All three grand tours.

[Caruut]

Could Contador win all three grand tours in one season?

I was scanning through the PCM achievements list and one caught my eye "King of the World: Win all three grand tours in one season". I began to assemble a custom team to attempt to pull this off, and it got me thinking: could he actually do it?

While he disappointed trying to do the Giro/Tour last year, he had an injury and a pretty poor team for a rider of his standard. Obviously this year is off the cards but next year looks to be a very climb heavy Tour. The only man who can match him in the mountains is Schleck, but one would expect him to lose time in the TTs. By that time, Evans will be over the hill, and no-one has really appeared in the same class as those two.

With a good team able to take the pressure off him, he might not have to do so much of his work himself, reducing the fatigue going from race to race. If the Vuelta field is (somehow) as weak as in 2011, even an exhausted Contador should blow them apart.

Obviously securing a team that good would hinge a lot on whether the UCI's "no points for returning riders" rule is enforceable.

So, can he do it? How likely is it?

 

[The Hitch]

No.

For starters he won't try.

I'd say its about as likely as Frank Schleck winning this years Tour.

 

[burning]

No way at all

 

[Caruut]

No.

For starters he won't try.

I'd say its about as likely as Frank Schleck winning this years Tour.

How do you know he won't try? He would become one of the true legends of the sport.

 

[El Pistolero]

Contador will rape everyone in August. He'll also destroy Cancellara and Tony Martin in the time trial in September. Watch out!

 

[The Hitch]

How do you know he won't try? He would become one of the true legends of the sport.

He doesn't do the Vuelta even when he has just the Tour in his legs. No way is he going to try a Vuelta after a Tour and a Giro in his legs.

And he doesn't even have a Giro Tour or Tour Vuelta double yet. Yes he got very unlucky in the 2011 Tour but if he hadn't been - hadn't lost minutes in the first weekend, hadn't been thrown of his bike by Karpets, hadn't hurt his knee, there would be no guarantee that he would have won the race.

Now try doing the Vuelta after that. How is he even supposed to prepare?

Nevermind that many people couldn't get over the Giro despite skipping the tour.

But most importantly Contador is someone who when he goes to a race, goes to perform. He has done 4 gts in 3 years and he has been ready for all of them. And he has gone all out in all of them. Its not like him to save up in 1 gt to prepare for the next. 3 gts in 1 year, I think he knows even he doesn't have the legs for it.

Contador will rape everyone in August. He'll also destroy Cancellara and Tony Martin in the time trial in September. Watch out!

Relevance to thread?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Contador will rape everyone in August. He'll also destroy Cancellara and Tony Martin in the time trial in September. Watch out!

Don't use such foul language. Alberto will rape no one.

 

[hrotha]

Contador will rape everyone in August. He'll also destroy Cancellara and Tony Martin in the time trial in September. Watch out!

That's not very relevant is it.

 

[LaFlorecita]

@ Hitch if he has the Giro-Tour double I'm sure he'll try the Vuelta too.

Also I saw you are following me on twitter. How did you find me?

 

[El Pistolero]

That's not very relevant is it.

33% of the work done, it's very relevant

 

[LaFlorecita]

That's not very relevant is it.

I think Pisti means Alberto will be so awesome he'll do the triple.

 

[The Hitch]

@ Hitch if he has the Giro-Tour double I'm sure he'll try the Vuelta too.

Also I saw you are following me on twitter. How did you find me?

Someone else was following me and as I looked through their follow lists you were there.

 

[Caruut]

He doesn't do the Vuelta even when he has just the Tour in his legs. No way is he going to try a Vuelta after a Tour and a Giro in his legs.

And he doesn't even have a Giro Tour or Tour Vuelta double yet. Yes he got very unlucky in the 2011 Tour but if he hadn't been - hadn't lost minutes in the first weekend, hadn't been thrown of his bike by Karpets, hadn't hurt his knee, there would be no guarantee that he would have won the race.

Now try doing the Vuelta after that. How is he even supposed to prepare?

Nevermind that many people couldn't get over the Giro despite skipping the tour.



Relevance to thread?

Surely if he did the Giro-Tour double though, he would at least go along for the ride on the Vuelta to see what he could do?

If he had a super-team, then the Giro would have put less into his legs, and Zomengan's no longer organising the Giro, which should make that easier.

 

[The Hitch]

33% of the work done, it's very relevant

Im interested to see how you explain this.

 

[Spine Concept]

Would love to see him pull it off, if anyone could do it right now it's him. Highly unlikely though, would simply be too much for him and anyone really.

 

[happychappy]

I hope he doesn't try it next year - I want him to utterly and completely destroy Little Andrew in July. I don't just want Contador to win, I want his victory to be so crushing that there will be so many Andrew Tears flowing that people are going to need boats instead of bikes.

 

[Caruut]

Not a hope.

He could win a Tour-Giro double but the Giro would have to be a lot easier then last years one. I think he is the only one in the peloton capable of winning 2 Tours in the same year though.

In 2013 I think he will concentrate solely on the Tour and if he wins it, I think he will go all out for the Tour-Giro double in 2014 provided the Giro isnt as brutal as in the last couple of years. I say this is a big ambition of Contador before he retires to win both in the same year.

If he does do a Giro-Tour in the next couple of years (which I think he could), then why would he not at least try the Vuelta? If they take another strong GT rider (which he would need as super-dom anyway), the worst case scenario is that he drops out and says "nope, it's too much", and they work for the other guy.

 

[goggalor]

I won't say it can't be done, but I think Contador showed last year that he can't do it. He also said he'd never ride the giro again, so it's a pointless discussion really.

The Tour-Vuelta double is very possible though.

 

[Caruut]

Im interested to see how you explain this.

I guess if he wins (when he wins?) the Vuelta this year and then does the Giro-Tour in 2013, he would hold all 3 at once, but that's not what I meant.

 

[The Hitch]

Surely if he did the Giro-Tour double though, he would at least go along for the ride on the Vuelta to see what he could do?

If he had a super-team, then the Giro would have put less into his legs, and Zomengan's no longer organising the Giro, which should make that easier.

The problem is that its not as simple as just doing the Vuelta.

This is a brutal sport. I bet after the Giro he was crying every day about how much pain he was in and wondering how he will get in shape for the Tour.

After the Tour he will have absolutely nothing left. He will know straight away that doing another gt 3 weeks later is pointless.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I hope he doesn't try it next year - I want him to utterly and completely destroy Little Andrew in July. I don't just want Contador to win, I want his victory to be so crushing that there will be so many Andrew Tears flowing that people are going to need boats instead of bikes.

You are not alone.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Someone else was following me and as I looked through their follow lists you were there.

How did you know it was me?

Also, now I want to know who that person is.

Edit: Minessa from Kazakhstan?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: the poll

One thing I do not understand: What has the no points rule to do with his chances to succeed?

 

[Havetts]

How did you know it was me?

Also, now I want to know who that person is.

Edit: Minessa from Kazakhstan?

To be fair, your twitter account has Fleur as a name and combining it with your twitter username it is not hard to guess its you

 

[will10]

Merckx could've. Even Hinault could've. In modern cycling it's as good as impossible.