Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[ILovecycling]

I am reporting this to the moderators.

And my report is: Please send more, soon and often.

Yeah, **** those Oleg pictures, this is a whole another level

Pretty sure I just had a marginal gain...

Now if only we cold recover faster! Astana's doctors need to broaden their horizons.

LOLZ guys!

 

[ggusta]

Re:

Too much botox.

Yeah, it's awful, isn't it.

https://instagram.com/p/1-YDpEnjYT/?taken-by=veronicascognamiglio

 

[Metabolol]

Re: Re:

Looks like Oleg has a message to share

Great picture. Oleg is the type of person that you aren't sure if you like him or not.

 

[rhubroma]

Nibali will be smashed at Dauphiné.


Concerning Berto, I hope that he's been "far" from his best level in this Giro otherwise Tour is gonna be complicated.

My thoughts exactly, he'll have to step up his game considerably, or else he's gonna get clobbered in France. The question is can he do it?

On the other hand you had a tempo set at this Giro, with all that climbing that the Tour would find difficult to match. Astana was on fire and Aru, Landa and company were racing this Giro without "phase two" in mind.

I can only imagine that Alberto started the Giro at 80% and has come out of it with still a margin to gain for July. Otherwise, as you said, it will be complicated indeed.

LeMond thought Alberto would have no problem recovering in time. I know LeMond road a few Giros. I don't know if they were in his winning TDF years.

As for the TDF, it will indeed be complicated. There are four real contenders this year and several others who could cause problems. Most of the other teams (Astana, Movistar, Team Sky) have climbers who could stay with their leaders much longer. From what I've seen in the Giro, Saxo is sorely lacking compared to the other teams.

Also, might Sagan be a complication in the TDF? Will Sagan have to freelance his way to green or will Saxo dedicate some support to him?

If I remember correctly, Lemond finished 4th in the 86 Giro (but working for Hinault who won) and then won the Tour. Then he had a disastrous Giro in 89 (but came second on the last TT), and went on to win the Tour.

I think Contador can certainly recoveer, what I'm not certain about is can he improve at the same time. This is the risk anyone attempting the double faces. Getting the equilibrium right between not coming into the Giro too much on fire (perhaps like 2011, when, though, he hadn't planned for the double), and coming out of the Giro with enough of a margin to benefit from the Italian race for the French one.

Pantani was better at the 98 Giro, I think than Contador in this one, started the Tour decidedly under tone, to then get back up to flying in the second and third weeks.

Anyway you see it, it's complicated.

LeMond did indeed finish 4th in 1986 but Hinault didn't start, he was riding for himself, and was tipped as a possible winner by many. So his performance was disappointing IMO, but he was only 24!

LeMond did say Alberto could recover and tipped him and Quintana as possible winners. No love for Nibali or Froome!

Anyway I think it is much easier to recover at 24 than at 32. For Alberto to win le Tour it will be very complicated indeed. Before yesterday I would have given him a decent shot, now my assessment is much lower. Unless he was riding this Giro well below his best it will be an uphill battle to win. Podium that is another matter, but he doesn't ride for podiums.

If it's any consolation Indurain got stomped by Berzin, and then went on to win the Tour.

The problem for Alberto will be the competition, which is much harder than in the past (which is why the double, today, is so daunting). Should be fun though. He'll be up there in any case.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Re: Re:

Looks like Oleg has a message to share

Great picture. Oleg is the type of person that you aren't sure if you like him or not.

He lacks culture, which is annoying, when he clearly has the intelligence and wit to potentially be liked.

He exemplifies the younger generation of russian nouveau riche very well.

 

[Jelantik]

Well today is a great day, all in all. It was a nice day here down on earth, to finally be able to do a long ride after a month of raining everyday. First and foremost, Congratulations to Alberto and his team. To be fair his team has been riding to defend the jersey since stage 5. Everyday they were controlling the breakaway. Whether or not his team is weak (in fan's eye whom we are all sitting in the comfy home w/ popcorn and beer), that's a matter of perception, I guess. Or maybe if we compare it to the mountain support that Astana has. But at the end, TS is still the one who holds the maglia rosa.

Yesterday was a close call. If he would have lost the jersey, this would have gone down as the biggest flop ever in Alberto's career, that might have smeared his legendary status. Remembering winning the giro w/o winning the stage is one thing, but loosing the jersey on the last day after a dominant performance in 19days, that would be an epic failure that people will remember and talk for years to come. Luckily the script ends in a high note for El pistolero. He is the deserving winner. One goal is done and dusted. For me as the fans, it has been a thrilling Giro nonetheless, with bad luck, set back, bad day, and this man still comes up on the top. For that, he continues to cement his legendary status in the history of grand tour race. CHAPEAU ALBERTO!

 

[Poursuivant]

I thought AC would win Giro but to have a chance at TDF, I felt he had to be coming out of Giro stronger than he went in and I don't think he is. I would never rule him out though, but when you look at his team who let's be honest about it, contrary to what AC says, have been really really weak. I know his team could be better at TDF, but it won't be as strong as Sky and Astana andhe could get isolated like on Stage 20 yesterday. We shall see.

 

[Jelantik]

Re:

The markets downgraded Contador's Tour chances yesterday by 5%. Now it's something like.
30% Q
25% F
20% C
15% N
although odds vary across bookmakers quite a bit, a sign of lacking liquidity, which means the odds needn't be accurate reflections of the true underlying probability at this point in time.

Juul said he's gonna do Route du Sud, and so will Contador. I guess he'll treat it like a training ride and we won't get any further signals about his expected strength until the Tour itself. For the other contenders, there's thankfully the Dauphine where we'll learn something about Froome, Quintana, Valverde but not Nibali.

who got the other 15%? *if the total should be 100%* kidding..
i thought Quintana is going to Route de Sud? *i read somewhere*

 

[richwagmn]

The problem for Alberto will be the competition, which is much harder than in the past (which is why the double, today, is so daunting). Should be fun though. He'll be up there in any case.

Exactly. Quintana, Froome, Contador, Astana (with Nibali). One of the best fields in years. And don't forget the first week of "classics" racing.

Even if AC doesn't win, IMO it was a fantastic move to to try the double. To me it says that AC doesn't have anything to prove to anyone but himself. Greatest stage racer in a long, long time.

 

[Netserk]

Can Flo update the Vamos 8 picture?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Can Flo update the Vamos 8 picture?

Give me a moment

 

[SeriousSam]

Re: Re:

The markets downgraded Contador's Tour chances yesterday by 5%. Now it's something like.
30% Q
25% F
20% C
15% N
although odds vary across bookmakers quite a bit, a sign of lacking liquidity, which means the odds needn't be accurate reflections of the true underlying probability at this point in time.

Juul said he's gonna do Route du Sud, and so will Contador. I guess he'll treat it like a training ride and we won't get any further signals about his expected strength until the Tour itself. For the other contenders, there's thankfully the Dauphine where we'll learn something about Froome, Quintana, Valverde but not Nibali.

who got the other 15%? *if the total should be 100%* kidding..
i thought Quintana is going to Route de Sud? *i read somewhere*

The other 15%, someone else wins, long shots like Valverde, Rodriguez, Pinot, etc. Granted, it does seem a bit high if you ask me, but a common mistake when predicting things is to rule such things out (ie, split all the probability amongst the big 4).

You're right. Quintana will do Route de Sud. That's bad, because Contador is surely not going to race it if he even starts, meaning we won't really learn where Quintana's at. With Valverde doing the Dauphine, otoh, Froome will have to show some form if he is to win.

 

[ILovecycling]

Re: Re:

Can Flo update the Vamos 8 picture?

Give me a moment

vamos Flo


about rud du sud..yep quintana is going for it.

 

[hfer07]

I knew Macarena wasn't just showing up to support Alberto, but rather checking on him and chasing away the "temptations"

 

[ILovecycling]

I knew Macarena wasn't just showing up to support Alberto, but rather checking on him and chasing away the "temptations"

I think she's really glad she made that attendance in this case

 

[Flamin]

Re: Re:

Too much botox.

Yeah, it's awful, isn't it.

https://instagram.com/p/1-YDpEnjYT/?taken-by=veronicascognamiglio

Or I'm confusing her with this other podium girl who had huge botox lips, because in these photos she looks hot I admit.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Can Flo update the Vamos 8 picture?

Used my mad paint skillz

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Too much botox.

Yeah, it's awful, isn't it.

https://instagram.com/p/1-YDpEnjYT/?taken-by=veronicascognamiglio

Or I'm confusing her with this other podium girl who had huge botox lips, because in these photos she looks hot I admit.

.... botox removes wrinkles by paralyzing the muscles, it doesn't enlarge lips, that would be fillers

 

[Zen Master]

Re: Re:

Looks like Oleg has a message to share

Great picture. Oleg is the type of person that you aren't sure if you like him or not.

He lacks culture, which is annoying, when he clearly has the intelligence and wit to potentially be liked.

He exemplifies the younger generation of russian nouveau riche very well.

To be precise, Oleg Tinkov exemplifies only a someone from Russia who imitates Western nihilistic so-called culture. Everything is there, cult of youth, ridiculuous outfit and I have money=I rule the world attitude. So all in all Oleg Tinkov lacks only good manners, but he is a 100% pure product of Western culture...

 

[rhubroma]

Re: ew

I thought AC would win Giro but to have a chance at TDF, I felt he had to be coming out of Giro stronger than he went in and I don't think he is. I would never rule him out though, but when you look at his team who let's be honest about it, contrary to what AC says, have been really really weak. I know his team could be better at TDF, but it won't be as strong as Sky and Astana andhe could get isolated like on Stage 20 yesterday. We shall see.

This is a crucial observation and thus valid.

Every rider interview I read said this Giro was beyond difficult, in terms of SRM.

How, then, can a rider today enter such a race and come out better?

On the other hand, he crushed it in 2011 and I thought a new double was "in the bag."

 

[Netserk]

Re: Re:

Can Flo update the Vamos 8 picture?

Used my mad paint skillz

Great!

 

[Flamin]

Re: Re:

Too much botox.

Yeah, it's awful, isn't it.

https://instagram.com/p/1-YDpEnjYT/?taken-by=veronicascognamiglio

Or I'm confusing her with this other podium girl who had huge botox lips, because in these photos she looks hot I admit.

.... botox removes wrinkles by paralyzing the muscles, it doesn't enlarge lips, that would be fillers

Oh I thought they called that botox as well

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Oh I thought they called that botox as well

Many people make that mistake

 

[Red Rick]

Always love how the most potent toxin in the world is used as a cosmetic

 

[Electress]

Re: Re:

Too much botox.

Yeah, it's awful, isn't it.

https://instagram.com/p/1-YDpEnjYT/?taken-by=veronicascognamiglio

Or I'm confusing her with this other podium girl who had huge botox lips, because in these photos she looks hot I admit.

.... botox removes wrinkles by paralyzing the muscles, it doesn't enlarge lips, that would be fillers

Collagen.