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Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

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Re: Re:

portugal11 said:
But he was talking about the last season of former gt legends... you're out of context, so please don't come here only to troll other members. The last season of LA was 2010 and not 2009

Wrong. He mentioned performances, hence, putting into context, the last 2 GT performances of their careers. Hence, whilst it is very premature to compare Armstrong's performance in the 2010's TDF with Contador's 2017 Vuelta (all in all, Armstrong crashed a couple of times, which screwed his chances of getting a top-10), it is perfectly reasonable to state that Armstrong's podium in 2009 was arguably better than the place Contador achieved in this year's TDF.

About Pantani, not even worth comparing for obvious reasons.

@Red Rick

Relax. I wasn't "insulting" anyone.
 
Re: Re:

portugal11 said:
lenric said:
portugal11 said:
staubsauger said:
Tinkoff was 100% correct. Contador should've retired 2 years ago!

Actually this performances are worse than Pantani 2003 or Armstrong 2009. Eventually puts things into perspective on how big Contador really was!
Huh? Did you watch armstrong's performances in 2010?

He mentioned Armstrong's performance in 2009. You should improve your reading skills.
But he was talking about the last season of former gt legends... you're out of context, so please don't come here only to troll other members. The last season of LA was 2010 and not 2009

Armstrong's last GT was 2010 but his last season was 2011
 
Re: Re:

StryderHells said:
portugal11 said:
lenric said:
portugal11 said:
staubsauger said:
Tinkoff was 100% correct. Contador should've retired 2 years ago!

Actually this performances are worse than Pantani 2003 or Armstrong 2009. Eventually puts things into perspective on how big Contador really was!
Huh? Did you watch armstrong's performances in 2010?

He mentioned Armstrong's performance in 2009. You should improve your reading skills.
But he was talking about the last season of former gt legends... you're out of context, so please don't come here only to troll other members. The last season of LA was 2010 and not 2009

Armstrong's last GT was 2010 but his last season was 2011
Didn't he only do the Cadel Ocean race or something like that?
 
Jul 6, 2016
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I just feel very gutted right now. But this doesn't exactly mean that he has to retire from the race or won't improve or won't be able to do something special further in the race. This Vuelta is gonna be really long, really hard. The only thing I'm quite sure of is that he won't win this race anymore...
 
It was painful to watch Alberto literally drained to the last drop of energy...... He stated it he has no idea what happened to his body, but he described it literally as it shut down on him.....

at this point, I'm prepared to watch him simply pulling on the side of the rode, getting off the bike, and saying farewell to the world of cycling .......
 
Re:

jilbiker said:
This have been the story since 2014 with blips here and there, so whats new? he is an exceptional athlete such that he won a GT (2015 Giro) on reserve tank. Except we are now on literally empty tank.

But some die-hard AC fans refuse to wake up from fantasy island still believing in the miracle blip. Perhaps reality will now set it, he ain't what he was, hasn't been since 2014. Even the 2015 Giro may not had been if Landa had been allowed to do what he wanted.

Still think he is an exceptional athlete but he should have quit after 2014. Although I wonder if he may have come back like LA, feeling he cut it short? Now, he will not return, its clear to him and everyone there is nothing left, he has given the sport everything, every ounce of gas he has to offer.
In 2015 he won the Giro and in 2016 several stages and Vuelta al Pais Vasco so of course he shouldn't have retired in 2014.
 
Re:

Electress said:
What he said at the pre-race interviews about he didn't like the Watts cycling and the riding for places, sounded almost a bit disillusioned. I have been wondering about his decision - that he seemed to suddenly decide to retire. I wonder if he' s just done with it.
that also crossed my mind when I read those statements. I hope he will further clarify his reasons for retiring at some point, as he has said it isn't because he feels he can't compete anymore.
 
Re:

hfer07 said:
At this point, I'm prepared to watch him simply pulling on the side of the rode, getting off the bike, and saying farewell to the world of cycling .......
I don't see that happening at all. There's just no point unless he can't go on anymore. He'll want to ride all the way to Madrid and feel the love of the fans and there's a tribute waiting for him on the podium.
 
Re: Re:

LaFlorecita said:
Electress said:
What he said at the pre-race interviews about he didn't like the Watts cycling and the riding for places, sounded almost a bit disillusioned. I have been wondering about his decision - that he seemed to suddenly decide to retire. I wonder if he' s just done with it.
that also crossed my mind when I read those statements. I hope he will further clarify his reasons for retiring at some point, as he has said it isn't because he feels he can't compete anymore.

Tbh, the whole way he retired seemed to me there was more to it than contract negotiations or whatever. I confess I'm curious as to what was behind what seemed a volte face as well. I'm kind of clinging on the hope that he was so poor today that there is a more specific reason and that he can get a good stage victory somewhere.

I think he deserves a good exit - he's given a lot to the sport. But I don't want any favours either.
 
Just saw the the last climb. That man cracked mentally. He's won and lost so much over the course of his career that he can't go so deep when he can't believe in his own chances anymore.

I hope he finds a goal in this Vuelta that brings him some satisfaction in his last race. All we can do is shut our cakeholes, accept what's happening and act like crazy people when he's leaving it all on the road.
 
Re: Re:

LaFlorecita said:
jilbiker said:
This have been the story since 2014 with blips here and there, so whats new? he is an exceptional athlete such that he won a GT (2015 Giro) on reserve tank. Except we are now on literally empty tank.

But some die-hard AC fans refuse to wake up from fantasy island still believing in the miracle blip. Perhaps reality will now set it, he ain't what he was, hasn't been since 2014. Even the 2015 Giro may not had been if Landa had been allowed to do what he wanted.

Still think he is an exceptional athlete but he should have quit after 2014. Although I wonder if he may have come back like LA, feeling he cut it short? Now, he will not return, its clear to him and everyone there is nothing left, he has given the sport everything, every ounce of gas he has to offer.
In 2015 he won the Giro and in 2016 several stages and Vuelta al Pais Vasco so of course he shouldn't have retired in 2014.

The whole 2015 thing really quite annoys me. FFS, he won the Giro in pretty good style, then came 5th in the TdF. Contrast Nairo. He gets way too little credit for the double attempt. Suggesting he should have retired the year before he won a GT and came fifth in another is just ridiculous. For virtually everyone else in the whole peloton, that would have been a peak of their career!
 
Re:

Red Rick said:
Just saw the the last climb. That man cracked mentally. He's won and lost so much over the course of his career that he can't go so deep when he can't believe in his own chances anymore.

I hope he finds a goal in this Vuelta that brings him some satisfaction in his last race. All we can do is shut our cakeholes, accept what's happening and act like crazy people when he's leaving it all on the road.
So much this
 
Re: Re:

Netserk said:
DFA123 said:
arvc40 said:
Poor show today. To many Ice Creams and no motivation.
It's like he didn't even touch his bike since the Tour finished - to be in such bad shape. Just spent the time doing interviews and preparing his farewell tour. It's sad to see, but hopefully he can ride himself into some form and do something memorable in the last few stages.
Huh?! Wasn't it a gutsy ride today by Alberto?
That was the opposite of gutsy. That was the ride of a guy who is mentally finished with the sport already. Never seen Contador looking so bad in a GT.
 
Re:

Red Rick said:
Just saw the the last climb. That man cracked mentally. He's won and lost so much over the course of his career that he can't go so deep when he can't believe in his own chances anymore.

I hope he finds a goal in this Vuelta that brings him some satisfaction in his last race. All we can do is shut our cakeholes, accept what's happening and act like crazy people when he's leaving it all on the road.
I still have a small hope that he'll go for stages at the Vuelta when he gets some form in his legs in the third week or whenever, and will realise how fun it is doing that without the pressure of GC every day. And then he'll decide to stay on for another year doing the same thing in the Tour and having a crack at some one day races like Lombardia and the Worlds just for fun.
 
Re: Re:

DFA123 said:
Red Rick said:
Just saw the the last climb. That man cracked mentally. He's won and lost so much over the course of his career that he can't go so deep when he can't believe in his own chances anymore.

I hope he finds a goal in this Vuelta that brings him some satisfaction in his last race. All we can do is shut our cakeholes, accept what's happening and act like crazy people when he's leaving it all on the road.
I still have a small hope that he'll go for stages at the Vuelta when he gets some form in his legs in the third week or whenever, and will realise how fun it is doing that without the pressure of GC every day. And then he'll decide to stay on for another year doing the same thing in the Tour and having a crack at some one day races like Lombardia and the Worlds just for fun.

It's a nice dream, but I can't see it happening.
 
When I thought Quintana hit rock bottom attacking on Croix de Fer and dropping 5 minutes later, being completely empty and desperate, Contador performed this number. Honestly a quite pathetic performance. After seeing this it makes me wonder if we quite frankly has overrated Contador the last couple of years since he probably is the GC-rider which peaks the absolute hardest in the spring and therefore is left more empty in the summertime. We have long thought his spring would reflect his GT-performances, but they haven't come close in 2016 and 2017.He said it wasn't the case this year, he said he would take it a bit easier compared to other years, but its painfully obvious now after seeing a rider Bardet or Froome performing like this in July and August compared to what they and Contador did in March and April. Theres a world of difference between how they have trained and have attacked the season. Contador guns blazing as usual, but his body can't cope with it anymore.

Obviously this isn't his real level, we all know that, but it makes one wonder.
 
Re: Re:

DFA123 said:
Netserk said:
DFA123 said:
arvc40 said:
Poor show today. To many Ice Creams and no motivation.
It's like he didn't even touch his bike since the Tour finished - to be in such bad shape. Just spent the time doing interviews and preparing his farewell tour. It's sad to see, but hopefully he can ride himself into some form and do something memorable in the last few stages.
Huh?! Wasn't it a gutsy ride today by Alberto?
That was the opposite of gutsy. That was the ride of a guy who is mentally finished with the sport already. Never seen Contador looking so bad in a GT.
Really gutsy how he soldiered on. He showed how much of a champ he is. Such bravery. Much courage.
 
Re:

Valv.Piti said:
When I thought Quintana hit rock bottom attacking on Croix de Fer and dropping 5 minutes later, being completely empty and desperate, Contador performed this number. Honestly a quite pathetic performance. After seeing this it makes me wonder if we quite frankly has overrated Contador the last couple of years since he probably is the GC-rider which peaks the absolute hardest in the spring and therefore is left more empty in the summertime. We have long thought his spring would reflect his GT-performances, but they haven't come close in 2016 and 2017.He said it wasn't the case this year, he said he would take it a bit easier compared to other years, but its painfully obvious now after seeing a rider Bardet or Froome performing like this in July and August compared to what they and Contador did in March and April. Theres a world of difference between how they have trained and have attacked the season. Contador guns blazing as usual, but his body can't cope with it anymore.

Obviously this isn't his real level, we all know that, but it makes one wonder.
It's quite clearly that recovery is breaking down. He starts well in PN, and only gets worse throughout the season. And I'm not even talking just recovery between race days, but inbetween races and over the course of a season as well.

I don't think Contador can train as hard as he used to anymore, and if he does he builds up too much fatigue. This means that he can be very good when he enters a race, but after that fatigue gets too much and instead of supercompensating he just breaks down. So when Contador says his numbers are high before the start of a race, that might actually be true. But it also means that he's very fatigued when he's entering a GT. That's not the way to go.

Another thing is that right now almost everyone seems to not peak in the spring anymore when they aim for GTs later on. Valverde is an obvious exeption. Perhaps it's more clear that you can't be great in the spring and in the GTs anymore, and if that's the case across the peloton, then it could be a clinic thing, though you do have men like Porte riding around too.

And I really disagree about this being pathetic. He's past it. I get it. We all get it. I don't find it disgraceful that he wants to ride one last Vuelta in order to say goodbye. He won 9 GTs damnit, least thing he deserved is to go out on his own terms.
 

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