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Contador Crash - Tour Disaster ?

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Has Contadors DNF handed Nibali easy victory ?

  • Made no difference. TDF is too unpredictable.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
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  • Poll closed .
Escarabajo said:
+1.

I am interested in seeing Porte for the first time as the leader for Sky in a Tour.

I am not sure Valverde has what it takes to be a winner.

He has said himself the he is still just going for the podium.

“My goal remains the podium at the moment," he said. "Should we be able to gain some time and target something else, we won't rule it our and we won't stay content with what we got.

I really wish he could change his mindset. Coming into the Tour he wanted to podium. Now the two biggest challengers are gone. Hypothetically, if he thought he could podium in the beginning, his mind set now should be that he can win. I think any other rider would think that way.

valverde_the_goal_is_still_the_podium
 
Aug 31, 2012
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In his first autobiography, The Staying On My Bike, he will tell the story of how he beat Froome and Contador over the course of 3 weeks of grueling racing to win the Tour de France.
 
Jul 9, 2009
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Rollthedice said:
Why is that? Because in this edition Froome and Contador fell off their bikes in the peloton and had to retire? Who do you see is worthy of today's riders to enter this club?

Currently only Froome and Contador. Nibali can only win when the best aren't there.
 
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Rollthedice said:
Your idol Contador has won them and Froome will never ride the Giro. It doesn't fit his thin physique and his wonderful bike handling skills. So who else?

I'm not a fan of Froome but he can definately win a Giro. I hope he rides one at 100%. I like to see the best compete.
 
Futuroscope said:
Currently only Froome and Contador. Nibali can only win when the best aren't there.

The 'best' don't allow their rivals to take two and a half minutes out them on a flat stage. The 'best' don't repeatedly fall off their bikes due to bad positioning and pressure applied by their rivals. The 'best' don't panic on descents. The 'best' don't allow the wet and cold conditions to hold them back..... The real best? He's the guy who's still on his bike at the end of three weeks crossing the finish line before everyone else.
 
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happytramp said:
The 'best' don't allow their rivals to take two and a half minutes out them on a flat stage. The 'best' don't repeatedly fall off their bikes due to bad positioning and pressure applied by their rivals. The 'best' don't panic on descents. The 'best' don't allow the wet and cold conditions to hold them back..... The real best? He's the guy who's still on his bike at the end of three weeks crossing the finish line before everyone else.

SO TRUE. Why bother arguing with some fanatic? Those people live in their little fantasy world wrapped in their small brains.
 
Futuroscope said:
Currently only Froome and Contador. Nibali can only win when the best aren't there.

Indeed, well said! Unless Nibali wins against real competition, he'll never go down as a real TDF winner in my book. And not as a GC triple crown winner either. But unfortunately, officially it'll go down as a very dominant win with a 6 minute advantage and 5 stage wins. Just like Schleck is officially a Tour winner. One big MEH from me! Nibali fans will lose their mind because of this comment, probably, but who cares. :)
 
happytramp said:
The 'best' don't allow their rivals to take two and a half minutes out them on a flat stage. The 'best' don't repeatedly fall off their bikes due to bad positioning and pressure applied by their rivals. The 'best' don't panic on descents. The 'best' don't allow the wet and cold conditions to hold them back..... The real best? He's the guy who's still on his bike at the end of three weeks crossing the finish line before everyone else.

Yeah, let's not forget it was Lady Luck who took out the two main favorites and not their own incompetence. Unless you think Froome should be able to avoid someone steering into him, and Contador should be able to stay upright when he hits a hole in the road at 80 kph. Sheesh.
 
LaFlorecita said:
Still disputable. Simply because he was "awesome" on the cobbles he doesn't automatically deserve to win everything that can be won :rolleyes: Some people think he's not a deserving winner because he didn't beat the two main favorites. Deal with it.

What about Contador if he had stayed on his bike, surely not a worthy winner because the main favorite crashed out. Isn't it? I mean you sound like Nibali is to Contador what Porte and Valverde are to Nibali in terms of quality. So, IF Contador would have won this tour after Froome crashed out, would he be a worthy winner?
 
Rollthedice said:
What about Contador if he had stayed on his bike, surely not a worthy winner because the main favorite crashed out. Isn't it? I mean you sound like Nibali is to Contador what Porte and Valverde are to Nibali in terms of quality. So, IF Contador would have won this tour after Froome crashed out, would he be a worthy winner?

Yes, because he's the best in the business. And your previous analogy is correct.

Contador would have beaten Froome too.
 
I voted for the third option too.

There are 11 stages to go - Nibali should win as long as he stays on his bike for all of them, and not have a 'bad day', or a mechanical at an inopportune time.

Sure, if he wins this, it was after a couple of his competitors were forced to abandon. But his Giro and Vuelta wins were not against the highest level of competitors either - and I didn't hear people writing his wins in those races off because of the competition he faced.

I can live with Nibali winning - and well done to him and his team if he does.

There are a few others though who might now be in contention for a podium place that would cause me to vomit should they end up there.
 
Jan 3, 2011
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LaFlorecita said:
Still disputable. Simply because he was "awesome" on the cobbles he doesn't automatically deserve to win everything that can be won :rolleyes: Some people think he's not a deserving winner because he didn't beat the two main favorites. Deal with it.

Nibali IS a deserving winner. Not his fault the other crashed out. I think he would have finished behind Froome and Contador despite his epic ride on the cobbles (so many epic mountain stages yet to go), but it really isnt Nibalis fault they are gone so he desserves the win. But its a damn shame for the race that the two best GC riders are gone. And it is also a shame for Nibali cos everyone will say: "he onle won cos they abandoned"
 
Jan 3, 2011
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rhubroma said:
Contador would have beaten Froome too.

Its so sad we have to wait a whole other year for that duel. And who knows, maybe one will not have peaked cos of crashes or illness. I would really like to see a peaked Froome vs a peaked Contador.
 

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