycling]

I think you are right - and:

Valverde is 55 points ahead of Contador in the UCI World Tour.
If Valververde wins 2. spot on the podium and Contador wins, Valverde will still be ahead of Contador.
Anything less than 2. spot for Valverde will have Contador as nr. 1.

So it's better for Contador that Froome wins the 2. spot on the podium

Kind of crazy, but it would be great if it finishes well.But no chance Contador thinks about this

 

[LaFlorecita]

I think you are right - and:

Valverde is 55 points ahead of Contador in the UCI World Tour.
If Valververde wins 2. spot on the podium and Contador wins, Valverde will still be ahead of Contador.
Anything less than 2. spot for Valverde will have Contador as nr. 1.

So it's better for Contador that Froome wins the 2. spot on the podium

At this point the difference is 68 points. So if Alberto grabs the lead, he'll simply lose it again when we get to Lombardia.

http://www.procyclingstats.com/rankings.php?id=10553

 

[ILovecycling]

At this point the difference is 68 points. So if Alberto grabs the lead, he'll simply lose it again when we get to Lombardia.

http://www.procyclingstats.com/rankings.php?id=10553

I think he is doing 'race of falling leaves' no?

 

[LaFlorecita]

I think he is doing 'race of falling leaves' no?

There appear to be rumors that he won't, but still, Valverde only has to finish 1 spot higher and in top 10. That shouldn't be too hard for him.

 

[PirazziAttacksVino]

There appear to be rumors that he won't, but still, Valverde only has to finish 1 spot higher and in top 10. That shouldn't be too hard for him.

Yeah, just sit on Bertie's wheel the whole race and outsprint him for whatever place in the top 10 they'll fight for.

 

[ILovecycling]

There appear to be rumors that he won't, but still, Valverde only has to finish 1 spot higher and in top 10. That shouldn't be too hard for him.

Alberto needs to win at least one more stage then

 

[Red Rick]

Pretty sick he'll come so close the winning the WT while crashing out of the main target of the season. I doubt that if he had finished the Tour (first or second with a couple of stages, obviously) he would've been any less in the Vuelta than he is now

 

[Dr. Juice]

Today's stage could be more dangerous than saturday when Alberto will be the strongest.
If I was on the other side....I would plan to attack full gas on that 4.7 km climb at 8, xx %. It's harder than yesterday's climb.
Only Froome, Rodriguez, Valverde, Aru, Contador and maybe 1-2 others left at the top.
Then, they attack him at turns on the flat....he has to cover every single attack...no one works for him.
Now I hope nobody from Sky, Katusha or Movistar reads this.

 

[SeriousSam]

"a couple of stages obviously" seems on the optimistic side for someone who managed to win 3 tours whilst winning only 3 or so stages.

 

[Dr. Juice]

Pretty sick he'll come so close the winning the WT while crashing out of the main target of the season. I doubt that if he had finished the Tour (first or second with a couple of stages, obviously) he would've been any less in the Vuelta than he is now

Yeah he would have done the same as Valverde just 3 levels higher. Bury everybody in the Tour and seal the victory here in the first 2,5 weeks. Some sign of fatigue in the last mountain stage maybe.
Tour + Vuelta double would have been entirely doable.

 

[ILovecycling]

Yeah he would have done the same as Valverde just 3 levels higher. Bury everybody in the Tour and seal the victory here in the first 2,5 weeks. Some sign of fatigue in the last mountain stage maybe.
Tour + Vuelta double would have been entirely doable.

but only with froome (tour) and quintana (vuelta) crash.

 

[del1962]

There appear to be rumors that he won't, but still, Valverde only has to finish 1 spot higher and in top 10. That shouldn't be too hard for him.

Valvere and Contador going to Bejing to fight for World Tour lead, that would be funny,

 

[Netserk]

but only with froome (tour) and quintana (vuelta) crash.

I think he would've defeated both if he was without any crashes (and therefore injuries). I certainly think he'd be better here in the Vuelta if he hadn't crashed in the Tour, but raced it to the end (and won).

 

[Dr. Juice]

but only with froome (tour) and quintana (vuelta) crash.

You think he couldn't have won the Tour with Froome in the race? I think he was superior this year.
And I think we can agree he would have been in better form without the fractured tibia here? Quintana wasn't impressive the first 10 days. Even without crash, he would have been a 1 - 1,5 minutes behind this Contador after the TT.
I expected Quintana to step it up, but nevertheless.

A good chance would have been there for Alberto. Not certain but a very decent possibility.

 

[ILovecycling]

I think he would've defeated both if he was without any crashes (and therefore injuries). I certainly think he'd be better here in the Vuelta if he hadn't crashed in the Tour, but raced it to the end (and won).

interesting, but I think this apply only for Valverde.I think AC would fade in 3rd week probably.

You think he couldn't have won the Tour with Froome in the race? I think he was superior this year.
And I think we can agree he would have been in better form without the fractured tibia here? Quintana wasn't impressive the first 10 days. Even without crash, he would have been a 1 - 1,5 minutes behind this Contador after the TT.
I expected Quintana to step it up, but nevertheless.

A good chance would have been there for Alberto. Not certain but a very decent possibility.

No,I think he would have won, but he wouldnt have won Vuelta then, see comment above.

 

[Netserk]

interesting, but I think this apply only for Valverde.I think AC would fade in 3rd week probably.

Sure, I think that as well, but he would fade from a much higher level than the one he has had this Vuelta.

 

[ILovecycling]

Sure, I think that as well, but he would fade from a much higher level than the one he has had this Vuelta.

yes,but he wouldnt have won imho.

 

[veganrob]

I think he is doing 'race of falling leaves' no?

I would love to see Alberto going for it at Lombardia.

 

[Red Rick]

I would love to see Alberto going for it at Lombardia.

He did it last year, even when he was tired after a lot of racing in crap form all season. Only reason I can think of is that preparing the Vuelta in such a short time and racing the Vuelta might really have taken a lot out of him

 

[BlurryVII]

2 days remaining and this Vuelta is his! Vamos!

http://evc-wp01.s3.amazonaws.com/wo...dor-pone-la-Vuelta-a-tiro-en-La-Farrapona.jpg