Contador confirms he will ride the Tour

[Mshengu]

hopefully he does well, the Giro - Tour double. Finally after more than a decade.

 

[lagartija]

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.

ok one more time........contador was on provisional suspension and , wait for it,.... CLEARED by his federation.....period. like it or not he HAS BEEN CLEARED. think in legal terms if charged with a crime and found innocent you are freed on the spot, now what has occurred , just as in a criminal proceeding , an appeal has been filed during which you are a free individual and able to pursue your chosen life path. feel free to be as annoyed as you like but respect the process, i think even david howman was touting that position..........
as far as the dope index is concerned , you really want to have "resolution" over a news paper article . right....i got you now

 

[BullsFan22]

This is not the clinic...

Yes. Me mad is very (shakes fist)!

 

[BullsFan22]

ok one more time........contador was on provisional suspension and , wait for it,.... CLEARED by his federation.....period. like it or not he HAS BEEN CLEARED. think in legal terms if charged with a crime and found innocent you are freed on the spot, now what has occurred , just as in a criminal proceeding , an appeal has been filed during which you are a free individual and able to pursue your chosen life path. feel free to be as annoyed as you like but respect the process, i think even david howman was touting that position..........
as far as the dope index is concerned , you really want to have "resolution" over a news paper article . right....i got you now

Take it easy bro. In that case, the Spanish Federation is corrupt. If they had their way, Spain would clear every athlete of any wrongdoing.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Take it easy bro. In that case, the Spanish Federation is corrupt. If they had their way, Spain would clear every athlete of any wrongdoing.

Regardless, he is cleared to race and ready to deliver a crushing blow to Team Backstab...err, Team Leopard.

 

[Publicus]

Take it easy bro. In that case, the Spanish Federation is corrupt. If they had their way, Spain would clear every athlete of any wrongdoing.

Wow........

 

[Parrulo]

i must say i lol'd at this

guy 1: He got caught so he should be banned!!!!

guy 2: but he got cleared so he is free to ride.

guy 1: then the ones who cleared him are corrupt

pure gold

 

[python]

if i were contador, i'd NOT take part in the tour.

don't get me wrong, i respect his right to race and will enjoy watching him but there is something that, how should i put it - unwise/too much to quick/? - that concerns me.

he just won an absolutely gorgeous giro, he sent a very strong message of his revival and dominance already.

doing the tour under the less than optimal sporting and political conditions, may backfire badly and reverse the emotional high given the potential risk of losing both on the road and in the court.

but berto loves competition and i guess in this case he also had to yield to riis's pressure from the sponsors.

 

[Climbing]

I had no doubt Contador was racing TdF.
How could possibly be different, when this was the condition of not being banned?!
The problem is if he can be competitive in Giro Tour double, when in the last years almost no one could be.
It's challenging to say the least, but I'm confident if there is someone which could do that it's AC.

 

[hfer07]

if i were contador, i'd NOT take part in the tour.

don't get me wrong, i respect his right to race and will enjoy watching him but there is something that, how should i put it - unwise/too much to quick/? - that concerns me.

he just won an absolutely gorgeous giro, he sent a very strong message of his revival and dominance already.

doing the tour under the less than optimal sporting and political conditions, may backfire badly and reverse the emotional high given the potential risk of losing both on the road and in the court.

but berto loves competition and i guess in this case he also had to yield to riis's pressure from the sponsors.

I agreed with most of your opinion-the problem here is that he's legally "allowed" to race-and when folks like you and David Howman from WADA suggest in a "warning" manner not to see him riding the Tour-really makes me think that his ruling could be affected by his presence in the tour rather than the case itself -therefore he should avoid more controversy already amounted to his case by "hiding" & getting stuck for another season until CAS makes a final decision....

 

[rides like a girl]

I agreed with most of your opinion-the problem here is that he's legally "allowed" to race-and when folks like you and David Howman from WADA suggest in a "warning" manner not to see him riding the Tour-really makes me think that his ruling could be affected by his presence in the tour rather than the case itself -therefore he should avoid more controversy already amounted to his case by "hiding" & getting stuck for another season until CAS makes a final decision....

Interesting point. Had not thought of it this way.

 

[webvan]

Riis probably convinced him but there's no way he can win the TDF after an exhausting Giro like this, look at Menchov in 2009 or Basso in 2010. The double whammy of a tour loss and of a conviction by CAS is going to be hard to recover from, good riddance.

We can't have cheaters who defy logic by trashing everyone all the time on all terrains. Watching Wiggins today on the Dauphine, keeping control of the climbers at a distance, brought back memories of what real racing was before Armstrong broke the rules and common sense.

 

[Kakhmed]

Pistolero for the win

I would much rather see a doped(?) Contador win consistently throughout the year then a whining Luxembourgish baby doped to the gills come 2nd in one showing per year.

 

[rhubroma]

I think Contador's consistency, throughout the year, is what distinguishes him from an Armstrong though.

The Texan peaked once a year, this was likely because his natural ability together with his program only acommodated one peak per season.

By contrast Contador wins practically wherever he goes, throughout the season, in GTs and in secondary stage races, whereas when he road those couple of classics last year that suited him he was up their at the front with the specialists.

Now you can say what you want about the guy, that he's a doper (in a doped field however, at least now among the brunt of his main competition - if it were 5 years ago, nearly everyone, but perhaps even so still today), but he is a real and extraordinary talent.

I'm all for punishing him if that's what the decision is, though this won't alter the fact that what he has achieved, was able to achieve, was not merely the product of chemicals, but a natural class that potentially will make him the greatest stage racer the sport has ever known. Winning not just in one month demonstrates this. Nor do I make excuses for him, but the stage race champions have the greatest overall capacity and the most efficient engines of the group.

On this account, therefore, I don't comprehend a certain animosity towards him. His class is authentic in a sport, however, which is not.

But if everyone were clean, I believe he'd still be the best. I don't think this could necessarily have been said, though, between 1991 and 2005.

 

[craig1985]

Take it easy bro. In that case, the Spanish Federation is corrupt. If they had their way, Spain would clear every athlete of any wrongdoing.

I don't blame Contaor, instead I blame the UCI/WADA/CAS for not having this sorted by now. It's not fair on Contador, nor the rest of the peloton. If he's banned and loses his Giro title, then it's not fair on Scarponi who I'm certain wouldn't to get his maiden Giro win in this fashion, and nor would Lampre be impressed, they've lost out on a lot of extra publicity of having one of their riders win the Giro.

Calling the Spanish cheaters or corrupt is about as ridiculous and annoying as saying all Brits and Aussies are as clean as a whistle.

 

[Wiggins_fan]

Who cares? After Wiggin's sublime display yesterday this man will no longer be able to compete for the yellow. WIGGO 2011!

 

[Kakhmed]

Who cares? After Wiggin's sublime display yesterday this man will no longer be able to compete for the yellow. WIGGO 2011!

Wigans his peaked too early.

 

[Havetts]

Who cares? After Wiggin's sublime display yesterday this man will no longer be able to compete for the yellow. WIGGO 2011!

You have blown your cover, Carlton Kirby!

 

[craig1985]

It's actually Wigans on here BTW

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

I don't blame Contaor, instead I blame the UCI/WADA/CAS for not having this sorted by now.

Although the appeal would have been heard by now had not dertie's team asked CAS to delay the hearing. IMO this was a deliberate move to enable him to ride the TDF.

As I understand it WADA couldn't appeal until the UCI appealed and the UCI appealed on the very last day because according to McQuaid - they didn't have enough lawyers at the UCI to deal with Dertie's REFC aquittal and another case (I forget which).

 

[PedalCastro]

Wiggins gonna fail at the Tour

 

[pmcg76]

Riis probably convinced him but there's no way he can win the TDF after an exhausting Giro like this, look at Menchov in 2009 or Basso in 2010. The double whammy of a tour loss and of a conviction by CAS is going to be hard to recover from, good riddance.

We can't have cheaters who defy logic by trashing everyone all the time on all terrains. Watching Wiggins today on the Dauphine, keeping control of the climbers at a distance, brought back memories of what real racing was before Armstrong broke the rules and common sense.

This is a joke right, Fignon smashed everyone in the 84 Tour by over 10minutes, he dominated TTs and mountains. Hinault and LeMond finished 10 minutes ahead of the next best rider in the 86 Tour. Hinault absolutely dominated many of his GTs, Merckx likewise. This idea that there have been no dominant performances since before Armstrong is a joke. Please wake up.

The Giro is the first GT Contador has really dominated on a route tailor made for him. However keep this in mind, Contador finished almost the exact amount of time ahead of JRod and Kreuziger at the Giro as he did at last years Tour. Where is the huge improvement. The only difference was the quality in between with a better field at the Tour. Go check out the time differences.

Using Wiggins as proof of clean riding is hardly re-affirming, a few years ago Wiggins could barely climb over a bridge and now he can just about hang with a few decent climbers. Still his amazing improvement should be far more worrying than Contadors consistency.

I am not a fanboy or hater of anyone, (well maybe Lance) but I wish people would look at things with a bit of logic instead of just going off on one without looking at the stats. What is the saying about stats.......

 

[lagartija]

Take it easy bro. In that case, the Spanish Federation is corrupt. If they had their way, Spain would clear every athlete of any wrongdoing.

funny.........i was merely pointing out a major detail everyone seems to gloss over......oh and by the way the corrupt spanish federation actually assign and outsource his and all doping cases being challenged to a non-sporting arbitration legal committee and then adhere to there legal findings. in effect the federation does not even have a choice in arbiter selection.

 

[webvan]

Check your notes, other than during their best year, yes thtat's only one year, Hinault, Fignon or Lemond didn't trash the competition like the Uniballer and Contador.

 

[sartoris]

This is a joke right, Fignon smashed everyone in the 84 Tour by over 10minutes, he dominated TTs and mountains. Hinault and LeMond finished 10 minutes ahead of the next best rider in the 86 Tour. Hinault absolutely dominated many of his GTs, Merckx likewise. This idea that there have been no dominant performances since before Armstrong is a joke. Please wake up.

The Giro is the first GT Contador has really dominated on a route tailor made for him. However keep this in mind, Contador finished almost the exact amount of time ahead of JRod and Kreuziger at the Giro as he did at last years Tour. Where is the huge improvement. The only difference was the quality in between with a better field at the Tour. Go check out the time differences.

Using Wiggins as proof of clean riding is hardly re-affirming, a few years ago Wiggins could barely climb over a bridge and now he can just about hang with a few decent climbers. Still his amazing improvement should be far more worrying than Contadors consistency.

I am not a fanboy or hater of anyone, (well maybe Lance) but I wish people would look at things with a bit of logic instead of just going off on one without looking at the stats. What is the saying about stats.......

Great post, man! Subscribe every single word you said. Cheers.