Astana / Contador Equipment 2010

[Polish]

A bit concerned about Astana's wheelset situation - what will happen if some other team has BETTER wheelsets...

Does the covetable wheelset maker LightWeight have exclusivity deals with other teams but not Astana? Yikes.

And what about Astana's sleds? Ever since Big Mig, Pinarello and/or Trek have won 90% of the TdF's. Specialized has never gotten close!
(Some even believe there is a "Specialized Curse", which began way back when Specialized first sponsored Festina.)

I hope Alberto takes the attitude that it is "not about the bike" or wheels.

 

[Anonymous]

I am starting to wonder if turning into a 12 year old girl like Twitterer is the reason The Uniballer can't seem to hang with people like Contador anymore? It really concerns me, especially when I see him drinking Michelob Ultra...I mean, he has adopted the lifestyle of 28 year old financial advisors and legal secretaries. Maybe he thinks that regressing emotionally, not that being a womanizing absentee father takes all that much maturity, will regain the fitness of youth? I don't know, but when he loses again this summer, it is going to devastate him.

 

[Publicus]

He rode Lightweight last year so I don't see why he wouldn't ride them again if he wanted.

And Specialized was second last year and will take at least two of the three podium positions at the Tour (with one of them being 1st). AC has already said he is producing more power than last year, even though he wasn't as fit (hadn't been able to train with the weather), which leaves the bike. It sounds to me like he has upgraded his equipment.

 

[Ripper]

Well f*ck me sideways Polish, you are trolling with this post!

I hope neither Contra or Pharma wins this year. Contra has more years ahead of him, so it wouldn't be the end of his world. But it would make it really interesting if AS made another jump in performance, with perhaps some others also improving.

There's no doubting Contra is uber-good. But it is not like he has won all his GTs by huge margins ... some have been squeekers.

OK, now I feel bad for posting in a po-TROLL-ish thread, but I'm not going to move this post now ... to lazy.

 

[theswordsman]

I'm not sure if this is a serious thread or not, but the Schlecks and Cancallera do just fine on Specialized. Second place is kind of close to first, and fifth isn't far off.

The rumor out of Astana camp is that Specialized technicians got so much good feedback from Contador and his mechanic, Faustino Munoz, that they'll use that and input from Saxo to come up with a new bike for the Tour. Meanwhile, he said that the stiffness of the SL3 really helps with the transfer of power when he stands up on the climbs.

Radio Shack has some of their top Grand Tour riders in the Volta ao Algarve. I guess we'll see how much putting Bontrager decals on someone else's wheels affects the speed.

Thank God the head to head racing starts this week.

 

[cyclopeon]

Thank God the head to head racing starts this week.

Pardon me, I'm just a simple sailor-- sounds like serious plumbing problems are expected. ... or very tight doping controls

 

[ravens]

A bit concerned about Astana's wheelset situation - what will happen if some other team has BETTER wheelsets...

Does the covetable wheelset maker LightWeight have exclusivity deals with other teams but not Astana? Yikes.

And what about Astana's sleds? Ever since Big Mig, Pinarello and/or Trek have won 90% of the TdF's. Specialized has never gotten close!
(Some even believe there is a "Specialized Curse", which began way back when Specialized first sponsored Festina.)

I hope Alberto takes the attitude that it is "not about the bike" or wheels.

'Some even believe...' a classic straw man intro if ever there was one.

Does the equipment quality at this level of racing have much of a determining factor in the outcome? Some even believe it is all nearly equivalent. God, it hurts just to use that jokingly. It's intellectual fraud.

 

[lagartija]

I am starting to wonder if turning into a 12 year old girl like Twitterer is the reason The Uniballer can't seem to hang with people like Contador anymore? It really concerns me, especially when I see him drinking Michelob Ultra...I mean, he has adopted the lifestyle of 28 year old financial advisors and legal secretaries. Maybe he thinks that regressing emotionally, not that being a womanizing absentee father takes all that much maturity, will regain the fitness of youth? I don't know, but when he loses again this summer, it is going to devastate him.

thank you...........i just couldnt bring myself around to return lob

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I hope Alberto takes the attitude that it is "not about the bike" or wheels.

Yep. Just like Lance did.

 

[Bustedknuckle]

'Some even believe...' a classic straw man intro if ever there was one.

Does the equipment quality at this level of racing have much of a determining factor in the outcome? Some even believe it is all nearly equivalent. God, it hurts just to use that jokingly. It's intellectual fraud.

More races have been lost due to equipment than won.