Contador confirms he will ride the Tour

[jens_attacks]

we all knew it that he will ride.this will be a great show!

 

[caça-foice]

Poor guy, hated by so many people

not for me!!! I'm proud of be a great fan of Mr. Alberto Contador, the best cyclist in the world!

 

[isayic]

I'm sure 100% of the Schlecks would rather not have him in the race either

I'm sure you are right. The Schleck brothers didn't show much since leaving Saxobank and during the Tour 2010 Alberto wasn't in good shape but when he is he can keep it for a long time and he recovers in a short time. That's genetic and makes him the best rider in GTs.

 

[Publicus]

just makes him even MORE unpopular which is what that pr!ck deserves

Maybe, though I don't think that's what motivates most professional athletes. Setting aside what you think about his guilt or innocence, if he truly believes he's innocent, why WOULDN'T he start and defend his title?

Also, I actually like the fact that he's trying to win the Giro-Tour double. In this day and age where cyclist aim to peak for one race (e.g., TdF) he deserves credit for what he's about to attempt.

 

[caça-foice]

Maybe, though I don't think that's what motivates most professional athletes. Setting aside what you think about his guilt or innocence, if he truly believes he's innocent, why WOULDN'T he start and defend his title?

Also, I actually like the fact that he's trying to win the Giro-Tour double. In this day and age where cyclist aim to peak for one race (e.g., TdF) he deserves credit for what he's about to attempt.

x2!

15 years that someone did giro-tour double!


We are the spectators. The best ride is free to ride and try something very hard! Let see if he can do it!

too simple and perfect: the best ride in the greatest race!

 

[Thomsena]

Get your Rebellin avatars ready, gentlemen.

 

[biopass]

Can anyone smell the tripple?

No. Just another failed drug test

 

[Kvinto]

Pantani did the Giro-Tour double in 1998 and I wonder why some people think it was 15 years ago?

 

[rhubroma]

In any case it was normal, in the past, for the best rider in the world to go for the Giro-Tour double. From Coppi, to Anquetil, to Merckx to Hinault, to Roche, to Indurain to Pantani.

How many of those riders were on bread and water alone?

How, then, is Contador any different? Or would the Tour be thus honored more if A. Schelck were to win? Or do we only allow sentimentality to guide our judgment? Or why do we continue to watch, if this isn't the case?

 

[nowhereman]

I hope Alberto rides like the wind and beats the stuffing out of the peloton, like a ripe pinata! And if there are no positive findings for the Giro or the Tour, will all the haters cool their jets, please? If not, then it would truly be wonderful to see CAS convict him, and throw out this years "clean" results. Talk about throwing out the baby, with the bath water!

 

[hrotha]

I hope Alberto rides like the wind and beats the stuffing out of the peloton, like a ripe pinata! And if there are no positive findings for the Giro or the Tour, will all the haters cool their jets, please? If not, then it would truly be wonderful to see CAS convict him, and throw out this years "clean" results. Talk about throwing out the baby, with the bath water!

Look, I suppose it's OK to be a fan of the guy, but don't say absurd things like we should lay him off if he doesn't test positive again, as if that proved anything.

 

[Escarabajo]

without trying to get a big gap that is.

Could have taken 4 minutes more out of them if he wanted. There's no dope that explains such gaps. Well, not in microdoses.

This is Clinic stuff guys. Or maybe this thread should have been in the Clinic in the first place.

Pistolero, do you know that you are contradicting yourself when you write that? don't defend Contador because you are making it look worse than what it is.

 

[Descender]

So Schleck vs Contador it is then.

The steaks are high.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Poor guy, hated by so many people

Yup, and he wins so often, and by so much, that he would clearly be the best in a 100% verified dope free contest too.


How has this not been moved to the clinic, incidentally?

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

This is Clinic stuff guys. Or maybe this thread should have been in the Clinic in the first place.

Pistolero, do you know that you are contradicting yourself when you write that? don't defend Contador because you are making it look worse than what it is.

I don't think it does make him look worse.

The Biological passport provides reasonable assurance against hardcore doping (massive performance improvement, as opposed to recovery), and yet he dominates the competition. He does it consistantly, all season long. In a dope free world, he would clearly do the same too. It's a real shame for natural talents like him that cycling is as it is.

(And yes, i'm posting this on the assumption someone will move it all to the clinic, seeing as this thread was full of it when I arrived)

 

[BYOP88]

I'm more interested in the expression. Not sure I've ever heard one involving a swimming bath (frankly I have no idea what that is) and a turd, so please spell it out.

As for AC, it doesn't matter what happens. If he wins (by any margin), it's proof that he did. If he loses by a lot, it is proof that he did before. If he loses by a little, it's proof that he didn't enough.

+1

A question for Schleck fans, if Baby Schleck wins by over 5 minutes does it mean "clinic" stuff or just that Schleck is so awesome and the only guy who can win a GT with a 5 minute gap without the "clinic" stuff?

 

[jobiwan]

+1

A question for Schleck fans, if Baby Schleck wins by over 5 minutes does it mean "clinic" stuff or just that Schleck is so awesome and the only guy who can win a GT with a 5 minute gap without the "clinic" stuff?

5 minutes for Andy, with his lack of TT skills, would be tough for me (a Schleck fan) to believe.

So I hope Schleck only wins by 15 seconds then!
Winning in the way Sastre won in '08 (well-timed mountain attacks, holding on for dear life in TT) is how I hope to see Andy winning!

 

[ferryman]

+1

A question for Schleck fans, if Baby Schleck wins by over 5 minutes does it mean "clinic" stuff or just that Schleck is so awesome and the only guy who can win a GT with a 5 minute gap without the "clinic" stuff?

Take your trolling and "clinic" stuff to the Clinic. And try and take a breath to break up a sentence.

 

[Cimber]

It will be a great showdown. Fek the rest. That will be settled later or in the clinic

 

[BYOP88]

Take your trolling and "clinic" stuff to the Clinic. And try and take a breath to break up a sentence.

Who made you the thread police? Seems a few steak pictures would equal trolling, no? And thanks for the grammar tips!

 

[ManInFull]

we all knew it that he will ride.this will be a great show!

I absolutely want to see it. I'm only concerned that he will now lose 3 Grand Tour victories.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Winning in the way Sastre won in '08 (well-timed mountain attacks, holding on for dear life in TT) is how I hope to see Andy winning!

Will not happen. Schleck could not drop Contador last year when Contador was below his usual form.

Schleck is already practicing mechanical failures at the Tour de Suisse. He will be in top form by July. His bike will fall apart at the bottom of Alpe d'Huez.

 

[jobiwan]

Will not happen. Schleck could not drop Contador last year when Contador was below his usual form.

Schleck is already practicing mechanical failures at the Tour de Suisse. He will be in top form by July. His bike will fall apart at the bottom of Alpe d'Huez.

Contador had not ridden a crazy hard Giro, though.

I'm not saying Schleck is going to win. I just hope he does.
A shorter hilly TT, lots of MTFs, and a tired Contador give him his best chance ever, and I want him to win it. (That way he can change his 4 week schedule, a bit )

As for Schleck's bike-handling skills (or lack there-of), those are the moments when I as a Schleck fan want to scrape my face against a cheese grater.

 

[BullsFan22]

I don't know about you folks, but for me, when a cyclist, or any other athlete for that matter, has both his/her samples come out positive, he/she should be suspended and not allowed to race. Period! Even if he doesn't make the podium, it will be a bit annoying watching him for three weeks, knowing he doped and getting away with it (so far). I, like many of you here, hope that this gets 100% resolved and he is stripped of his titles/awards in this period and be suspended for 2 years, just like everyone else. BTW, has anything really happened with the 'dope index' that came up before or during the Giro? That seemed to be put under the rug quite quickly. I hope that gets resolved as well.

 

[Captain Awesome]

This is not the clinic...