Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[jilbiker]

you know I have not seen Contador take the race to Froome. The only tactic he has to beat Froome is to wait till he completes his gyrations and hope to survive. If he survives then he attacks. Definitely a lack of confidence wrt Froome. He does not have anything in his offense arsenal that will break Froome. That on its own is sad to watch. Froome seems in control wrt his racing, confident in his offense arsenal, he will race and crush the opposition. Reminds me of Bertie in the younger days.

I think sometimes Bertie is kind of tired of the whole story, like right now, what can he do between now and TDF to match the Froome offense? I can't think of anything ....perhaps Robot legs?...chuckle

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

I understand that Flo, but I cannot agree with the suggestion that he should retire simply because he is not in the very top anymore. There's a difference between being Nº1 and being total rubbish, Contador fans seemed to live under the impression that their idol would endure forever as the best - I think it's very disrespectful to Alberto himself to claim he should be cast aside for such reasons. Like a toy once ahead of its time which, while still in near-perfect condition, does not amuse people anymore. He should stay a pro for as long as he enjoys riding a bike, his body can handle and for as long as teams are willing to invest in him.

You know, I think you're right. I hadn't thought of it that way, but now you state it like that, I agree. Perhaps it's really not fair to expect Alberto to always be the best, and regard anything less as a failure. That analogy about the toy that is cast aside fits perfectly and it makes me a little sad. Do we really only care about him when he's winning? He is still one of the very best and hell, the Tour hasn't started yet and this race hasn't even finished. Anything can still happen and either way, Alberto is, after all those years, still at a very high level. Perhaps we should just appreciate him as he is now, he can still win stages and races and even this season he's entertained us many times even though his attempts may not have been successful in the end. It might just be that our expectations are too high. As you say, we can't just abandon him and shout that he should retire, simply because he doesn't win as much as we expect him to, he deserves much more respect than that. For example, today, it hurt to watch him, he was clearly struggling, yet he fought to the very end and still achieved quite an acceptable result. He may not have crushed everyone, he may not have dropped everyone with 10km to go but I was still very happy and proud of his performance.
Anyway, thanks for opening my eyes, BigMac. I hope others read your post and think about it for a while as well

I want him to retire because a champion like him deserves to retire at his best level. It's painful for us and especially for him, loose to third category riders. He is a competitive beast, and if he isn't capable anymore in races like le tour, he should retire.

 

[Carols]

Re: Re:

I understand that Flo, but I cannot agree with the suggestion that he should retire simply because he is not in the very top anymore. There's a difference between being Nº1 and being total rubbish, Contador fans seemed to live under the impression that their idol would endure forever as the best - I think it's very disrespectful to Alberto himself to claim he should be cast aside for such reasons. Like a toy once ahead of its time which, while still in near-perfect condition, does not amuse people anymore. He should stay a pro for as long as he enjoys riding a bike, his body can handle and for as long as teams are willing to invest in him.

You know, I think you're right. I hadn't thought of it that way, but now you state it like that, I agree. Perhaps it's really not fair to expect Alberto to always be the best, and regard anything less as a failure. That analogy about the toy that is cast aside fits perfectly and it makes me a little sad. Do we really only care about him when he's winning? He is still one of the very best and hell, the Tour hasn't started yet and this race hasn't even finished. Anything can still happen and either way, Alberto is, after all those years, still at a very high level. Perhaps we should just appreciate him as he is now, he can still win stages and races and even this season he's entertained us many times even though his attempts may not have been successful in the end. It might just be that our expectations are too high. As you say, we can't just abandon him and shout that he should retire, simply because he doesn't win as much as we expect him to, he deserves much more respect than that. For example, today, it hurt to watch him, he was clearly struggling, yet he fought to the very end and still achieved quite an acceptable result. He may not have crushed everyone, he may not have dropped everyone with 10km to go but I was still very happy and proud of his performance.
Anyway, thanks for opening my eyes, BigMac. I hope others read your post and think about it for a while as well

I certainly didn't see today or this week as a failure. I view today as a Champion gutting it out like a Champion when his legs can't give him what the mind asks for.

 

[SevenTimeTdfChamp]

Re:

5 quote limit reached.

>99% is simply not good enough by Contador standards!

>Thats also a pretty high standard to hold him to. By contador standards your season is a failure if you dont win every GT your race that season. >Contador is an exiting rider to watch and just beacuse he doesnt win as much as he used to doesnt mean he should retire. Just enjoy watching him >race beacuse he is a legend and there isnt many seasons left to enjoying his bike rideing[/quote]

By Contador standard I mean it is His Standard for himself. My standard is meaningless to him and lower. Read my signature, the standard set is His not mine.

As far as I can see only 1 person has said he should retire and it wasn't me.[/quote]

I wasnt in any way pointing fingers at you just trying to say that people expect too much. He is a joy to watch even when he dont win and also adds a level of excitement to a race

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Podium ceremony with Froome higher in the placings is a bigger psychological blow than not being in the podium.
I want him to attack as soon as the gradients of Noyer get painted in black.

I understand, I was like too, in 2013 and 2015 I hoped he would not finish on the podium for that exact reason, but in hindsight, I regret that. A podium place is always better than no podium place. Yes, Froome would have beaten him, but that would also be the case if Froome finished 1st and Contador outside of the top-3. Yes, it hurts to see him on a lower step of the podium, but not seeing on the podium at all will hurt more in the future.

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

Contador doesn't work like that, when he is bad, he will be bad in the future. He was very good in spring season but he has been awful in this dauphine. For me, the prologue doesn't mean anything, in tour 2013 he almost won the hilly TT

That was the case in 2007', 2009 and 2010.

Look, I know it's not necessarily looking good but I have hope. If he's showing signs of weakeness in stage 2 at the Tour on that steep finish, I'll be the first one to bury any enthusiasm.

In 2007, he wasn't the leader. In 2009,he didn't give a *** to this race. In 2010, he was the strongest climber but he lost a lot of time in the TT

 

[jilbiker]

Re: Re:

I understand that Flo, but I cannot agree with the suggestion that he should retire simply because he is not in the very top anymore. There's a difference between being Nº1 and being total rubbish, Contador fans seemed to live under the impression that their idol would endure forever as the best - I think it's very disrespectful to Alberto himself to claim he should be cast aside for such reasons. Like a toy once ahead of its time which, while still in near-perfect condition, does not amuse people anymore. He should stay a pro for as long as he enjoys riding a bike, his body can handle and for as long as teams are willing to invest in him.

You know, I think you're right. I hadn't thought of it that way, but now you state it like that, I agree. Perhaps it's really not fair to expect Alberto to always be the best, and regard anything less as a failure. That analogy about the toy that is cast aside fits perfectly and it makes me a little sad. Do we really only care about him when he's winning? He is still one of the very best and hell, the Tour hasn't started yet and this race hasn't even finished. Anything can still happen and either way, Alberto is, after all those years, still at a very high level. Perhaps we should just appreciate him as he is now, he can still win stages and races and even this season he's entertained us many times even though his attempts may not have been successful in the end. It might just be that our expectations are too high. As you say, we can't just abandon him and shout that he should retire, simply because he doesn't win as much as we expect him to, he deserves much more respect than that. For example, today, it hurt to watch him, he was clearly struggling, yet he fought to the very end and still achieved quite an acceptable result. He may not have crushed everyone, he may not have dropped everyone with 10km to go but I was still very happy and proud of his performance.
Anyway, thanks for opening my eyes, BigMac. I hope others read your post and think about it for a while as well

I want him to retire because a champion like him deserves to retire at his best level. It's painful for us and especially for him, loose to third category riders. He is a competitive beast, and if he isn't capable anymore in races like le tour, he should retire.

I totally agree, retire at the top level but then how many sports legends do you know that have willfully quit at the top level/ Painfull to see Roger Federer struggling to find the ball, or Serena of late beaten by 22 year olds.I know of only one at retired at top level, Jonathan Powers of squash came back from number 10 to World's number 1 and retired the next day after the new rankings were announced. I have great respect for him.

Bertie should have retired after 2014 Vuelta, that was a remarkable victory worthy of a Legend like him, at the very worst he should have made 2015 his valedictory season.

 

[Jspear]

Re:

I think tomorrow's stage is gonna be fun to watch, Froome seems like he's really got recovering problems, he's never on the same level stage after stage.

Regardless of all of that, AC needs drastically improve and somehow find his Tour 14' shape for next month.

This won't happen in a one week race.

AC will be lucky just to podium this race.

 

[arvc40]

Expected Contador to drop off early today. Looked uncomfortable. Didn't see him finishing in front of Port. I will just trust Alberto's judgement, this is his way of reaching the Tour in optimum condition. I think he will make significant jump in form for the Tour. Hope so.

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

I think tomorrow's stage is gonna be fun to watch, Froome seems like he's really got recovering problems, he's never on the same level stage after stage.

Regardless of all of that, AC needs drastically improve and somehow find his Tour 14' shape for next month.

Lol. Froome was the best from all the favourites today, put Time in A.C and Porte only outsprinted by Dan Martin. What about Porte? How are his recovery skills

Recovering Problems based on todays stage.... have you seen the last 2 stages of last years dauphine?

Ok we get it,you are from UK,you are a fan of Froome and Sky because of nationalism and you hate Contador.
Also about the last 2 stages of last years Dauphine,he was against TVG ffs

when all else fails, play that nationality card.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Something I read in Rouleur magazine a while ago, quote from the infamous Dr Celaya who is also apparently a part-time psychologist and psychiatrist:
"What defines Contador is his extraordinary resistance to frustration".
Yes, Alberto is a champion, he hates losing and loves winning. But while we may get frustrated when he drops, frustrated when he loses time in a split in the peloton or when he loses a race by a handful of seconds, he turns those losses into motivation and hunger, it gives him a fire in his belly.
I can't remember who it was, but one of his teammates said that every day after the stage during the 2013 TDF, Alberto would look for ways to take time, what part of the parcours he could use to his advantage, what his rivals weaknesses were. Even when he was minutes behind.
Give the man some credit: if he loses, it only serves to make him stronger.

 

[arvc40]

Cant understand why anyone thinks he should retire. Luckily he isn't thinking that way.

 

[red zone]

Re:

you know I have not seen Contador take the race to Froome. The only tactic he has to beat Froome is to wait till he completes his gyrations and hope to survive. If he survives then he attacks. Definitely a lack of confidence wrt Froome. He does not have anything in his offense arsenal that will break Froome. That on its own is sad to watch. Froome seems in control wrt his racing, confident in his offense arsenal, he will race and crush the opposition. Reminds me of Bertie in the younger days.

I think sometimes Bertie is kind of tired of the whole story, like right now, what can he do between now and TDF to match the Froome offense? I can't think of anything ....perhaps Robot legs?...chuckle

I respect Froome but Bertie in his younger days never seemed to be in danger of losing a GT and never needed a stacked team to win unlike Froome .

Todays Bertie may not have the arsenal to beat Froome but if he can stay close enough he may (long shot at best) catch him on a bad day or two in the 3rd week and could gain seriously time , especially on the uphill tt where Froome's team can't save him .

 

[BlurryVII]

If he's bad at the Tour then for sure his wish to continue for 2 more years should be questionned cause that'd be a terrible failure. But really? People bringing retirement while we're at the Dauphiné

 

[Forever The Best]

Re: Re:

I think tomorrow's stage is gonna be fun to watch, Froome seems like he's really got recovering problems, he's never on the same level stage after stage.

Regardless of all of that, AC needs drastically improve and somehow find his Tour 14' shape for next month.

Lol. Froome was the best from all the favourites today, put Time in A.C and Porte only outsprinted by Dan Martin. What about Porte? How are his recovery skills

Recovering Problems based on todays stage.... have you seen the last 2 stages of last years dauphine?

Ok we get it,you are from UK,you are a fan of Froome and Sky because of nationalism and you hate Contador.
Also about the last 2 stages of last years Dauphine,he was against TVG ffs

when all else fails, play that nationality card.

How much fans Froome has outside UK?
How much fans Contador has outside Spain?
Come back to me after answering these

 

[sunnyIce]

Lol. Seems like a lot of mass delusion on these forums. I an AC fan myself but I see no way in hell he is beating Froome or Quintana mano-o-mano at TdF. I fully expect them to destroy the field, and its a race for 3rd place really speaking. Wouldn't be surprised to see a repeat of last year's podium.

 

[jilbiker]

Re:

Something I read in Rouleur magazine a while ago, quote from the infamous Dr Celaya who is also apparently a part-time psychologist and psychiatrist:
"What defines Contador is his extraordinary resistance to frustration".
Yes, Alberto is a champion, he hates losing and loves winning. But while we may get frustrated when he drops, frustrated when he loses time in a split in the peloton or when he loses a race by a handful of seconds, he turns those losses into motivation and hunger, it gives him a fire in his belly.
I can't remember who it was, but one of his teammates said that every day after the stage during the 2013 TDF, Alberto would look for ways to take time, what part of the parcours he could use to his advantage, what his rivals weaknesses were. Even when he was minutes behind.
Give the man some credit: if he loses, it only serves to make him stronger.

Sadly, still doesn't put him on the same playing board with Froome. nipping a few seconds here and there can only make Froome a little uncomfortable like an insect bite but he can swap that away. And that is what I see Contador do with Froome, little nibs here and there, kind of like a Rope-a-dope tactic waiting for the tire-out. I want man-on-man gladiator battle!

 

[Carols]

Lol. Seems like a lot of mass delusion on these forums. I an AC fan myself but I see no way in hell he is beating Froome or Quintana mano-o-mano at TdF. I fully expect them to destroy the field, and its a race for 3rd place really speaking. Wouldn't be surprised to see a repeat of last year's podium.

Guess you missed the Giro? I's never over until it is over

 

[SevenTimeTdfChamp]

Re:

If he's bad at the Tour then for sure his wish to continue for 2 more years should be questionned cause that'd be a terrible failure. But really? People bringing retirement while we're at the Dauphiné

exactly .. Dude managed to attack a lot of times and still finnished ahead of porte.. therfore he must retire ...

 

[arvc40]

Lol. Seems like a lot of mass delusion on these forums. I an AC fan myself but I see no way in hell he is beating Froome or Quintana mano-o-mano at TdF. I fully expect them to destroy the field, and its a race for 3rd place really speaking. Wouldn't be surprised to see a repeat of last year's podium.

Be pretty boring if we where all the same !

 

[peloton]

Re:

Cant understand why anyone thinks he should retire. Luckily he isn't thinking that way.

This. He has animated every race this year, who else does that?? No one.

 

[Miburo]

Madeleine attack picture, he really gave it his all to get away.

 

[sir fly]

Re: Re:

I think tomorrow's stage is gonna be fun to watch, Froome seems like he's really got recovering problems, he's never on the same level stage after stage.

Regardless of all of that, AC needs drastically improve and somehow find his Tour 14' shape for next month.

Lol. Froome was the best from all the favourites today, put Time in A.C and Porte only outsprinted by Dan Martin. What about Porte? How are his recovery skills

Recovering Problems based on todays stage.... have you seen the last 2 stages of last years dauphine?

Ok we get it,you are from UK,you are a fan of Froome and Sky because of nationalism and you hate Contador.
Also about the last 2 stages of last years Dauphine,he was against TVG ffs

when all else fails, play that nationality card.

How much fans Froome has outside UK?
How much fans Contador has outside Spain?
Come back to me after answering these

And do you know the answer?

 

[Jelantik]

Lol. Seems like a lot of mass delusion on these forums. I an AC fan myself but I see no way in hell he is beating Froome or Quintana mano-o-mano at TdF. I fully expect them to destroy the field, and its a race for 3rd place really speaking. Wouldn't be surprised to see a repeat of last year's podium.

I would sadly have to agree with you. So far we never actually see Froome, Quintana and Contador head to head on their best form yet. Always either one of them fatigue, crashed, come back from crash etc. This year, no excuse for Contador. He has a perfect preparation (no set back, no sickness, no giro). Maybe he did achieve 2014 Dauphine, but Froome is just better. Or maybe Froome was a level down in 2014 than now. Either way, Contador has a handful work to do. He is climbing with second/third level climber now. I think Contador needs to outsmart Froome if he is going to win TDF. Because pure brute strength, Froome always comes to the top. Not to mention, sky collective strength will nullify any of Contador solo attack. That's another issue to crack. (Unless Astana, TS and moviestar collectively isolate Froome). The only weakness Froome has, he is prone to illness on the 3rd week. If he is healthy for 3 weeks, no one can touch him. He is still man to beat for TDF. Even Quintana has a chance but he still hasn't beaten Froome yet to win a race. I love Contador, but the reality is he hasn't "yet" cracked Froome when he is on form.

 

[Miburo]

Bloody Henao, already the second time he ruined something for Contador this year

Seemed only porte, bardet and froome could follow.

Based on this picture it's obvious though he wasted a lot of energy on the madeleine