Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[happychappy]

Re: Re:

I believe he could remain a GC contender into his 40s if he chose to. I just hope he doesn't run himself into the ground with these injuries. The way he's riding lop-sided is worrying, stuff like that will create other issues.

Who are you and what have you done to happychappy

Never disliked Contador as a person, quite the opposite. Hate them or love them both Contador and Froome are interesting riders & people. I was actually hoping for something like Contador v Rasmussen 2007, an epic battle while dropping everyone else. It still could happen

 

[mufana]

Re: Re:

Quitters are losers. Sorry I have to be so blunt. There is no doubt in my mind that Contador will not quit, and he shouldn't. I wouldn't unless there is a blaring physical impairment and medical staff advises to quit. Fight it till the last possible breath. Vuelta is probably not on his mind and it shouldn't. Bertie is a champion not a loser.

A champion wins races. An anonymous top 10 at the TDF is for losers.

A champion is also someone who fights.

Considering the setbacks he had the first stages, if he can still manage top 5 (or maybe even top 3) that would be a great result and he can be very proud of that. It would show that he's not only physically strong, but also mentally.

We already know that.
A top 3 or top 5 means nothing to him. He wants to win. I can assure you he won't feel "proud" if he finishes top 5. He will feel like an idiot for crashing and wasting his good form.
Oh but what is that on the horizon? The 3rd GT of the year for which Chaves and Kruijswijk are currently the biggest favorites? A race he could easily win considering his great form this year, adding a 10th GT win to his palmares? Yeah.

I know that some of the greatest athletes who suffered major setbacks in races and couldn't win, were pleased with the fact they didn't give up and pushed through. We can't see in his head, we don't know what he thinks or feels. He may well want to prove something for himself.

 

[Singer01]

i think we will only know whether he should have retired right now with hindsight. if he loses because of time lost in the first week, but is back by the last week and is going head to head with froome and Quintana and maybe winning a stage or 2 (MTT looks a great bet) then he should have stayed. if he limps to the finish dropping bits of time here and there and doesn't ever compete, then it will be clear he should have called it a day and prepped for the vuelta.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re: Re:

Why not go for an epic stage win and the mountains jersey?

Because Sky and Movistar will never allow him to go in a break. And it seems clear he will score no points whatsoever in the Pyrenees, I don't think he'll be able to get enough points in the Alps to win the KOM classification.

How about conceding a generous amount of time on some flat stage (if pride is an issue, he can always say it was due to the injuries) and then go on combined raids for mountain stages and the polka-dot jersey, à la Rasmussen?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Why not go for an epic stage win and the mountains jersey?

Because Sky and Movistar will never allow him to go in a break. And it seems clear he will score no points whatsoever in the Pyrenees, I don't think he'll be able to get enough points in the Alps to win the KOM classification.

How about conceding a generous amount of time on some flat stage (if pride is an issue, he can always say it was due to the injuries) and then go on combined raids for mountain stages and the polka-dot jersey, à la Rasmussen?

Of course, if he could win 2 stages and the mountain jersey, this Tour would still be a bit of a succes despite not winning yellow, but I highly doubt Movistar and Sky would let him go even if he was 10-15 minutes behind.

 

[The Hitch]

Disagree.

For Contador, only winning the Tour can be a success.

If he can't do that he should try for the next most important race- olympics

If its too early go for the next most important after that- Vuelta.

But next year has to be all about Tour.

There will always be the monkey on his back that he could never win the Tour post suspension. Unless he can do it.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re: Re:

Why not go for an epic stage win and the mountains jersey?

Because Sky and Movistar will never allow him to go in a break. And it seems clear he will score no points whatsoever in the Pyrenees, I don't think he'll be able to get enough points in the Alps to win the KOM classification.

How about conceding a generous amount of time on some flat stage (if pride is an issue, he can always say it was due to the injuries) and then go on combined raids for mountain stages and the polka-dot jersey, à la Rasmussen?

Of course, if he could win 2 stages and the mountain jersey, this Tour would still be a bit of a succes despite not winning yellow, but I highly doubt Movistar and Sky would let him go even if he was 10-15 minutes behind.

What the hell would the mountain jersey add to Contador's palmares? Only winning the tour can be success for him. Even a podium would be more success than the mountain jersey given that it would be his best result in the Tour post-suspension.

A 4th Vuelta would do much more for his palmares than a podium in the tour, and if he can get in good shape next year, the 100th Giro means he's still got a good chance of one final yellow jersey

 

[jilbiker]

Interesting things to think about
If Quintana had given up in 2014 Giro after 2 weeks, because he was sick would he have....won it?
If Nibs had given up when everyone said quit in 2016 Giro would he have...won it?

Its really baffling that after setbacks even so early in the game, people are saying quit, run away. I rate Bertie higher than Quintana and Nibs mentally, why would quitting be in his books? As we say in entrepreneurship, the moment you begin to think about a plan B, close the business and sit at home. One mind, one focus, one goal, persevere till...success.

 

[Netserk]

A stage win where he beats the best mano-a-mano in the third week is the best he can hope for. Showing that he had the legs needed. I can't really see the point of him completing the race, if he cannot recover before it's over.

 

[Angliru]

Tbf, Kreuziger sacrificed a podium in the 2013 Tour to help Contador finish 4th, and has been really loyal in general. You can't be too mad at him for not waiting yesterday.

If it's true that De Jongh and Yates told him multiple times to wait, he deserves all of the flak he is getting.

Maybe they should have looked harder for a new sponsor instead of expecting Roman to bury his chances of a decent new contract just to help Bertie finish 6th.

What do the two have anything to do with the other?

Kreuziger is pursuing his own interests while at the same time talking the talk of someone that is riding for Alberto. There is a conflict there. Him looking back, seeing the rider that he's supposed to be supporting suffering, struggling to maintain contact and then making the snap decision to leave him to suffer alone, then when interviewed spout the "We are still riding for Contador and there is no conflict" is insulting to the intelligence of anyone who watched it all unfold and have bared witness to all the evidence that is available.
At that point in the posted photo, Kreuziger began his own gc strategy.

 

[samhocking]

Even if Contador can recover to be competitive with Froome & Quintana, his team clearly won't be. Not doubt, him going up against Froome and Quintana mano-a-mano would restore his confidence and be a great spectacle, but even mano-a-mano requires a strong team for the first 3/4 of the stage. I hope he recovers, but a leg not working 5 days after your crash, is not a good indication, recovery is happening. We'll soon find out at the weekend I guess.

 

[afpm90]

Tbf, Kreuziger sacrificed a podium in the 2013 Tour to help Contador finish 4th, and has been really loyal in general. You can't be too mad at him for not waiting yesterday.

If it's true that De Jongh and Yates told him multiple times to wait, he deserves all of the flak he is getting.

Maybe they should have looked harder for a new sponsor instead of expecting Roman to bury his chances of a decent new contract just to help Bertie finish 6th.

If someone was thinking of hiring Kreuziger to help the leader of their team, maybe they're having some doubts now. Loyalty is also an important part of a rider. Who wants a selfish guy in the team? Having said that, this was the first time that Kreuziger showed some kind of disloyalty to Contador.

Don't forget, also, that in his last Giro for Astana, Kreuziger had some shitty attitudes, which demonstrated that his personality has some faults.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

What the hell would the mountain jersey add to Contador's palmares? Only winning the tour can be success for him. Even a podium would be more success than the mountain jersey given that it would be his best result in the Tour post-suspension.

A 4th Vuelta would do much more for his palmares than a podium in the tour, and if he can get in good shape next year, the 100th Giro means he's still got a good chance of one final yellow jersey

I would rather see him go for the Vuelta but I realize that he is unlikely to quit. In that case, the best possible result for him (besides pulling off a miraculous overall win) would be a couple stage wins and perhaps a mountain jersey. He'd get to be a part of the celebrations in Paris and this "hasn't won a stage since 2009" talk would stop too.

 

[Miburo]

I just wanna see Contador attack in the 3rd week, i'll be a happy lad then.

Imagine if he isn't riding for GC anymore, just in breakaways attacking like a madman. Sounds pretty good to me.

Mana a mano beating froome and quintana is even better

 

[Miburo]

And look on the bright side, his left leg is resting right now.

Once it's ready to function he'll be even better than normal

 

[Kwibus]

Re:

Interesting things to think about
If Quintana had given up in 2014 Giro after 2 weeks, because he was sick would he have....won it?
If Nibs had given up when everyone said quit in 2016 Giro would he have...won it?

Its really baffling that after setbacks even so early in the game, people are saying quit, run away. I rate Bertie higher than Quintana and Nibs mentally, why would quitting be in his books? As we say in entrepreneurship, the moment you begin to think about a plan B, close the business and sit at home. One mind, one focus, one goal, persevere till...success.

I think it's more because he's really injured. Look at how he was riding his bike yesterday. That's just unhealthy and I don't want him to destroy his body.

 

[CatsNK]

Did everyone who is saying Contador should abandon watch the Giro this year? Because there were people clamoring for Nibali to drop out throughout the race as well. Good thing he didn't listen. Just like with Nibali during the Giro, there's probably only a dozen or so people who really know what's going on with Contador: teammates, team masseuse, team doctor... If Contador abandons it's the right decision for him, if he keeps on, that's also the right decision for him.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re: Re:

What the hell would the mountain jersey add to Contador's palmares?

Variety.

 

[Carols]

Kudos to Bob Roll (ex TdF rider). Normally this guy really turns me off and is anti Contador but in the pre race show he said 'Let's not forget Alberto Contador is one of the greatest bike racers who has ever lived and I think he'll keep fighting.....if he starts feeling better.... a rider of the talent that Contador has he is going to launch some savage attacks and get himself back into the race. I'm never counting him out until he says so."

Forza Alberto!!!!

 

[hulkhogansknees]

Kreuziger, Valgren and Yates talk about yesterday:
http://sport.tv2.dk/cykling/2016-07-07-daarlig-stemning-paa-tinkoff-ignorerede-superhjaelper-contadors-problemer

Valgren: "It was a bad day yesterday, when Roman didn't wait for Alberto. But there are two sides to the story and now we are looking forward. Roman says he didn't see Alberto getting dropped, but obviously he did so of course there was a bad atmosphere, but we have talked it through and hopefully it won't happen again."

Yates: "There is now discussion. The situation has been sorted out and we are moving on. I don't think Contador was happy but the reason for his time loss was his injuries. It's debateable how much time he could have saved had someone waited for him."

 

[jmdirt]

Tbf, Kreuziger sacrificed a podium in the 2013 Tour to help Contador finish 4th, and has been really loyal in general. You can't be too mad at him for not waiting yesterday.

If it's true that De Jongh and Yates told him multiple times to wait, he deserves all of the flak he is getting.

Maybe they should have looked harder for a new sponsor instead of expecting Roman to bury his chances of a decent new contract just to help Bertie finish 6th.

What do the two have anything to do with the other?

Kreuziger is pursuing his own interests while at the same time talking the talk of someone that is riding for Alberto. There is a conflict there. Him looking back, seeing the rider that he's supposed to be supporting suffering, struggling to maintain contact and then making the snap decision to leave him to suffer alone, then when interviewed spout the "We are still riding for Contador and there is no conflict" is insulting to the intelligence of anyone who watched it all unfold and have bared witness to all the evidence that is available.
At that point in the posted photo, Kreuziger began his own gc strategy.

I can still see AC battling in the third week, and as I have said several times in several threads, a lot can happen in a GT so unless his pain is unbearable he should stay in the TdF.

EDIT: I moved my comments about RK to his thread.

 

[StryderHells]

Re: Re:

Quitters are losers. Sorry I have to be so blunt. There is no doubt in my mind that Contador will not quit, and he shouldn't. I wouldn't unless there is a blaring physical impairment and medical staff advises to quit. Fight it till the last possible breath. Vuelta is probably not on his mind and it shouldn't. Bertie is a champion not a loser.

A champion wins races. An anonymous top 10 at the TDF is for losers.

Seems a bit harsh

 

[boasson]

Re:

Did everyone who is saying Contador should abandon watch the Giro this year? Because there were people clamoring for Nibali to drop out throughout the race as well. Good thing he didn't listen. Just like with Nibali during the Giro, there's probably only a dozen or so people who really know what's going on with Contador: teammates, team masseuse, team doctor... If Contador abandons it's the right decision for him, if he keeps on, that's also the right decision for him.

Please don't compare the TDF with any other race in this world. And please don't compare a healthy Nibali with a guy with multiple crashes.

Nibali peaked in 3rd week with the by far strongest team against riders like Chaves, Jungels, Uran or Majka without teams. Contador has to recover from injuries and must outperform the best GT Riders in the post Armstrong-era in the greatest race in the world without a team against the two best teams in the world. I don't think you can compare this.

When he is out for the GC he can save his energy completely and can destroy all at the MTT, when Froome and Quinti fought hard the days before. It's the best possibility for him to win a stage. To win the GC he needs two DNF from Froome and Quinti and his best shape from tomorrow on until Paris. I think both are very unlikely.

 

[filipepc]

I´m sad with the situation and MAD with the team.

Sad, beacuse i´m not blind for a rider, i´m a Contador fan, but i love cyling and so i enjoy when a watch a good race with a good fight even if it isn´t my rider to win. That´s because why i´m sad.

I wanted to see Contador mano a mano with others and this way i, or we can´t. He Is injury so is another year that we can´t see if can do it against froome and quintana or not... And he is almost 34... so the time is getting short... To me that´s sad. I just wanted to everyone is ok, until the mountains, and then, the best to win... But...

About being MAD, this is rubbish... A team that has a leader a top leader, the guy with more grand tours of the entire peloton, let their leader alone? What the hell is this?

I remeber arguing with a guy some pages befores in this thread that the problem to me it wasn´t he has 3 ou 4 or 5 climbers to help him, the problem his the commitment that the team could have with him.

If his best 2 climbers behave like this, there´s nothing more to say. I just hope he has the strenght to fight, like he usually does... And i hope he finds a tem that protect him a little more than this... Riding alone is not easy.

 

[TuCzech]

I lost a lot of respect for RK. He flat out lied, not just once, but several times using different lies. That few minutes of racing followed by his lies is the worst thing he could have done for his 'job interview'. I can't see teams lining up to sign a guy who can't be trusted in a race, and is dishonest.

And what should he, in your opinion, say even if it was his fault? "Sorry guys, I lost my head and I rode for myself?" Even the team would not allow him to say that, because obviously no one wants to admit fault and show weakness. I´m not defending him, if it is true, he should have stayed with Alberto, but what can they do now other than do not admit it. It is very sad, but it happens. They are not machines.

A lot of people forget about the past, which was already mentioned above - Tour 2013 and all of the other stage races when he raced exclusively for Alberto. I think that he does not deserve this trash talk.