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"

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.