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Eki frustrated by AC's comments

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Anonymous

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pmcg76 said:
This is proof there is no winning with people, a team-mate has confirmed AC thanked his team-mates personally, for their work but he now has to state it on twitter or something so it can be heard by certain people who have criticised AC since March. The whole argument is you can say what you want in public, it dont make it true and having your closest friends, collegaues agree with you dont make it the truth either, especailly if you are trying to drive an agenda.

I have wondered why if AC was such a bad team-mate, why did anybody on the Astana team go to the winners dinner other than Lance. My experience of 25 yrs plus following cycling is that if a team-mate is that disliked, nobody would have gone to the winners dinner other than Alberto. Find it hard to believe that AC would not have thanked his team-mates at said dinner.

So this is "proof" nowadays? Amazing.

Professionally, I attend many functions for and with people that I don't care for. I do it because the fallout of not attending would likely be worse than the function . Anything like that sound familiar to you?

What ever comments Zubeldia made were for reasons known only to him. It doesn't necessarily mean anything other than being polite.

Zubeldia is headed for RadioShack, no? If true, what might this suggest to you?
 
Señor_Contador said:
Basques are not Spanish.

Ouch, hit a nerve, I am very aware of the conflict but I put both because most Lance fans will say Zubeldia is Spanish, same as Contador. Officially Euskaltel are Spanish but I live close to Northern Ireland so I am well tuned into these issues. What about Cataluyna or Galega?
 
Where did I say it was proof, I would just find it odd. How about what Zubeldia said? Any thoughts on that, is what Bruyneel, Wilcockson or Eki said ok but not what Zubeldia said. To me this whole AC is a a bad team-mate is rubbish, he simply would never have won 4 GTs if he was as bad as people are making out
 
Jul 22, 2009
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pmcg76 said:
Ouch, hit a nerve, I am very aware of the conflict but I put both because most Lance fans will say Zubeldia is Spanish, same as Contador. Officially Euskaltel are Spanish but I live close to Northern Ireland so I am well tuned into these issues. What about Cataluyna or Galega?

I don't know about any other "nationless states" within Spain, but I do know a little about the Basques (actually almost got blown up in Madrid a few years ago, while vacationing) and can tell you that even within Spain there are people who do not consider them Spanish any more (and are in fact calling for the expulsion of the Basque Autonomous Community from the kingdom of Spain).

If you ask Zubeldia what he considers himself he will most likely say "Basque, hence NOT Spanish".

Not political at all, jut pointing out the obvious.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Señor_Contador said:
I don't know about any other "nationless states" within Spain, but I do know a little about the Basques (actually almost got blown up in Madrid a few years ago) and can tell you that even within Spain there are people who do not consider them Spanish any more (and are in fact calling for the expulsion of the Basque Autonomous Community from the kingdom of Spain).

If you ask Zubeldia what he considers himself he will most likely say "Basque, hence NOT Spanish".

Not political at all, jut pointing out what's obvious.

Could you please explain the Basque/Spanish situation for me?
 
Jul 22, 2009
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TRDean said:
Could you please explain the Basque/Spanish situation for me?

I don't know much to be honest with you... I was there, in Madrid actually, for about 1 week and I almost got blown up. My opinion of their "struggle" is not very positive.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Señor_Contador said:
I don't know much to be honest with you... I was there, in Madrid actually, for about 1 week and I almost got blown up. My opinion of their "struggle" is not very positive.

OK thanks!! I'll look it up.
 
Jun 18, 2009
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Scott SoCal said:
Zubeldia is headed for RadioShack, no? If true, what might this suggest to you?

That Zubeldia has no reason to invent a lie about Contador thanking his teammates for their support.
 
Ninety5rpm said:
(1) First of all, all the comments about Alberto not thanking the team are in reference to Alberto never thanking the team at any point (something that has been out there at least 24 hours now and still not corrected or denied so is more and more likely to be true), not just in this press conference he made in Spain. (2) Even if he thanked them publicly after he left France, that's not really thanking them.

(3)As to this comment, it's not thanking the team at all, as it only references Lance. Equally important, in the given context ("won seven tours and ...") the "played a big role" clause refers to him getting 3rd place, and says nothing about his role, much less anyone else's, in helping AC achieve his win.

So, yeah, you are reading too much into that phrase, it is not an acknowledgment of Lance's efforts as a teammate, and (4)one can seriously argue that AC has never acknowledged LA's or any other team member's role in AC's victory this year. Apparently, this guy is a huge a$$ even by LA standards!


(5) LA's tweets make perfect sense in the light of AC's actual statement. AC's comments don't acknowledge Lance's role in this year's victory, nor any other team member's role, which IS what Lance (and Eki, Wilcockson, JB, etc.) are talking about.


(6)I'm not a stalwart defender of Lance or anyone else.
I am a stalwart defender of logic, reason, objectivity, justice and fairness, which is why I responded to refute this ridiculous argument.

Thanks for responding 95, I knew I could count on you. As you'll note, I've numbered your paragraphs which will make it easier to respond to your points.

(3): I'm taking this out of order, because it was the point I was trying to address and I don't want anyone thinking I'm ducking or burying the issue. I realized after I posted it that this alternate reading was plausible, and arguably more plausible. So, I'll concede the point that the statement is more likely a reflection of Lance's overall finish and not an implied thank you from Contador.

(1) I've never understood the genesis of this point, and frankly I still don't. Contador was asked a specific question, to which he responded. From there, Lance, via twitter, interjected this notion of thanking the team. Nothing in Contador's response (again to a question about his relationship with Lance) talked about his winning this thing without teammates, or that he didn't need them. So, I'd be interested in you explaining the nexus of Lance's comments and Contador's response. And the fact that Contador hasn't responded to Lance's twits, isn't evidence that he agreed with them or that the twits were true. I don't recall Contador responding to Lance's "he's got a lot to learn" twit either.

(2) "Even if he thanked them publicly after he left France, that's not really thanking them" :eek: I assume you must have an incomplete thought here, because it makes no sense. Even if he thanked him, that's not really thanking them? By that standard, no one ever thanks ANYONE.

(4) One could argue that he acknowledged all that Lance did for him this year. Lance and his reported antics provided him motivation. His passive aggressive campaign contributed to his overall dominance this year. Which I think Contador has talked about ad nausem. Without it, he may not win the Tour this year. As for his teammates, excluding Lance's comments to the contrary, what evidence do you have that he didn't thank his teammates? We know he APOLOGIZED to all of them after Stage 17, but we believe that he wouldn't also thank them? Think that one through for a minute. Cares enough about what they think to apologize to them, but doesn't think enough about them to thank them.

(5) Lance's twits make no sense. As I noted above, Contador was responding to a question about his relationship with Armstrong. Not about his teammates or the role they played in his Tour victory. I assume the no personal admiration is what bothered him (and you), so please explain how the appropriate response is to claim that Contador didn't thank his team maters or claimed that he didn't need them?

(6) I believe the only person who believes this is you. You should step back and read your posts and the threads you start to understand why most would find your comments laughable. It would be like me saying that I'm not biased against to Lance. I certainly TRY to be objective, but my disdain for his antics over the last 6 months clearly breaks through.
 
Jul 17, 2009
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You guys need to let this go - who gives a sheit. July 2010 is going to rock! I really hope Lance works his one nut off so he can at least give AC some competition. And wouldn't it be great if AS improves his TT abilities? Throw some BW improvements in there and we have a big show... C'mon 7/2010!
 
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richwagmn said:
That Zubeldia has no reason to invent a lie about Contador thanking his teammates for their support.

But JB, LA, Eki and the others are all not being truthful. Got it. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
 

Dr. Maserati

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Scott SoCal said:
So this is "proof" nowadays? Amazing.

Professionally, I attend many functions for and with people that I don't care for. I do it because the fallout of not attending would likely be worse than the function . Anything like that sound familiar to you?

What ever comments Zubeldia made were for reasons known only to him. It doesn't necessarily mean anything other than being polite.

Zubeldia is headed for RadioShack, no? If true, what might this suggest to you?

Firstly - Zubeldia's contract is with JB's company Olympus SARL - not Astana. I believe Zubeldia had a valid contract through 2010. Also Contador has a contract with JB through to 2010 - he is not going to RS!!

Secondly - no it is not proof but to be fair it is a different version to the 'proof' we have seen from the other side.
 
Jun 18, 2009
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Scott SoCal said:
But JB, LA, Eki and the others are all not being truthful. Got it. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

I missed Ekimov being at that TDF this year. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

And where did JB say AC hadn't thanked his teammates? Link please?
 
Scott SoCal said:
But JB, LA, Eki and the others are all not being truthful. Got it. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Wait a second, this whole thread has been about a person, Ekimov saying AC is a bad team-mate backing up LA, JB, LL,JW who are all closely linked to LA but when an actual team-mate says the opposite, we are not allowed to point out the obvious. WTF.
 
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Anonymous

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richwagmn said:
I missed Ekimov being at that TDF this year. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

And where did JB say AC hadn't thanked his teammates? Link please?


Eki was there after his daughter was born. He twitted as much. Don't know if I've seen a quote from JB so I'll withdraw that.

Even if I could produce a quote from JB you would just come from a different angle to defend what you believe to be true. So would I.
 
BikeCentric said:
Agreed, getting into a media ****ing match with LA is a losing proposition. Hopefully Contador realizes this and keeps quiet so I can stop reading about this sophmoric idiocy!

No chance. Contador will say nothing more now. What? LA and the gang are going to keep this up for another 357 days? No chance. Remember Ullrich? Remember how they tried to portray him. Its the same methodology Bush used on Iraq. Make an enemy then create the fight to fit. However it’s hard to make such a nice guy with a name like Alberto into the arch enemy.
 
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Anonymous

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thehog said:
No chance. Contador will say nothing more now. What? LA and the gang are going to keep this up for another 357 days? No chance. Remember Ullrich? Remember how they tried to portray him. Its the same methodology Bush used on Iraq. Make an enemy then create the fight to fit. However it’s hard to make such a nice guy with a name like Alberto into the arch enemy.

Even though I don't always agree with you, I like your style.
 
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Anonymous

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pmcg76 said:
Wait a second, this whole thread has been about a person, Ekimov saying AC is a bad team-mate backing up LA, JB, LL,JW who are all closely linked to LA but when an actual team-mate says the opposite, we are not allowed to point out the obvious. WTF.


Point out whatever you want. Read the dude's comments. He is saying that Zubeldia's comments are "proof" that those of us questioning AC as a good teamate are wrong. I'm saying those comments don't prove anything and, in fact, there are at least two others involved who seem to believe AC has not been a good teamate, LA and Eki.
 
May 26, 2009
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Scott SoCal said:
Point out whatever you want. Read the dude's comments. He is saying that Zubeldia's comments are "proof" that those of us questioning AC as a good teamate are wrong. I'm saying those comments don't prove anything and, in fact, there are at least two others involved who seem to believe AC has not been a good teamate, LA and Eki.

Well of course LA is going to say that otherwise this thread wouldn't be happening, as for Eki isn't he like deputy ball holder, so no prizes for guessing he agrees with LA, if he didn't someone else would be made deputy ball holder.
 
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BYOP88 said:
Well of course LA is going to say that otherwise this thread wouldn't be happening, as for Eki isn't he like deputy ball holder, so no prizes for guessing he agrees with LA, if he didn't someone else would be made deputy ball holder.


So what does that make Zubeldia, el holsterlero?
 
Scott SoCal said:
I did. He's not responded. I think he's mad at me.:)

I'm almost positive that none of them can contradict Zubeldia on this point. If you believe that Contador APOLOGIZED to the entire team for Stage 17, why is it questionable that he also thanked them after every stage? Either you care about what your team mates think or you don't.

And let's be frank, Lance doesn't like him. He refused to celebrate with champagne on days that were good for Alberto, but did so for days that were good for him. And we know that he (Lance) didn't attend the congratulatory dinner on Saturday night (the same day that Contador was putting in FAR more work on Lance's behalf than Lance ever put in for Contador). In short, there is ample (objective) evidence that Lance isn't be honest with his twit.

Now where is the countervailing (objective) evidence that impugns Zubeldia's credibility?
 

Dr. Maserati

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Jun 19, 2009
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Scott SoCal said:
So what does that make Zubeldia, el holsterlero?

I feel sorry for poor Zubeldia.

First he helps drive the Stage 3 break for LA, so all the AC fans think he is el bastardo..
and now he says that AC did indeed thank his team, so now all the LA fans think he is a traitor and a friend of cancer..... poor guy.
 
May 26, 2009
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Scott SoCal said:
So what does that make Zubeldia, el holsterlero?

Could well be.

But a quick question, of the other 5 riders on the tour team(we'll remove Zubeldia and LL) and they'd have a better view than Eki(I've yet to see a quote from chief ball holder saying AC was an awful team mate), if Contador was that bad a team mate, wouldn't the other 5 have backed up Lance and said "Contador didn't even say thanks etc etc etc"?