Prime Lance vs. Contador ... Who Wins

[rhubroma]

A 38yr old Lance would DEMOLISH a 38yr old Alberto in the TdF.

A 2nd year pro Lance riding with the Curse of the Rainbow Jersey
would STILL be FASTER in the TdF than Alberto with the same.

And yes, Lance in his prime would DESTROY prime Alberto. Its TRUE.

So far, Lance and Alberto have faced off in the tour TWICE.

Lance beat Alberto by 63mins
Alberto beat Lance by 5mins

2010 will be the Tie-Breaker.
Lance is still 58mins ahead.

I haven't read such stupidity in a while. I recommend you go back and see LA's first Tours . When did he come in? How many eons back?

AC has won all three GT's and the Tour already twice, and only because he was prevented from participating one year, at the same age LA won his first Tour. Yea, right, but LA was so much better. The truth is that the Texan hasn't 1/2 the class as the Spaniard and that makes you so frustrated with life.

 

[Polish]

I haven't read such stupidity in a while. I recommend you go back and see LA's first Tours . When did he come in? How many eons back?
.

Ok, lets take a look at Lance's and Alberto's first Tours....

Lance as a neo-pro wins a TdF stage before being pulled out by his DS.
Alberto as a neo-pro does not ride the TdF. Manolo says he is too young.

Lance as a 2nd year Pro wears the Rainbow Jersey in the TdF. Cursed.
Alberto as a 2nd year Pro does not race the TdF. Manolo says still too young.

Lance as a 3rd year Pro finishes the TdF in 36th place, 1h28mins behind.
Alberto as a 3rd year Pro finishes the TdF in 32th place, 1h3mins behind.

Early Tours - I give Lance the edge over Alberto.

edit....Lance also won a stage in the Tour as a 3rd Year pro

 

[rhubroma]

Ok, lets take a look at Lance's and Alberto's first Tours....

Lance as a neo-pro wins a TdF stage before being pulled out by his DS.
Alberto as a neo-pro does not ride the TdF. Manolo says he is too young.

Lance as a 2nd year Pro wears the Rainbow Jersey in the TdF. Cursed.
Alberto as a 2nd year Pro does not race the TdF. Manolo says still too young.

Lance as a 3rd year Pro finishes the TdF in 36th place, 1h28mins behind.
Alberto as a 3rd year Pro finishes the TdF in 32th place, 1h3mins behind.

Early Tours - I give Lance the edge over Alberto.

edit....Lance also won a stage in the Tour as a 3rd Year pro

You're even dumber than I imagined. If we are to stick to the numbers Lance after a couple of tries finishes 4 places behind Alberto on his first. Winning the Worlds as an alibi for doing nothing at the Tour, because of the so called curse? Please. A stage win for Lance in his first Tour vs. Alberto winning it in his second? Oh and what had Lance achieved at 25 at the Tour, when Alberto won his first at the same age?

This year if Alberto wins he will have won 3 Tours, a Vuelta, a Giro and many other events at the same age as Lance when he won his first Tour. No competition. Ciao bello.

 

[sublimit]

In Lance's prime, you could take all the drugs you wanted, whenever you wanted. Ah, those were the days... If you put Contador on the program Lance was on in his prime, it would be like watching a bicycle duct-taped to the space shuttle go up the alps. You have to factor all that in when figuring out which one is the most talented.

+1. Contador would be like a hyperactive kid on speed with that amount - He could then do the Tour and complete the Alp in 34 minutes and then die of heart failure probably.

 

[Race Radio]

Looks like we will know this year. Armstrong's pre-tour testing shows him close to his fastest ever.

 

[Anonymous]

Ah, speculation. This is a fun game!

Prime Lance because he had the (prime) "team" working strictly for him.

But mano-o-mano without the team behind them I'd give the edge to Contador on a race between just those two up Mt. Ventoux.

 

[Anonymous]

Looks like we will know this year. Armstrong's pre-tour testing shows him close to his fastest ever.

Pre tour testing means nothing, especially if it's coming out of his own mouth. He's still a good rider but he's an old man. AC and AS have youth on their side along with their amazing skills, with AC having the better all-around package and determination over AS.

So comparing a "past his prime" with an "in his prime" at this year's Tour is moot. But still makes for an interesting story line.

 

[VeloCity]

Ok, lets take a look at Lance's and Alberto's first Tours....

Early Tours - I give Lance the edge over Alberto.
pro

So in other words:

Armstrong's first Tour (age 21): DNF.
Contador's first Tour (age 22): 31st.

Armstrong's second Tour (age 22): DNF.
Contador's second Tour (age 24): 1st.

Armstrong's third Tour (age 23) : 36th
Contador's third Tour (age 26): 1st.

Yeah, I see why you'd give the early edge to Lance, those two DNF's and 36th spot sure do trump AC's two overall wins, 3-4 stage wins, two white jerseys, etc.

 

[The Hitch]

interesting how in their early 20's contador and armstrong were nobodies, dnf ing tours. And i hear it said that people likesay kreuziger and ebh havent done much. Is the next contador maybe some young domestique who we dont know much about.

 

[Barrus]

interesting how in their early 20's contador and armstrong were nobodies, dnf ing tours. And i hear it said that people likesay kreuziger and ebh havent done much. Is the next contador maybe some young domestique who we dont know much about.

huh, when did Bertie DNF?

 

[Polish]

interesting how in their early 20's contador and armstrong were nobodies, dnf ing tours. And i hear it said that people likesay kreuziger and ebh havent done much. Is the next contador maybe some young domestique who we dont know much about.

If a NeoPro races the TdF & wins a stage - pay attention.

Everytime that has happened, the Neo Pro ends up winning the Tour one day.
It has only happened a couple times....three times I think...

 

[this_is_edie]

Looks like we will know this year. Armstrong's pre-tour testing shows him close to his fastest ever.

mmm that's what he says, but has that been corroborated? Or is he playing mind games?

I might have missed it as I don't read most of the Armstrong's articles that populate the cycling news industry - don't need to read more PR spin.

 

[VeloCity]

interesting how in their early 20's contador and armstrong were nobodies, dnf ing tours. And i hear it said that people likesay kreuziger and ebh havent done much. Is the next contador maybe some young domestique who we dont know much about.

Contador is only 27, so in some ways he is still the "next Contador" himself

 

[MacRoadie]

interesting how in their early 20's contador and armstrong were nobodies, dnf ing tours. And i hear it said that people likesay kreuziger and ebh havent done much. Is the next contador maybe some young domestique who we dont know much about.

Maybe I'm missing something, but how is coming in 31st in his first Tour at 22 and winning at 24 (with no dnf's), equate to being a nobody in his early 20's?

 

[peloton]

So in other words:

Armstrong's first Tour (age 21): DNF.
Contador's first Tour (age 22): 31st.

Armstrong's second Tour (age 22): DNF.
Contador's second Tour (age 24): 1st.

Armstrong's third Tour (age 23) : 36th
Contador's third Tour (age 26): 1st.

Yeah, I see why you'd give the early edge to Lance, those two DNF's and 36th spot sure do trump AC's two overall wins, 3-4 stage wins, two white jerseys, etc.

+1

If a NeoPro races the TdF & wins a stage - pay attention.

Everytime that has happened, the Neo Pro ends up winning the Tour one day.
It has only happened a couple times....three times I think...

Are trolling or just plain stupid?
Enough of your nonsense.

 

[MacRoadie]

Are trolling or just plain stupid?

Sounds like a "heads or tails" situation...

 

[Polish]

+1

Are trolling or just plain stupid?
Enough of your nonsense.

Henri Cornet, 1904 winner, won a TdF stage as a neopro.
Lance Armstrong, 99-05 winner, won a TdF stage as a neopro.

Who else has won a stage as a neopro?
I think there is another, but I cant remember.

BTW, Eddy/Hinault/LeMond/Fignon/etc did NOT ride as neopros

BigMig rode as a neopro, but did not win a stage.

Win a stage as a neopro...leading indicator of someday winning the GC.
Granted, not a lot of data points.

But if Taylor Phinney races the TdF next year and wins a stage....?

 

[peloton]

Stupid troll nonsense.

Ignored.

Please don't quote Polish if you reply to him/her.

 

[The Hitch]

huh, when did Bertie DNF?

armstrong dnf'd contador came 31st, but was 2 years older. Its right above my post. my point remains valid. they were quietly performing under the radar and perhaps the next superstar is riding the tour this year, and we will see them and not even know it.

 

[The Hitch]

Henri Cornet, 1904 winner, won a TdF stage as a neopro.
Lance Armstrong, 99-05 winner, won a TdF stage as a neopro.

Who else has won a stage as a neopro?
I think there is another, but I cant remember.

BTW, Eddy/Hinault/LeMond/Fignon/etc did NOT ride as neopros

BigMig rode as a neopro, but did not win a stage.

Win a stage as a neopro...leading indicator of someday winning the GC.
Granted, not a lot of data points.

But if Taylor Phinney races the TdF next year and wins a stage....?

i dont see how this is trolling. other than the phinney bit.

but what about cavendish. I make it winning stages in 2008 was his second year, hence neopro and he is never getting near that yellow jersey apart from maybe on stage 1.

 

[Polish]

i dont see how this is trolling. other than the phinney bit.

but what about cavendish. I make it winning stages in 2008 was his second year, hence neopro and he is never getting near that yellow jersey apart from maybe on stage 1.

no...it was not cavendish.

He was a second year pro when he won his first stage.
Lance was a neopro, pro less than one year, when he won his first stage.

So was Cornet.
Although Cornet physically came in 4th on GC,
but was awarded the win when places 1-3 were DQ'ed for cheating

 

[hrotha]

Didn't Armstrong have a professional contract after the 1992 Olympic Games? I wouldn't consider him a neopro in 1993.

Not that it matters, though.

 

[Barrus]

armstrong dnf'd contador came 31st, but was 2 years older. Its right above my post. my point remains valid. they were quietly performing under the radar and perhaps the next superstar is riding the tour this year, and we will see them and not even know it.

This was Alberto prior to his winning year of 2007

2003 – ONCE-Eroski

* Tour de Pologne
o 1st, Stage 8 (ITT)

2004 – Liberty Seguros

* Vuelta a Aragón
o Winner mountains classification

2005 – Liberty Seguros-Würth

* Vuelta al País Vasco
o 3rd Overall classification
o Winner points classification
o 1st, Stage 6 (ITT)
* Tour Down Under
o 1st, Stage 5
* Setmana Catalana
o Winner overall classification
o Winner combination classification
o 1st, Stage 3
* Tour de Romandie
o 4th Overall classification
o 1st, Stage 4

2006 – Astana-Würth

* Tour de Suisse
o 1st, Stage 8
* Tour de Romandie
o 2nd Overall classification
o 1st, Stage 3

also do note that he had brain surgery in 2004, which meant he could not ride the tour that year, if his team was so inclined at sending him, you could already clearly see that he would be a GC contender

 

[VeloCity]

Another way to look at it:

By age 27:

Armstrong: 1 Tour.
Contador: 2 Tours, 1 Giro, 1 Vuelta.

And just for the hell of it, should we extrapolate to next year, and making the very big assumption that Contador wins both this year's Tour and next year's Tour (yes, that's a very big assumption but certainly very possible), then conceivably, it could be that:

By age 28:

Armstrong: 2 Tours.
Contador: 4 Tours, 1 Giro, 1 Vuelta.

As I say, that's a very big assumption that AC will win the next two Tours, but on the other hand, it's not including possible Giro or Vuelta wins, which are also possible. But if that holds up, never mind comparisons to Armstrong, that's almost Merckxian if anything.

 

[Barrus]

Another way to look at it:

By age 27:

Armstrong: 1 Tour.
Contador: 2 Tours, 1 Giro, 1 Vuelta.

And just for the hell of it, should we extrapolate to next year, and making the very big assumption that Contador wins both this year's Tour and next year's Tour (yes, that's a very big assumption but certainly very possible), then conceivably, it could be that:

By age 28:

Armstrong: 2 Tours.
Contador: 4 Tours, 1 Giro, 1 Vuelta.

As I say, that's a very big assumption that AC will win the next two Tours, but on the other hand, it's not including possible Giro or Vuelta wins, which are also possible. But if that holds up, never mind comparisons to Armstrong, that's almost Merckxian if anything.

Also take into account already 2 paris-nice wins, 3 Vuelta a Castilla y León wins, 2 Volta ao Algarve wins and 2 Vuelta a País Vasco wins

I do think that as far as currently Contador is far, far ahead of Armstrong was at the same age. And I am going to make a bold statement, before his 30th birthday Contador will have as many or more grand tour wins as LA had, profited that he does not get banned for some thing or another