Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[arvc40]

Re:

I think Contador should stick at it. He is slowly improving. He did better than I expected today. I would like to see what he can muster up later in the race. Not atall interested in him prepping for Olympics or Tour of Spain.

Actually Ive changed my mind. I am interested in any race aslong as Froome is there to compare. I do want to see him carry on with this Tour.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

I think that there is no reason for Contador to quit this race. At this point in his career he races because he likes to race and that's it. It's what he enjoys. There is nothing that one more potential Vuelta win might give him in addition to what he has now.
Also he is getting better each day and we have no idea what the race might bring. Anything could happen and it is very likely that he will be even better after 1st restday.

He lost 1 minute 40 seconds on a stage where serious attacks started at 3km before the top of the last climb.

What could happen is that he loses much more time tomorrow should attacks happen earlier.

Pace was fast the entire day.
I don't think that tomorrow he would get dropped before the last climb.

He's shown that he has no issue hanging on when the pace is high, it's when the attacks start that he pretty much has to let go immediately. It was like that on stage 5 and again today.

 

[Inquitus]

Tomorrow will likely be the final nail in the coffin of Contador's 2016 TDF chances, sadly, it's never good to see a favourites chances decimated by a crash on the flat in the first week.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

I'd like to see him do a recovery ride tomorrow and drop 10 minutes so he can go stage hunting in week three.

But I'm sure he has a different plan .

Yep, that is the big problem. He won't just drop time, he will fight on because that's just what he does. And that way, he will come out of this race with absolutely nothing, and he will be way too tired to do anything of note at the Vuelta

Steven de Jongh said on Eurosport that yesterday, Alberto felt really tired and told Roman that he could ride for himself. Clearly he is a better person than many of his fans He doesn't hold grudges.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Robbed of a Froome Quintana Contador showdown.

Hope he sticks around til Ventoux, gives it his best shot, then quits and gets ready for the 4th Vuelta

 

[Miburo]

With many of his fans, you mean yourself right fleur?

Recongnizing the problem is the first step.

 

[Tonton]

Please all calm down, before warnings begin flying, posts deleted, and more if need be. No invectives, no personal attacks, no ridiculing, please. As always, the passions are very high. But let's remain cool.

Yes, some fans may be raising unrealistic expectations. That's what fans do. Me included . But that's what so great about cycling: sometimes the wheel turns. There's always hope. '16 Giro anyone .

With regards to Alberto, I took flak on the stage thread, but I persist: if I were him, I would never wear a Tinkov kit ever again. Why did Tinkov let him hanging like that, speaking from both sides of their mouth? On one hand, hoping that he can recover, make it to rest day with minimum losses, turn things around, while not giving him team support. Why not be honest, ask him to go heal and come back at the Vuelta? And then ask Majka to stop his BS and work for Kreuziger...

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Robbed of a Froome Quintana Contador showdown.

Hope he sticks around til Ventoux, gives it his best shot, then quits and gets ready for the 4th Vuelta

Why should he stick around until Ventoux?

IMO, he should see how he feels tomorrow, and then on the rest day decide if he wants to quit, wants to lose a bunch of time and go for stages or if he wants to struggle on, losing little chunks of time on every mountain stage.
Ideally, if he really isn't considering abandoning, he should ride in the gruppetto on tomorrow's stage for extra recovery, and that way he could already try to get in the break on the Ventoux stage (will be tough though)

 

[Carols]

Re: Re:

I'd like to see him do a recovery ride tomorrow and drop 10 minutes so he can go stage hunting in week three.

But I'm sure he has a different plan .

Yep, that is the big problem. He won't just drop time, he will fight on because that's just what he does. And that way, he will come out of this race with absolutely nothing, and he will be way too tired to do anything of note at the Vuelta

Steven de Jongh said on Eurosport that yesterday, Alberto felt really tired and told Roman that he could ride for himself. Clearly he is a better person than many of his fans He doesn't hold grudges.

Alberto has more class than many of us, myself included.

Yes Yates said the same thing today.

Roman was off the hook for me, I was never upset with him today because I knew he had been given to okay to ride away if Alberto faltered.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Alberto has more class than many of us, myself included.

Yes Yates said the same thing today.

Roman was off the hook for me, I was never upset with him today because I knew he had been given to okay to ride away if Alberto faltered.

Yes, same for me. Before yesterday's stage, Valgren said Kreuziger would be co-leader from that point on, so I don't understand why there are still people on social media who are angry at Kreuziger for not staying with Alberto today.
Can't be mad at Majka either, he probably got the go-ahead from the team to go for the stage, when he got caught he tried to stay with the group for as long as possible and brought some bottles and gels for Alberto and Kreuziger.

 

[LaFlorecita]

With regards to Alberto, I took flak on the stage thread, but I persist: if I were him, I would never wear a Tinkov kit ever again. Why did Tinkov let him hanging like that, speaking from both sides of their mouth? On one hand, hoping that he can recover, make it to rest day with minimum losses, turn things around, while not giving him team support.

We must understand that the team knows more about his condition than we do. It's entirely possible that they hoped Alberto would get to the first rest day with minimal time loss, but also realized it would be very unlikely because he is simply very beat up. In that case, to me, it makes sense not to support him, at least not today. On stage 5, the team still believed in Alberto, so Kreuziger should have dropped back for him. But for today, Alberto told Kreuziger that he didn't expect him to wait for him.

Why not be honest, ask him to go heal and come back at the Vuelta? And then ask Majka to stop his BS and work for Kreuziger...

I'm pretty sure the team suggested that to Alberto but he is very stubborn, so I don't think we can blame the team for that.
That tweet the official team account sent out though...

 

[LeSensei]

Majka just doesn't want to work for anyone. He thinks he is the man. His brain does seem to be way too often out of sync with his legs. He should be proud of working for AC. Like Sagan said, no respect in the peloton nowadays, no respect.

About today, Valverde didn't seem to be struggling at all after any attack coming from the Giro. I know it is Valverde and it is too soon to make judgement yet, but neither Froome nor Quintana look particularly scary to me which makes things even more depressing.

 

[cineteq]

Re:

I'd like to see him do a recovery ride tomorrow and drop 10 minutes so he can go stage hunting in week three.

But I'm sure he has a different plan .

Actually he looked relatively good today, I wouldn't be surprised if he pull a Landis tomorrow. Team shouldn't give up just yet on him.

 

[Tonton]

Majka just doesn't want to work for anyone. He thinks he is the man. His brain does seem to be way too often out of sync with his legs. He should be proud of working for AC. Like Sagan said, no respect in the peloton nowadays, no respect.

About today, Valverde didn't seem to be struggling at all after any attack coming from the Giro. I know it is Valverde and it is too soon to make judgement yet, but neither Froome nor Quintana look particularly scary to me which makes things even more depressing.

Props to Valverde: he sacrificed himself. Had the bunch remained together, he had stage and yellow, I think.

@LaFlo: fair enough .

 

[lenric]

Re:

I think that there is no reason for Contador to quit this race. At this point in his career he races because he likes to race and that's it. It's what he enjoys. There is nothing that one more potential Vuelta win might give him in addition to what he has now.
Also he is getting better each day and we have no idea what the race might bring. Anything could happen and it is very likely that he will be even better after 1st restday.

It would add one more Vuelta to his palmares. Potentially one more GT win vs potentially one/two more GT stage wins... I believe it's fairly obvious which one is the best.

 

[Tonton]

I can't believe I agree with lenric ...

 

[Kokoso]

Re: Re:

Because Kreuziger worked for him for years? Ah, now I see.

Exactly, but you won´t get any understanding from Alberto´s fanboys/girls here, so do not even try.

There are fanboys/girl who never will understand or don't want to understand or at least never admit they understand but there are those who understand.

I think I know what you mean. Some Contador fans are at least rational. I like to think I am one of them.
Then you get some of his fanboys and girls here who defy logic. They say the funniest things - like how 'he had this Tour in the bag before his crashes' or 'Froome hasn't looked good all week'

Rationality is probably only one part of it. Probably there is more to it. I don't know how to say that, but I will try: you can't think certain way if it is not in you; you just can't think a way you don't have in yourself.
But it's just speculation. Maybe it is all about just defying logic and so on. I don't blame them even if its annoying. But its funny too, sometimes.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

I'd like to see him do a recovery ride tomorrow and drop 10 minutes so he can go stage hunting in week three.

But I'm sure he has a different plan .

Actually he looked relatively good today, I wouldn't be surprised if he pull a Landis tomorrow. Team shouldn't give up just yet on him.

Compared to Cavendish he looks relatively good. He lost more time but he looks relatively good. The wise thing would be to abandon and do the Vuelta but you know he won't. A top 10 or 20 is nothing for Contador and he won't win a stage the way he is riding and of course he won't be allowed in a break unless he drops a lot more time. I think the Vuelta gives him time to recover from his injuries and after doing half a Tour without the hardest stages or the time trials he should not be too fatigued.

 

[LeSensei]

I'm spanish so I'd love seeing him here home at the Vuelta, Yet I don't think he should abandon whatsoever. One day he goes rogue and destroys everyone mercilessly including Froome and Quintana - it will have been worth it to me.

By the way Eurosport claims Alberto told Kreuziger to ride for himself, because he's unsure after the crashes. All these days critizicing Kreuziger when we should instead give credit to AC's good will. :razz:

 

[Kokoso]

Re: Re:

Clearly he is a better person than many of his fans

Oh oh! Strong words here, judging people who you don't even know. Xou don't need that, do you? You can just ignore messages you don't like/don't have answer to as you did until now

Why would Alberto hold grudges because radio did not work?
You know, maybe Alberto realized something after what happened. Maybe he realized something, like that it was not good to criticize Kreuziger publicly or he might have reproach for some reason; maybe he did not hold his promise sometimes, who knows - we certainly don't. Its not like we know all what happens behind the curtains. Maybe he realized that there is no point to slow Kreuziger down (and wasn't two days ago) or that it wasn't Kreuziger's fault. Or maybe he wants to beat Kreuziger on the road. I know, most of these are unpleasant topics so its more simple not to react.

 

[the-big-bad-wolf]

Re:

I think that there is no reason for Contador to quit this race. At this point in his career he races because he likes to race and that's it. It's what he enjoys. There is nothing that one more potential Vuelta win might give him in addition to what he has now.
Also he is getting better each day and we have no idea what the race might bring. Anything could happen and it is very likely that he will be even better after 1st restday.

100% with you, it will be a great morale boost if he finishes the tour. I believe that the battle it's vs himsel. Surely he knows he can't win the tour anymore but he wants to prove something and to give the fans "us" something to cheer for.

 

[Kokoso]

Re:

All these days critizicing Kreuziger when we should instead give credit to AC's good will. :razz:

Nice one. Good Alberto;, firstly criticizing someone publicly for he did not do, now he looks like a forgiving saint

 

[lenric]

I can't believe I agree with lenric ...

Nothing's impossible

 

[ILovecycling]

Alberto fight really hard but the recovery is probably really bad.

I would love to see him win a stage or at least finish Tour with head high. I dont really care about another Vuelta (or Giro) and with Valverde (Purito) in olympic team there is no chance for leadership.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re: Re:

Robbed of a Froome Quintana Contador showdown.

Hope he sticks around til Ventoux, gives it his best shot, then quits and gets ready for the 4th Vuelta

Why should he stick around until Ventoux?

IMO, he should see how he feels tomorrow, and then on the rest day decide if he wants to quit, wants to lose a bunch of time and go for stages or if he wants to struggle on, losing little chunks of time on every mountain stage.
Ideally, if he really isn't considering abandoning, he should ride in the gruppetto on tomorrow's stage for extra recovery, and that way he could already try to get in the break on the Ventoux stage (will be tough though)

There's no reason for him to stick around til Ventoux, he should just quit on the rest day. But he should have recovered quite a bit by Ventoux, and as a fan, I just want to see one show down between Froome Contador and Quintana, because I suspect it's the last time they'll be meeting in peak condition