Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[DFA123]

Re:

Speaking of Odds, a number of bookies have a 'betting without the big 3' market, which doesn't include Contador, that is just **** rude.

And Aru is the favourite for that particular market as well!

 

[Valv.Piti]

How dare they, don't they respect the feelings of other human beings!

 

[SeriousSam]

"I would split my season into two parts," Contador said, "in the first part, aiming for my first peak of form, things didn't really work out as I wanted, although it's also true that I planned things out differently to other years, and with a much stronger team I was no longer under such pressure to win.

"I then started to build things up at the Critérium du Dauphiné and I was actually happy with how it went. I got stronger and stronger as the race went on and I'm now, form-wise, where I want to be."

Looking confident

 

[Netserk]

Sam, will you update us regularly with your graph during the Tour?

 

[Singer01]

Re:

How dare they, don't they respect the feelings of other human beings!

Do you have to be like that all the time? Does it not get boring?

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Speaking of Odds, a number of bookies have a 'betting without the big 3' market, which doesn't include Contador, that is just **** rude.

And Aru is the favourite for that particular market as well!

I hope Aru isn't working for Betfair.......................

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re: Re:

Couldn't resist. £100 @ 18s.

I hope this is not to win the ITT

I hope it wasn't our hype that pushed him over the edge

You don't want to know what I've bet on him :lol:

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

How dare they, don't they respect the feelings of other human beings!

Am I allowed to stop crying now ?

 

[Carols]

Re: Re:

Contador has won all of his primarily targeted GTs he has finished since 2013, in fact he has done so for over a decade except that year. If not for bad luck, he is the man to beat.

Which, of course, is a grand total of 1 GT. An alternative reading of that statistic, is that he's the man to stay well clear from in the peloton.

I usually disagree with what you say, but this could be the post of the day!

Yeah except since 2013 he has won 2 GTs. One with a broken leg.....

 

[aphronesis]

Re: Re:

I see the usual attempts in this thread to derail discussion have started. As they tend to do when facts are brought to the table. Sad!

I think it has more to do with the lack of context around your comments. You dismiss his form, but don't note his crashes and/or Giro impact. You say he's looked below the level of the other competitors, but when folks point to his actual performance you dismiss them out of hand (see Porte's performance vis-à-vis Contador at Paris-Nice). No one says you have to like Contador or even provide full context with respect to your assessment of him or his potential performance. But you can't complain that folks are derailing the discussion simply because they push back against your jade-laced statements or provide fuller context.

Well the derailing of the conversation is more of a reference to the usual suspects posting pictures with seemingly no purpose, apart from to clog up the board. I'm happy to debate any of the points made.

I do acknowledge that Contador beat Porte at Paris-Nice. But only because he lost time on the flat stages (which certainly could happen again in the Tour). What I don't accept, is that the one result at P-N means that there has not been a big gulf between the level of the two riders this season. Porte has clearly been the better stage racer - even at P-N, by far his worst race, he won the queen stage impressively. Likewise, Valverde and Quintana have been a level above as well. And Froome is a separate case, having dominated the Tour for 5 years now. That's why Contador is 4th/5th favourite for me (and the bookies) - about level with Aru and slightly ahead of Bardet/Fuglsang.

The point you're making is honestly so unnecessary.

Has anyone in this thread said that Contador isn't the 4th/5th favorite? I don't see any of them claiming he should be the bookies favorite. They are optimistic that his form this year is better than before because they are fans. Just as a Froome fan will feel that he will still be strong at the tour despite the form he's displayed this year.

I'm not sure what point you're making other than fighting against mythical arguments about how he's the top favorite.

I think you need to do a bit more reading around the forum. People have said that only a win would be a good result for Contador. My counter is that any podium position would be a good result, while 4th or 5th place would be about par and a reasonable result. If you feel the same, then we are in agreement.

Fans can dream all they like; I don't want to stop anyone from dreaming. But this isn't a fans only thread, so it's fair game to discuss counter arguments as well. Such as the fact that he hasn't won a WT race, or even a stage in well over a year. And hasn't challenged for the win at the Tour in six years - over half his career.

So which posters on this thread do you think missed his performance this season or are unclear on his GT placings overall?

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

Contador has won all of his primarily targeted GTs he has finished since 2013, in fact he has done so for over a decade except that year. If not for bad luck, he is the man to beat.

Which, of course, is a grand total of 1 GT. An alternative reading of that statistic, is that he's the man to stay well clear from in the peloton.

I usually disagree with what you say, but this could be the post of the day!

Yeah except since 2013 he has won 2 GTs. One with a broken leg.....

No. Read the bolded. He's only finished (and won) one of his primarily targetted GTs since 2013. Certainly an interesting stat, however you take it.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

So which posters on this thread do you think missed his performance this season or are unclear on his GT placings overall?

You've come too late to the party I'm afraid with this embarrasing misrepresentation of a question. Read around and find your own answers to it. The race starts is nearly five minutes, I'm not going to repeat yesterday's discussion ad-finitum - the real action is underway now.

 

[aphronesis]

Re: Re:

So which posters on this thread do you think missed his performance this season or are unclear on his GT placings overall?

You've come too late to the party I'm afraid with this embarrasing misrepresentation of a question. Read around and find your own answers to it. The race starts is nearly five minutes, I'm not going to repeat yesterday's discussion ad-finitum - the real action is underway now.

I read it it pretty regularly. So you can't answer the question?

 

[SeriousSam]

Re:

Sam, will you update us regularly with your graph during the Tour?

Probably not. But I just quickly saved the best pre Tour odds according to oddschecker so I'll be aware of how they change. There are as follows:

Froome: 40%
Porte: 29%
Quintana: 11%
Aru: 6%
Contador: 5%

 

[dacooley]

Re: Re:

Contador has won all of his primarily targeted GTs he has finished since 2013, in fact he has done so for over a decade except that year. If not for bad luck, he is the man to beat.

Which, of course, is a grand total of 1 GT. An alternative reading of that statistic, is that he's the man to stay well clear from in the peloton.

I usually disagree with what you say, but this could be the post of the day!

Yeah except since 2013 he has won 2 GTs. One with a broken leg.....

To be fair nobody is capable of just finishing a gt with a broken leg. AC won the vuelta after a leg injury.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

So which posters on this thread do you think missed his performance this season or are unclear on his GT placings overall?

You've come too late to the party I'm afraid with this embarrasing misrepresentation of a question. Read around and find your own answers to it. The race starts is nearly five minutes, I'm not going to repeat yesterday's discussion ad-finitum - the real action is underway now.

I read it it pretty regularly. So you can't answer the question?

He's right. The Tour has started now!

Here's to a solid right from AC today!

 

[DFA123]

Slightly disappointing TT time today, but not terrible. I guess he sensibly took no risks, but still wold have hoped to have taken a bit of time on Quintana and Bardet.

 

[Netserk]

All that mattered today was staying safe and not losing too much time. Should probably have been able to do so with a faster pace, but all in all this is okay.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

All that mattered today was staying safe and not losing too much time. Should probably have been able to do so with a faster pace, but all in all this is okay.

I disagree. Sure, it was the most important thing, but certainly not all that mattered. I agree it was an OK performance, but OK performances probably won't get him on the podium.

 

[Red Rick]

Still on full HP

 

[jsem94]

Played it safe. Tour seems almost over but I hope Alberto and the others can put major pressure on Froome. Alberto is a warrior.

 

[Electress]

After watching Valverde go over, I'm just happy he'd not on the ground. That was a horrible accident.

 

[indianfanboy]

Saw Aru take the first corner pretty fast and then Contador in the same corner was so slow and cautious, a sub par ride nevertheless,obviously not an indicator of his form. Froome has a headstart for the race for the yellow

 

[Netserk]

Re: Re:

All that mattered today was staying safe and not losing too much time. Should probably have been able to do so with a faster pace, but all in all this is okay.

I disagree. Sure, it was the most important thing, but certainly not all that mattered. I agree it was an OK performance, but OK performances probably won't get him on the podium.

So what else mattered?

Contador is so good that he doesn't have to risk anything. If he stays healthy, the race is in the bag.

 

[Forever The Best]

And he is already more than 40 seconds behind...
The 2014 and 2016 TDF's will always be regretted. He came with great form to these and crashed