Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[KGB]

Think I saw somewhere that he was gonna be signing a new contract on the first rest day. It will be interesting to see what becomes of that seeing things haven't turned out quite right up to now. Wonder if he goes/they give him a full season or until the end of the Giro if he's gonna target that as one last swansong. It was sad watching him struggle yesterday and just wish him the best in whatever he decides.

If trek is looking for mechanic they should sign Contador.He has experience and could fit in that role in this team perfectly.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

5 pages of intelligent discussion -

He should retire at the end of the season.

I don't need to write a dissertation to give àn opinion. I don't say things lightly. It's obvious that Contador is struggling to be competitive in this TDF which is a theme likely to be repeated in 2018 in any GT.

And as I've said many times, so what. If he's okay with that but wants to continue riding his bike for a living, why "should" he retire?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Think I saw somewhere that he was gonna be signing a new contract on the first rest day. It will be interesting to see what becomes of that seeing things haven't turned out quite right up to now. Wonder if he goes/they give him a full season or until the end of the Giro if he's gonna target that as one last swansong. It was sad watching him struggle yesterday and just wish him the best in whatever he decides.

If trek is looking for mechanic they should sign Contador.He has experience and could fit in that role in this team perfectly.

Quit trolling.

 

[cellardoor]

Re:

I'll be surprised if he doesn't retire at the end of this season. I think we will find he or Trek delay signing this contract renewal that's apparently supposed to be signed today.

We were in a similar situation at exactly this point last year (a poor TdF) and yet the contract was still signed on the rest day. Trek seem to be more interested in having famous cyclists who sell bikes on their roster than results per se. I don't think much has changed from Trek's point of view as, from the point of view of someone who's emotionally detached, the evidence was there for a while that he wasn't going to be winning the TdF. Also, no new information is likely to come to light in the coming weeks that will change things, so they might as well make a decision now one way or the other. I think the most likely outcome is that, since Trek are in a stronger negotiating position, Contador won't get his way in terms of retiring after the Giro.

Based on last year, we may not get official confirmation of the contract for a number of weeks.

 

[hrotha]

I'd be surprised if Trek changed their minds now. If Contador's performance at the Tour was going to be a factor, they wouldn't have scheduled the signing for the first rest day.

 

[Atom]

Team leading Grand Tour rider since 2007. Usually doing two a season. That's now 11 seasons with no easy days in Grand Tours. The body has only so much it can give and it appears AC is now tapped out. Been a great career.

Does anyone expect Froome will still be competing to win GT's in 2023?

 

[SeriousSam]

Unless they were confident he'd perform at a level that would be competitive for the podium. But yeah, I doubt it as well. Contador is a huge brand, and athletes that build up huge brands can usually continue for a while at high levels of compensation even after their actual performance has declined considerably.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re: Re:

I've always been mystified (post 14) by the lack of attention to Riis. There's even an intervuew where confirms it.

Ferryman: don't knock the extrvagant languages: rhub has to deal in a super mongrel form day to day.

What is it people are referring to about what Riis said related to his training?

That he could still reach top level but was training wrong. Working to much in the saddle/power.

Thanks.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

I've always been mystified (post 14) by the lack of attention to Riis. There's even an intervuew where confirms it.

Ferryman: don't knock the extrvagant languages: rhub has to deal in a super mongrel form day to day.

What is it people are referring to about what Riis said related to his training?

That he could still reach top level but was training wrong. Working to much in the saddle/power.

Thanks.

Actually Riis said he didn't train enough in the saddle

 

[buchanan]

Yeah I was initially thinking it may be more Contador who decides to delay renewing his contract. I can sorta understand from Trek's side that it might still be desirable if they think having him on board can help sell bikes. I just don't think he will relish the prospect next year of being a faded star, uncompetitive in any of the GT's.

 

[cellardoor]

Re: Re:

I've always been mystified (post 14) by the lack of attention to Riis. There's even an intervuew where confirms it.

Ferryman: don't knock the extrvagant languages: rhub has to deal in a super mongrel form day to day.

What is it people are referring to about what Riis said related to his training?

That he could still reach top level but was training wrong. Working to much in the saddle/power.

Thanks.

Actually Riis said he didn't train enough in the saddle

I feel like Riis' comments are no more revealing than if we were to posit that "Contador is grimicing alot while following the wheels, if only he trained so that he wasn't grimicing at that point, then he'd be able to attack".

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

5 pages of intelligent discussion -

He should retire at the end of the season.

I don't need to write a dissertation to give àn opinion. I don't say things lightly. It's obvious that Contador is struggling to be competitive in this TDF which is a theme likely to be repeated in 2018 in any GT.

And as I've said many times, so what. If he's okay with that but wants to continue riding his bike for a living, why "should" he retire?

the folk that want him to retire because he doesn't win anymore are not real fans of Bertie, everybody fades at some point, he might not have it in grand tours anymore but week long races can still play in to his hands

 

[miguelindurain111]

Re: Re:

5 pages of intelligent discussion -

He should retire at the end of the season.

I don't need to write a dissertation to give àn opinion. I don't say things lightly. It's obvious that Contador is struggling to be competitive in this TDF which is a theme likely to be repeated in 2018 in any GT.

And as I've said many times, so what. If he's okay with that but wants to continue riding his bike for a living, why "should" he retire?

the folk that want him to retire because he doesn't win anymore are not real fans of Bertie, everybody fades at some point, he might not have it in grand tours anymore but week long races can still play in to his hands

The Animator

https://twitter.com/Eurosport/status/861479380559826944

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

5 pages of intelligent discussion -

He should retire at the end of the season.

I don't need to write a dissertation to give àn opinion. I don't say things lightly. It's obvious that Contador is struggling to be competitive in this TDF which is a theme likely to be repeated in 2018 in any GT.

And as I've said many times, so what. If he's okay with that but wants to continue riding his bike for a living, why "should" he retire?

the folk that want him to retire because he doesn't win anymore are not real fans of Bertie, everybody fades at some point, he might not have it in grand tours anymore but week long races can still play in to his hands

Well spoken rick :surprised:

 

[rick james]

I don't mind Bertie (he's a dog lover so whats not to like?) its just the fact that some of his fans, and its mostly the ones that want him to retie because he doesn't win anymore that get to me, they think he has the right to win every race he turns up at

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re:

Yeah I was initially thinking it may be more Contador who decides to delay renewing his contract. I can sorta understand from Trek's side that it might still be desirable if they think having him on board can help sell bikes. I just don't think he will relish the prospect next year of being a faded star, uncompetitive in any of the GT's.

Haven't read all the latest here yet. May need to take a week off work....

Whilst I am as guilty as anyone of over rating what Alberto is still capable of, we shouldn't now go the other way and say things like "uncompetitive in any of the GT's".

And not only because uncompetitive apparently isn't a word.

He has had one really bad day. One. And yeah, maybe that is as good as it gets now for Alberto. But maybe not. He wasn't far behind on stage 5. And who was over a minute behind on that stage? Jacob Fulgsang, who turned it around on stage 9 to finish with the heads of state, and keep his outside chances of a podium finish alive. Cyclists have bad days, and IF yesterday was a bad day for Contador, and a really bad day at that, then he still might not be too bad in the mountains to come. We aren't talking about a guy who hasn't even been finishing top ten in stage races (dauphne aside) this year. He has been far from pack fodder. And Mont Du Chat isn't exactly an easy climb.

I know that a lot of people want Alberto to fall twenty minutes behind and then win a stage. And maybe that would be the sensible option. But I don't want that. I want him to keep fighting. I want him to animate the race, if possible. And that doesn't mean being allowed into a breakaway when twenty minutes down, and distancing guys who have never even been top ten GT GC riders by ten seconds on a final climb to win a stage again at the Tour De France for the cushy cinematic conclusion.

Animating the race means getting into the breakaway, probably sometime next week, and at least making Sky and other teams THINK about the situation.

It would probably fail, in the end. It would almost certainly fail. But I don't want Alberto Contador to finish his Tour career riding like Pierre Rolland. Stage win or not.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I'd like him to ride like Pierre Rolland It's the only way he can get something out of this race, IMO. His GC ambitions are out the window and he isn't going to win a stage by beating the best climbers in a fair fight. Don't forget it's 8 years ago he won a Tour stage and this year is his last chance to grab one more.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re: Re:

Strange though he talked the numbers game at the start of this race, even if it was apparent at the Dauphine he was behind schedule in being able to peak for the Tour.

What I can't understand is how he and his team were so egregiously mistaken in preparation and prognostication. His decline has been ongoing since 2011 at the Tour, but every year there was always something to deceive one into thinking the ineluctable was mistaken. Now the final verdict is out.

You can use words that don't need to flame. I've spoken English all of my 50+ years and have never ever used one of those. But there again, well, I did allude (I do use that one) to idiots in a previous post.

:lol:

Maybe Contador is reading this thread (and what a lovely photo of a champion in contemplation that is). This English would make as much sense to him as it does to us

 

[cellardoor]

Re: Re:

Yeah I was initially thinking it may be more Contador who decides to delay renewing his contract. I can sorta understand from Trek's side that it might still be desirable if they think having him on board can help sell bikes. I just don't think he will relish the prospect next year of being a faded star, uncompetitive in any of the GT's.

Haven't read all the latest here yet. May need to take a week off work....

Whilst I am as guilty as anyone of over rating what Alberto is still capable of, we shouldn't now go the other way and say things like "uncompetitive in any of the GT's".

And not only because uncompetitive apparently isn't a word.

He has had one really bad day. One. And yeah, maybe that is as good as it gets now for Alberto. But maybe not. He wasn't far behind on stage 5. And who was over a minute behind on that stage? Jacob Fulgsang, who turned it around on stage 9 to finish with the heads of state, and keep his outside chances of a podium finish alive. Cyclists have bad days, and IF yesterday was a bad day for Contador, and a really bad day at that, then he still might not be too bad in the mountains to come. We aren't talking about a guy who hasn't even been finishing top ten in stage races (dauphne aside) this year. He has been far from pack fodder. And Mont Du Chat isn't exactly an easy climb.

I've appreciated reading your positive comments of late, but I feel your setting yourself up for disappointment if you're putting yesterday down to a bad day. He's been bad on all 4 GC-relevant stages in the race. We also have to take into account last year's Vuelta where there really was no good reason for poor form if we consider his history.

Still, I agree that his best bet is probably just to keep plugging away - I can't really see him stage hunting.

 

[rhubroma]

After the Pharmstrong tyranny I enjoyed the swashbuckling panache of Alberto Contador, basically because I despise monotonous, insipid and prepotent reigns in which everything is programed and nothing goes awry, for which I was similarly enthusiastic about Pantani. But I gues it's just my destiny to always be attracted to those of immense pedigree, but who always have the greater interests of the sport working unremittingly against them. It's not at all surprising that the bookends of the US Postal/Sky regimes have been Pantani and Contador. The robotic, algorithmic

 

[Carols]

Re:

After the Pharmstrong tyranny I enjoyed the swashbuckling panache of Alberto Contador, basically because I despise monotonous, insipid and prepotent reigns in which everything is programed and nothing goes awry, for which I was similarly enthusiastic about Pantani. But I gues it's just my destiny to always be attracted to those of immense pedigree, but who always have the greater interests of the sport working unremittingly against them. It's not at all surprising that the bookends of the US Postal/Sky regimes have been Pantani and Contador. The robotic, algorithmic

Oh my how this resonates with me Well said!

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re:

I'd like him to ride like Pierre Rolland It's the only way he can get something out of this race, IMO. His GC ambitions are out the window and he isn't going to win a stage by beating the best climbers in a fair fight. Don't forget it's 8 years ago he won a Tour stage and this year is his last chance to grab one more.

Wash your mouth out Flo!

Maybe it's because Kloden was my favourite rider, and I liked when he still rode for GC in 2012 even though he was no chance to finish top 5 (finished 11th). I rate that Tour as better for him than 2013, even though the latter provided me with greater excitement (when he was strong in the breakaway group on that stage everyone loved into Le Grand Bornand and finished 2nd).

I suppose it would depend on how Contador wins a stage. If he does it by barely gapping Gilbert and Bakalents on Izoard, and just holding off the peloton who gave him ten minutes to start the climb, then no. I think that such a result adds NOTHING to his legacy. It adds nothing to those of us who know about his career, and who do not only taken an interest in July.

But if he were to do something that was about 50% as exciting and as infuential as Formigal, then that to me is far greater. I don't mean a total suicide attack either, like say, Pantani against Armstrong in 2000. He goes in the break, hopefully with a teammate, or he initiates an attack in the middle of a mountain stage, with a few other riders, when he has at least one mate up the road in the breakaway. Given the various motives that other riders and teams have, there is always the possibility that a situation could develop where alliances form, and Alberto even has a shot at a top five finish overall (and let's face it, he's still 'only' a few minutes off the podium). But a big question is how much was yesterday a bad (or at least a not good) day, or was it just 100% his form?

I still can't forget Contador at Paris-Nice this year. I cannot believe that it is 100% the latter.

 

[rhubroma]

After the Pharmstrong tyranny I enjoyed the swashbuckling panache of Alberto Contador, basically because I despise monotonous, insipid and prepotent reigns in which everything is programed and nothing goes awry, for which I was similarly enthusiastic about Pantani. Although I guess it's just my destiny to always be attracted to those of immense pedigree, but who always have the greater interests of the sport working unremittingly against them. It's not at all surprising that the bookends of the US Postal/Sky regimes have been Pantani and Contador. The robotic, algorithmic like inevitability of an Armstrong or Froome, in which economic power and laboratory producion produces the desired results every time, is the diametric oppossite of what I like about the individual class and showmanship of these other famous ones. It is also a question of style between Latin and Anglican peoples and the relative economic weight they carry within the sport, which, unfortunately, has under the forces of globalizzation been driven away from the former and into the latter domain.

Having said that it is, however looked upon, singularly bizarre that Contador has been the only GC contender to not improve since the Dauphine, at which he already was sub par. How is that possible? I don't think age has as much to do with it as do other factors. At any rate it's the big media empire of a Sky, or the state backed resources of an Astana that have impacted upon the outcomes of this sport in ways that sponsorship never could in the past (pre US Postal). Then it was about the sponsors benefiting from the individual talents, now it's the sponsors themselves creating the rider destined to be the next champion, who is thus molded by its apparatus into the desired corporate image it is looking to promote. So either it's that sponsorship that has predestined you as the next super champion, or even the greats don't have a place in that arena. Sad really.

 

[Simurgh]

No matter what happens in the rest of the Tour and in the coming year(s), Alberto Contador will always be my hero and inspiration. Andy and Team Saxo Bank may have drawn me into cycling, but Alberto (especially from Tour 2011 onwards) kept me in cycling, and made me evolve from a july fan to watching cycling of every kind. As I wrote in the race thread, he is a true legend. Riding with his heart, not his calculator. I, as well as you, all of us can feel privileged and honored that we have had the chance to enjoy his riding while he is still active!

 

[arvc40]

Think I saw somewhere that he was gonna be signing a new contract on the first rest day. It will be interesting to see what becomes of that seeing things haven't turned out quite right up to now. Wonder if he goes/they give him a full season or until the end of the Giro if he's gonna target that as one last swansong. It was sad watching him struggle yesterday and just wish him the best in whatever he decides.

What's the minimum wage in Spain ?