Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread

[Angliru]

Re:

It boggles the mind that anyone can compare the early 90s, with frequent long-range attacks by the contenders on all kinds of terrain, with the last few years with their waiting game until 3-1 km to go. Are you confusing "close race" with "fun race" perhaps?

It's just a Sky fan wiping his soiled shoes on the mat of the Contador thread. Nothing new. All that Sky does is grand, exciting and great for the sport. Any proposals to minimize their dominance and bring entertainment to the Tour is simply bad news. Riders that don't go along with the current gc rider program of being happy with their lot in life as runner ups are foolish for trying, obsolete and destined be seen as unaccepted rascals. How dare they not settle in and just follow the train up the mountains?

How can we not see this all as entertainment?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Some of the dullest Tour years were Indurain's. No power meters or race radios then, simply ride to threshold up the mountains and smash the TTs. Likewise half of Armstrong's wins were without radio and no power meters and almost as dull too with a team throttling attacks riding to perceived threshold and HR, but at least he won a couple of stages unlike Indurain. If Indurain and also Armstrong's team can climb to threshold to kill the race without power and race radio, perhaps Bertie simply doesn't want to accept his time has passed and his way of racing more for fans entertainment than to increase your chance of winning have come to an end. It's bad news for the fans, but how much of professional sport should be about entertainment and how much about winning?

Also, the study by Gaël Guegan concluded using race radio actually rewards the brave and does not correlate with the outcome of a race in a negative way.

Of course, he is bitter, delusional or whatever, in the eyes of some Sky fans at least.
Or, he knows better than most how to ride on feeling and how it makes races more interesting, and has some ideas that could be worth considering. Just because there's no guarantee they'll work, we should not try at all?

 

[Durden93]

Re:

I don't remember that stage in 2009 or 2010 where they banned power meters. Link?

http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf2009.html Stage 10. I meant race radio.

 

[rick james]

LOL aye Bertie you would have won all 3 grand tours if you wanted eh, the way he goes on you'd think it was him that's just won a grand tour double, he's deluded

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

Incoherent made up quotes

He said he would've like to try. That's not a delusion, that's a desire

But then facts don't matter to you don't they?

 

[hazaran]

Contador is like those retired politicians, the moment they step out of office they come up with all those great policy ideas.

Then of course he hasn't been in office for a good 8 years. No wonder he wants to ban powermeters, for him they are the polling results of the Clinton campaign team, running around telling everyone "the numbers are higher than ever" and come November uh July he's hopelessly behind.

 

[rick james]

Its good he calls for power meter bans, I want convicted dopers banned for life....seems fair

 

[movingtarget]

The technology won't be going anywhere, if anything it will increase. Riders have become too used to race radio now and they think it's better for safety. See how much difference 8 man teams make. With the 8 men Sky select probably not a lot. It will only matter if the teams lose riders to injury or illness. I think the ship called Power Meters sailed long ago but the salary cap idea is not a bad one. It works okay in other sports.

 

[cantpedal]

Re:

The technology won't be going anywhere, if anything it will increase. Riders have become too used to race radio now and they think it's better for safety. See how much difference 8 man teams make. With the 8 men Sky select probably not a lot. It will only matter if the teams lose riders to injury or illness. I think the ship called Power Meters sailed long ago but the salary cap idea is not a bad one. It works okay in other sports.

Where? In the US the 3 Major sports are still ruled by "Super Teams" You can pick the playoff teams before the season starts with remarkable accuracy. there is no parity in any of the Sports. One or 2 very good teams with a lot of mediocrity. This in leagues with a financial model that makes caps feasible.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

The technology won't be going anywhere, if anything it will increase. Riders have become too used to race radio now and they think it's better for safety. See how much difference 8 man teams make. With the 8 men Sky select probably not a lot. It will only matter if the teams lose riders to injury or illness. I think the ship called Power Meters sailed long ago but the salary cap idea is not a bad one. It works okay in other sports.

Where? In the US the 3 Major sports are still ruled by "Super Teams" You can pick the playoff teams before the season starts with remarkable accuracy. there is no parity in any of the Sports. One or 2 very good teams with a lot of mediocrity. This in leagues with a financial model that makes caps feasible.

A team like Leicester can win the EPL ? Of course teams that can sign talent at a young age and retain that talent has an advantage but a draft where the worst team has first pick of the best young players is quite fair but of course good young sportsmen don't always make it as pros even in cycling. I still think a salary cap is the most practical of Contador's ideas and most realistic. Great coaches also make a difference. Great organizations are not just about the players. Many people hate Sky but many other teams have tried to follow their ideas re training etc....

 

[Angliru]

Re: Re:

The technology won't be going anywhere, if anything it will increase. Riders have become too used to race radio now and they think it's better for safety. See how much difference 8 man teams make. With the 8 men Sky select probably not a lot. It will only matter if the teams lose riders to injury or illness. I think the ship called Power Meters sailed long ago but the salary cap idea is not a bad one. It works okay in other sports.

Where? In the US the 3 Major sports are still ruled by "Super Teams" You can pick the playoff teams before the season starts with remarkable accuracy. there is no parity in any of the Sports. One or 2 very good teams with a lot of mediocrity. This in leagues with a financial model that makes caps feasible.

The mediocrity is due in large part to mismanagement and chemistry issues. Teams I media meccas like New York and Los Angeles with high payrolls but underachieving teams is often the norm. In basketball stability, astute talent scouting combined with solid management and coaching can make small market teams like Oklahoma City and San Antonio consistently out perform other teams.

 

[Pennino]

Re:

Contador is like those retired politicians, the moment they step out of office they come up with all those great policy ideas.

Then of course he hasn't been in office for a good 8 years. No wonder he wants to ban powermeters, for him they are the polling results of the Clinton campaign team, running around telling everyone "the numbers are higher than ever" and come November uh July he's hopelessly behind.

Contador has mentioned this as long as I can remember.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Its good he calls for power meter bans, I want convicted dopers banned for life....seems fair

That's a discussion for a different subforum.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Contador is like those retired politicians, the moment they step out of office they come up with all those great policy ideas.

Then of course he hasn't been in office for a good 8 years. No wonder he wants to ban powermeters, for him they are the polling results of the Clinton campaign team, running around telling everyone "the numbers are higher than ever" and come November uh July he's hopelessly behind.

He's mentioned the unwanted effect power meters have on racing many times. Also, in case you misunderstood, he doesn't want them banned, he wants them banned in racing, which means they would still be used in training.

 

[Bot. Sky_Bot]

Re:

If I remember correctly, Armstrong also only didn't win a couple of stages. The guy won 5 stages in 2004 and has at least 10 stage wins, Id assume, that are not time trials. Armstrong was by no means boring. Froome is.

Contador took part in 15 GT: 9 individual stage victories (incl 1 ITT wins)

Froome.. also 15 GT: 11 ind stage victories (incl 2 ITT wins)

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

If I remember correctly, Armstrong also only didn't win a couple of stages. The guy won 5 stages in 2004 and has at least 10 stage wins, Id assume, that are not time trials. Armstrong was by no means boring. Froome is.

Contador took part in 15 GT: 9 individual stage victories (incl 1 ITT wins)

Froome.. also 15 GT: 11 ind stage victories (incl 2 ITT wins)

What's the point?!

 

[ferryman]

Re: Re:

If I remember correctly, Armstrong also only didn't win a couple of stages. The guy won 5 stages in 2004 and has at least 10 stage wins, Id assume, that are not time trials. Armstrong was by no means boring. Froome is.

Contador took part in 15 GT: 9 individual stage victories (incl 1 ITT wins)

Froome.. also 15 GT: 11 ind stage victories (incl 2 ITT wins)

What's the point?!

No point La Flo, it's pure jealousy, the great one has retired with 9 GT's under his belt and the Sky/Froome fanatics just can't handle that fact or let it go. I actually find it really kind of amusing they care so much about Contador they feel they have to continue to try and down him. even in his retirement. Bless them

 

[Forever The Best]

Re: Re:

If I remember correctly, Armstrong also only didn't win a couple of stages. The guy won 5 stages in 2004 and has at least 10 stage wins, Id assume, that are not time trials. Armstrong was by no means boring. Froome is.

Contador took part in 15 GT: 9 individual stage victories (incl 1 ITT wins)

Froome.. also 15 GT: 11 ind stage victories (incl 2 ITT wins)

What's the point?!

Not to mention that those stats are mostly wrong.
Froome has 12 GT stage wins and 4 of them are ITT/MTT.
Contador has 9 (11) GT stage wins and 8 (9) of them are ITT/MTT. (Depends on if you think he is the winner of Etna and Nevegal MTT. I think he is but posted both for objectivity.)

 

[Forever The Best]

Some of the dullest Tour years were Indurain's. No power meters or race radios then, simply ride to threshold up the mountains and smash the TTs. Likewise half of Armstrong's wins were without radio and no power meters and almost as dull too with a team throttling attacks riding to perceived threshold and HR, but at least he won a couple of stages unlike Indurain. If Indurain and also Armstrong's team can climb to threshold to kill the race without power and race radio, perhaps Bertie simply doesn't want to accept his time has passed and his way of racing more for fans entertainment than to increase your chance of winning have come to an end. It's bad news for the fans, but how much of professional sport should be about entertainment and how much about winning?

Also, the study by Gaël Guegan concluded using race radio actually rewards the brave and does not correlate with the outcome of a race in a negative way.

This post is so wrong on many levels.
Also people watch sports to be entertained. Why should I watch sth that doesn't entertain me?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

If I remember correctly, Armstrong also only didn't win a couple of stages. The guy won 5 stages in 2004 and has at least 10 stage wins, Id assume, that are not time trials. Armstrong was by no means boring. Froome is.

Contador took part in 15 GT: 9 individual stage victories (incl 1 ITT wins)

Froome.. also 15 GT: 11 ind stage victories (incl 2 ITT wins)

What's the point?!

No point La Flo, it's pure jealousy, the great one has retired with 9 GT's under his belt and the Sky/Froome fanatics just can't handle that fact or let it go. I actually find it really kind of amusing they care so much about Contador they feel they have to continue to try and down him. even in his retirement. Bless them

Even now they have to kick him and his fans. Sad

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

If I remember correctly, Armstrong also only didn't win a couple of stages. The guy won 5 stages in 2004 and has at least 10 stage wins, Id assume, that are not time trials. Armstrong was by no means boring. Froome is.

Contador took part in 15 GT: 9 individual stage victories (incl 1 ITT wins)

Froome.. also 15 GT: 11 ind stage victories (incl 2 ITT wins)

What's the point?!

No point La Flo, it's pure jealousy, the great one has retired with 9 GT's under his belt and the Sky/Froome fanatics just can't handle that fact or let it go. I actually find it really kind of amusing they care so much about Contador they feel they have to continue to try and down him. even in his retirement. Bless them

Aye thats whit it is....Pfft Fifers

 

[cantpedal]

Re: Re:

If I remember correctly, Armstrong also only didn't win a couple of stages. The guy won 5 stages in 2004 and has at least 10 stage wins, Id assume, that are not time trials. Armstrong was by no means boring. Froome is.

Contador took part in 15 GT: 9 individual stage victories (incl 1 ITT wins)

Froome.. also 15 GT: 11 ind stage victories (incl 2 ITT wins)

What's the point?!

No point La Flo, it's pure jealousy, the great one has retired with 9 GT's under his belt and the Sky/Froome fanatics just can't handle that fact or let it go. I actually find it really kind of amusing they care so much about Contador they feel they have to continue to try and down him. even in his retirement. Bless them

Aye thats whit it is....Pfft Fifers

A lot of fans from both sides seem to feel the need to drag the other rider down for some odd reason. This seems to aggravate the tendency to assume every post is an attack on his or her favorite rider. For me a rider is judged on the strength of his competition so it's all counter productive.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Aye thats whit it is....Pfft Fifers

If it isn't jealousy, then what is it? Why do you and others feel the need to drag him down constantly? What is the point?

 

[Serpentin]

Can`t compare Contador to Froome. Contador has panache like no other and people will never forget his attitude. He won 9 GT on the road, I always believed that he would win one more.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Can`t compare Contador to Froome. Contador has panache like no other and people will never forget his attitude. He won 9 GT on the road, I always believed that he would win one more.

Me too 10, it would have been so nice, but we can't complain. And 3x3 has a nice ring to it. 3 Triple Crowns.