Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[fungusbear]

Alberto confirmed he will race Clasica San Sebastian, and that's his last race of the season.

Yeah, quite early but it's a good decision. He is already thinking on 2016

I hope he can get it right and get his 2014 condition next year. The battle in the mountains between him, Quintana and Froome will be exciting!

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

I think having seen Contador in this Tour considering he had to beat the entire Astana team at the Giro, finishing quite high up and being there or there abouts at the end of stages....It says to me that if he peaks for the Tour next year which he says he will, no one in this race could stay with him save Froome on Stage 10, that's it.

Take it easy. Quintana in the Alps would have followed him without a doubt.

Contador is still a world class rider, but not the best by any means. Let's just wait how the situation is next july.

When he is in top form, he is the best. Just on his 2014 Pais Vasco form, he could've won this Tour.

Next year will be great fun when he'll be back on equal terms.

Even i am realistic about Purito, comparing your expectacions about Berto

I don't see something strange in his expectations? he was great in 2014, if he can get back to that level he is IMO the #1 favorite for the Tour victory.

 

[Hayabusa]

Re:

After watching this tour Froome fans must now realise that Contador's Vuelta win was a true result. Froome cannot perform better than that as he showed in this tour.
Bertie was not even 100% at the Vuelta

Neither was Froome... Contador deserved his Vuelta win and Froome deserves his Tour win. Both riders are pretty much equally talented and we have yet to see them both go at eachother at 100% imo.

 

[BlurryVII]

Re: Re:

I think having seen Contador in this Tour considering he had to beat the entire Astana team at the Giro, finishing quite high up and being there or there abouts at the end of stages....It says to me that if he peaks for the Tour next year which he says he will, no one in this race could stay with him save Froome on Stage 10, that's it.

Take it easy. Quintana in the Alps would have followed him without a doubt.

Contador is still a world class rider, but not the best by any means. Let's just wait how the situation is next july.

When he is in top form, he is the best. Just on his 2014 Pais Vasco form, he could've won this Tour.

Next year will be great fun when he'll be back on equal terms.

Even i am realistic about Purito, comparing your expectacions about Berto

Sorry but I'm realistic actually, Contador is the best climber when he is on form, ending point . Don't see what's hard to understand, he raced the Giro here not the others.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

After watching this tour Froome fans must now realise that Contador's Vuelta win was a true result. Froome cannot perform better than that as he showed in this tour.
Bertie was not even 100% at the Vuelta

Neither was Froome... Contador deserved his Vuelta win and Froome deserves his Tour win. Both riders are pretty much equally talented and we have yet to see them both go at eachother at 100% imo.

Equally talented They may be on an equal level but where was Froome's talent before 2011?

 

[Hayabusa]

Re: Re:

After watching this tour Froome fans must now realise that Contador's Vuelta win was a true result. Froome cannot perform better than that as he showed in this tour.
Bertie was not even 100% at the Vuelta

Neither was Froome... Contador deserved his Vuelta win and Froome deserves his Tour win. Both riders are pretty much equally talented and we have yet to see them both go at eachother at 100% imo.

Equally talented Where was Froome's talent before 2011?

I am clearly talking about the present.. but keep being sour

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

I am clearly talking about the present.. but keep being sour

Their current level has got nothing to do with talent I'll keep being "sour" as long as you people can't use the correct terms for whatever you're trying to say.

 

[Walkman]

Re: Re:

After watching this tour Froome fans must now realise that Contador's Vuelta win was a true result. Froome cannot perform better than that as he showed in this tour.
Bertie was not even 100% at the Vuelta

Neither was Froome... Contador deserved his Vuelta win and Froome deserves his Tour win. Both riders are pretty much equally talented and we have yet to see them both go at eachother at 100% imo.

Equally talented They may be on an equal level but where was Froome's talent before 2011?

Yeha, not like Contador's "talent" which was developed at ONCE and Discovery...

 

[ILovecycling]

Alberto confirmed he will race Clasica San Sebastian, and that's his last race of the season.

Surprised, but its a good idea after Giro-Tour I think.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Alberto confirmed he will race Clasica San Sebastian, and that's his last race of the season.

Surprised, but its a good idea after Giro-Tour I think.

Yeah he needs to rest now. Go on a holiday and then spend a few weeks in Spain with his family and then start his preparation for the next season

 

[Ramon Koran]

Contador definitely is not the best climber on the planet, on the big stage (tdf) where everyone is at peak form he is not the best. For sure he can be incredible in week long stage races or in the vuelta. But let's face it, landa outclimbed him at the giro, no reason to think Froome, Quintana or nibali can't. I think a victory is only possible thanks to his tactical sense, and I think he can win next year's tour but only by hanging on in the climbs and surprising people in echelons.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Contador definitely is not the best climber on the planet, on the big stage (tdf) where everyone is at peak form he is not the best. For sure he can be incredible in week long stage races or in the vuelta. But let's face it, landa outclimbed him at the giro, no reason to think Froome, Quintana or nibali can't. I think a victory is only possible thanks to his tactical sense, and I think he can win next year's tour but only by hanging on in the climbs and surprising people in echelons.

Contador wasn't at his best this season.

 

[BlurryVII]

Re: Re:

After watching this tour Froome fans must now realise that Contador's Vuelta win was a true result. Froome cannot perform better than that as he showed in this tour.
Bertie was not even 100% at the Vuelta

Neither was Froome... Contador deserved his Vuelta win and Froome deserves his Tour win. Both riders are pretty much equally talented and we have yet to see them both go at eachother at 100% imo.

Equally talented They may be on an equal level but where was Froome's talent before 2011?

Yeha, not like Contador's "talent" which was developed at ONCE and Discovery...

Ouch, the greatest hypocrite is back!

Contador had good results in amateurs even in TTs and was believed to become a great climber and didn't come out of nowhere when he couldn't even pass a climb without hanging on cars

 

[ILovecycling]

Re:

Contador definitely is not the best climber on the planet, on the big stage (tdf) where everyone is at peak form he is not the best. For sure he can be incredible in week long stage races or in the vuelta. But let's face it, landa outclimbed him at the giro, no reason to think Froome, Quintana or nibali can't. I think a victory is only possible thanks to his tactical sense, and I think he can win next year's tour but only by hanging on in the climbs and surprising people in echelons.

ehhh...

 

[BlurryVII]

Re:

Contador definitely is not the best climber on the planet, on the big stage (tdf) where everyone is at peak form he is not the best. For sure he can be incredible in week long stage races or in the vuelta. But let's face it, landa outclimbed him at the giro, no reason to think Froome, Quintana or nibali can't. I think a victory is only possible thanks to his tactical sense, and I think he can win next year's tour but only by hanging on in the climbs and surprising people in echelons.

You don't know much about cycling, do you? Do you only watch the Tour?

 

[Ramon Koran]

Re: Re:

Contador definitely is not the best climber on the planet, on the big stage (tdf) where everyone is at peak form he is not the best. For sure he can be incredible in week long stage races or in the vuelta. But let's face it, landa outclimbed him at the giro, no reason to think Froome, Quintana or nibali can't. I think a victory is only possible thanks to his tactical sense, and I think he can win next year's tour but only by hanging on in the climbs and surprising people in echelons.

You don't know much about cycling, do you? Do you only watch the Tour?

I watched the giro this year Contador was weak, at last years vuelta he won by hanging on to Froome in the mountains and a brilliant TT. I don't understand what Contador has done since 2011 that suggests he is the best climber, Froome destroyed him in 2013, landa in the giro mountains this year.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Some 2006 Alberto awesomeness so sad he wasn't able to ride a GT that year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNV4JobpDuk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpkpbggZesk

 

[BlurryVII]

Re: Re:

Contador definitely is not the best climber on the planet, on the big stage (tdf) where everyone is at peak form he is not the best. For sure he can be incredible in week long stage races or in the vuelta. But let's face it, landa outclimbed him at the giro, no reason to think Froome, Quintana or nibali can't. I think a victory is only possible thanks to his tactical sense, and I think he can win next year's tour but only by hanging on in the climbs and surprising people in echelons.

You don't know much about cycling, do you? Do you only watch the Tour?

I watched the giro this year Contador was weak, at last years vuelta he won by hanging on to Froome in the mountains and a brilliant TT. I don't understand what Contador has done since 2011 that suggests he is the best climber, Froome destroyed him in 2013, landa in the giro mountains this year.

Are you serious

I won't even bother, you don't know *** about cycling.

 

[TI-Raleigh]

Re: Re:

[quote="

Sorry but I'm realistic actually, Contador is the best climber when he is on form, ending point . Don't see what's hard to understand, he raced the Giro here not the others.

This is a fallacious argument. By saying that on-form Contador is the best, you suggest that it is impossible (or unfair) to draw conclusions from any performance where Contador is not on peak form. Also, if Contador does not show he is the best, you will simply say he is not on top form. It's semantics.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

[quote="

Sorry but I'm realistic actually, Contador is the best climber when he is on form, ending point . Don't see what's hard to understand, he raced the Giro here not the others.

This is a fallacious argument. By saying that on-form Contador is the best, you suggest that it is impossible (or unfair) to draw conclusions from any performance where Contador is not on peak form. Also, if Contador does not show he is the best, you will simply say he is not on top form. It's semantics.

Isn't that quite logical?

 

[SeriousSam]

Re:

Contador definitely is not the best climber on the planet, on the big stage (tdf) where everyone is at peak form he is not the best. For sure he can be incredible in week long stage races or in the vuelta. But let's face it, landa outclimbed him at the giro, no reason to think Froome, Quintana or nibali can't. I think a victory is only possible thanks to his tactical sense, and I think he can win next year's tour but only by hanging on in the climbs and surprising people in echelons.

To me, Contador's bad climbing this season was surprising in light of the very high level he showed in the Vuelta 2014. In the Giro, I never expected him to be outclimbed by Aru (and ofc the new rising star, Landa) even once, but he was. At the Tour, while I expected him to be worse than Froome and Quintana, he was shockingly bad.

Whether that's trend or aberration, we don't know. Fact is that Contador hasn't completed a Tour de France in great climbing shape since 2011 or even 2010. Hopefully the stars will align next year. And hopefully it won't be Froome or Quintana that fail to reach their best then, which would once again prevent us from learning who the best climber is.

 

[TI-Raleigh]

Re: Re:

Contador definitely is not the best climber on the planet, on the big stage (tdf) where everyone is at peak form he is not the best. For sure he can be incredible in week long stage races or in the vuelta. But let's face it, landa outclimbed him at the giro, no reason to think Froome, Quintana or nibali can't. I think a victory is only possible thanks to his tactical sense, and I think he can win next year's tour but only by hanging on in the climbs and surprising people in echelons.

You don't know much about cycling, do you? Do you only watch the Tour?

I watched the giro this year Contador was weak, at last years vuelta he won by hanging on to Froome in the mountains and a brilliant TT. I don't understand what Contador has done since 2011 that suggests he is the best climber, Froome destroyed him in 2013, landa in the giro mountains this year.

This is true. Ignoring the TT, Landa had a faster cumulative time in the Giro. Say what you will, but it is difficult to make the argument that Contador outclimbed Landa. At most, they were on an equal level.

Furthermore, Contador didn't win Vuelta '14 on his climbing prowess-- rather it was his TT performance. He beat Froome on two mountain stages by holding wheel and then attacking in the last kilometer. This is hardly the equivalent of blowing the race apart 6 or 7 kilometers from the finish.

As an additional point, I would like to comment that we haven't seen that kind of MTF dominance from Contador in a grand tour since 2011. He has shown flashes of brilliance in weeklong stage races, but seems to lack that kind of defining burst as of late. Because of that, it is fair to wonder if Contador can truly be considered the best climber in the world anymore.

 

[TI-Raleigh]

Re: Re:

[quote="

Sorry but I'm realistic actually, Contador is the best climber when he is on form, ending point . Don't see what's hard to understand, he raced the Giro here not the others.

This is a fallacious argument. By saying that on-form Contador is the best, you suggest that it is impossible (or unfair) to draw conclusions from any performance where Contador is not on peak form. Also, if Contador does not show he is the best, you will simply say he is not on top form. It's semantics.

Isn't that quite logical?

Perhaps, but you do not hold other riders to that same standard. For instance, Froome was not on peak form at Vuelta '14, yet you used this race as a clear example of Contador being a better climber. In this year's Giro, as Landa matched or surpassed Contador in the mountains, many people said that you could not draw conclusions because Conti still wasn't at his best.

My point is, very rarely do the stars align to where every rider is on their peak form at the same time. We have to draw careful conclusions with what we are seeing now, rather than write off a performance completely.

 

[Walkman]

Re: Re:

After watching this tour Froome fans must now realise that Contador's Vuelta win was a true result. Froome cannot perform better than that as he showed in this tour.
Bertie was not even 100% at the Vuelta

Neither was Froome... Contador deserved his Vuelta win and Froome deserves his Tour win. Both riders are pretty much equally talented and we have yet to see them both go at eachother at 100% imo.

Equally talented They may be on an equal level but where was Froome's talent before 2011?

Yeha, not like Contador's "talent" which was developed at ONCE and Discovery...

Ouch, the greatest hypocrite is back!

Contador had good results in amateurs even in TTs and was believed to become a great climber and didn't come out of nowhere when he couldn't even pass a climb without hanging on cars

Feel free to point out my hypocrisy. Some quotes would be nice.

"Was believed to become a great climber", yeah, that objectivity. You do know what was going on in ONCE and Discovery at his time there, right? Much like Ulrich, his talent can never be quantified since he most likely got on a program very early.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Perhaps, but you do not hold other riders to that same standard. For instance, Froome was not on peak form at Vuelta '14, yet you used this race as a clear example of Contador being a better climber. In this year's Giro, as Landa matched or surpassed Contador in the mountains, many people said that you could not draw conclusions because Conti still wasn't at his best.

My point is, very rarely do the stars align to where every rider is on their peak form at the same time. We have to draw careful conclusions with what we are seeing now, rather than write off a performance completely.

I don't think I used anything as an example.