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Armstrong: Contador is "nervous"

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Mar 18, 2009
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This is what cycling needs after everything it has been put through the past couple years with all of the drug controversy and so on. LA and AC makes a great story! I for one will be watching it!!
 
Mar 14, 2009
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Non Grimpeur said:
Armstrong will regret these comments on the Ventoux in July. Contador will let his legs do the talking.

I have thnking that since LA said, tha AC has a lot of to learn.
I ve readen all the posts and the idea who convince me more is the point about psicological war. The moment of this statement was made, few minutes after he reachs the "meta", still getting on Alberto of a tough bonk, "that was miserable", said LA,- yes a miserable behavior and any carefully i think.
The way to do this on twitter making a public declaration and showing the world who has the gallons in his team. that was sick,arrogant and inaproppiate and advantagist.
The day before Alberto had rode fantastic,won the stage, took the yellow, and make an important gap in GC, Lance´s words on Twitter was- CONGRAT ALBERTO!, just that, for me so dry , sad and soft statement, when everybody who watched the race was impresed about that huge performance.
Ok, LANCe know who is the stronger man in the team; he has said several times "Alberto is the stronger ciclist of the world, RIGHT NOW" he aways had said the same, finish with, Right NOW, here are some videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8iYXS-d23U play in 3´:15":he said it
Turn Under australian intervieW
also this link,
Spanish Tv, during Tenerife training cump
http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/videos/...a/359670.shtml play it in 2:40, at the end of his statemen, he said the same, but saying "at this day he is the stronger"
All i want to show you is this inecesary psicological war, he alway treat to leave a door open about the stronger , that for me is stupid, i dont know he want to take this in that way. Saturday he take advantages of his blonk, and show his gallons while AC was suffering
PLEASE WATCH EVeRYBODY THE next video taken of spanish tv,
http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/videos/...a/359670.shtml

this video reveals many think about we talk, has a lot imformation also a lot of questions to find out
 
Mar 18, 2009
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There's no I in team Lance

After Lance worked so hard for someone (Levi) other than himself at the Tour of California I was beginning to gain some respect for him as a teammate. But this war of words with Contador is getting ridiculous.
Lance made this big deal about how this year was about raising awareness for cancer but it seems that it is more about raising awareness for Lance's own greatness.
Don't get me wrong, Lance is a great champion but he's a horrible, selfish teammate. He should go home and spend some time with his kids instead of running around Hollywood with his actor friends.
 
Mar 11, 2009
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I agree with Lance's comments about Alberto being nervous but not to the extent to take the matter to the press. On rare occasions when Alberto is not destroying the field, he does get nervous, expects other riders to do all the work for him (and they are not crazy to do that, of course!), you can see by his gesticulation that he is boiling inside. However, it is obvious Lance's comments are aimed to derail his younger teammate.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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I sort of think of it this way. If the other teams think there is in-fighting at Astana at this early stage. Then they think they have will advantage.
And then, of course it will play out the way it was originally supposed to with Contador being the top rider, and all the other teams wasted time and energy on Armstrong....we all know that they all have riders who they think are a threat to their teams top rider winning.

So it could be a case of mind games.....or just the media taking what was said totally out of context.

I have nothing against either rider and wish them both the best of luck for the years racing...:)
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Is the texan starting to get nervous?

One of the best riders ever starts his come back by bad mouthing his team leader! Armstrong is realy falling from grace in my eyes. Contador won within 12 month all grand tours, something Armstrong never dared to try. Does he really thingk Contador will get LESS nervous when Armstron in trashing him in the media? No, and that is propably just the tactic of the american...
 
Mar 17, 2009
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I believe that Armstrong considers Contador the biggest threat to achieving greatness this summer. That is why he decided to speak to that french newspaper in such a manner.
I have to say, I would question the merits of Armstrong making a public critical assessment of his teammate. I don't think that has happened in cycling too often...aside from Cunego / Simoni you would need to go back as far as LeMond / Hinault.
The way Contador has performed on the bike in the last 12 months has been exceptional...his performance in the Giro, given his lack of preparation, was incredible. Despite Contadors mistake in Paris Nice, he demonstrated he was in excellent condition. Armstrong recongised this....and I believe there is only one rider in Astana who is nervous. And it isn't Contador.
 
I think it could be a red herring designed to increase public interest and throw off the other teams. Bruyneel and Armstrong know how this plays in the media. Armstrong has been slowly and deliberately increasing the rhetoric and Alberto remains silent. Do you really think the best rider in the world would take this if it was at face value? He'd threaten to quit immediately. Not unlike when Lance first announced his comeback.

Nah, this is a ploy and Bert's in on it.

However...Armstrong, as usual, gets to have it both ways. He tell Alberto, "Buddy you're the boss for the Tour, this will screw with their minds", and Bert's all "Yeah, Lance, this is some funny s-h-i-t." Meanwhile, Lance looks transparent if he has the legs in the Tour and races as leader, and if he doesn't Alberto backs him up when he says "It was all a ruse, I'm here to promote my cancer charity".

Anyway, I think it's all academic. Alberto will destroy Lance in the Tour.
 
sanluca said:
I have to say, I would question the merits of Armstrong making a public critical assessment of his teammate. I don't think that has happened in cycling too often...aside from Cunego / Simoni you would need to go back as far as LeMond / Hinault.

Valverde has been strongly criticized publicly twice in the past year. First at the Vuelta when he lost time after going back to the team car to retrieve a jacket by his ds and some of his teammates in the race and second at the World Championships when he was shadowing Bettini and his teammates felt he should have been covering the decisive break. All public criticisms that would have been better served taking place within the confines of the team bus or hotel.

Just because what is said may be the truth doesn't mean that the media is the best forum for it to be presented. Whatever happened to team unity? A unified show of support?

If either Bruyneel and Armstrong were truly concerned with Contador's development wouldn't be in the best interest of his long term maturity and development to have Bruyneel and Armstrong at his races giving him tips on the in's and out's of the sport?
Instead they had to be spurred by Contador, the one that "has a lot to learn", to actually include Armstrong and Contador on the same roster for a race before the Tour. The original plan was to keep them separate completely competitively until the start of the Tour which in my eyes isn't logical.

Bruyneel was going into retirement prior to the Astana offer. He saw Contador as someone that he could potentially continue his success with. Now that Armstrong is back his focus has most obviously shifted. Who can doubt that had Armstrong not returned to competition, Bruyneel would have been at P-N in charge? Is it possible with the return of Armstrong Bruyneel can now see his retirement coinciding with Armstrong's final season, possibly 2 years away? There is an potential conflict with the power, influence and independence that Armstrong has, earned or not, that minimizes Bruyneel's decision making. I don't think its ever in the best interest of the team to have a rider who is beyond reproach as Armstrong obviously is. Bruyneel is quoted as saying that in so many words "you don't tell Lance what to do, you can only make suggestions."

Those that call all of this simply a bunch of conspiracy theories gone amok are blinded by their allegiance to any and all that is Armstrong. I think in spite of Bruyneel and Armstrong's successes they are capable of making mistakes in judgement.
This is completely foreign territory for the both of them and they are bound to make mistakes along the way in dealing with this situation. It is a positive sign that they heeded Contador's suggestion that Armstrong and he should race together at least once prior to the Tour. The pro-Armstrong contingent will look at Contador's suggestion as a sign of weakness, thinking that his motives are purely selfish and based on his growing insecurities. I personally think it is more along the lines of a rider who is mature beyond his years seeing the need for something that was an oversight on the part of his more experienced director and teammate.

I'm sure Contador knows that he is a work in progress and while his victory celebrations are scripted and rehearsed I think he is more likely a humble and team oriented rider with tremendous talent. The opportunity to race side by side with someone of Armstrong's incomparable skill, tactical sense and experience would appear to me to be of extreme benefit to Astana's long term investment in Contador's development.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Lance will win the TDF with Levi second and Cadel third. Contador will be in the top ten. I do not understand why Contador is thought to be an angel. He is no different than Lance just not as good at the mental game. Lance is a bad *** jerk just like Contador. Contador lost the mental battle when he punked out when Lance joined Astana. He sounded like a cry baby begging to be the leader. I lost all respect for him at that point. Neither of them will be willing to ride for the other. The most selfless star on the team is Levi who should have won the Vuelta Espana but was robbed by the team. The only serious threat for Lance is Levi. He did not win 7 TDF's by not being a champion.
 
Mar 13, 2009
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who cares!

Lance is right but so what! Who cares. He won't out climb him come July and I doubt he'll out TT him either. Bruyneel won't let AC's mind slip too much and will have better support for him in the TdF than in P-N. Nothing to worry about. Lance would be a fool to scuttle the team at the TdF or before. He knows that too. Even if you think this is a campaign to force AC mentally off during the TdF by Lance, the press is aiding and abetting him by asking and reporting silly things like this so...

Ignore it and let them be.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Share but don't share first place!

jayjaynng said:
I had understood and hoped that Lance would concentrate on riding and winning the Gyro for the first time for himself, and then help Alberto to win the Tour de France. This would add to his legacy and show that he can be an unselfish team rider who can give as good as he takes, as he did in California. But maybe he's just keeping the other riders guessing as to what his true Gyro plans are. Or just maybe he's doing a mind game on L'Equipe. They deserve it!

In any case, it's going to be a fascinating cycling season, the crowds will double, the TV coverage will triple, and TV sponsors will return because people are again paying attention to cycling. All due to Lance.

Let Contador win the big one? Right And how "nice" that would be!
Athletics is psychological and is not to be decided by anyone but the athletes!
 
Mar 12, 2009
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sanluca said:
I believe that Armstrong considers Contador the biggest threat to achieving greatness this summer. That is why he decided to speak to that french newspaper in such a manner.
I have to say, I would question the merits of Armstrong making a public critical assessment of his teammate. I don't think that has happened in cycling too often...aside from Cunego / Simoni you would need to go back as far as LeMond / Hinault.
The way Contador has performed on the bike in the last 12 months has been exceptional...his performance in the Giro, given his lack of preparation, was incredible. Despite Contadors mistake in Paris Nice, he demonstrated he was in excellent condition. Armstrong recongised this....and I believe there is only one rider in Astana who is nervous. And it isn't Contador.

well said.
 

Polish

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Mar 11, 2009
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Why is he so nervous??

Why is he so nervous?

Why IS he so nervous?

Why is he TT'ing so well?

Why is he toying with others on the climbs?

Is Lance disregarding OMERTA again? What is that story from many years ago when Lance raised the flag on Spanish dopers...pre-puerto.....bovine blood or something like that.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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All riders make a mistake at some point....I don't think that Contador is that nervous. I think this has worked well in the sense that people are talking about the tour de france 4 months out.....great publicity, especially for Astana and the race. And unless we are in either riders head....we will never know whats going on.;)
 
Mar 18, 2009
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I can not wait until they catch Contador for doping. I am sure he is doping. All the Contador lovers will I am sure blame Lance for some kind of peer pressure.
 
Mar 11, 2009
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darv123 said:
I can not wait until they catch Contador for doping. I am sure he is doping.

I don't think there's any chance of him getting caught until he dares to walk out from under The Hog's umbrella.
 

ygames

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Mar 17, 2009
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- clueless -

sanluca said:
I believe that Armstrong considers Contador the biggest threat to achieving greatness this summer. That is why he decided to speak to that french newspaper in such a manner.
I have to say, I would question the merits of Armstrong making a public critical assessment of his teammate. I don't think that has happened in cycling too often...aside from Cunego / Simoni you would need to go back as far as LeMond / Hinault.
The way Contador has performed on the bike in the last 12 months has been exceptional...his performance in the Giro, given his lack of preparation, was incredible. Despite Contadors mistake in Paris Nice, he demonstrated he was in excellent condition. Armstrong recongised this....and I believe there is only one rider in Astana who is nervous. And it isn't Contador.

LMFAO - at the brain dead posts on this site - WAKE UP PEOPLE !!!

Contador blew a " WIN " and an ez one at that... it was a (rookie) move
GOT IT....good!

Lance,,,saw a (nervous rookie move) by a team mate and pointed it out...

"as he should" ( it was not to dis-respect Contador ) what Contador did
cost the Team a WIN...

You boneheads have to stop the bull**** posts you are clearly clueless to
how a Racing Team really works. ( IT COST MONEY TO RUN A RACE TEAM )
"rememberrrrrrr" WINNING IS IMPORTANT...

....so your Armstrong and Contador Feud Drama thing ....is all in your little heads... GOT IT... now let it go...
 
ygames said:
LMFAO - at the brain dead posts on this site - WAKE UP PEOPLE !!!

Contador blew a " WIN " and an ez one at that...
it was a (rookie) move
GOT IT....good!

Lance,,,saw a (nervous rookie move) by a team mate and pointed it out...

"as he should" ( it was not to dis-respect Contador ) what Contador did
cost the Team a WIN...

You boneheads have to stop the bull**** posts you are clearly clueless to
how a Racing Team really works. ( IT COST MONEY TO RUN A RACE TEAM )
"rememberrrrrrr" WINNING IS IMPORTANT...

....so your Armstrong and Contador Feud Drama thing ....is all in your little heads... GOT IT... now let it go...

27.jpg
source.
 
ygames said:
LMFAO - at the brain dead posts on this site - WAKE UP PEOPLE !!!

Contador blew a " WIN " and an ez one at that... it was a (rookie) move
GOT IT....good!

Lance,,,saw a (nervous rookie move) by a team mate and pointed it out...

"as he should" ( it was not to dis-respect Contador ) what Contador did
cost the Team a WIN...

You boneheads have to stop the bull**** posts you are clearly clueless to
how a Racing Team really works. ( IT COST MONEY TO RUN A RACE TEAM )
"rememberrrrrrr" WINNING IS IMPORTANT...

....so your Armstrong and Contador Feud Drama thing ....is all in your little heads... GOT IT... now let it go...

So, this forum is just giong to degenerate into another shouty, incoherent mess? How fücking tedious.
 
Mar 19, 2009
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Character contrast

Hi, friends. New user here, so here's a first post.

Armstrong and Bruyneel are demonstrating lack of character and need for a maturation process. In terms of character, Contador puts them to shame.

At what point will they realize that they're making fools of themselves? Their conceited remarks to the press and gleeful use of Twitter are revealing two adolescent bullies.

We're cancer survivors and long-time Armstrong fans. For years, we counted on them for better than this. It's hard to witness the downward spiral. I'm not a fan of Armstrong and Bruyneel anymore. I'm ashamed of them.

Chapeau to Contador. All good things to him.
 

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