The battles we never got to see

[The Hitch]

Tourmalet 2010 with Contador needing to attack rather than defend

The general perception was that Contador would take 2 mins + out of Andy in Bordeaux so this probably would only have happened if Contador had lost a minute or 2 on some other stage.

 

[The Hitch]

- Cancellara vs. Boonen, Flanders & Roubaix 2012

See 2010

 

[will10]

The general perception was that Contador would take 2 mins + out of Andy in Bordeaux so this probably would only have happened if Contador had lost a minute or 2 on an earlier stage.

AC already lost some time on the cobbles but this just cancelled out Andy's 122nd place in the prologue.

 

[The Hitch]

AC already lost some time on the cobbles but this just cancelled out Andy's 122nd place in the prologue.

Which is why i immediately changed the wording to "some other stage"

Schleck got a minute from the Franks sacrifice. But he would have needed another domestique to throw himself under Contador's wheel, perhaps Jens. Even without the chain drop, people were saying when it was 40 seconds that Schleck needed to attack not Contador, and its probably the reason why Schleck did attack on Port de Bales.

 

[will10]

bump.

Grandad vs. Alien, Vuelta 2014.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

I guess the lost battle in the Tour this year "Froome vs AC vs Nibali" deserves a mention too in this thread.

I'd also like to have seen how Froome would've done against a 2009/2010-Contador, but at that time Froome was already busy enough hangin' on to cars in the Giro.

Heras vs Armstrong in the Vuelta or Tour could have been awesome, if they'd been on different teams. As a measure of how good Armstrong actually was against the best climber of his generation.

 

[gregrowlerson]

bump.

Grandad vs. Alien, Vuelta 2014.

Nice bump.

Liked rereading all the '06 Tour talk

 

[SKSemtex]

oh, and Armstrong vs Contador without any doping controls

Armstrong ws rest without doping

 

[jens_attacks]

Armstrong ws rest without doping

check 2010 tour de france without the prologue


i would have loved an armstrong-horner battle with both at full gas

 

[roundabout]

Heras vs Armstrong in the Vuelta or Tour could have been awesome, if they'd been on different teams. As a measure of how good Armstrong actually was against the best climber of his generation.

2000 Tour. The only mountain stage where Heras was better was when Armstrong forgot to eat.

 

[laurel1969]

check 2010 tour de france without the prologue

The contrast in Armstrong between 1999-2005 +2009 and 2010 was stark. The crashes, the panic, the abandonment. Looked to me like somebody without the inner confidence of knowing he was a step ahead of the rest. Rightly or wrongly, it came back into my mind watching Froome 2014 compared to 2011-13.

The next three weeks are going to be interesting.

 

[jens_attacks]

nah lance was just too old, even with all his superior preparation, he wasn't the same. and in 2010 after the myhtical now euskaltel team crashed in him, he decided to freewheel the whole tour


and i still think froomey can blow this tour apart and he could have done the same in le tour

 

[laurel1969]

He was only a year older than when he stood on the podium in 2009. I don't know. Its just gut feeling that he was markedly different to 2009 and previous years.

Froome? We'll have to see. It'll be interesting to see how much support he gets from his team. They've gone from looking like USPS Mk2 to a near irrelevance.

 

[Walkman]

Re:

AC already lost some time on the cobbles but this just cancelled out Andy's 122nd place in the prologue.

Which is why i immediately changed the wording to "some other stage"

Schleck got a minute from the Franks sacrifice. But he would have needed another domestique to throw himself under Contador's wheel, perhaps Jens. Even without the chain drop, people were saying when it was 40 seconds that Schleck needed to attack not Contador, and its probably the reason why Schleck did attack on Port de Bales.

Come on, this is ridiculous. Really, I hope this is a sad attempt at a joke.

 

[Metabolol]

Armstrong in the Giro or Vuelta without protection from the UCI, weaker team and more equal preparation levels.

See him go up against Pantani/Heras/Simoni/etc in top shape. He would have cracked in the mountains.

 

[WheelofGear]

Horner vs. Quintana/Contador/Froome in the 2014 Vuelta.
Peak-form Armstrong vs. 2013 Froome.
Pantani vs. Contador in 09.
Merckx in his old equipment against the modern riders.

 

[Angliru]

The big 4 take up Tinkoff's challenge and ride the Giro and the Tour for the gc.

 

[Miburo]

Tour '06 would have been godlike if basso and ullrich were there.

AC, vino and piti (cause of crash) were left out too. Would have been absolutely awesome

I don't think '09 contador can compare to pantani, then again we haven't seen much of that contador. We saw only verbier, although it looked he wasn't breathing in the other MTF's.

 

[shalgo]

When I saw that this thread had been bumped, I was sure I was going to see someone saying Contador vs. Landa on a mountain stage in Giro 2015.

 

[Fernandez]

Gilbert 2011 vs valverde 2015 in ardennes classics

 

[Fernandez]

Gilbert 2011 vs valverde 2015 in ardennes classics

 

[Miburo]

Gilbert 2011 wouldn't have lost to anyone, an absolute beast.

 

[May0maniac]

Heras vs Gibo with both guys in their prime and in top shape, peaking for the same GT.

 

[greenedge]

Gilbert 2015(Giro form) vs Thor 2011(TDF) at this Giro stagehunting.

 

[Merckx index]

Flor vs. the Armstrong fanboys in 2009

Michelle Cound vs. Betsy Andreu, if Frankie were a member of the Sky team