So What do you Make Of Contador to Garmin Deal?

[hfer07]

"Plus BroDeal's right about AC's past with Saiz, etc. Nobody that rode for that guy wasn't super jacked."

Rode for Saiz: Christian Vande Velde, Luis Leon Sanchez, AC, Vino, Kaschekin, Roberto Heras, Johan Bruyneel...

and to top it, add the "Expertise" of JV himself riding for US Postal back in the "juicy era" with LA...

 

[mherm79]

Ever notice TT results, how the winner seems to win by quite a bit and the results down the table get closer and closer and then start spreading apart again? Its called normal distribution and it happens everywhere, hence the tallest man in the world is not mm taller than the next guy he is cm or inches. The top freak, statistically, should not be just a little better, but some similar margin. Though I bow to the fact it is not going to be the 10% that doping will give you.
.

true that. performance also drops off coz not everyone is trying to win the TT, others are trying to limit their losses or use it as a training run (domestiques for example)

I believe Wiggins was not too happy when Contador beat him in a flat prologue at Paris Nice.

Makes you think

it would be like Cavendish dropping the Schelcks on Alp D'Heuz...

 

[Bala Verde]

Perhaps AC wanted to get a better, cleaner image himself. Signing for Garmin, while implicated (and exonerated) in OP, ridden for Liberty, and now Astana, all teams were covered with clouds of doping allegations and rumours... It could have been a 'way out' for him.

 

[Tusher]

Could just be that a mightily narked off Alberto phoned JV with the sole intent of winding up Armstrong. Which would be understandable.

Maybe he was drunk at the time..........perhaps his friends were egging him on for a bet..........I dunno, but I would be seriously disappointed in Garmin if they DID sign him.

I'm mean Alberto is salivatingly gorgeous and all, but those skeletons in his wardrobe will spill out one day.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I think too much is being read into things, if Astana had folded AC's choices would be in no particular order ...

1. Ride for Lance
2. Caisse
3. Garmin

Garmin in my opinion would be the best choice.

Ethically, should Garmin-Chipotle have had any qualms taking him? Ah no, any team with a convicted doper can hardly turn down a clean rider. Whatever the speculation about him.

An ideal team for him next year.

im thinking he would opt for a spanish team if he moves next year... Im thinking he would have gone to garmin now with the tour on his mind (Strong TTT team, bringing a cpl pals (pauliniho), and having support from VDV and co.. looks better then him sharing leadership with LA and his donkey JB)

I kinda get the feelin AC might be panicking or stressing a little bit about the whole Astana and LA situation, might lead him to self destruct in the tour me thinks.

 

[BigBoat]

Contador has pointed out in a couple of interviews in the past that he considers Christian Vande Velde to be a good friend of his. I wonder if this mattered in looking toward Garmin.

Also, I don't think AC has been the same rider since the 2007 Tour. The victories in the Giro and the Vuelta were very different from the "unreal" battle that he had with the Chicken.

Does that mean he is now clean -- of course not. But I do wonder...

I'd put $20 he's putting out more power now (fully doped) than he did in 2007. You really have to look at Larsson's power data from the Tour of California TT (486 watts). This guy is not going to be winning the Tour. Lance could hold about 495 in his day and Lance will be by far stronger than Larsson for the Tour.

And people now tip Contra to beat Lance. I dont think that will happen but Alberto would need to put out about 6.7 watts per kilo for an hour to do this. (Upper range clean with a low hematocrit) is about 5.7. If he was clean at this point he'd likely not even finish the Tour due to the pace.

Bukunin, do you race? If you were a cat 4 rider would you enter the cat 1 criterium? Would you be able to finish the race without being lapped and pulled?

 

[Juan Pelota]

And people now tip Contra to beat Lance. I dont think that will happen but Alberto would need to put out about 6.7 watts per kilo for an hour to do this. (Upper range clean with a low hematocrit) is about 5.7. If he was clean at this point he'd likely not even finish the Tour due to the pace.

Lance did 6.7 for about 12 minutes I believe according to the book Lance Armstrong's War. I have no idea where you are getting the 6.7 for an hour quote.

 

[Juan Pelota]

During Lance's Time trial up L'alpe Duez..he averaged 396 Watts. Or 5.3 watts per kilo for 37 minutes.

 

[Juan Pelota]

On Mt. Ventoux during the Dauphine Time trial, which is about an hour in length, Lance pushed 450 watts at 75 kg according to Ferrari. This was his fastest time up Ventoux. Which is 6.0 Watts per Kilo..

Mayo and Hamilton did it at 6.25 Watts per kilo.

 

[BigBoat]

On Mt. Ventoux during the Dauphine Time trial, which is about an hour in length, Lance pushed 450 watts at 75 kg according to Ferrari. This was his fastest time up Ventoux. Which is 6.0 Watts per Kilo..

Mayo and Hamilton did it at 6.25 Watts per kilo.

He had a test where he averaged 495 over 35min...I'll have to dig that one up. Fully tuned he could likely get that for his all out hour TT.

 

[ludwig]

Amazing

I'm amazed so many people who follow cycling closely believe Slipstream is a "clean" team and that somehow being a Garmin rider indicates you are likely to be cleaner than the competition. Give me a break! Who in Garmin actually has a history of clean riding anyway? If Garmin was clean, why aren't there any actual whistle blowers on the team? Why is it composed of primarily of ex Discos, ex CSCers, ex convincted dopers?

That so many are hoodwinked really speaks to the effectiveness of American cycling media in repairing cycling's image here in the States, and the effectiveness of the Garmin/High Road model as an example for the future of omerta in cycling.

 

[richwagmn]

I'm amazed so many people who follow cycling closely believe Slipstream is a "clean" team and that somehow being a Garmin rider indicates you are likely to be cleaner than the competition. Give me a break! Who in Garmin actually has a history of clean riding anyway? If Garmin was clean, why aren't there any actual whistle blowers on the team? Why is it composed of primarily of ex Discos, ex CSCers, ex convincted dopers?

That so many are hoodwinked really speaks to the effectiveness of American cycling media in repairing cycling's image here in the States, and the effectiveness of the Garmin/High Road model as an example for the future of omerta in cycling.

Didn't Vaughters admit to doping? Regardless, tired of all the doping threads.

 

[BroDeal]

Didn't Vaughters admit to doping? Regardless, tired of all the doping threads.

Vaughters does have the guts to admit to it. Instead he does the non-admission admission, making it clear that he doped while on Postal but not actually coming out and saying it. It is one of the reasons I really do not trust him...well that and the whole public image thing where he hired image consultants to dress him up like a stodgy 1950's professor from England.

 

[Juan Pelota]

He had a test where he averaged 495 over 35min...I'll have to dig that one up. Fully tuned he could likely get that for his all out hour TT.

That's quite the speculation there isn't it? Of course you need it to make your numbers add up.

Indurain averaged 6.36 watts per kilo during his Hour record

Merckx averaged an official 450 watts while training for the hours, that's 6.0

Larsson Silver medalist at the world's putting out 6.2 for 30 minutes isn't that amazing.