Can't adore Contador

[Ryaguas]

and what was with paulinho sucking his thumb the other day ... was he coming out ?

Cuz that victory was dedicated to his incoming child...

Yeah, I am only concerned because Versus/OLN will stop broadcasting it in the US if there aren't enough psuedo-fans in the US who want to watch it. Most of the psuedo-fans are already anti-Contador--they don't like his "El Pistelro" hand gesture and they believe that he wasn't a good teammate of the greatest American cyclist ever, LA.

AC could endear himself a little more if he would speak to the interviewers in English. I don't know if he knows English or not--maybe he just isn't comfortable enough to use it in public. It doesn't matter to me, but I think that has an effect on how Americans feel. Most of my friends who are cycling fans pull for American cyclists or a foreigner who speaks English.

I'm in France right now and it's interesting to see guys like Cadel Evans speak in French to the interviewers.

El Pistolero don't talk in english cuz he doesn't want that the newspapers or the tv news and the reporters misunderstand his words and the real meaning that they have... also his english is quite bad but he is improving it...

 

[El Pistolero]

blabla

Slightly off topic, but I heard Tyler Farrar give an interview in what I believe was Flemish after the Renshaw incident.

Flemish is not a language, it refers to the dialects that exist in Flanders, but they don't differ much from the Dutch language. They speak Dutch in Flanders, French/German in Walloons and French/Dutch in Brussels.

And yes, Tyler Farrar can speak Dutch, with a funny English accent, but he speaks it very well never the less. Even better then some other people here in Flanders lol.

He lives in Ghent in case you didn't know, that's why he speaks Dutch. Pretty much most team leaders of ProTour teams speak Dutch as well like Johan Bruyneel, but that's because most of them are from Belgium/Holland lol.

--

Anyway, I'm obviously a Contador fan. Instead of talking smack to his rivals he lets his legs do the talking. He also seems like a nice guy, he's even friends with Andy Schleck. Although people don't seem to know that here.

 

[Cozy Beehive]

He is decently marketable...... if he keeps his mouth shut, keeps his thoughts to himself, takes a still photograph with his mouth mostly shut, and projects directly to an audience of one person (publicus), oh: and doesn't do that stupid pistol thing

There is anecdotal evidence that sometimes even Lance Armstrong, in his youth, would pretend like he was blowing the smoke out of his air pistol after winning a race. Just saying.

 

[shouldawouldacoulda]

I've become a big Contador fan after how well I thought he carried himself through last year's Tour. But, I admit I HATE the pistolero victory salute. It's painful to watch.

In the past few years I've really become a fan of Spanish riders. Its not like I disliked them in the past, always thought they were great riders, but I was just a bit ambivalent to following them. Mostly due to Sastre and Contador they've really won me over. If I was to use one word to describe how I find the Spanish riders carry themselves it would be 'gracious'. I find they have an interesting balance of etiquette and humilty that I really appreciate.

With Contador I love how he tells it like is-- without bravado. I think he's become a master of avoiding 'traps'. And I really like how he's non-committal about how he'll ride. After all cycling is a really dynamic sport, on any given day there is a range of scenarios that could play out on the road... I appreciate how Contador hints at how he'll adapt to these evolving situations as they happen.

That said, its painful to listen to Contador's english interviews.

BTW, I'm North American. English, but also speak French and a bit of Spanish, Italian and Dutch.

I enjoy watching Sastre give interviews in Italian and English. His Italian is impeccable.

More and more I find myself interested in knowing how many different langauges some of the Euro pros actually speak. I once saw Cancallera bounce between English, Spanish, Italian and German in the space of about 35 seconds... he seemed pretty fluent in each and it was impressive. Granted I have no clue if his German was any good or not

 

[Old School]

Love the Pistol!

Get your hate on fools....hate on! He's the best right now.

 

[forumlurker]

chris boardman famously said something like, 'Indurain makes me sick because he’s actually a really nice guy. You can’t actually work yourself up, there’s no hate involved, no anger. He’s a really nice bloke and a true champion.' to me, contador is similar. he seems nice enough, and doesn't talk a big game.

'i can eat 20 energy gels without throwing up.' rofl

 

[El Pistolero]

I've become a big Contador fan after how well I thought he carried himself through last year's Tour. But, I admit I HATE the pistolero victory salute. It's painful to watch.

In the past few years I've really become a fan of Spanish riders. Its not like I disliked them in the past, always thought they were great riders, but I was just a bit ambivalent to following them. Mostly due to Sastre and Contador they've really won me over. If I was to use one word to describe how I find the Spanish riders carry themselves it would be 'gracious'. I find they have an interesting balance of etiquette and humilty that I really appreciate.

With Contador I love how he tells it like is-- without bravado. I think he's become a master of avoiding 'traps'. And I really like how he's non-committal about how he'll ride. After all cycling is a really dynamic sport, on any given day there is a range of scenarios that could play out on the road... I appreciate how Contador hints at how he'll adapt to these evolving situations as they happen.

That said, its painful to listen to Contador's english interviews.

BTW, I'm North American. English, but also speak French and a bit of Spanish, Italian and Dutch.

I enjoy watching Sastre give interviews in Italian and English. His Italian is impeccable.

More and more I find myself interested in knowing how many different langauges some of the Euro pros actually speak. I once saw Cancallera bounce between English, Spanish, Italian and German in the space of about 35 seconds... he seemed pretty fluent in each and it was impressive. Granted I have no clue if his German was any good or not

Cancellara's German, Italian and English are really good, but that's because he's from Switzerland(they speak lots of languages there, kinda like Belgium). I even think his parents are Italian. There's also an Italian town called Cancellara so it's an Italian name. I don't know about his Spanish, but it's always easier to learn Spanish when you master the Italian language and vice versa.

 

[The Hitch]

i like his salute, so long as he does it as a victory celebration when he wins (hes entitled to do anything he wants in the last metres if he wins a stage.

and i like his squeeky voice. Makes him seem like a kid, while he is one of the great sportsmen of our time.

And when in the tdf team presentation, some girl shouted "te qiero", and the interviewer told him " she just said te qiero" and he just shied away.

The kind of sports character i like rather than the loud im the king of the world type.

 

[The Hitch]

I

More and more I find myself interested in knowing how many different langauges some of the Euro pros actually speak. I once saw Cancallera bounce between English, Spanish, Italian and German in the space of about 35 seconds... he seemed pretty fluent in each and it was impressive. Granted I have no clue if his German was any good or not

Not just euro pros. Mcewen was interviewed in flemish, and aparently speaks it perfectly. Cuddles first post wc win interview was in italian, very good as well. Stephen Roche is asked on eurosport to pronoince and translate any french.

Even cav speaks some italian.

 

[El Pistolero]

Not just euro pros. Mcewen was interviewed in flemish, and aparently speaks it perfectly. Cuddles first post wc win interview was in italian, very good as well. Stephen Roche is asked on eurosport to pronoince and translate any french.

Even cav speaks some italian.

Mcewen lives in Flanders as well. And he speaks Dutch, Flemish is not a language( why does everyone think that here by the way?)

And yes, Mcewen speaks it perfectly although with a slight Australian accent. Which makes the guy even cooler.

 

[reubenr]

Cuz that victory was dedicated to his incoming child...



El Pistolero don't talk in english cuz he doesn't want that the newspapers or the tv news and the reporters misunderstand his words and the real meaning that they have... also his english is quite bad but he is improving it...

I was quite fascinated to listen to the Contador interview. I have not heard him speak in English before, so this was quite interesting and an important moment, I think. Obviously, he is making a great effort to communicate. Having lived for a few years in a foreign country, I know what it is like to try and make this kind of effort. I have never heard Armstrong interviewed in Spanish, so it is hard to make a comparison.

I remember listening to Bob Dylan the first time. Woe, I thought, he sounds kind of different, well funny, to be exact, but wallah, he had something to say and peopled listened.

Fortunately, my wife is fluent in Spanish, so we get the point, no matter on what end of the language spectrum it may occur (she speaks Italian fluently, as well), but it was just awesome to finally here an interview with Contador on American TV. This was a great day for him, and I hope there are many more to come. Schleck speaks kind of funny too, so why don't we have a Schleck speaks funny, too, thread, but I like the way he speaks in English, as well. He is a funny dude. This is a great Tour de France because of the two of them. We should be trying to communicate with them, not against them.

 

[danyela]

More and more I find myself interested in knowing how many different langauges some of the Euro pros actually speak. I once saw Cancallera bounce between English, Spanish, Italian and German in the space of about 35 seconds... he seemed pretty fluent in each and it was impressive. Granted I have no clue if his German was any good or not

That is pretty impressive, wish I could do that! After learning French for years and only just being able to get by, I am in awe of anyonne who speaks a language other than their own perfectly.

Back to the pistolero salute... it's terrible. But, there is a line. I'm ok for him to do it when he wins a stage or big victory or something, but every single time he gets on the podium to claim a jersey is just unnecessary. And the embroidered hat/other pistolero merchandise is ridiculous.

 

[icefire]

El Pistolero don't talk in english cuz he doesn't want that the newspapers or the tv news and the reporters misunderstand his words and the real meaning that they have... also his english is quite bad but he is improving it...

On this subject, believe it or not, El Pistolero is strictly following Bruyneel's advice

 

[meep__]

According to his official site Cadel lives in Stabio, Switzerland but in interviews he tells Italy. International pro athletes don't have homes in the traditional sense, being jetsetters. Do people still say jetset?

 

[flicker]

Love the Pistol!

Get your hate on fools....hate on! He's the best right now.

why sounds like you got plenty of hate.pity the po fool

 

[Ferminal]

I don't adore him, I respect him.

 

[indurain666]

He is by far my favorite (active) bike rider. He is the best, pretty down to earth, humble, professional...wow this is sounding pretty gay...nevertheless he is a great person and the best endurance cyclist. And he is only 26, so if you hate him...sucks to be you...you will be hearing/reading/breathing AC over the next five years or so

 

[Dominar]

I admire his tremendous gifts as a cyclist, but I have to agree with the original poster. AC needs to man up somehow. He's stuck with the Mickey Mouse voice, unfortunately, but he could easily lose the lame "el pistolero" schtick.

YMMV.

 

[Dominar]

Flemish is not a language( why does everyone think that here by the way?)

Probably because the Flemish themselves refer to it that way. It's about as similar to Dutch as American English is to UK English is to Australian English -- common base and easily understood, but still enough differences to make you go "huh?" at times.

 

[Ripper]

All this talk about squeeky voices and salutes is just making me want to puke. They race bikes, they are not talent show wannabes FFS. Who really cares if CE and ACD have squeeky voices ... they ride to win and make it interesting. For the record, many 'salutes' are lame. Even Andy Schleck, whose trademark is simply looking like a Tim Burton skeleton when he wins a stage (I'll just take the hands in the air over any trademark silliness)

I can't think of too many racers who I am not a fan of. They are all wayyyyyyyy better than me (owning a power meter just makes me feel even more humbled )

 

[Ripper]

I admire his tremendous gifts as a cyclist, but I have to agree with the original poster. AC needs to man up somehow. He's stuck with the Mickey Mouse voice, unfortunately, but he could easily lose the lame "el pistolero" schtick.

YMMV.

Winning races is manning up. In fact, winning through attacking is one of the main ways manning up in bike racing.

 

[Dominar]

Winning races is manning up. In fact, winning through attacking is one of the main ways manning up in bike racing.

True enough. But I think people were talking more about their impressions of him off the bike. Some sports fans are just into the game itself and couldn't care less about anything outside of that. Others (like me) need to feel a bit more invested in the players/riders. Sorry.

 

[rxgqgxnyfz]

Some sports fans are just into the game itself and couldn't care less about anything outside of that. Others (like me) need to feel a bit more invested in the players/riders. Sorry.

How about having a stroke during the race, falling off his bike, and having a brain operation?

Or having a brother in a wheelchair?

Is that cool and engaging enough for ya?

Maybe you should try to know something about the riders first yourself, not wait for them to advertise themselves in american style.
________
PLYMOUTH CAMBRIDGE HISTORY

 

[scribe]

Love the Pistol!

Get your hate on fools....hate on! He's the best right now.

loud NY Yankees fans come out of the woodwork when they are winning too

 

[ustabe]

Call me petty, but that high pitch whiny squeaky voice makes me hit the ffwd every time, and it wouldn't matter if I understood whatever the heck he was saying.

Whinger. Is it ten characters now?