Does Contador have what it takes, MENTALY, to be a consistant champion??

[shouldawouldacoulda]

Lol...idiot. he raced the Vuelta, other than that

1992
1st Stage 6 Settimana Bergamasca
1st Stage 4a Vuelta a Galicia
1st Stage 2 Trittico Premondiale
1st First Union Grand Prix
1st Overall Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic
1st Stage 2
2nd, Züri-Metzgete
1993
1st World Road Race Champion UCI Road World ChampionshipsAT THE AGE OF 22!!
1st US National Road Race Champion
1st Stage 8 Tour de France
1st Overall Tour of America
1st Trofeo Laigueglia
1st Thrift Drug Classic
1st Overall Kmart West Virginia Classic
1st Prologue
1st Stage 1
2nd Overall Tour du Pont
1st Stage 5
3rd Overall Tour of Sweden
1st Stage 3
1994
1st Thrift Drug Classic
1st Stage 7 Tour du Pont
2nd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
2nd Clasica San Sebastian
1995
1st Stage 18 Tour de France
1st Clásica de San Sebastián
1st Stage 5 Paris–Nice
1st Overall Tour du Pont
1st Mountains Classifaction
1st Stage 4
1st Stage 5
1st Stage 9
1st Overall Kmart West Virginia Classic
1st Stage 4
1996
1st Overall Tour du Pont
1st Stage 2
1st Stage 3b
1st Stage 5
1st Stage 6
1st Stage 12
1st La Flèche Wallonne
2nd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
2nd Overall Paris–Nice
1998
1st Sprint 56K Criterium
1st Overall Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
1st Overall Tour de Luxembourg
1st Stage 1
1st Cascade Cycling Classic

where was Conti at the age 22?

This is an impressive list!

Look, Armstrong was a great rider too. No doubt about that. But before his cancer he was being groomed to be a one-day, one-week stage race, classic's super star. He and his entourage viewed him as a Kelly/Jalabert kind of rider.

And don't forget Contador had his own medical issues to come back from. In 2004 he was diagnosed with a cerebral cavernoma -- congenital vascular disorder. He underwent surgery and had a tough recovery. So this was when he was 22 - and it took him out for the better part of a year at that key time.

But you have a point... from 20-22 if you compare Armstrong to Contador, Armstrong was more impressive overall. But neither had really yet hinted at the ability to be the GT riders they each became.

 

[Belokki]

This is an impressive list!

Look, Armstrong was a great rider too. No doubt about that. But before his cancer he was being groomed to be a one-day, one-week stage race, classic's super star. He and his entourage viewed him as a Kelly/Jalabert kind of rider.

And don't forget Contador had his own medical issues to come back from. In 2004 he was diagnosed with a cerebral cavernoma -- congenital vascular disorder. He underwent surgery and had a tough recovery. So this was when he was 22 - and it took him out for the better part of a year at that key time.

But you have a point... from 20-22 if you compare Armstrong to Contador, Armstrong was more impressive overall. But neither had really yet hinted at the ability to be the GT riders they each became.

...agreed...

 

[BYOP88]

Come on, Armstrong had a very good palmares all things considered. He was a great classics rider.

I'm not impressed with those Tour du Pont wins though. Okay, 1996 was pretty impressive (I don't know about 1995), but that still doesn't say a lot about Lance's tour-winning abilities.

Nah he was a semi-decent classics rider, if he didn't get cancer he may have won L-B-L etc but his record wasn't that great. Would you say in the history of cycling that Michael Boogerd was a great classics rider, if your answer is no then Lance isn't either.

 

[Polyarmour]

Contador is mentally tough, no doubt about it. The way he got through last year with Lance is evidence of that. Next year though he will have trouble dealing with the ever improving Andy Schleck on a mental and physical level. He will need every bit of luck going in his favour to hold him off. That look Schleck gave him on the Tourmalet is a portent of things to come.

 

[Belokki]

Nah he was a semi-decent classics rider, if he didn't get cancer he may have won L-B-L etc but his record wasn't that great. Would you say in the history of cycling that Michael Boogerd was a great classics rider, if your answer is no then Lance isn't either.

he won a lot more races than Boogerd... He was a classics specialist/all rounder hybrid... his frame reflected that, he looked like a boxer, not a cyclist...

Lance in 1996

 

[El Pistolero]

Lol...idiot. he raced the Vuelta, other than that

1992
1st Stage 6 Settimana Bergamasca
1st Stage 4a Vuelta a Galicia
1st Stage 2 Trittico Premondiale
1st First Union Grand Prix
1st Overall Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic
1st Stage 2
2nd, Züri-Metzgete
1993
1st World Road Race Champion UCI Road World ChampionshipsAT THE AGE OF 22!!
1st US National Road Race Champion
1st Stage 8 Tour de France
1st Overall Tour of America
1st Trofeo Laigueglia
1st Thrift Drug Classic
1st Overall Kmart West Virginia Classic
1st Prologue
1st Stage 1
2nd Overall Tour du Pont
1st Stage 5
3rd Overall Tour of Sweden
1st Stage 3
1994
1st Thrift Drug Classic
1st Stage 7 Tour du Pont
2nd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
2nd Clasica San Sebastian
1995
1st Stage 18 Tour de France
1st Clásica de San Sebastián
1st Stage 5 Paris–Nice
1st Overall Tour du Pont
1st Mountains Classifaction
1st Stage 4
1st Stage 5
1st Stage 9
1st Overall Kmart West Virginia Classic
1st Stage 4
1996
1st Overall Tour du Pont
1st Stage 2
1st Stage 3b
1st Stage 5
1st Stage 6
1st Stage 12
1st La Flèche Wallonne
2nd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
2nd Overall Paris–Nice
1998
1st Sprint 56K Criterium
1st Overall Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
1st Overall Tour de Luxembourg
1st Stage 1
1st Cascade Cycling Classic
...and 4th at the VUELTA!
where was Conti at the age 22?

You have no clue what a stage race is do you. As your list only contains 1 or 2 stage races. One that nobody except Americans cared for by the way.

And the only decent victories I can see on that long list of horrible victories are the world championship, the Classica San Sebastian and La Flèche Wallone. And none of them are stage races now are they?

And indeed I made a mistake. He was fourth in the Vuelta instead of the Giro. Last time I checked, Giro > Vuelta, so that result only makes it poorer I guess.

Armstrong's victories(actual wins) before 1999 are as impressive as Andy Schleck winning the national time trial championship. Except for La Flèche Wallone, Classica San Sebastian, stage win at TdF and the World championship ofc.

At the age of 27 Contador is already far ahead of Armstrong when he was 27. Everyone knows that.

Ps: if you want to see the real palmares of a good classics specialist I suggest you look at Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen, Museeuw, etc.

Here's a quote of Armstrong about the Ronde van Vlaanderen: "Das heel mooie, das voor de sterke mannen"

Yes, he responded in Dutch. Here's a link of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJpA8-lSI44

His voice sounds incredibly funny when he speaks Dutch. But his accent is perfect.

 

[Belokki]

You have no clue what a stage race is do you. As your list only contains 1 stage race. One that nobody except Americans cared for by the way.

And the only decent victories I can see in that horrible palmares is the world championship and La Flèche Wallone.

And indeed I made a mistake. He was fourth in the Vuelta instead of the Giro. Last time I checked, Giro > Vuelta, so that result only makes it poorer I guess.

check aggain deadeye!

 

[snosnob]

Armstrong himself has stated that AC is better than the guys he raced against

 

[Belokki]

Armstrong's victories(actual wins) before 1999 are as impressive as Andy Schleck winning the national time trial championship. Except for La Flèche Wallone, Classica San Sebastian, stage win at TdF and the World championship ofc.

And dont forget... Lance rode with cancer, which spread to his lungs (12 golf ball sized tumors), abdomen and brain.

Pretty damn good palmares if you take that into count...

 

[El Pistolero]

And dont forget... Lance rode with cancer, which spread to his lungs (12 golf ball sized tumors), abdomen and brain.

Pretty damn good palmares if you take that into count...

He was a decent classics specialist before his cancer, I'll give you that

But you can clearly see I was only comparing their stage race results.

I think the cancer only started to affect his results in 1996, but I don't know.

 

[hrotha]

Nah he was a semi-decent classics rider, if he didn't get cancer he may have won L-B-L etc but his record wasn't that great. Would you say in the history of cycling that Michael Boogerd was a great classics rider, if your answer is no then Lance isn't either.

Okay, I'd say he was a good classics rider on his way to become a very good classics rider. Don't forget he was just 25 when he got cancer. He had a lot of room for improvement, and a pretty decent palmares already. He had won Fleche, San Sebastian, WC and a couple of TdF stages. He had come close to winning LBL and Paris-Nice. No matter how you look at it, at 25 that's a very good and promising palmares for a classics rider. Obviously he was not going to be Cancellara, Boonen or Museeuw, I think it's pretty obvious now that he was never going to get along with the cobbles, but he could have been similar to Rebellin, for example. I'd say Rebellin was a great classics rider, just of a different type compared to Museeuw & the others. Ardennes and all that.

You can't compare Armstrong to Contador because, at their core, they're a different class of riders. It's like comparing Cavendish to Contador.

 

[Bennyl]

Contador for a few years has been the overwhelming favourite and hence the target of every other GC rider and team. He is a rider that by nature attacks, yet because of his favouritism often has to defend under a heap of well documented and different scenarios.

I think as soon as you try and hand favourtism to someone else and label Contador vunerable, he will again become the hunter and again slaughter his opposition.

I think in this tour Andy had it in climbing ability to match AC but did not back it up with performance. I think he could've attacked Alberto more and that if anyone cracked this tour it was AS. Still, this year was probably a one off, because Frank will be back next year and I think he gives Andy alot of confidence during the race.