Contador vs. Froome

[rick james]

Re:

I feel so, so sorry for those who think Froome's the real deal. They just don't know what cycling is (or used to be).

4 time TDF winner and multiple podiums at Grand tours, plus 2 Bronze Olympic TT medals isn't the real deal?

 

[rick james]

Re:

when Froomes career is over with, just like Contador's racing career is over with just now then compare, doubt Bertie will ever win a race again


Feel free to bookmark that

berto won over froomey in the race to the coffee stop.............

now we have the clean living froomey.............v the dark coffee drinking berto
..............how will that stand up in the future.........

Mark L

That's a tough one for me, I do love a dark coffee

 

[Chomsky]

This discussion is silly. Contador has been able to stay on his bike to complete 3 tours against Froome. Contadors best finish is 6 minutes 27 seconds behind Froome. His other 2 finishes are 9 minutes and 10 minutes behind Froome. In the Tours they have ridden together Froome has won 4 TDFs while Contador has never been competitive. Contador has had his chance and the question of who is better has been quite loudly answered. The two are not in the same class. Contador has never been a rival or even a consideration of Froome at the Tour.

A better question is: Was Contador good enough to earn a spot as a domestique on Sky. Possibly, but I can't see a year where he would have been Froome's best or even second best domestique. Putting aside his weakness as a rider he likely lacks the attention span and selfless attitude needed to help someone other than himself.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

How do the peak AC is no better than Bardet and company theorists reconcile that theory with the actual numbers? Can one of you provide some evidence of this view? Not to mention the 2015 Giro-Tour 1-5 double, which NQ has just put into context for us. And his head to head victory over Froome in the 2014 Tour, when both were putting out peak numbers and highly motivated, and Froome lacked the indomitable team and controllable structure?

Having said all that, I think Froome will win the Vurlta this year and will win one more Tour, which will end up getting him rated more highly than Contador. Like it or not, being on the elite 5-Tour shortlist means a lot more than Contador's broader success to most people. I could be wrong. In the end, history won't remember that Contador crashed here and there and had sh1tty teams, nor that Froome had the benefit of a dominant team and, at times, a healthy dose of luck (though Froome has done a remarkable job of converting lucky breaks thanks to his aggression, confidence, and consistency).

Just my two cents.

Froome is already rated more highly than Contador, they face each other at his best in his best moments and Froome was better, at least with good weather. Contador wasnt a real rival for le Tour except in 2014 for Froome after his santion.

Froome was really better in 2014? That was AC at his "best moments" excluding pre-ban.

 

[Summoned]

For what it is worth, I went ahead and put together numbers on some of the better GT riders of the last twenty years with regards to their performances in GT's. Obviously there are Clinic issues to deal with on this, but I decided to include some results that were later stricken, as well as some adjusted standings. So Armstrong gets all of his Tour wins, Menchov has his results, etc.

Contador -- 17 GT's, 10 podiums
Valverde -- 22 GT's, 8 podiums
Aru - 7 GT's, 3 podiums
Quintana -- 10 GT's, 6 podiums
Froome -- 14 GT's, 8 podiums
Nibali -- 17 GT's, 9 podiums
Sastre -- 26 GT's, 6 podiums
Armstrong -- 15 GT's. 8 podiums
Ullrich -- 13 GT's, 8 podiums
Basso -- 20 GT's, 5 podiums
Menchov -- 21 GT's, 5 podiums
Evans -- 17 GT's, 5 podiums
A. Schleck -- 9 GT's, 4 podiums

Some quick thoughts: first of all, of those included here, Ullrich was the one who finished on the podium most often in GT's, which may not be that much of a surprise to most, but did surprise me a little. Second, the number of riders who finished on the podium at least half the time they rode a GT is fairly small, and obviously some are still active, so these numbers may change over time.

The list is Contador, Quintana (still the active rider who finishes on the podium most often in GT's he rides), Froome, Nibali, Armstrong, and Ullrich. If Froome podiums the Vuelta, he will move into a tie with Quintana in this metric. If Froome then goes on to podium the Tour next year (and assuming he skips the Giro, which seems a safe bet), he will overtake Ullrich as the rider with the highest podium rate in GT's of those included here. But, if Quintana podiums his next GT, then he will move ahead of Froome and Ullrich.

There are certainly a number of deficiencies to this metric, but two things I will say in favor of it are that it penalizes riders who do not finish races, which is generally those who crash, and rewards those who ride GT's to win the GC (assuming that any rider who can finish on the podium makes a credible effort to win the race.)

 

[loge1884]

in my book:

Overall:
Froome 2526 Pts vs Contador 2152 Pts

TdF: Froome 2130 vs Contador 675
Giro: Froome 0 vs Contador 675
Vuelta: Froome 140 vs Contador 445
other Tours: Froome 226 vs Contador 347
Monuments/one day: Froome 0 vs Contador 10
World's / Olympics: Froome 30 vs Contador 0

N.B. 1: TdF 2010 and Giro 2011 remain Contador in my book (and I am definitely not a fanboy)

N.B. 2: I value stage wins and lead relatively higher than the final outcome

 

[ad9898]

I'm going to give it to Contador at this time. I like Froome but the amount of GT's along with the way Contador has won them (Tour 09, Vuelta '12, Giro '15 especially) leaves Contador the clear leader at this time. Contador has won GT's not just with a poor team but in some cases no team at all and one case (Tour '09) with his own team actually riding against him.

Froome is an amazing athlete but in these terms he can't compete at this time. If he'd had a poor team he'd have lost at least one Tour (2017). So it's Contador in the whole of the modern era, he's with the greats. He's also the only rider ever who could've won all the GT's in one season (2008) if he and his team would've have gone for it (and if Astana were invited)

 

[arvc40]

I want to know who can do the most press ups between the two.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

in my book:

Overall:
Froome 2526 Pts vs Contador 2152 Pts

TdF: Froome 2130 vs Contador 675
Giro: Froome 0 vs Contador 675
Vuelta: Froome 140 vs Contador 445
other Tours: Froome 226 vs Contador 347
Monuments/one day: Froome 0 vs Contador 10
World's / Olympics: Froome 30 vs Contador 0

N.B. 1: TdF 2010 and Giro 2011 remain Contador in my book (and I am definitely not a fanboy)

N.B. 2: I value stage wins and lead relatively higher than the final outcome

Ehhh? Is this for their entire careers? How can Contador's 3 TDF wins be less than a third of Froome's 4 TDF wins? Do you really rate stage wins and days in the lead that highly?

 

[rick james]

Re:

I want to know who can do the most press ups between the two.

well that upper body strength and Bertie fans have been on upper body mass lookout all year

 

[silvergrenade]

Re:

For what it is worth, I went ahead and put together numbers on some of the better GT riders of the last twenty years with regards to their performances in GT's. Obviously there are Clinic issues to deal with on this, but I decided to include some results that were later stricken, as well as some adjusted standings. So Armstrong gets all of his Tour wins, Menchov has his results, etc.

Contador -- 17 GT's, 10 podiums
Valverde -- 22 GT's, 8 podiums
Aru - 7 GT's, 3 podiums
Quintana -- 10 GT's, 6 podiums
Froome -- 14 GT's, 8 podiums
Nibali -- 17 GT's, 9 podiums
Sastre -- 26 GT's, 6 podiums
Armstrong -- 15 GT's. 8 podiums
Ullrich -- 13 GT's, 8 podiums
Basso -- 20 GT's, 5 podiums
Menchov -- 21 GT's, 5 podiums
Evans -- 17 GT's, 5 podiums
A. Schleck -- 9 GT's, 4 podiums

Some quick thoughts: first of all, of those included here, Ullrich was the one who finished on the podium most often in GT's, which may not be that much of a surprise to most, but did surprise me a little. Second, the number of riders who finished on the podium at least half the time they rode a GT is fairly small, and obviously some are still active, so these numbers may change over time.

The list is Contador, Quintana (still the active rider who finishes on the podium most often in GT's he rides), Froome, Nibali, Armstrong, and Ullrich. If Froome podiums the Vuelta, he will move into a tie with Quintana in this metric. If Froome then goes on to podium the Tour next year (and assuming he skips the Giro, which seems a safe bet), he will overtake Ullrich as the rider with the highest podium rate in GT's of those included here. But, if Quintana podiums his next GT, then he will move ahead of Froome and Ullrich.

There are certainly a number of deficiencies to this metric, but two things I will say in favor of it are that it penalizes riders who do not finish races, which is generally those who crash, and rewards those who ride GT's to win the GC (assuming that any rider who can finish on the podium makes a credible effort to win the race.)

Hi Summoned,
Great post.
One thing I'd like to add..
I think it would be best to take those GTs where each of the riders you mentioned started a GT as a leader or as a joint leader.
There's little point in considering a GT where the rider wasn't really going for a top position.
Eg. Porte will in the next 4-5 years podium/win GTs. To consider all the GTs where he rode for Contador/Wiggins/Froome would not give us the correct information about how good he actually is in converting a start into a podium/win.
My 0.02.

 

[loge1884]

Re: Re:

in my book:
...

Ehhh? Is this for their entire careers? How can Contador's 3 TDF wins be less than a third of Froome's 4 TDF wins? Do you really rate stage wins and days in the lead that highly?

Indeed, I give 25 Pts for a stage win / lead and 100 Points for the final win (in a TdF; 15/75 for Giro and 10/50 for Vuelta) ... so, say if Froome had taken the lead this year only in stage 20 (all else as was) he would have gained exactly the same amount of points from this years edition as Marcel Kittel with 5 stage wins ...
the system is not flawless and up to debate ....

 

[hrotha]

Your system would have Voeckler as the "winner" of the 2011 Tour by a large margin. It's disproportionate and doesn't account for the fact that different Tours are laid out differently, with mountain stages and ITTs coming sooner or later, and with temporary yellow jerseys from breakaways that are ultimately irrelevant to the final result and, often, even to controlling the pace of the peloton.

 

[Merckx index]

This discussion is silly. Contador has been able to stay on his bike to complete 3 tours against Froome. Contadors best finish is 6 minutes 27 seconds behind Froome. His other 2 finishes are 9 minutes and 10 minutes behind Froome. In the Tours they have ridden together Froome has won 4 TDFs while Contador has never been competitive. Contador has had his chance and the question of who is better has been quite loudly answered. The two are not in the same class. Contador has never been a rival or even a consideration of Froome at the Tour.

For baseball fans, this is like arguing that Rogers Hornsby was better than Ty Cobb, because he put up better numbers in their overlapping years. This ignores the fact that Cobb was past his peak in most of those years, while Hornsby was in his peak. You have to compare their entire careers, or their peak years, or some other period that is equivalent for both. You’re completely ignoring, of course, that Contador was winning GTs when Froome was so poor that he wasn’t even riding them. By your logic, Froome is no better than I am, because he’s never beaten me when we rode the TDF together.

For what it is worth, I went ahead and put together numbers on some of the better GT riders of the last twenty years with regards to their performances in GT's. Obviously there are Clinic issues to deal with on this, but I decided to include some results that were later stricken, as well as some adjusted standings. So Armstrong gets all of his Tour wins, Menchov has his results, etc.

Contador -- 17 GT's, 10 podiums
Valverde -- 22 GT's, 8 podiums
Aru - 7 GT's, 3 podiums
Quintana -- 10 GT's, 6 podiums
Froome -- 14 GT's, 8 podiums
Nibali -- 17 GT's, 9 podiums
Sastre -- 26 GT's, 6 podiums
Armstrong -- 15 GT's. 8 podiums
Ullrich -- 13 GT's, 8 podiums
Basso -- 20 GT's, 5 podiums
Menchov -- 21 GT's, 5 podiums
Evans -- 17 GT's, 5 podiums
A. Schleck -- 9 GT's, 4 podiums

Contador has 9 podiums (on the road). He’s never been off the top step of a GT podium. I also think he has started 16, not 17 GTs—9 TDF, 3 G, 4 V.

As SG said, I think you need to distinguish between GTs where a rider is at or near his peak, and riding for a high finish, and GTs where a young rider is just competing for the experience. E.g., I wouldn’t concern myself overmuch with what Nibali did in GTs before 2010, because he wasn’t near his best then. Same with Froome before 2011. Of course some riders develop sooner than others—Contador is a good example--but that should show up as a longer peak. (Contador’s peak, of course, was compromised by his suspension).

Getting back to the question of comparing different GTs, and winning vs. various placings, what we really need--and it isn't possible at this point--is a metric that takes into account different conditions. E.g., sometimes winning a GT should count much more than second, because the rider wins in dominant fashion, is clearly the best rider in the race. But other times the winning margin is very narrow, and one could make the case that the winner didn't really distinguish himself very much from the runner-up. Contador's GT wins illustrate both cases.

A better metric IMO, would not give a fixed amount of points for a win, or any other place, but would take into account the margin of victory and the competition. This is something like what's now done in baseball, the most statistically advanced sport in the world, but as I said, we can't do this in cycling yet. A fixed number of points may be fine for team rankings, because from the point of view of watching the race or sponsoring it, a win is a win. But when trying to evaluate different riders, all wins really are not the same.

 

[Taxus4a]

Re: Re:

How do the peak AC is no better than Bardet and company theorists reconcile that theory with the actual numbers? Can one of you provide some evidence of this view? Not to mention the 2015 Giro-Tour 1-5 double, which NQ has just put into context for us. And his head to head victory over Froome in the 2014 Tour, when both were putting out peak numbers and highly motivated, and Froome lacked the indomitable team and controllable structure?

Having said all that, I think Froome will win the Vurlta this year and will win one more Tour, which will end up getting him rated more highly than Contador. Like it or not, being on the elite 5-Tour shortlist means a lot more than Contador's broader success to most people. I could be wrong. In the end, history won't remember that Contador crashed here and there and had sh1tty teams, nor that Froome had the benefit of a dominant team and, at times, a healthy dose of luck (though Froome has done a remarkable job of converting lucky breaks thanks to his aggression, confidence, and consistency).

Just my two cents.

Froome is already rated more highly than Contador, they face each other at his best in his best moments and Froome was better, at least with good weather. Contador wasnt a real rival for le Tour except in 2014 for Froome after his santion.

Froome was really better in 2014? That was AC at his "best moments" excluding pre-ban.

I really watch them at a similar condition on the Dauphine, and there, before Froome crash (or crash just afect to Contador?..that was important, not as this year Contador and Froome crash on le Tour) I watched Froome better on the ITT and better on the climb, as Contador was sucking his wheel and He couldnt overpass him on the line to get the stage although he tried it. On the Vuelta contador could attack and put some seconds at the end after sucking Froome s wheel , that show Contador was at the level of Froome, (better at the end in GC becouse Froome did a mistake on the ITT) but at the Dauphine Froome was stronger, the same than this year he was stronger, it is always the same on the Tour than we see at the Dauohine... Contador said he was taking easy this year, but he lied, he was sufferig giving it all and the same performance we show on le Tour, or even worse.
So Dauohne Froome Better, la Vuelta Contador better...But la Vuelta was an important objetive for Contador and it was just a question of have a GT finished at a good level on his legs looking to 2015.

Both of them has injuries before, but the fact is that Contador trained better before that Vuelta, that is a merit, that make him deserve that Vuelta, so I aplause instead his lies, but you cant say he beated the best Froome, while he was at a very good shape on that Vuelta, with a week of le Tour on his legs, and Froome just 2 days, very little, just 2 days of competition in 2 months.

So well, you can speculate about 2014, but you can never aid Contadorshowed stronger than Froome both at his best that year.

But you have 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 to take more conclusions

In 2015 the excuse was the Giro, but Landa didnt note the Giro, and one of the strongest points of Contador is recovery.

 

[Taxus4a]

>I see here some graphics as if to face Tour level is similar to face Giro or Vuelta level. Teh main objetove today in cycling for publicity and importante is t win le Tour, once you have done that the rest is secondary...If you face the Giro againts Aru and later you are fresher than people who came from le Tour on la Vuelta, you cant compare that to beat the best Quintana on le Tour,

 

[Red Rick]

Are you talking about elo rankings MI?

 

[Merckx index]

Re:

Are you talking about elo rankings MI?

Football (American and Euro soccer) use Elo rankings. Baseball does not (I guess it does for the international game, but not for American Major League Baseball). I'd say baseball is more advanced, because it's possible to break most events down as one-on-one (pitcher vs. batter), which obviously is not possible for most other team sports. A player's production can be quantified quite precisely, which really isn't possible in other team sports, though advances are being made.

Edit: I guess even MLB uses Elo, too. But it's a team rating system, not for individual players. In theory, I guess it could be applied to individual players, but in baseball, at least, it would not work as well as the current systems.

Still, cycling has great possibilities, with exact wattage numbers being determinable. I could see a much more exact performance metric than GT wins as possible, though of course as always, would have to ignore PEDs.

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

in my book:
...

Ehhh? Is this for their entire careers? How can Contador's 3 TDF wins be less than a third of Froome's 4 TDF wins? Do you really rate stage wins and days in the lead that highly?

Indeed, I give 25 Pts for a stage win / lead and 100 Points for the final win (in a TdF; 15/75 for Giro and 10/50 for Vuelta) ... so, say if Froome had taken the lead this year only in stage 20 (all else as was) he would have gained exactly the same amount of points from this years edition as Marcel Kittel with 5 stage wins ...
the system is not flawless and up to debate ....

So 12 days in yellow worth 3 wins overall !!!? Of course it's debatable!

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Are you talking about elo rankings MI?

Football (American and Euro soccer) use Elo rankings. Baseball does not (I guess it does for the international game, but not for American Major League Baseball). I'd say baseball is more advanced, because it's possible to break most events down as one-on-one (pitcher vs. batter), which obviously is not possible for most other team sports. A player's production can be quantified quite precisely, which really isn't possible in other team sports, though advances are being made.

Edit: I guess even MLB uses Elo, too. But it's a team rating system, not for individual players. In theory, I guess it could be applied to individual players, but in baseball, at least, it would not work as well as the current systems.

Still, cycling has great possibilities, with exact wattage numbers being determinable. I could see a much more exact performance metric than GT wins as possible, though of course as always, would have to ignore PEDs.

Yeah ok. Baseball is indeed the most static sport there is, with the game being reset after each throw basically.

I've seen a few people use them in tennis, and I always find the result surprising.

 

[Blanco]

Re:

This discussion is silly. Contador has been able to stay on his bike to complete 3 tours against Froome. Contadors best finish is 6 minutes 27 seconds behind Froome. His other 2 finishes are 9 minutes and 10 minutes behind Froome. In the Tours they have ridden together Froome has won 4 TDFs while Contador has never been competitive. Contador has had his chance and the question of who is better has been quite loudly answered. The two are not in the same class. Contador has never been a rival or even a consideration of Froome at the Tour.

A better question is: Was Contador good enough to earn a spot as a domestique on Sky. Possibly, but I can't see a year where he would have been Froome's best or even second best domestique. Putting aside his weakness as a rider he likely lacks the attention span and selfless attitude needed to help someone other than himself.

The question isn't who's better now, it's pretty obvious, but who's better overall, looking their entire careers. And if you look carefully you will find that Contador won 7(9) GT's and 7(8) WT stage races. Compare that to Froome then and do the math yourself. And that's just numbers only. I won't take into consideration Contador's magnificent attacking style, and whole that excitement and joy which he brings to the people who are following this beautiful sport. Heck his couple of rides worth more then someone's entire careers! That's his true legacy. And that's the level Froome will hardly ever come close.

 

[miguelindurain111]

Contador and Froome are exceptionally good athletes both physically and mentally, the best stage racers after Armstrong's era. I appreciate both of them very much and don't need to put them in a particular order. But I like Froome more than Contador

 

[Summoned]

Re:

For what it is worth, I went ahead and put together numbers on some of the better GT riders of the last twenty years with regards to their performances in GT's. Obviously there are Clinic issues to deal with on this, but I decided to include some results that were later stricken, as well as some adjusted standings. So Armstrong gets all of his Tour wins, Menchov has his results, etc.

Contador -- 17 GT's, 10 podiums
Valverde -- 22 GT's, 8 podiums
Aru - 7 GT's, 3 podiums
Quintana -- 10 GT's, 6 podiums
Froome -- 14 GT's, 8 podiums
Nibali -- 17 GT's, 9 podiums
Sastre -- 26 GT's, 6 podiums
Armstrong -- 15 GT's. 8 podiums
Ullrich -- 13 GT's, 8 podiums
Basso -- 20 GT's, 5 podiums
Menchov -- 21 GT's, 5 podiums
Evans -- 17 GT's, 5 podiums
A. Schleck -- 9 GT's, 4 podiums

Contador has 9 podiums (on the road). He’s never been off the top step of a GT podium. I also think he has started 16, not 17 GTs—9 TDF, 3 G, 4 V.

As SG said, I think you need to distinguish between GTs where a rider is at or near his peak, and riding for a high finish, and GTs where a young rider is just competing for the experience. E.g., I wouldn’t concern myself overmuch with what Nibali did in GTs before 2010, because he wasn’t near his best then. Same with Froome before 2011. Of course some riders develop sooner than others—Contador is a good example--but that should show up as a longer peak. (Contador’s peak, of course, was compromised by his suspension).

That is my mistake, you are correct that Contador only has 9 podiums. I do come up with 17 GT's, though -- Giro in 2008, 2011, 2015; Tour in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017; Vuelta in 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016.

As for the other points about considering GT's outside of peak years differently, that certainly makes sense, but the means of determining which are peak performances in GT's seems like it would lend itself to arbitrary distinctions. But debate makes the message board go 'round, I suppose.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

How do the peak AC is no better than Bardet and company theorists reconcile that theory with the actual numbers? Can one of you provide some evidence of this view? Not to mention the 2015 Giro-Tour 1-5 double, which NQ has just put into context for us. And his head to head victory over Froome in the 2014 Tour, when both were putting out peak numbers and highly motivated, and Froome lacked the indomitable team and controllable structure?

Having said all that, I think Froome will win the Vurlta this year and will win one more Tour, which will end up getting him rated more highly than Contador. Like it or not, being on the elite 5-Tour shortlist means a lot more than Contador's broader success to most people. I could be wrong. In the end, history won't remember that Contador crashed here and there and had sh1tty teams, nor that Froome had the benefit of a dominant team and, at times, a healthy dose of luck (though Froome has done a remarkable job of converting lucky breaks thanks to his aggression, confidence, and consistency).

Just my two cents.

Froome is already rated more highly than Contador, they face each other at his best in his best moments and Froome was better, at least with good weather. Contador wasnt a real rival for le Tour except in 2014 for Froome after his santion.

Froome was really better in 2014? That was AC at his "best moments" excluding pre-ban.

I really watch them at a similar condition on the Dauphine, and there, before Froome crash (or crash just afect to Contador?..that was important, not as this year Contador and Froome crash on le Tour) I watched Froome better on the ITT and better on the climb, as Contador was sucking his wheel and He couldnt overpass him on the line to get the stage although he tried it. On the Vuelta contador could attack and put some seconds at the end after sucking Froome s wheel , that show Contador was at the level of Froome, (better at the end in GC becouse Froome did a mistake on the ITT) but at the Dauphine Froome was stronger, the same than this year he was stronger, it is always the same on the Tour than we see at the Dauohine... Contador said he was taking easy this year, but he lied, he was sufferig giving it all and the same performance we show on le Tour, or even worse.
So Dauohne Froome Better, la Vuelta Contador better...But la Vuelta was an important objetive for Contador and it was just a question of have a GT finished at a good level on his legs looking to 2015.

Both of them has injuries before, but the fact is that Contador trained better before that Vuelta, that is a merit, that make him deserve that Vuelta, so I aplause instead his lies, but you cant say he beated the best Froome, while he was at a very good shape on that Vuelta, with a week of le Tour on his legs, and Froome just 2 days, very little, just 2 days of competition in 2 months.

So well, you can speculate about 2014, but you can never aid Contadorshowed stronger than Froome both at his best that year.

But you have 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 to take more conclusions

In 2015 the excuse was the Giro, but Landa didnt note the Giro, and one of the strongest points of Contador is recovery.

I've heard your spiel before.

 

[Ataraxus]

Re:

For what it is worth, I went ahead and put together numbers on some of the better GT riders of the last twenty years with regards to their performances in GT's. Obviously there are Clinic issues to deal with on this, but I decided to include some results that were later stricken, as well as some adjusted standings. So Armstrong gets all of his Tour wins, Menchov has his results, etc.

Contador -- 17 GT's, 10 podiums
Valverde -- 22 GT's, 8 podiums
Aru - 7 GT's, 3 podiums
Quintana -- 10 GT's, 6 podiums
Froome -- 14 GT's, 8 podiums
Nibali -- 17 GT's, 9 podiums
Sastre -- 26 GT's, 6 podiums
Armstrong -- 15 GT's. 8 podiums
Ullrich -- 13 GT's, 8 podiums
Basso -- 20 GT's, 5 podiums
Menchov -- 21 GT's, 5 podiums
Evans -- 17 GT's, 5 podiums
A. Schleck -- 9 GT's, 4 podiums

Some quick thoughts: first of all, of those included here, Ullrich was the one who finished on the podium most often in GT's, which may not be that much of a surprise to most, but did surprise me a little. Second, the number of riders who finished on the podium at least half the time they rode a GT is fairly small, and obviously some are still active, so these numbers may change over time.

The list is Contador, Quintana (still the active rider who finishes on the podium most often in GT's he rides), Froome, Nibali, Armstrong, and Ullrich. If Froome podiums the Vuelta, he will move into a tie with Quintana in this metric. If Froome then goes on to podium the Tour next year (and assuming he skips the Giro, which seems a safe bet), he will overtake Ullrich as the rider with the highest podium rate in GT's of those included here. But, if Quintana podiums his next GT, then he will move ahead of Froome and Ullrich.

There are certainly a number of deficiencies to this metric, but two things I will say in favor of it are that it penalizes riders who do not finish races, which is generally those who crash, and rewards those who ride GT's to win the GC (assuming that any rider who can finish on the podium makes a credible effort to win the race.)

Good work but there is an easier and more righteous way for analysis.
Officially speaking, AC has 14 GT appearances with 7 podiums (all of them top spot).
CF has 14 GT appearances with 8 podiums ( 4 top spot. 4 second spot).

Podium-wise 14/8 > 14/7