Contador 2010

[Rex Hunter]

wtf?! From the theswordsman's link (thanks btw for posting it)

"A Contador victory was clearly not in Armstrong and Bruyneel's plans. The Texan was good enough to follow, but when the attacks came in the mountains he took his time to respond. Nike's LiveStrong t-shirts with a logo consisting of the figure eight made up of two yellow bracelets would have to sit on the shelves for another year."

Reminds me of when Michael Schumacher's manager spent $1 million on world champion merchandise, only for him to get beaten in the last race and lose the title. Red faces all round.

 

[peloton]

Reminds me of when Michael Schumacher's manager spent $1 million on world champion merchandise, only for him to get beaten in the last race and lose the title. Red faces all round.

heh, Schumi's WC merchandise didn't represent a cancer community "charity" though, eh?
The more I read about this stuff, the more I dislike LA. He shouldve stayed retired, but his massive ego couldnt handle it.
Ugly.

 

[Angliru]

wtf?! From the theswordsman's link (thanks btw for posting it)

"A Contador victory was clearly not in Armstrong and Bruyneel's plans. The Texan was good enough to follow, but when the attacks came in the mountains he took his time to respond. Nike's LiveStrong t-shirts with a logo consisting of the figure eight made up of two yellow bracelets would have to sit on the shelves for another year."

That's pretty arrogant to have those already printed and ready for distribution if that is indeed true. They'll just be collecting dust now. Maybe we'll see them in the clearance bin at TJMAXX!

 

[Angliru]

You said something about blood bags, so I told you to take it to the clinic. I think that was fair, wasn't it? Couldn't see anything that agreed with me.

What about this thread though. It's the same issue that has been debated a million times in other threads - people are obsessed with trying to make out LA was the worst rider in the history of the Tour this year. It takes absurdism to a new level - the level of detail they go into to spin this point is deeply worrying. They must watch the tape over and over looking to find further fault with something Armstrong did - maybe he breathed the wrong way or something. I really don't get it.

No you don't get it or just refuse to. I rewatched the stage in question just to be certain of what transpired and lo and behold there's Armstrong hammering on the front of the chase group, out of the saddle, attempting to bridge to Contador all while dragging opposing riders in the process. If you take the time to review the stage I think what you'll see is pretty much undeniable.

 

[dolophonic]

Yup, that's how i saw it as well.

 

[Slayer]

What was wrong with that? He is the 7 times champ with a reputation to look after. Nobody here would have praised him for holding back and being off the podium. In fact you'd be crowing that he got beaten by Wiggins and Frank Schleck.

 

[UpTheRoad]

What was wrong with that? He is the 7 times champ with a reputation to look after. Nobody here would have praised him for holding back and being off the podium. In fact you'd be crowing that he got beaten by Wiggins and Frank Schleck.

Nothing is wrong with it except that:

1) LA was chasing a teammate
2) LA wasn't jumping away to join his teammate, he was riding a hard tempo.
3) Item 2 gave a free wheel to a number of TdF contenders.
4) In the case of Sastre, the free wheel allowed for some valuable recovery from a hard chase to regain contact with remnants of the leading group.
5) LA wasn't marking *any* attacks out of the group.
6) LA wasn't "holding back" anything.

Join these brutal errors with the common knowledge that LA is a seasoned veteran and expert at the strategies and tactics of stage races, and you may come to the conclusion that many already have -- that the Astana problems were deliberate and due to Old Man Armstrong and his cohorts.

If LA would have played the role of teammate even minimally, the criticism would have been much less. His off-the-bike antics still would have been fair game for ridicule, but at least his actions on the bike would have been fine.

 

[Angliru]

I believe that instead of a response from Slayer, all we'll hear is the chirping of crickets.

 

[Race Radio]

I believe that instead of a response from Slayer, all we'll hear is the chirping of crickets.

Don't worry, I am sure he will pull something out of his "Bag of ***" that will make no sense.

 

[Anonymous]

Alberto posted a new press release at his official website, with a photo of him, Pereiro and Vino in the new Astana kit. They usually start off with an automatic translation on the English side of the website.

http://www.albertocontador.com/prensa.detalle.php?id=279

The same 3 guys, but with Vino in a Santa hat, are here.

http://www.biciciclismo.com/comun/u...69-001.jpg&seccion=../comun/imagenes/noticias

Happy New Year, everyone. It's time to think about training camps and races again.

 

[ratatata]

the kit looks AWESOME !!!

 

[bianchigirl]

At least there are 3 GT winners on that team - I believe GeriShack have one old timer and a bunch of wannabe never dids.

The kit is fugly, though

 

[richwagmn]

Cycle Sport printed the best interview I saw with Contador talking about the Tuor de France. It's now posted online as they feature their best stories of the year. Lots of other ones, too, like the lengths Cav went to to make people think he wouldn't do well at MSR.
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/436521/after-the-tour-the-alberto-contador-interview.html

Great interview. Thanks.

His comments on Levi are so true. I can't believe Levi continues to delude himself that LA will let him ride for the win.

 

[richwagmn]

No you don't get it or just refuse to. I rewatched the stage in question just to be certain of what transpired and lo and behold there's Armstrong hammering on the front of the chase group, out of the saddle, attempting to bridge to Contador all while dragging opposing riders in the process. If you take the time to review the stage I think what you'll see is pretty much undeniable.

This is simple fact. Kloden and LA were trying to make sure LA didn't lose too much time. Some team player huh?

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Great interview. Thanks.

His comments on Levi are so true. I can't believe Levi continues to delude himself that LA will let him ride for the win.

Rich, Levi knows exactly what the score is. He's just getting paid enough to say what he's saying and to be Lance's bottle-carrier.

 

[lagartija]

oohhh those astana kits are fugly, at least theres a bit more white , and they look a bit better than radioshack................

 

[Epicycle]

Unless Lance is willing to let Levi or Kloden win the Tour the Shack is not going to beat Contador. They aren't going to drop Contador by brute force, they are going to have to make Alberto decide which attack he is going to let go and hope he makes the wrong choice.

 

[DavidVilla7]

Unless Lance is willing to let Levi or Kloden win the Tour the Shack is not going to beat Contador. They aren't going to drop Contador by brute force, they are going to have to make Alberto decide which attack he is going to let go and hope he makes the wrong choice.

lance has his plans

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

lance has his plans

How'd those plans work out at this year's Tour?

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Unless Lance is willing to let Levi or Kloden win the Tour the Shack is not going to beat Contador. They aren't going to drop Contador by brute force, they are going to have to make Alberto decide which attack he is going to let go and hope he makes the wrong choice.

I don't see that happening for a few reasons:

First, we rarely see breakaways like that that work any more in the mountains, except for a handful of seconds. Most mountain stages in GT's now are ridden for attrition - a high pace of riding as riders peel off the back faltering, with sometimes someone putting in one last bit to finish the others off.

Second, I don't see Lance allowing a strategy where Levi or Klodi are allowed to attack up the road in any kind of break that would truly stand a chance of staying away. The only way Lance will let them go, is if he thinks Contador will expend himself chasing and tow Lance along. Despite what anyone from RS, or their fans, say, this team is built for one reason only - to try to get Lance to win the Tour again, at all costs. That's it.

 

[maltiv]

Unless Lance is willing to let Levi or Kloden win the Tour the Shack is not going to beat Contador. They aren't going to drop Contador by brute force, they are going to have to make Alberto decide which attack he is going to let go and hope he makes the wrong choice.

Either that, or AC will just accelerate at the bottom of the climb, leaving everyone behind. Tactics and strong teams doesn't really help when no one can follow his acceleration.

 

[Publicus]

Either that, or AC will just accelerate at the bottom of the climb, leaving everyone behind. Tactics and strong teams doesn't really help when no one can follow his acceleration.

True, but he can only do that so many times before he can't dole out that effort or can't get away. Better to develop strategy and tactics over the course of the year in advance of the TdF. It's the only way he's going to be able to win this year (the field is pretty deep (at least this point)).

 

[BYOP88]

Despite what anyone from RS, or their fans, say, this team is built for one reason only - to try to get Lance to win the Tour again, at all costs. That's it.

+1

I still can't believe that some people out there think that Lance would "allow" a teammate to win it, after all he wasn't happy that a teammate won last year.

 

[Anonymous]

True, but he can only do that so many times before he can't dole out that effort or can't get away. Better to develop strategy and tactics over the course of the year in advance of the TdF. It's the only way he's going to be able to win this year (the field is pretty deep (at least this point)).

I totally agree. There are days he'll want to hold back, like this year when he took it easy the day before the final TT. I only know Martinelli by his record, but I'm confident having him in the team car. Alberto was already talking after camp in Pisa about which teammates will be key on cobbles, or in the mountains. Then there was the great Noval interview:

But now I have a duty to Alberto, I have a relationship with him that I never had with Lance, and right now I can't imagine my job as a cyclist without him, because I’ve always been a gregario and I have the good luck to be alongside the best rider in the world.”

So, knowing that Contador is going to need him in the next Tour, and especially in the famous stage with cobblestones—13 kilometers of pavé spread over seven sections—Noval foresees preparing himself in a special way: “I’m going to volunteer to ride the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. And then, of course, we’ll have to go and memorize the routes, because the setting and the knowledge of the terrain are going to be very important.”

Alberto added this in his New Year press release on his website:

I’ll go to Paris-Nice, where more than anything else we want to work on teamwork, on coordination and the tactics of controlling a race.

I'm really excited about watching the team come together over the course of the season. If the bureaucrats allow Sanquer and Martinelli to make the personnel decisions, it should be something to see. First up is seeing what kind of shape Pereiro is in Down Under.

 

[Angliru]

At least there are 3 GT winners on that team - I believe GeriShack have one old timer and a bunch of wannabe never dids.

The kit is fugly, though

Yeah, I'm not a fan of that kit either. Too many light toned colors. It almost reminds me of the washed out look of the Astana kit when they blanked out several of the sponsors in protest of NOT getting paid last year.