Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[KyoGrey]

Our grandparents were peasants and agricultural workers raised the hard way; our parents the first generation that had the opportunity to attend massively to university and the generation that fought and won democracy and modernity for us.

I'm very glad Spain is a democracy now, but Franco's dictatorship was ended only by his death, not by some pro-democracy revolution. Let's not engage in revisionism.

What you say is true, of course. Franco died pleasantly in his bed, and it was after it happened that things started to move.

And it is also true that after Franco died, it was the tremendous pressure from the population that forced the regime to give up and desist from trying to perpetuate itself ad eternum.

Edit: In fact, that is the uniqueness of Spain's transition. We passed from a dictatorship to a democracy without a revolution or a war. Here is the video of the staggering moment when the Francoist regime, beaten by the passing of time and by a new Head of State unwilling to rule under their tutorship and ideas, literally commits seppuku and disolves all the legal sistem that had held them in power for 40 years. Incredible.

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

 

[LaFlorecita]

What Taxus means is that both the Estopa brothers and Contador (and millions of Spaniards like me) share the same story:

Born to a humble family of rural born parents of the interior and south of Spain that moved to the huge suburbs of Madrid and Barcelona (and to a lesser extent Bilbao, Valencia, Sevilla and Zaragoza) during the big industralisation years of the 60s, 70s and 80s in the second half of the Francoist era and inmediate post-franquism.

In this video you can get a grasp of how life was in those years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEGT6ubwWOk

Our grandparents were peasants and agricultural workers raised the hard way; our parents the first generation that had the opportunity to attend massively to university and the generation that fought and won democracy and modernity for us.

The story of modern Spain in 3 generations: a country that evolved from the bottom of the 3rd World to the top of the 1st in just 50 years.

Very interesting

 

[Jelantik]

Re: Re:

I hope he reaches his goals this year and his luck improves at the TdF.

He will, barring any injuries there simply isnt anyone who can beat him if hes in top conditions. People can come here with all their ideas and theories all they want but from a logical standpoint its very simple, if Contador is in 100% conditions and doesnt crash theres simply noone who can beat him STILL in todays cycling in a 3 week GT.

Cry, argue all you want but show me a single fact which shows otherwice then ill bite but since there aint none and I dont care of half the opinons of the lunatics on here ill just let the stats and facts speaks for themself since afterall its more evidence than some of your guys ideas no offence!

lurked for a long time and finally decided to join , another Alberto fan boy however

I'd take an in shape Contador over Froome in this years Tour in a straight up battle between the two however he'll be in tough with Sky's super dom's chasing down multiple attacks per stage like they did last year .

for racing sake i'm on the anyone but Sky camp for this years tour , can't stand there type of racing

Be carefull someone which dont have a very logical point of view in things might call you things

Unfortunately, sky team will be stronger this year as oppose to contador's team. With Mic is still in sideline and Majka with Giro leg, Trufimov and Kiserlovski haven't been that impressive, Kreuziger isn't showing off his 2013 form, TDF is going to be tough for Contador this year. He might find himself isolatated in mountain very early and often. He is strong, but he would really needs his team to be strong too. Judging from his ITT at PN, he climbed faster compare to Quintana, but it means nothing if sky team with 5 domestique upfront reeling him before Froome attacks.(as we have seen in the past year). I hope there's one team who can disrupt the sky line up, so the early everyone is left mano a mano, the better it will be. I hope to see more 2014 Vuelta when sky domestique was no where to be found. For those who thinks Contador doesn't need a team, yeah.. right.. dream on

 

[fantomas]

Damn, just rewatched Verbier 2009. That was pure beauty. No grinding of teeth, just dancing.

 

[red zone]

Re: Re:

[/quote] Unfortunately, sky team will be stronger this year as oppose to contador's team. With Mic is still in sideline and Majka with Giro leg, Trufimov and Kiserlovski haven't been that impressive, Kreuziger isn't showing off his 2013 form, TDF is going to be tough for Contador this year. He might find himself isolatated in mountain very early and often. He is strong, but he would really needs his team to be strong too. Judging from his ITT at PN, he climbed faster compare to Quintana, but it means nothing if sky team with 5 domestique upfront reeling him before Froome attacks.(as we have seen in the past year). I hope there's one team who can disrupt the sky line up, so the early everyone is left mano a mano, the better it will be. I hope to see more 2014 Vuelta when sky domestique [was no where to be found. For those who thinks Contador doesn't need a team, yeah.. right.. dream on [/quote]

The Sky train isn't as effective however unless Froome has a lead . With the type of TT's and when they are Bertie just has to wheel suck and wait for his opportunity later in the stage to gain a few seconds here and there instead of having to attack early to claw back large amounts of time . Same goes for Quintana however to a lesser degree since he will need time to make up for losses in the TT's .

yea Vuelta 2014 showed Froome is very beatable when he doesn't have dom's out climbing GC favorites like what happened at last years Tour

 

[Jspear]

Re:

Damn, just rewatched Verbier 2009. That was pure beauty. No grinding of teeth, just dancing.

It's been a couple of years since I watched that race, but from what I remember you can only count on one hand how many times he grimaced in that whole tour.

 

[Tonton]

Yes, Sky has a train. A big one. That can set a pace that will thwart most attacks. Bertie has nothing. He knows it. That's why, IMO, he has been attacking (sometimes with reckless abandon - I like the expression - I bet LaFlo does too ), to prove to himself that he can drop anyone. The key will be to pick the right time(s)...and get help. At the TdF, if another contender attacks, let Sky work...unless it's Quintana.

Contador made it clear that he wanted to win the TdF and ride into the sunset. Right - or did I miss something? And now we start to hear about the Vuelta, competing for another year, what does that say? Bertie is preparing for a loss. He's not so sure. His team sucks!!! How will he react when Froome smacks him on the head Lance-style? Like Ulle? Second place is not that bad after all...

So far, in small one-week contests, Berto has looked good. The big prize is in July. Without a coalition, I can't see him winning.

 

[red zone]

Yes, Sky has a train. A big one. That can set a pace that will thwart most attacks. Bertie has nothing. He knows it. That's why, IMO, he has been attacking (sometimes with reckless abandon - I like the expression - I bet LaFlo does too ), to prove to himself that he can drop anyone. The key will be to pick the right time(s)...and get help. At the TdF, if another contender attacks, let Sky work...unless it's Quintana.

Contador made it clear that he wanted to win the TdF and ride into the sunset. Right - or did I miss something? And now we start to hear about the Vuelta, competing for another year, what does that say? Bertie is preparing for a loss. He's not so sure. His team sucks!!! How will he react when Froome smacks him on the head Lance-style? Like Ulle? Second place is not that bad after all...

So far, in small one-week contests, Berto has looked good. The big prize is in July. Without a coalition, I can't see him winning.

The way some are analyzing the Tour it's like they believe Froome is starting with 3 min lead and the other GC contenders have to gamble to try to take back time .

With the way the stages (TT's later and no long flat ones ) are set up Bertie doesn't need to attack nor cover anyone's attack even Quintana's unless Froome is struggling and he feels he can put time into him . He's a smart rider and will let Sky's dom's do there thing and wait for an opportunity . He's also smart enough to realize that if he's not behind he doesn't need to burn energy attacking early only to have the Sky bots ride him down to set up Froome for a late push .

Also i don't see him riding next year because he's given up hope of winning the tour , i see him coming back because he feels he's still strong enough to win them .

 

[cellardoor]

Also i don't see him riding next year because he's given up hope of winning the tour , i see him coming back because he feels he's still strong enough to win them .

The fact that he announced this after winning PV suggests to me that he changed his mind because he feels strong and remembered how much he enjoys winning! I really doubt that Contador ever banked on winning the Tour through having a strong team.

 

[Netserk]

How does his Tour team suck?!

Sagan = Awesomeness

Kreuziger + Majka >> Thomas + Poels

So what if he doesn't have 5 climbers to drive the train. He has what he needs, which is the top-end help in the mountains.

 

[LaFlorecita]

And now we start to hear about the Vuelta, competing for another year, what does that say? Bertie is preparing for a loss. .

That's not what it says to me at all

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re:

Damn, just rewatched Verbier 2009. That was pure beauty. No grinding of teeth, just dancing.

Pity the Astana team kit was as ugly as ****.

 

[Kwibus]

Re:

How does his Tour team suck?!

Sagan = Awesomeness

Kreuziger + Majka >> Thomas + Poels

So what if he doesn't have 5 climbers to drive the train. He has what he needs, which is the top-end help in the mountains.

Last years have proven Thomas + Poels >> Kreuziger + Majka.

But I hope they proof me otherwise.

 

[The Hitch]

Re: Re:

But I hope they proof me otherwise.

Don't mock Taxus.

 

[blackmamba]

Re: Re:

How does his Tour team suck?!

Sagan = Awesomeness

Kreuziger + Majka >> Thomas + Poels

So what if he doesn't have 5 climbers to drive the train. He has what he needs, which is the top-end help in the mountains.

Last years have proven Thomas + Poels >> Kreuziger + Majka.

But I hope they proof me otherwise.

We dont even know if Majka even gonne ride the tour and if he is, he wont be on neither Poels or Thomas lvl! (beacuse of the Giro)

To be honest the team of Tinkoff cant contest with Sky teamwice in the mountains, they have a sick team in the mountains. Both Sky and Tinkoff both have good engines for the first week but thats where the comparison ends aswell, Tinkoff is nowhere close to the lvl of Sky's domestiques in the mountains.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Of course Majka is stronger than Thomas or Poels he has a podium place in a GT

 

[Miburo]

Re:

Of course Majka is stronger than Thomas or Poels he has a podium place in a GT

So Aru is better than Landa cause he won a GT?

Stupid logic.

 

[rune1107]

Re:

Of course Majka is stronger than Thomas or Poels he has a podium place in a GT

Majka with a GC in his legs will not be stronger than G. Thomas. I believe Majka will be good, and tbh Alberto only needs him to be between the top 20-top 15 best climbers. As long as he is not left alone in a group with 50 men, it's gonna be ok..

 

[hrotha]

Re: Re:

Of course Majka is stronger than Thomas or Poels he has a podium place in a GT

So Aru is better than Landa cause he won a GT?

Stupid logic.

Aru has proven a lot more than Landa so far. Let's wait until Landa repeats his 2015 Giro performance before we count him among the big guns.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Of course Majka is stronger than Thomas or Poels he has a podium place in a GT

Majka with a GC in his legs will not be stronger than G. Thomas. I believe Majka will be good, and tbh Alberto only needs him to be between the top 20-top 15 best climbers. As long as he is not left alone in a group with 50 men, it's gonna be ok..

Agree with most of your post, but I am not sure Majka even with a GT in his legs is worse than Thomas. Remember, Contador uses his domestiques in a different way than Sky. I think Majka will be more useful for him than Thomas would be.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Of course Majka is stronger than Thomas or Poels he has a podium place in a GT

So Aru is better than Landa cause he won a GT?

Yeah, of course Aru has shown so much more than Landa over the past few years. Based on what we've seen so far, and not hypothetical what-ifs, Aru can be considered better than Landa.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re: Re:

Of course Majka is stronger than Thomas or Poels he has a podium place in a GT

So Aru is better than Landa cause he won a GT?

Yeah, of course Aru has shown so much more than Landa over the past few years. Based on what we've seen so far, and not hypothetical what-ifs, Aru can be considered better than Landa.

Well said, Flo.

 

[Miburo]

Re: Re:

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

This is my favorite video ever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGJHVoqQqsQ

 

[lenric]

Re: Re:

Being a Contador fanboy is like being socialist: you can get away with everything you say no matter how dark and twisted it is, because being socialist (Contador fanboy) is and always will be trendy.

About mechanical doping, I doubt he's using it, but if he is, I'd bet it was on his last TT and in Giro's TT.