Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

I wouldn't mind seeing Contador just ride this Catalunya for some km before VPV. On the other hand, I won't complain if he goes on some big attacks. VPV is big win for sure.

Its the race he always has best chances of winning, but nothing is a given - the field will be very strong. Valverde, Henao, Porte, Roglic, Alaphilippe, Izagirre etc.

 

[LaFlorecita]

As pointed out by Tonton, tells us a lot about Berto that such a big jerk despises him. The biggest compliment you can get

 

[Alexandre B.]

Oleg trying to be Trump, who tries to be Vladimir...almost full circle .

Being called a shiite by a total moron should be perceived as a compliment IMO .

Oleg tries to remain relevant. He could have done it by being a smart owner, he failed. He's a disgrace .

The truth is that Berto has a crappy team, but there's no TTT at the TdF. Still, against a machine like Sky, he's at a HUGE disadvantage. He can't do it by himself. In the days to come, he'll go and hopefully win a nice stage. That's the good thing with Contador: he will burn the place to the ground.

But he won't be gaining any ground as it relates to mental warfare against Dawg.

July is going to suck...

You're not automatically crap if you're not Sky, dear Uncle.

 

[Pennino]

I find this really horrible to see. My bet is that it is pure frustration. He's had the absolute god of GT on his expensive payroll for four Tours and has not even been close to winning it for once.

I can only speak for myself as a Berto fan, but I have that damn same frustration and it didn't cost me a penny - some lost crazy bets with friends aside .

 

[deValtos]

Oleg trying to be Trump, who tries to be Vladimir...almost full circle .

Being called a shiite by a total moron should be perceived as a compliment IMO .

Oleg tries to remain relevant. He could have done it by being a smart owner, he failed. He's a disgrace .

The truth is that Berto has a crappy team, but there's no TTT at the TdF. Still, against a machine like Sky, he's at a HUGE disadvantage. He can't do it by himself. In the days to come, he'll go and hopefully win a nice stage. That's the good thing with Contador: he will burn the place to the ground.

But he won't be gaining any ground as it relates to mental warfare against Dawg.

July is going to suck...

You're not automatically crap if you're not Sky, dear Uncle.

To be honest I was quite impressed with the roster they have here. Mollema/Pantano/Stetina/Zubeldia for climbing is actually very high quality. Then Irizar/Brandle/Gogl are decent rouleurs too. They even did a decent TTT (29 seconds behind Sky after a long distance and 4th.) But yea it's never going to be the absolute #1 team when there are others with more $$$. I think it's good enough to challenge at the TDF as long as Degenkolb doesn't take too many resources.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I agree I think their team here is pretty good, especially uphill, and their TTT was good as well.

If Berto and Pantano are both in good shape for the TDF we're in for some fireworks. Add in Felline and Mollema and it could be a fun July.

 

[Jspear]

From the CN live ticker.

Contador said he believes the time gaps will not be massive today but expects some hard racing.

Trek-Segafredo finished 1:13 down on BMC in the TTT results.

"The race has got more complicated because van Garderen and Sky with Froome and Thomas are all ahead," Contador said. "So we'll have to see what we can do."

"It's not possible to say if these differences are decisive, but in previous years the Volta has been decided by minimal gaps," he said.

"These differences can be cut back, and there are five stages left. So we will have to try. I feel good, the team is going well, but we have to congratulate the other teams who have ridden more strongly than we did."

 

[Matteo.]

He looked very good to me, promising for Lo Port
I'm confident after this finish.

 

[LaFlorecita]

He looked good, but so did everyone else. Can't really draw any conclusions.
However, it seems he lost some speed in his legs compared to last year, when he was 2nd behind Martin on the same finish. This could be an issue vs. Froome.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Mollema disappointing.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Jumped on a few accelerations which costed him in the end, but he looked so easy on the pedals today until the end. He has obviously lost he ability to go above threshold for 2-3 min like he once was very good at, but that doesn't matter if you wan't to win the Tour. All about that consistent wattage. And he desperately needs to showcase that on the MTF.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Mollema disappointing.

Mmh, he wasn't great but he didn't show much at Tirreno either, so I didn't have high expectations.

 

[Matteo.]

I'm agree with you, valve.piti.
he needs to win. not only to give a signal to his opponents but also to gain confidence himself

 

[Scarponi]

Re:

He looked good, but so did everyone else. Can't really draw any conclusions.
However, it seems he lost some speed in his legs compared to last year, when he was 2nd behind Martin on the same finish. This could be an issue vs. Froome.

Martin just could of have been a lot better this time.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

He looked good, but so did everyone else. Can't really draw any conclusions.
However, it seems he lost some speed in his legs compared to last year, when he was 2nd behind Martin on the same finish. This could be an issue vs. Froome.

Martin just could of have been a lot better this time.

Of course that's possible, but not very likely I think, looking at the other riders in the top-20.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

I thought he went a bit too early with Pantano, looked good to start off with then tailed off a bit towards the end. Looks like G has Contador as the main danger man to keep an eye on. He stuck to his wheel all the way to the end.

 

[GraftPunk]

I think Martin may have this as a target since he probably knows he doesn't have a realistic chance at a GT win, so maybe a somewhat early peak for him.

edit for grammar

 

[Irondan]

Re:

I think Martin may have this as a target since he probably knows he doesn't have a realistic chance at a GT win, so maybe a somewhat early peak for him.

edit for grammar

Dan Martin is always good in Volta a Catalunya.

 

[GraftPunk]

Re: Re:

I think Martin may have this as a target since he probably knows he doesn't have a realistic chance at a GT win, so maybe a somewhat early peak for him.

edit for grammar

Dan Martin is always good in Volta a Catalunya.

True, I just wonder if self confidence (or his team/sponsors confidence in him) may be an issue in making the jump to proper GC may weigh on his racing targets.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Berto says his sensations were good, but the climb wasn't very hard and there was a headwind so he decided not to attack

Edit:

"I had good sensations, although the stage was relatively calm," explained Contador. "It is true that in the last two passes over La Molina they made a good rhythm on the climb, but it is not a very demanding climb, and in many places, there was a strong headwind, which made it very comfortable to be in the wheels.

"At the final, in the sprint, I tried to make a good finish, but I knew it was a complicated one for me. In addition, we did the last kilometers quite calm, and that makes it so that the explosive riders take air and can be faster than me."

"The team again was very good, impressive, being around me as always," said Contador. "With Jarlinson we wanted to put one more point of intensity, but there was a lot of headwind, and it was quite easy to go on the wheel. In the end, it did punish everyone's legs a little more, and that is also a goal."

[about stage 5] "If the profile corresponds to the reality, it seems that the last climb is really hard and will make differences," said Contador, then added: "But it's complicated because there are riders ahead with a lot of time. Now the important thing is to recover and think about tomorrow."

 

[rune1107]

Berto says his sensations were good, but the climb wasn't very hard and there was a headwind so he decided not to attack

Do you have a link to the article?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Berto says his sensations were good, but the climb wasn't very hard and there was a headwind so he decided not to attack

Do you have a link to the article?

http://www.treksegafredo.com/news/catalunya-contador-7th-la-molina-stage

 

[rune1107]

Berto says his sensations were good, but the climb wasn't very hard and there was a headwind so he decided not to attack

Do you have a link to the article?

http://www.treksegafredo.com/news/catalunya-contador-7th-la-molina-stage

Gracias

 

[Red Rick]

Can't say too much about today.

I think that on Friday, Trek will just drop down the hammer and Contador will go for it and not look back, whatever the result

 

[Jelantik]

Re:

Can't say too much about today.

I think that on Friday, Trek will just drop down the hammer and Contador will go for it and not look back, whatever the result

I agree with you. With today's finish.. almost like a procession to me. Yeah, there's a sprinting.. 1/2km to go. Not necessarily the fireworks that I would expect in the mountain. If the mountain is climbed like this, there's no way Contador can win. He is 1+ minutes down, and people in front of him are capable of doing riding like today (even the group were still big). He needs to throw the gauntlet and go for broke. Who cares about the result. He won't cut that much if he attacks in 3/5km. The big group will reel him in.