Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[LaFlorecita]

Do you believe Contador can win the Tour against Froome, Quintana and Nibali, with a Giro in his legs?

Of course. If Alberto can save energy at the Giro and recover well, he can still beat Quintana and Nibali. He will need some luck to beat Froome, but it's not impossible.

 

[Arredondo]

Of course. If Alberto can save energy at the Giro and recover well, he can still beat Quintana and Nibali. He will need some luck to beat Froome, but it's not impossible.

But you propose Contador to ride other races then TA and Catalunya, because Froome is going to win those?

 

[Angliru]

The most likely.
And I'm sure Contador's Giro rivals will, in a way, ride for their Tour leaders.
Astana and Sky will tire Contador as much as they can.

That would be foolish unless they are already conceding defeat to Contador at the Giro. I suspect they (Sky and Astana) will be riding the Giro with intent of winning, the Tour will not be factored into their overall strategies IMO.History is enough of a barometer that Contador attempting to achieve this difficult double that the attempt itself makes your scenario unnecessary.

 

[Miburo]

Be objective. Contador is never going to win the Tour if he's riding a Giro for the win. He's not even going to make the podium in that case.

The giro is barely a race, he has no competition at all

 

[Arredondo]

The giro is barely a race, he has no competition at all

In 2011 he also didn't had.

 

[Dr. Juice]

Serious Sam etc ...there are so many here on board that were waiting ( and they waited since 2013 ( annus horribilis) for that to happen. That Alberto hasn't his best day , Froome drops him and what happens? Froome unbeatable blabla...I always knew he is the best when in form etc etc.

Swing-Swing.

 

[indianfanboy]

Froome is the top dawg followed by Alberto

Nibali and Quintana are a level below

But Froome tends to get weaker in the 3rd week..Purito and Quintana were stronger than him in 2013 when Froome was in the form of his life this is the only reason i think Contador might get the better of him with better tactics

 

[Netserk]

In 2011 he also didn't had.

And if had neutral or good luck in the Tour (instead of bad luck) he would've been the most likely winner.

Also he didn't ride the Giro that year the best way for his chances in July.

 

[MatParker117]

The giro is barely a race, he has no competition at all

2011 says hi

 

[Arredondo]

And if had neutral or good luck in the Tour (instead of bad luck) he would've been the most likely winner.

Dropping on Galibier was bad luck?

 

[LaFlorecita]

In 2011 he also didn't had.

In 2011:
- he won by 6 minutes so he wasted energy
- he only knew he could race the Tour a few weeks before the start so he never really trained for it
- he crashed hard a few times during the Tour and injured his knee and his back
- he lost 1'20" on the very first day because of a crash
- he constantly had to make up the time he'd lost on stage one so he wasted a lot of energy with pointless attacks
- he had a massive bonk on stage 18

 

[indianfanboy]

Dropping on Galibier was bad luck?

he crashed in the first week,hurt his knee and lost a lot of time...see his performance in Alpe D huez and he was less than 10 sec slower than Cadel in the final TT...he could have won that Tour with some luck...not to mention he literally rode every race in 2011 not an ideal prep for the double

 

[Netserk]

Dropping on Galibier was bad luck?

No, it was a true reflection of the climbing hieracy that Tour

 

[indianfanboy]

Contador can win the TDF this year he needs to stay within striking distance to Froome like being 1 min behind him entering the third week will not be bad as Froome and Sky will not be able to handle all the attacking by Contador,Nibali and Quintana in the mountainous 3rd week...

 

[LaFlorecita]

I thought the picture I posted earlier was just taken at a bad time, but it seems Alberto really wasn't happy

 

[Dr. Juice]

People will get their mouth shut when Contador wins the Giro again and fights with Froome for 1st place in France ( either winning or missing the win by less than a minute).
Alberto and Chris are step above Nibali and Nibali is another half a step stronger than Quintana (if Quintana doesn't progess) . Nibali can close the gap with cobbles and medium mountain stages, let's hope there are some nice stages. Alberto can play the same card except maybe cobbles.

Can he be stronger than Froome on a single MTF? Maybe not, they'll be either equal or slight advantage Froome due to Giro.
I am convinced that Contador can win that Tour at 90-95% even with Froome in top shape. 2013 third week he would've trounced Froome. To beat Contador Froome has to be in super shape all 3 weeks.

If needed Riis and Contador will create chaos and Sky will sink. I except echelons full gas by Saxo...a good Contador on cobbles when it's dry like in 2010....and at least 2 stages where Rogers Kiserlovski will split the field and finally Majka destroys it. Porte Kennaugh etc will be dropped after Majka takes over.
1 vs 1 on Croix de Fer stage 65-70 km from the finish.
Downhill attacks (hopefully in the rain).

Contador not having a chance to win the Tour against everybody (even with Giro) ?? Froome needs the form of his life or hope that Contador is in 2013 form to beat him in a GT. If there is 1 slightly stronger opponent in his way...he will find a way past.
It's the Great One we are talking about, not just about a little champion. Legendary GT rider.

 

[Angliru]

It indeed looks like he's in good form, but Froome is clearly back on 2013 form. If Froome beats Contador at Tirreno and Catalunya, I'm afraid Alberto might get into a downwards spiral just like in 2013.

I really doubt he will have another season like 2013. Your post implies that Contador is so fragile mentally that losing a couple of week long stages will send him into a spiral of depression that will effect his ability to properly train for the Giro and Tour. Give him more credit than that.

 

[Arredondo]

In 2011:
- he won by 6 minutes so he wasted energy
- he only knew he could race the Tour a few weeks before the start so he never really trained for it
- he crashed hard a few times during the Tour and injured his knee and his back
- he lost 1'20" on the very first day because of a crash
- he constantly had to make up the time he'd lost on stage one so he wasted a lot of energy with pointless attacks
- he had a massive bonk on stage 18

Some of those arguments do explain partly why he only finished 5th that Tour. But back in 2011, his rivals where Evans and Frank Schleck, who are two levels below Froome as a climber and GT contender, and Andy Schleck in 2011 form, who was, despite his fantastic win on Galibier, way worse then in the Tour of 2010 (and even 2009).

I don't get why Contador with a Giro in his legs would win against a Froome who will focus himself 100% on the Tour. Even now in Ruta, Contador loses against Froome, in a race both men are not targeting (and for both men their first race of the season).

Riding a Giro for the win, against someone like Aru (if he's progressed comparing last year), will not be that really easy for Contador. Of course he will win, but i think he will lose that amount of energy that we will not be able to beat Froome and Quintana in the Tour. Nairo is slightly less then Froome and Contador, but not that much.

I love Alberto as a rider, but the way this forum expecting things from him at times, isn't healthy anymore.

 

[indianfanboy]

I thought the picture I posted earlier was just taken at a bad time, but it seems Alberto really wasn't happy

Obviously not driving the advntage home when he had better legs in stage 3 cost him the race

 

[Angliru]

Froome just said that his performance in stage 4 was similar to the one in stage 3 and that it was Contador who had a bad day in stage 4

I would agree and so does Contador. He said he just didn't have the legs yesterday.

 

[SeriousSam]

The guy hates not winning and got overpowered by his arch nemesis when he probably thought he had in the bag, only for Froome to launch an anaerobic effort that would make Michael Johnson blush, and drop him like a stone. Of course he isn't happy.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I really doubt he will have another season like 2013. Your post implies that Contador is so fragile mentally that losing a couple of week long stages will send him into a spiral of depression that will effect his ability to properly train for the Giro and Tour. Give him more credit than that.

I think Alberto needs confirmation he's on the right way in the form of wins. You can say and think whatever you want but getting his *** kicked in every race isn't going to boost his confidence.

 

[Electress]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/froome-seals-morale-boosting-victory-over-contador-in-andalucia

its what Froome told...i dont think he is lying

Comparing his defeat on Friday?s mountain stage to Saturday?s bounce-back at Allanadas, Froome said ?there wasn?t so much of a change for me. It was more Alberto changed in the two days. I rode quite a consistent two stages and Alberto probably had a bit of a bad day yesterday [Saturday].?

Yesterday was a shorter climb those wattages are not a big surprise

I think this seems pretty reasonable. Clearly AC rode a pretty impressive stage 3 to get the time he did, and Froome wasn't that far off, pulling back time in the long haul. I don't know the wattages, but it seems to me the biggest difference between the two days was definitely in the condition of Alberto - Maybe froome was a bit better and better focused but without numbers I really couldn't say. He was hardly off the charts and beyond AC's reach.

Coming to this forum is pretty depressing. You'd imagine he'd been crap, when only a couple of days ago people were saying maybe he'd peaked too early.

 

[Electress]

I think Alberto needs confirmation he's on the right way in the form of wins. You can say and think whatever you want but getting his *** kicked in every race isn't going to boost his confidence.

Come on, we're talking about a guy who has bounced back from adversity so many times that he's practically a rubber ball. One year, he was rubbish - relatively for his standard. How many times has he had to fight and come out on top - waaay more!

I fear Froome domination; really, the thought sickens me to the core. But there is no one - literally no one - I'd trust more to fight tooth and nail to win and be mentally strong than Contador. He's had aeons of time under very high pressure and won and won and won. He's not a fragile flower who will cave at the first sign things aren't going right! Please cheer up - one minor set back is nothing for this guy. And who says he's going to lose next time around??

 

[LaFlorecita]

The guy hates not winning and got overpowered by his arch nemesis when he probably thought he had in the bag, only for Froome to launch an anaerobic effort that would make Michael Johnson blush, and drop him like a stone. Of course he isn't happy.

I know, it's just that he tried to sound and look very happy in the interviews, while it's obvious he's gutted