Contador blasts LA

[jpmcmahonjr]

Well, the fun partof your statement is in 2010 we will get to see if that is he case. Alberto Contador will be riding without 4 other riders on his team that have finised in the top 5 of the TDF. Let's see how he does. I hope he does well as I do Lance. It will be a much more competative Tour and I would guarantee you that after Lance's build up from this year he will be much more competative. His second year after returning from retirement was always going to be better than this year. Fun times ahead. I can't wait it will be the most anticipated tour in quite a long long time.

 

[LaBici]

In other words, it is OK for Contador to question a teammate's character after he wins the race......because it's all just Spanish.

.. we don't know _excactly_ what was said. I will read it for myself and will judge it.

And no It's not OK for AC to speak aout against LA... i have said that three times now! BUT LA is guilty of the same as AC. Of that there is no doubt mate.

 

[jamfra67]

Gotta get myself on this merry-go-round. One thing I now find strange is how people have been falling over themselves to praise Lance finishing 3rd. Even Lance himself has said he was satisfied with 3rd. The one question that springs to mind is if Lance is happy with 3rd and it was such a great performance, how was it possible he was ever considered equal with a guy AC who would have been considered a failure if he finished lower than 1st.

Johan Bruyneel is such a genius, he was the manager of the top current CT rider in the world with seemingly unlimited potential who could maybe give him, who knows how many more GT victories making him the most successful DS ever but instead chose to hitch his wagon with a guy who is 38 and unlikely to win another Tour. Anyone else see how stupid this appears to be.

It is clear now that Astana/Bruyneel were always backing Lance and AC knew this. He knew at Arcalis if he stuck to the Astana plan(very obviously planned in mind for Lance to take yellow) he would then either have to ride for Lance or attack the yellow jersey(Lance) He is getting crucufied now for making a mistake in attacking his closest rivals, imagine if he had taken yellow of Lance. OMG.

AC knew he was the strongest so didnt need to play along to a team plan that was holding him back. Surely he must have said to Bruyneel at some point that he was super strong and capable of attacking & dropping everyone. Did Bruyneel say, No you must wait because we are a team, WTF.

If you are a neutral cycling fan, which do you prefer, the strongest rider attacking to assert his dominance or the strongest rider being restrained due to a pre-set team plan. Which is more exciting and entertaining. Just answer this simple question and then you will know if you are just a Lance fan or not.

Man you just made my day with this analagy. The man simply had to assert himself instead of allowing Bruyneel to stifle his energy for LA benefit. lol

 

[Anonymous]

And a 38 year old guy coming back from almost 4 years of retirememt expecting equal leadership with this generations top rider, holy crap, if that is not a prima-donna, I dont know what is. During the Tour, only certain peolpe were dissing their team-mates and it werent AC. I bet most team-mates were just worrying about getting the win bonus, not who actually won.

Even now, Contador has not slated Astana or anybody other than Lance. Just ask, who won the 2009 Tour, all other rubbish is irrelevant. The Merckxs have always been friends with Lance, what do you expect them to be neutral.

So now the Merckyx's don't know what they are talking about? LA has always been a prima-donna but at least he was coachable. Why is it that JB can't get away from the best Grand Tour rider fast enough?

 

[lagartija]

Or could it be that Contador alienated himself from the team by his riding? You think Bruyneel was upset with Contador on stage 17 for what reason?

actually, i believe bruyneel managed the alienation all on his own, he lost contador early on, i think the Pedro Delgado interview shed light on that scenario.

 

[Cobber]

Yea like the French, Spaniards, Germans, etc... have never translated anything LA said wrong since 1999.

Thay have! It's just that most of them have ended up on the receiving end of a lawsuit courtesy of mr Armstrong.

He can dish it, but can't handle it coming back!

 

[pmcg76]

As pointed out before, Cyril Guimard has a better record for coaching Tour winners than Bruyneel, Hinault, Van Impe, Fignon.

Just because an athlete is a superstar doesnt mean they are untouchable, Pete Sampras was always criticised as boring, John McEnroe anyone. Success and fame does not mean people cannot be an idiot as well.

Do people really think Zubeldia, Rast, Murayev or Paulinho are in any way angry at Contador. Why. Popovych is a former Postal lackey. If Contaodr didnt win then Andy Schleck would have won because he was stronger than the other Astana riders. They would have had to sacrifice each other to stay with the Schlecks.

 

[Publicus]

two twitter posts: gloves are off---

lancearmstrong hey pistolero, there is no "i" in "team". what did i say in March? Lots to learn. Restated.
29 minutes ago from web

lancearmstrong Seeing these comments from AC. If I were him I'd drop this drivel and start thanking his team. w/o them, he doesn't win.

AC and LA guilty of being classes

I guess Lance missed the thank you at the dinner Saturday night because he was at the Radio Shack dinner.

 

[iceaxe]

This pictures seems to say it all. They both look sour as hell towaards each other. It looks like contador snubbed Lance and Lance is giving the classic bully taunting look.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jul/28/alberto-contador-lance-armstrong-tour-hate

 

[powerste]

Why is it that JB can't get away from the best Grand Tour rider fast enough?

Because there's a lot more money in being closely affiliated with Lance/Nike/Trek/Livestrong Inc. than there is in coaching possibly the best raw talent in cycling.

 

[scribe]

So now the Merckyx's don't know what they are talking about? LA has always been a prima-donna but at least he was coachable. Why is it that JB can't get away from the best Grand Tour rider fast enough?

Not a single guy on here can present a logical argument why JB would terminate his relationship with Contador. It is very simple, the kid is entirely un-coachable.

 

[Publicus]

And a 38 year old guy coming back from almost 4 years of retirememt expecting equal leadership with this generations top rider, holy crap, if that is not a prima-donna, I dont know what is. During the Tour, only certain peolpe were dissing their team-mates and it werent AC. I bet most team-mates were just worrying about getting the win bonus, not who actually won.

Even now, Contador has not slated Astana or anybody other than Lance. Just ask, who won the 2009 Tour, all other rubbish is irrelevant. The Merckxs have always been friends with Lance, what do you expect them to be neutral.

So now the Merckyx's don't know what they are talking about? LA has always been a prima-donna but at least he was coachable. Why is it that JB can't get away from the best Grand Tour rider fast enough?

I think the point is that the merckx's are hardly neutral when it comes to Lance armstrong. Doesn't Eddie's son work for the Trek-Livestrong Under 23 team? Eddie was having a drink with Lance throughout the Tour (as he tweetered).

 

[CiclismoDeCalifornia]

Looks as if AC finally snapped and got tired of being picked on. What a baby. Man up and drop your nuts AC. LA may only have 1, but at least he uses it.

http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/96109/contador-rips-armstrong

"Contador blasts Lance Armstrong!"

I just got a chance to watch the Spanish interview, and It seems unfortunate to me that most (not all) North Americans can scarcely understand and speak only one language, otherwise they would be able to understand what other people are really saying, instead of writing such an erroneous translation (most likely by an American pro-lance journalist), go get educated dumb s**ts.

Contador blasts Lance Armstrong! Please.
He is nearly saying he has never really had such great admiration for that ****er, and he doesn’t feel there is any reason why he should ever have had any major admiration. His relationship with Armstrong at the moment is insignificant (that is what nula means), and for whatever reason he repeatly states that Armstrong is a great champion. Also don’t forget most Spanish pro cyclists prefer to admire their fellow countrymen counterparts. At no point does Contador BLAST Armstrong, as a matter of fact he looks as if he is avoiding answering any questions regarding Mr. Monkey Wrench. Who has more class now?

I’ve yet to hear Contador make a COOL announcement about a new GREAT, AWESOME, AMAZING… new team during the Tour or make any infantile remarks like, “I’m going to have to bite my tongue on that one”.

 

[Anonymous]

This pictures seems to say it all. They both look sour as hell towaards each other. It looks like contador snubbed Lance and Lance is giving the classic bully taunting look.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jul/28/alberto-contador-lance-armstrong-tour-hate

I honestly cannot see where the comments AC made are out of bounds. He is just telling the truth. Lance treated him in the same manner he has treated many people. Many of them don't like it either.

One other thing, I thought all of this "comeback" was about "cancer." How in the world has any of this benefited "cancer?"

 

[richwagmn]

man, i just waded through every post in this thread. i feel like i am in the middle of a junior highschool food fight. i read all la's tweets. he was pretty fair in his comments all along. ac proved he is a very strong guy. not much of a team guy, though. conjecture about things we do not know is fun, but not the "truth" who is the bigger douchebag? i say ac, stronger than la this year, but
he may have hell to pay for his "i did not need the team" attitude.
lance is no angel. i can speak as someone with personal experience. but he knows his stuff and what it takes to win 7 tdf. ok, i have now thrown my pie
in this food fight.

Wait a minute there buckaroo ;-)

When did anyone say AC was not a team guy before this year? The difference was caused by LA. I really think AC was in an intractable situation. He in no way wanted to race with LA (he asked to be let out of his contract).

 

[MonkeyKnifeFight]

AGREED! Mr Armstrong is not furthering his case one iota. And Mr Contador should be magnanimous and keep quite as well.

I have to agree with that. This sounds like the seventh grade. Give them both a lollipop.
Maybe a staff member will write a "tell all" book so we can see "what really happened, day-to-day in the 2009 TDF". Wow! Now wouldn't that be nauseatingly exciting. At least some schlub could make money from this debacle.

 

[Publicus]

Not a single guy on here can present a logical argument why JB would terminate his relationship with Contador. It is very simple, the kid is entirely un-coachable.

Because he's out of a job with Astana (won't take back Vino) and he knows Contador won't follow to Radio Shack where JB will have a guaranteed job. There is no guarantee that Contador would have anything to do with him after he embraced Armstrong once he came out of retirement.

And this whole uncoachable argument is without basis. Please provide posts where Contador was accused of hisdoing his own thing prior to the 2009 Tour.

 

[Anonymous]

1. So please tell me how he was able to accelerate away so fast? Did he get a sudden tailwind? Or was it those pesky moto bikes that Andy and Spartacus were conveniently seeing? The smart rider crossed the line 21 seconds ahead of the other riders because you always put time into your rivals when you can. He could. He did and as evidence by his performance over the remainder of the two weeks, it didn't hurt his performance one bit.

2. Please tell me when he put minutes into anyone during the 2009 Tour outside of the TTT? Or are you inviting us to a trip down memory lane? And if I recall correctly, Contador hung a minute plus on Armstrong and others on Verbier (save Andy Schleck). And took another minute plus out of his closest rivals in the ITT at Annecy. That's how you win a race by more than a minute.

3. Then why was he bridging to Contador when Contador was on Andy Schleck's wheel? There was no need to expend the energy. And I know Lance didn't attack. He couldn't drop anyone even if he had.

Ever notice that larger, more powerful riders are drilling it in windy conditions? Contador gained 21 seconds for a massive effort. He made a great attack on Verbier and won the TdF there. How much did he potentially jeopardize the Verbier attack (that was decisive) for one that was stupid (Arcalais)?

Are you new to cycling? A rider has to make huge efforts count in a three week race. Not 21 seconds on one of only three mountain top finishes.

You stick to what you think works. We will see how AC's rivals react to his "my legs are all I need" mentality. I promise you he is not a really smart racer and the others have figured that part out.

 

[Mainerider]

Turns out Lance isn't / and wasn't the only one that had a problem with AC.
But hey, what do axel and eddy Merckx know how the TDF and teamwork anyway? Doesn't sound like AC was too gracious with his other teammates either. Let's see if anyone from Astana comes in to throw him a life ring. Otherwise, their silence will tell us all we need to know about who the real problem was within Astana.

What it will really tell us is how dominant AC will be with a team that supports him. Bruyneel sowed the seeds of discontent as soon as he signed Armstrong and continued to foster it right through the end of the Tour. For Armstrong to spin himself as the consummate team player now is a joke.

 

[scribe]

"Contador blasts Lance Armstrong!"

I just got a chance to watch the Spanish interview, and It seems unfortunate to me that most (not all) North Americans can scarcely understand and speak only one language, otherwise they would be able to understand what other people are really saying, instead of writing such an erroneous translation (most likely by an American pro-lance journalist), go get educated dumb s**ts.

Contador blasts Lance Armstrong! Please.
He is nearly saying he has never really had such great admiration for that ****er, and he doesn’t feel there is any reason why he should ever have had any major admiration. His relationship with Armstrong at the moment is insignificant (that is what nula means), and for whatever reason he repeatly states that Armstrong is a great champion. Also don’t forget most Spanish pro cyclists prefer to admire their fellow countrymen counterparts. At no point does Contador BLAST Armstrong, as a matter of fact he looks as if he is avoiding answering any questions regarding Mr. Monkey Wrench. Who has more class now?

I’ve yet to hear Contador make a COOL announcement about a new GREAT, AWESOME, AMAZING… new team during the Tour or make any infantile remarks like, “I’m going to have to bite my tongue on that one”.

Here is the human translation of this statement..... He found it necessary to question a teammate's character after winning the tour!

If that is OK in Spanish, he better had move on to a full Spanish team next season. lol

 

[LaBici]

"There is no (personal) relationship between me and Lance "
"Regardless of how he is (his being), he is a great champion, and he had a great tour" "On a personal level I have never had a great admiration for him nor will i ever, but as cyclist he is champion"

Contador was on the Discovery Channel team of 2007 ( LA was part owner)

I admire Contador. He has spoken his piece, albeit i wish he han't, but the statement is not harsh. I _will_ not see Contador demonized.

 

[Publicus]

Ever notice that larger, more powerful riders are drilling it in windy conditions? Contador gained 21 seconds for a massive effort. He made a great attack on Verbier and won the TdF there. How much did he potentially jeopardize the Verbier attack (that was decisive) for one that was stupid (Arcalais)?

Are you new to cycling? A rider has to make huge efforts count in a three week race. Not 21 seconds on one of only three mountain top finishes.

You stick to what you think works. We will see how AC's rivals react to his "my legs are all I need" mentality. I promise you he is not a really smart racer and the others have figured that part out.

Wait . . . so wasting the efforts of two domestiques to get 41 seconds is great tactically, but putting in an effort that CLEARLY didn't affect a leader to get 21 seconds was stupid? Really? The group was being driven by Columbia, there was no need for Astana to do anything (you didn't see Spartacus driving did you).

His mentality was driven by the presence of Lance Armstrong. You folks really need to actually follow cycling and not just the self serving arguments that Armstrong makes.

 

[iceaxe]

 

[jpmcmahonjr]

you assume that Astana will even have a team next year that is even a PT team. Hell, it was a miracle they even raced in France with how the kaz's do things. I highly would not expect Astana to be a Pro Tour team come next year. Time will tell, but I don't see Vino doing Jack Diddly.

Lance and Johan had the TRS in the works since the Giro due to the Kaz's lack of professionalism and lack of payment. It's called "Job Security". It's called smart business.

Onto Alberto I have no idea if he is uncoachable. I know he is pretty dang amazing on a bike expecially uphill. Now, let's see how he does in the pack like the rest without the Johan/Armstrong Grand Tour Model. You know the one that has dominated Grand Tours for a decade now. AC will have an awakening next year. He could still win no doubt, but it will not be near as easy as it has been for him under Johan.

 

[Anonymous]

Because he's out of a job with Astana (won't take back Vino) and he knows Contador won't follow to Radio Shack where JB will have a guaranteed job. There is no guarantee that Contador would have anything to do with him after he embraced Armstrong once he came out of retirement.

And this whole uncoachable argument is without basis. Please provide posts where Contador was accused of hisdoing his own thing prior to the 2009 Tour.

JB does not need a "guaranteed job". WTF? He retired after Discovery went south. What else does he need to accomplish?

Contador put the MJ at total risk because he is not team oriented. Not wanting to be team oriented in a sport that demads it = uncoachable.