Contador blasts LA

[psychlist]

Finally he answered to all those rubbish, selfish LA's words, we've heard during TdF. Unlike LA he shows some respect and tries to be modest. When Lance and his cyclist's fanboys cried about AC attacking and other stuff, u werent putting him in pampers. Very objective....NOT

Are you Borat? Seriously, are you?

 

[titotito]

I just have to throw in my two cents:

So, Contador said Armstrong is a great champion, but not such a great person. Is that news? Didn't Perero say the same thing before the Tour? Didn't lots of people say that during LA's seven year reign. Landis implied it in his book. Even Lance admits in his own book that he's kind of a d!ck. Funny this is creating such controversy.

Both LA and AC wanted to win the race. Criticizing AC for attacking and disobeying team orders is foolish, just as expecting LA to go back and get AC after the split on stage 3 would be. Was AC supposed to sit next to one of his rivals throughout the entire tour. Yes, LA was his teammate but he also openly stated that he wanted to win. I have no doubt that LA would have done the same thing.

Armstrong made several comments which could easily be seen as disrespectful/insulting and I don't blame him for it. He was trying to get inside the head of one of his rivals and weaken him. I won't fault him for playing every card he had in order to win including the mental one, but let's not act like he was an innocent. Also, while I think head games are a legitimate tactic, if the story about sending AC's car away before the ITT is true, that's below the belt.

 

[frizzlefry]

Too many biased, irrational arguments here! But then again, very few (if any) of us have the real facts, so it's all speculation and wishful thnking and hearsay and some plain old testosterone! Are you guys all doping?

Hope to see you guys around for the Vuelta! (Or not. Think some are here only because it's the TdF.)

not irrational, inductive.

 

[Publicus]

Of course the Schlecks were smiling. Not only did AC help them gain a time advantage he also gave them the stage. It doesnt get any better than that in cycling. Poor AC. He'll understand his mistake one day.

LOL. Lance actually helped them gain that time by letting Frank go up the road on the Col de Romme, but I guess that's AC's fault too.

Don't recall hearing Lance apologize about that....

 

[psychlist]

Too many biased, irrational arguments here! But then again, very few (if any) of us have the real facts, so it's all speculation and wishful thnking and hearsay and some plain old testosterone! Are you guys all doping?

Hope to see you guys around for the Vuelta! (Or not. Think some are here only because it's the TdF.)

Great post. I keep thinking this myself post after post. Can't we all just get along?

 

[yourwelcome]

Oh jesus christ dude. He thought he had a winning move, he didn't, it happens. Ask Lance. He tried to drop Wiggins on Col de Romme, couldn't and settled in until Wiggins self-destructed. Does that mean Lance wasn't a team player? No. Just that his move didn't work. It's easy to criticize in hindsight.

I'm in no way a Lance hater, but agree that's all there was to it. To call AC's team loyalty into serious question over that is reading too much evil intent in something that took seconds out on the road in the heat of the moment.

 

[Anonymous]

You asked a question, I provided the logical answer. The MJ was NEVER in jeopardy. It sounds good to say that, but the only argument you can build to support is built on a bunch of conditional statements that you can't support. He was on the road, with two GC contenders, thought he could get away and didn't. Once he realized he couldn't he shut it down. How that put the MJ jeopardy is beyond me--Kloden NEVER paced Contador on that ride (he was sitting on Contador's wheel). If there was an attack Contador couldn't respond to, do you think Kloden was going to close it down? I never saw that the entire Tour, but maybe I missed a stage or two where he did it.

Of course you are correct. Being isolated (self inflicted) on the Queen's stage with you two biggest rivals on the same team was Contador having the situation totally under control. No wonder he kept looking around for Kloden. At that point even AC knew he screwed the pooch. A crash, bike change, flat, bonk, whatever. You don't know what's around the next corner and you don't want to be isoloated if you don't have to be. Your point is easy to argue because you know the outcome. I guarantee you JB had a long talk with AC after that stage and I also guarantee you that Kloeden was not a happy camper.

 

[Publicus]

You just don't get it. Let's say Contador bonks or crashes or has a mechanical? Was blowing out Kloeden and isolating himself the smart move? He did not need more time from Andy Schleck at that point did he??

I guess in your world it makes perfect sense. Tactically it was a stupid thing to do.

But he DIDN'T. He didn't crash. He didn't bonk. He didn't have a mechanical. If he doesn't attack and Kloden cracks, ALL of those things could have happened. Frank could have cracked after the attack. Or Andy. Those were EQUALLY likely events under the circumstances. In hindsight, it wasn't a winning move. At the point of calculation, I don't think you can argue it was a risky move (especially after he dropped them like a bad habit on Verbier).

You always get time where you can. I mean what if he has a mechanical. Or bonks. Or crashes.

 

[Bagster]

You just don't get it. Let's say Contador bonks or crashes or has a mechanical? Was blowing out Kloeden and isolating himself the smart move? He did not need more time from Andy Schleck at that point did he??

I guess in your world it makes perfect sense. Tactically it was a stupid thing to do.

You have to accept that Publicus is in the 0.0001% that disagree with you. Everyone else from Eddie Merckx down to your granny agrees it was a stupid thing to do. By the way you will possibly find that the rest of the 0.0001% post on here too.

 

[amsterdamned]

Many people though that this year. You too maybe? lol

People will underestimate him again next year. He will have 2 solid years of training by then. No injuries, even more comfortable on the bike in races.
He will come back stronger. And if he gets his timing right the way he used to he won't be using the first 2 weeks to ramp up his fittness as he did this year.

Older means you get your fitness back slower. He has a full year.
Be Afraid.

put him in the skil team, let's see what he can do
we already know what puertador did with only one teammate.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, a multiple grand tour winner like Horner should be schooling Contador. Contador could learn a lot from him. He won the Tour of White Rock, and Alberto has only ALL 3 Grand Tours, including the Tour twice.

Don't get me started on Levi 'The Donkey' Leipheimer. Lance's girlfriend.

Yeah, you are clearly smarter than that Horner guy. No experience whatsoever. Don'y know a thing about racing a bike. Lance neither. Bruyneel's an idiot. Levi don't know much. Hell, even Bob Roll's an idiot too. You've goy it all figured out. AC's got a great engine so (automatically) he's the best tactician ever. He don't need no team or DS.. right?

 

[Publicus]

You have to accept that Publicus is in the 0.0001% that disagree with you. Everyone else from Eddie Merckx down to your granny agrees it was a stupid thing to do. By the way you will possibly find that the rest of the 0.0001% post on here too.

Thanks for the compliment. I prefer to think through issues and not simply adopt a response because Eddie Merckx said it. Or Bagster. Or the clowns from Versus. If you had the facts, I would concede the point. Go ahead, try me.

 

[Carboncrank]

If Astana had the three strongest riders, they would have been on the podium. They didn't, so they weren't. It really is as simple as that. They had two of the strongest riders, and the strongest rider by a significant margin.

And what you aren't doing is giving Contador the credit he deserves for persevering in the face of a situation Armstrong never faced in his 7 year run.

You seem to like things simple...strongest riders and all that.
but it's not usually simple is it? no, the race and the tactics are sometimes complex.
Kloden missed 3rd by about a miute, Lance missed second by a minute twelve i think.
I know where that time is and it has to do with AC.

 

[frizzlefry]

The results of AC's attack speak for themselves. The Schlecks gained time on both Kloden and LA. Some people say its cause AC is young and inexperienced. I dont buy that. He has 4 GT wins.
I think it was simply AC not wanting to listen to JB and follow orders. In professional sports you dont do that. In any sport, if you disobey the coaches orders, you get pulled out of the game.

I think he felt he had to prove himself to JB and LA.

 

[Publicus]

Of course you are correct. Being isolated (self inflicted) on the Queen's stage with you two biggest rivals on the same team was Contador having the situation totally under control. No wonder he kept looking around for Kloden. At that point even AC knew he screwed the pooch. A crash, bike change, flat, bonk, whatever. You don't know what's around the next corner and you don't want to be isoloated if you don't have to be. Your point is easy to argue because you know the outcome. I guarantee you JB had a long talk with AC after that stage and I also guarantee you that Kloeden was not a happy camper.

Around and around we go. You are arguing about things that could have happened, but didn't. I'm arguing that his decision was reasonable under the circumstances. He had gotten away on 2 different occasions. Spoke to Kloden about it in advance. Move didn't work and had the unexpected consequence that Kloden popped off the back. For you that is evidence of something malicious on his part. I view it as a part of racing.

 

[psychlist]

His girlfriend is named Macarena Pescador.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s318/skipvanmeter/340x.jpg

That's a man, baby!

 

[titotito]

You seem to like things simple...strongest riders and all that.
but it's not usually simple is it? no, the race and the tactics are sometimes complex.
Kloden missed 3rd by about a miute, Lance missed second by a minute twelve i think.
I know where that time is and it has to do with AC.

I'd say you're probably right, but I'd also say so what. AC was trying to win the Tour not ensure glory for Astana. I'll cut him some slack for not being able to figure out while exhausted in the middle of a mountainous stage during a grand tour, just how much effort he needed to expend to 1) beat his rival who is also his teammate and 2) make sure that that teammate gets second place. When Lance won he rode for Lance and everyone else was expected to follow suit. I won't fault AC for doing the same.

 

[usedtobefast]

By the way lets not let all the Oxygen in the room flow to Armstrong.

Kudos to Cavendish, Pellizotti, & to A. Schleck. And a special shout out to Wiggo.
Bye until next year. I'm going back to study my cycling history.

and Thor. not bad, eh?

 

[Anonymous]

The two riders from Saxo Bank. You know Andy and Frank Schleck? Those two guys trying to win the Tour de France? The same two he attacked on Arcalis and Verbier. In each case to gain time. Apparently, I think this is an unconfirmed rumor so don't quote me on this, but apparently to win the overall you have to complete the entire 21 stages faster than any of the other racers, including your teammates. Hopefully that helps.

rolleyes: yeah, he really showed those Schleck Bros who was boss didn't he? Kept looking around for help that he blew up himself. Rolleyes...

 

[palmerq]

Now to be fair to Andy Schleck, I think it i quite obvious to everyone that he was holding back on mont ventoux and he could have left every but contador behind if he didnt want to get franck on the podium, therefore he probably would have stuck more time in armstrong(infact I dont think albertos attacks stopped armstrong finishing ahead of schleck :S) and klodi, and he still would have been 2nd. Infact I am quite sure that klodi would still have been pretty far away from Schleck by the end, with or with out contadors attacks, which weren´t unreasonable attempts ...

I don´t see what the big deal is about this half attack, well I think do :S

 

[knewcleardaze]

Many people though that this year. You too maybe? lol

<edit>

Older means you get your fitness back slower. He has a full year.
Be Afraid.

This year's 3rd place for LA was his successful coming out of retirement bid.He's clapped out. What does pique my curiosity is why LA chose to go to Astana. They had their team leader in place. No other team had a spot for him?

 

[Bagster]

I'm not your slave or research assistant, if you didn't read or hear them when they happened, I guess you will have to go dig them up yourself.

Edit: However, since the "He has a lot to learn" twit, Mr Armstrong has clearly been demeaning. To suggest the words "I am not going to comment" do not convey the intent of the words he would say if he were being specific is disingenuous.

As I have previously stated, LA did not once stoop badmouthing AC as a person. He did play the mindgame stuff with his comments around racing, but hey it's sport it goes on all the time. LA doesn't have a lot of subtelty when it comes to making comments. But that being said it was Contador who stooped to character assasination not Armstrong. And we don't even NEED to read intent into that, he just spilled his guts once he had got back home to Momma and was away from that nasty bully

By the way, good sidestep on the presenting of evidence of Armstrong demeaning AC's character. I knew that you couldn't present evidence of it....that must really rankle you lol

 

[kukiniloa]

why buy Armstrong's BS?

The results of AC's attack speak for themselves. The Schlecks gained time on both Kloden and LA. Some people say its cause AC is young and inexperienced. I dont buy that. He has 4 GT wins.
I think it was simply AC not wanting to listen to JB and follow orders. In professional sports you dont do that. In any sport, if you disobey the coaches orders, you get pulled out of the game.

I think he felt he had to prove himself to JB and LA.

This presumes that JB was working for AC's benefit. What if AC was just fed up with LA's manipulation of the team? When it came to the mountains it looked to me like AC only had Paulhino.

Please answer me this question: was Kloden supporting AC, or just Armstrong? Every time I saw Kloden it looked like he was supporting only LA. So why would AC care if he dropped Kloden? For the team title? I doubt it...

 

[lanceismyhero]

That's a man, baby!

Or a beard. This does remind me of taladaga nights. sasha cohen(borat) being the gay spanish type and will ferrel being the straight macho american. of course lance is not easygoing or likeable like the will ferral character.(sorry for the spelling)

 

[Publicus]

You seem to like things simple...strongest riders and all that.
but it's not usually simple is it? no, the race and the tactics are sometimes complex.
Kloden missed 3rd by about a miute, Lance missed second by a minute twelve i think.
I know where that time is and it has to do with AC.

Then they didn't deserve 2 or 3rd. Armstrong lost 2:18 on the queen stage because he screwed up and missed Frank's move. Kloden lost a time because he bonked and was shepherding Lance up Verbier, Ventoux and other mountains. And neither turned in as great an iTT performance vis a vis the Schlecks as expected. Or did you not watch the same race that I did?