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Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

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I'm sure you've all read the CN interview with AC.

CN: Chris Froome (Sky) said in a recent interview that the Tour won’t be decided until the very last summit of the last mountain stage. Do you agree?

AC: Yes. I think it’s going to be a very unpredictable Tour because the route is so hard. If the past Tours are anything to go by, Froome may well be able to open a gap in the first few mountain stages. But then the last five stages are really hard and everything can change. It’s going to be wide-open until the very last day.

Perhaps he is expecting to lose time to Froome on the early mountain stages.
 
Feb 21, 2014
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Love the profoundly dumb question that he's always being asked, "How are you feeling at this point compared to last year? ... last year. How enlightening. He came out of the freaking Giro, what do you expect he's gonna answer. We don't learn anything from that question, he just says he's fresher and gonna recover better, captain obvious.

Ask him compared to 2014 or his best years, not last year ffs.

Anyways, for now he kept low profile regarding his form, there was no "I beat all my records in training, I'm better than ever" shenanigans. So it could be a good sign. We'll see anyway, 5 days to go for the reveal.
 
Aug 4, 2010
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Re: Re:

Jspear said:
ILovecycling said:
15tour1-master675.jpg


VAAAMOS this year!

Are you feeling nervous? :D
I am.

No pics from this day allowed! :(
I think we should always remember this because only then we will appreciate his showings of 2015 and 2016 with enough respect. :)
 
Re:

BlurryVII said:
Love the profoundly dumb question that he's always being asked, "How are you feeling at this point compared to last year? ... last year. How enlightening. He came out of the freaking Giro, what do you expect he's gonna answer. We don't learn anything from that question, he just says he's fresher and gonna recover better, captain obvious.

Ask him compared to 2014 or his best years, not last year ffs.

Anyways, for now he kept low profile regarding his form, there was no "I beat all my records in training, I'm better than ever" shenanigans. So it could be a good sign. We'll see anyway, 5 days to go for the reveal.
If the interviewer had asked if he feels as good as in 2014, we wouldn't know if we should trust the answer ;)
Anyway, it should be pretty obvious that he feels better than last year, so at least we can trust that :p
 
Re: Re:

LaFlorecita said:
Red Rick said:
Just using normal shorts with some details is the one single and irrelevant positive thing Sky has (re)introduced to the peloton.
Sorry friend but Sky didn't introduce anything :p
giro_2011_15c.jpg

'twas Riis' influence to keep normal shorts, but the other details are just Berto's stylishness :cool:
And then Voeckler happened, and we had to wait another year before it finally stopped. Purito's shorts in the 2012 Vuelta didn't annoy me, because it was Katusha anyway.
 
Jul 29, 2012
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Contador who is always *** in dauphine took 13 sec on froome on 4km. Just imagine what hell do to him on arcalis and ventoux. I think mayo is getting scared already. He got this
 
Sep 29, 2013
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Re: Re:

Broccolidwarf said:
filipepc said:
Valv.Piti said:
Broccolidwarf said:
Sorry to say it, but I don't think Tinkoff believes in Contador this year.

The reason I say that is, that the team is unbalanced, with a climber too little, for how the route is..... especially when looking at what a frighteningly strong mountain teams, Sky and Astana are putting in..... Even BMC has a better team for the mountains than Tinkoff.... and I haven't even mentioned Movistar.

I think it spells trouble - lack of conviction in the captain..... and I think Gatto made the team, because Tinkoff needs Sagan to "save" the tour for them, if Contador does not find form.

- and let me stress, I am saying this, while being a Contador fan.

Its not an unreasonable assessment, but I think Tinkoff realise that Sagan by far is the best rider in the world and therefore deserves 1-2 domestiques - especially after the horror that was the 2015 Tour.



I don´t see that way... Tinkoff is not sky or astana and never was!!! Maybe it should be, but it isn´t.

Let see the last 3 year ok...

2013 - Contador , kreuziguer, hernandez, roche, rogers, benatti, tossato, paulinho, benjamim
2014- Contador, majka, roche, rogers, jesus hernandez, paulino, tossato, morkov, bennati
2015 - Contador, Majka, kreuziguer, rogers, Basso, valgreen, sagan, bennati, tossato,

Normally, 3 climbers, not more... At least with good quality, not more than 3. And honestly i don´t think the problem is the number of the climbers, the problem, is that climbers can´t suport Contador like i see the sky train doing for the last 5 years... To me the problem is this...

3 or 4 good climbers are enough to help a leader, but if they can´t follow the attacks and the leader until the last km´s as almost always we see... Then... Contador has another problem.

Majka and kreuziguer have obligation to hang on until the las km´s. Kiserslovsky can do the beginning of the climbs. The firs two are guys that have top 10, and top 5 results in grand tours, so no excuses.

Sagan can guide him in the uphill´s finish... ( but maybe he wants to win, and that is the problem).

So, to me the problem is the commitment that they have to Contador,and that is the big diference to another teams with leader that want to win...

The only surprise, beacuse this year Rogers isn´t there and he is a huge rider, i thought Paulinho must have gone, beacuse he is a good roller and great descent, and Contador maybe could use him.

But, let´s see. If he is ok, the problem is not the mountais, but get there without loosing time.

I don't get your math..... I see it as:

2013: 4 climbers + Contador
2014: 5 climbers + Contador
2015: 4 climbers + Contador
2016: 3 climbers + Contador

Obviously we can always debate who is a climber and who is not, but for all intends and purposes, Contador has 1-2 climbers less this year.

The problem is not just sitting with Contador, it is also being able to pull in lieutenants attacks in the mountains and defending Contadors position in the GC, and someone still needs to go get bottles btw, and someone also might need to go away early in long range attacks.

If just one of the 3 has an off day or a defect at the wrong time, they are in trouble, which is why I would have liked to see an extra climber in there.

I am actually shocked they picked Gatto over Hansen, if the object really is the Yellow Jersey



The problem is the quality... Last year Basso didn´t count. So it leaves 2 climbers plus rogers ( is not a climber, never was).
In 2014 - 3 climbers plus hernandez ( not a top climber)
In 2013 - 2 climbers plus hernandez

This year he has majka, kreuziger and kiserslovsky ( i admit he has failed last years but he hade made a top 10 in a grand tour). Maybe i would join another one, but i don´t think that it´s because of that he would loose it. What i miss is Rogers, not because he was a class rider ( that he was), but because of that commitment i was talking. I always feel that Rogers always give everyting to Contador...

Majka is one of his teammates that i can´t accept that he can´t follow the top leaders until the final. A guy that can do top 3 and top 5 in grand tours must do it... If sky guys do it, without that, he must do it. Porte do it, and he don´t hve results, thomas do it and he don´t have results... Majka must do it. And hreuziger at least must hang on and be able to follow some attacks.
 
Jul 29, 2012
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Re: Re:

LaFlorecita said:
Miburo said:
Contador is prob gonna be in yellow on stage 2 and never give it away
Miburo said:
Contador who is always **** in dauphine took 13 sec on froome on 4km. Just imagine what hell do to him on arcalis and ventoux. I think mayo is getting scared already. He got this
Yeah, no. You're setting the bar too high.

Don't believe the haters fleur. You trust me dont you?

If you dont trust me then trust a champion.
 
The trio of Kiserlovski, Kreuziger and Majka is very strong! Arguably better than Sky's Thomas, Landa, Henao.
I expect Henao and Kiserlovski to be similar. Thomas to be weaker than Kreuziger, but Landa to be stronger than Majka.
 
Oliwright said:
The trio of Kiserlovski, Kreuziger and Majka is very strong! Arguably better than Sky's Thomas, Landa, Henao.
I expect Henao and Kiserlovski to be similar. Thomas to be weaker than Kreuziger, but Landa to be stronger than Majka.
Impossible to say at this point, but Thomas may turn out to be Froome's fifth or sixth strongest mountain dom. Sky has Nieve, Kiryienka and Poels, too. Those three may do a better job than Kreuziger, Kiserlovski and stage hunter Majka. When Froome has three doms left, Contador may have zero. Maybe I'm underrating the hell out of Kreuziger and Kiserlovski, though. They'll need to do much better than what they showed at the Dauphiné, though.
 
Re: Re:

filipepc said:
Broccolidwarf said:
filipepc said:
Valv.Piti said:
Broccolidwarf said:
Sorry to say it, but I don't think Tinkoff believes in Contador this year.

The reason I say that is, that the team is unbalanced, with a climber too little, for how the route is..... especially when looking at what a frighteningly strong mountain teams, Sky and Astana are putting in..... Even BMC has a better team for the mountains than Tinkoff.... and I haven't even mentioned Movistar.

I think it spells trouble - lack of conviction in the captain..... and I think Gatto made the team, because Tinkoff needs Sagan to "save" the tour for them, if Contador does not find form.

- and let me stress, I am saying this, while being a Contador fan.

Its not an unreasonable assessment, but I think Tinkoff realise that Sagan by far is the best rider in the world and therefore deserves 1-2 domestiques - especially after the horror that was the 2015 Tour.



I don´t see that way... Tinkoff is not sky or astana and never was!!! Maybe it should be, but it isn´t.

Let see the last 3 year ok...

2013 - Contador , kreuziguer, hernandez, roche, rogers, benatti, tossato, paulinho, benjamim
2014- Contador, majka, roche, rogers, jesus hernandez, paulino, tossato, morkov, bennati
2015 - Contador, Majka, kreuziguer, rogers, Basso, valgreen, sagan, bennati, tossato,

Normally, 3 climbers, not more... At least with good quality, not more than 3. And honestly i don´t think the problem is the number of the climbers, the problem, is that climbers can´t suport Contador like i see the sky train doing for the last 5 years... To me the problem is this...

3 or 4 good climbers are enough to help a leader, but if they can´t follow the attacks and the leader until the last km´s as almost always we see... Then... Contador has another problem.

Majka and kreuziguer have obligation to hang on until the las km´s. Kiserslovsky can do the beginning of the climbs. The firs two are guys that have top 10, and top 5 results in grand tours, so no excuses.

Sagan can guide him in the uphill´s finish... ( but maybe he wants to win, and that is the problem).

So, to me the problem is the commitment that they have to Contador,and that is the big diference to another teams with leader that want to win...

The only surprise, beacuse this year Rogers isn´t there and he is a huge rider, i thought Paulinho must have gone, beacuse he is a good roller and great descent, and Contador maybe could use him.

But, let´s see. If he is ok, the problem is not the mountais, but get there without loosing time.

I don't get your math..... I see it as:

2013: 4 climbers + Contador
2014: 5 climbers + Contador
2015: 4 climbers + Contador
2016: 3 climbers + Contador

Obviously we can always debate who is a climber and who is not, but for all intends and purposes, Contador has 1-2 climbers less this year.

The problem is not just sitting with Contador, it is also being able to pull in lieutenants attacks in the mountains and defending Contadors position in the GC, and someone still needs to go get bottles btw, and someone also might need to go away early in long range attacks.

If just one of the 3 has an off day or a defect at the wrong time, they are in trouble, which is why I would have liked to see an extra climber in there.

I am actually shocked they picked Gatto over Hansen, if the object really is the Yellow Jersey



The problem is the quality... Last year Basso didn´t count. So it leaves 2 climbers plus rogers ( is not a climber, never was).
In 2014 - 3 climbers plus hernandez ( not a top climber)
In 2013 - 2 climbers plus hernandez

This year he has majka, kreuziger and kiserslovsky ( i admit he has failed last years but he hade made a top 10 in a grand tour). Maybe i would join another one, but i don´t think that it´s because of that he would loose it. What i miss is Rogers, not because he was a class rider ( that he was), but because of that commitment i was talking. I always feel that Rogers always give everyting to Contador...

Majka is one of his teammates that i can´t accept that he can´t follow the top leaders until the final. A guy that can do top 3 and top 5 in grand tours must do it... If sky guys do it, without that, he must do it. Porte do it, and he don´t hve results, thomas do it and he don´t have results... Majka must do it. And hreuziger at least must hang on and be able to follow some attacks.

kiserslovsky is no more a pure climber than Rogers.... so your argument holds no water, sorry :)
 
Aug 6, 2015
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Re:

Jspear said:
I'm sure you've all read the CN interview with AC.

CN: Chris Froome (Sky) said in a recent interview that the Tour won’t be decided until the very last summit of the last mountain stage. Do you agree?

AC: Yes. I think it’s going to be a very unpredictable Tour because the route is so hard. If the past Tours are anything to go by, Froome may well be able to open a gap in the first few mountain stages. But then the last five stages are really hard and everything can change. It’s going to be wide-open until the very last day.

Perhaps he is expecting to lose time to Froome on the early mountain stages.
It's all over...
 
Re:

Lexman said:
I think and hope Sagan may be very worthy to Contador since he can go in breaks in the mountainstages for the green jersey points and may be of help to Contadorin on a descent or the flat later on...

CN: And everybody talks a lot about Sky, but what about Tinkoff, what kind of a team are you taking to the Tour?

AC: A very good one. I’m very pleased with them and I’m very confident about what they can do. The three key riders who’ll be with me in the mountains will be [Roman] Kreuziger, [Robert] Kiserlovski and [Rafal] Majka, and they are definitely riders who will back me up really well. At the same time, Peter [Sagan] is not a climber, but he’s going to be a hugely important factor in the Tour for us, he’s just the kind of rider you want to have riding with you when a race needs shaking up. Strategically, he could be crucial for me, particularly when I want to try and destabilize things. Overall, Tinkoff are going to the Tour with a very good team both for the flat and in the mountains and they’ll be able to help me out a lot when or if things get complicated.

Sagan will help AC destabilize things. :)
 
Concerning his teammates, Kreuziger needs to be at his 2013 TdF level.
Contador was really bad back then, but Kreuziger was always there with him and that's what he needs to do once again this year. And so far this year he seems quite strong.
Majka is an unknown quantity. As a leader he never showed the willingness to shake things up, attack or take risks and as a helper the best I can recall is setting a high tempo for some k's and then fading away...
 
Re: Re:

Jspear said:
Lexman said:
I think and hope Sagan may be very worthy to Contador since he can go in breaks in the mountainstages for the green jersey points and may be of help to Contadorin on a descent or the flat later on...

CN: And everybody talks a lot about Sky, but what about Tinkoff, what kind of a team are you taking to the Tour?

AC: A very good one. I’m very pleased with them and I’m very confident about what they can do. The three key riders who’ll be with me in the mountains will be [Roman] Kreuziger, [Robert] Kiserlovski and [Rafal] Majka, and they are definitely riders who will back me up really well. At the same time, Peter [Sagan] is not a climber, but he’s going to be a hugely important factor in the Tour for us, he’s just the kind of rider you want to have riding with you when a race needs shaking up. Strategically, he could be crucial for me, particularly when I want to try and destabilize things. Overall, Tinkoff are going to the Tour with a very good team both for the flat and in the mountains and they’ll be able to help me out a lot when or if things get complicated.

Sagan will help AC destabilize things. :)

I must say, the prospect of Sagan and Contador riding to shake up the peloton strikes me as a wonderful prospect for an entertaining race. A bit of Tinkoff-inspired chaos is very much to be desired IMO.
 
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Kiserslovsky is not a pure climber??? Oh come on... If you say that he has not being perform good is ok, but,rogers was a complete rider, a TT rider, very good on flat, and decent on mountains. Kiserslovsky is a climber. That doesn´t mean he is going to have a good perform in mountains.
 
Re: Re:

LaFlorecita said:
sir fly said:
It's not the mountain stages where Contador will be the mostly handicapped compared to Froome, Quintana, Aru, Nibali... Sagan's ambitions and support means that Contador will often be left to navigate through the bunch by himself. That's where his opponents may have real advantage. Not exclusively in time gained, more in physical and mental drainage before the mountains.
I really don't see it that way. Gatto is on the team mainly to help Sagan, but especially in the hilly stages he can help Alberto as well. Bodnar can ride on the front for ages, he will be equally useful for both Alberto and Peter. Valgren and Tosatto will most likely be assigned to protecting Alberto in the bunch, but of course their work will benefit Peter as well if they stay close together.
I wouldn't be surprised if we see for example Valgren ride towards the 3km to go mark with Tosatto, Alberto, Gatto and Sagan in his wheel, then Toso and Alberto drop back a bit to let Gatto and Sagan do their thing.
Sagan was more of a plus than a drain last year especially early on. the echelon stage and cobbled stage in particular
 
Re:

Miburo said:
Sagan is gonna be Contador's best domestique. If i were movistar or sky, i would fear him the most as Contador's teammate.

Does it say much? ;) Kreuziger is decent, but is past his 2013 and Majka will prolly wheel suck Alberto to Paris.

On a more serious note, i think you are right, but I hope not. It would be such a shame to see Sagan fall short once again and slave for Alberto if he isn't top notch which I suspect he won't be again, ever, in this race.
 

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