Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[LaFlorecita]

I've just seen Itzulia's route, it's crap... He won't win.

I'm mainly worried about the Arrate climb on stage 5. It's a different side which is much steeper than the usual side, which could hurt him a lot.
The TT should suit him but then again it should also suit Valverde, Roglic, Kwiatkowski.

4kms at 10.8%. Is that so bad for him?

At first glance no but it should be better for Valverde, especially because 2km are at ~15%. At the very least I doubt he'll take time there and with his lack of explosiveness he could lose time as well. It would come down to the TT to take the lead and I don't have much confidence in his TT vs. a Valverde in the shape of his life and Kwiat and Roglic. At least there are no bonus seconds (I think) which should help.
Another threat could be Henao who could take a lot of time on Arrate and defend in the TT.

 

[Netserk]

He'll win or at worst podium the MTF and podium the TT.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

He'll win or at worst podium the MTF and podium the TT.

I'll go one step further and say he'll finish 2nd on the MTF, in the TT and overall

 

[TheYouyou7]

Do some people have a profile of that climb ?

 

[Red Rick]

Explosiveness this, explosiveness that. It's not Mur de Huy. It's a good 9-10 minute effort at those gradients, peak power output matters little. You could argue that it fits a less explosive rider as you don't need big accelerations to put the hurt on.

But yeah, Contador vs Valverde vs Roglic it seems. I don't see how Kwiat can do better than Roglic.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

Do some people have a profile of that climb ?

I think it was climbed last year, but not at the end of the stage.

 

[Valv.Piti]

More than that. Won Les Gets in 11.36 which was 3,9 km at 9,7%. So I'd say 13-14 minutes for this climb. If you are strong, there's much more room to drop your opponents than the regular Arrate. I don't understand the talk about the climb not suiting Contador either.. its pretty nonsensical IMO.

Its an effort similar to that time trial in Dauphine that he won, only a bit more irregular than that and at the end of a stage. Its better than the regular Arrate stage if he is the strongest

 

[Red Rick]

Yeah, those 2km alone should be 9-10 minutes

 

[HelloDolly]

You people do know Chaves and the Izagirre brothers are riding PV .....all this talk of Roglic ? and Kwait is carrying too much weight to be top climber...SKY are all in for Henao .Also thera few other swho could come good

But with his form its hard to see Valverde being beaten

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

That's cool. He's going to be second in the Tour this year.

I don't care for 2nd at the Tour and definitely not 2nd after Froome :exclaim:

He's not going to finish 2nd after Froome. Froome winning again would be a disaster.

Contador may not see it that way after his Tour drought and some disasters it seems are inevitable..............

 

[dacooley]

Re: Re:

That's cool. He's going to be second in the Tour this year.

I don't care for 2nd at the Tour and definitely not 2nd after Froome :exclaim:

He's not going to finish 2nd after Froome. Froome winning again would be a disaster.

Contador may not see it that way after his Tour drought and some disasters it seems are inevitable..............

i'm guessing 4th froome tour win may have casted doubt on bertie being #1 gc rider of the last decade for some people is what has been implied. I don't think it will even if AC doesn't win the tour.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

More than that. Won Les Gets in 11.36 which was 3,9 km at 9,7%. So I'd say 13-14 minutes for this climb. If you are strong, there's much more room to drop your opponents than the regular Arrate. I don't understand the talk about the climb not suiting Contador either.. its pretty nonsensical IMO.

Its an effort similar to that time trial in Dauphine that he won, only a bit more irregular than that and at the end of a stage. Its better than the regular Arrate stage if he is the strongest

I'm not expecting him to be the strongest and this is worse for keeping the wheel of your rivals. He'll inevitably explode.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

You people do know Chaves and the Izagirre brothers are riding PV .....all this talk of Roglic ? and Kwait is carrying too much weight to be top climber...SKY are all in for Henao .Also thera few other swho could come good

But with his form its hard to see Valverde being beaten

Chaves will lose ages in the TT. Roglic can limit the damage uphill and win the TT by a mile.
Of course there are like 20 riders that could win the race under the right circumstances, I'm just trying to point out the biggest favorites.

 

[LaFlorecita]

"We knew it was an opportunity, both yesterday and today," said Pantano. "Unfortunately yesterday I could not be in the first group, but today went much better. The end of the race was very fast and was quite hard. Thanks to Alberto, who helped me pull in the end, that we were close to the victory.

"I feel super; the sensations are quite good. I never thought that Alberto was the person he is, but it is very good to have him as a teammate, he is a great professional and a great person. He fills you with confidence, and I am very happy to work for him. I am happy to be here and to put a grain of sand for Alberto."

 

[LaFlorecita]

Berto says hi to the haters and doubters (looking at you, Stinkov)

First stage racer behind the two classics monsters

 

[Jspear]

UCI points mean nothing....the real question is - is he doing better for you with CQ points than last year?

 

[DFA123]

What's Porte doing in 5th?! Winning an incredibly weak TDU and failing spectacularly in the overall for Paris-Nice gives you the same points as winning Strade Bianche and Milan San-Remo?! Ridiculous

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

What's Porte doing in 5th?! Winning an incredibly weak TDU and failing spectacularly in the overall for Paris-Nice gives you the same points as winning Strade Bianche and Milan San-Remo?! Ridiculous

Yes, especially because the TDU has been upgraded and now offers the same points as for example Paris-Nice and Tirreno. Meanwhile Pais Vasco has been downgraded

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

UCI points mean nothing....the real question is - is he doing better for you with CQ points than last year?

He's doing about 60 points better he scored a little less than last year at Catalunya and Pais Vasco is worth less now, so I'm guessing he'll go into a deficit soon but I hope he can score better in the 2nd half :lol:

 

[Beech Mtn]

"We knew it was an opportunity, both yesterday and today," said Pantano. "Unfortunately yesterday I could not be in the first group, but today went much better. The end of the race was very fast and was quite hard. Thanks to Alberto, who helped me pull in the end, that we were close to the victory.

"I feel super; the sensations are quite good. I never thought that Alberto was the person he is, but it is very good to have him as a teammate, he is a great professional and a great person. He fills you with confidence, and I am very happy to work for him. I am happy to be here and to put a grain of sand for Alberto."

Nice. Would love to see AC work for Pantano to get a win.

(Would also love to see AC get to lift his arms in victory again too)

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re: Re:

What's Porte doing in 5th?! Winning an incredibly weak TDU and failing spectacularly in the overall for Paris-Nice gives you the same points as winning Strade Bianche and Milan San-Remo?! Ridiculous

Yes, especially because the TDU has been upgraded and now offers the same points as for example Paris-Nice and Tirreno. Meanwhile Pais Vasco has been downgraded

I didn't know that. That's outrageous .

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re: Re:

What's Porte doing in 5th?! Winning an incredibly weak TDU and failing spectacularly in the overall for Paris-Nice gives you the same points as winning Strade Bianche and Milan San-Remo?! Ridiculous

Yes, especially because the TDU has been upgraded and now offers the same points as for example Paris-Nice and Tirreno. Meanwhile Pais Vasco has been downgraded

I didn't know that. That's outrageous .

Also Quebec and Montreal are worth 500 points each, which is the same number of WT points you get for winning at Roubaix

 

[Angliru]

Re: Re:

What's Porte doing in 5th?! Winning an incredibly weak TDU and failing spectacularly in the overall for Paris-Nice gives you the same points as winning Strade Bianche and Milan San-Remo?! Ridiculous

Yes, especially because the TDU has been upgraded and now offers the same points as for example Paris-Nice and Tirreno. Meanwhile Pais Vasco has been downgraded

I didn't know that. That's outrageous .

Also Quebec and Montreal are worth 500 points each, which is the same number of WT points you get for winning at Roubaix

The points system is insulting to the events that have been a foundation of the sport's history. TDU really is not worthy of equal points to Paris-Nice and Tirreno. Only the Australians show up there in anything resembling excellent form. The fact that it is so early in the season it should be understood that rarely are anyone actually focusing on it as a goal. The Quebec and Montreal races at least have riders that have developed their form over the course of the season, plus they have shown to be entertaining events. Still let these events earn equal billing, don't just hand it to them on a platter.

 

[Carols]

"We knew it was an opportunity, both yesterday and today," said Pantano. "Unfortunately yesterday I could not be in the first group, but today went much better. The end of the race was very fast and was quite hard. Thanks to Alberto, who helped me pull in the end, that we were close to the victory.

"I feel super; the sensations are quite good. I never thought that Alberto was the person he is, but it is very good to have him as a teammate, he is a great professional and a great person. He fills you with confidence, and I am very happy to work for him. I am happy to be here and to put a grain of sand for Alberto."

He pulled for Pantano who has a sprint . These 2 will work well together I think!

 

[Publicus]

"We knew it was an opportunity, both yesterday and today," said Pantano. "Unfortunately yesterday I could not be in the first group, but today went much better. The end of the race was very fast and was quite hard. Thanks to Alberto, who helped me pull in the end, that we were close to the victory.

"I feel super; the sensations are quite good. I never thought that Alberto was the person he is, but it is very good to have him as a teammate, he is a great professional and a great person. He fills you with confidence, and I am very happy to work for him. I am happy to be here and to put a grain of sand for Alberto."

Great to read. I'm curious how his relationship is with others (Cardoso, Mollema, Felline)....