The official debate: Should Contador have waited for Schleck?

[ericthesportsman6]

Contador had a chance to make a lot of new fans today but instead he proves again how clueless ans classless he rides. Vino probably feels terrible riding for the jerk.

Right because doping is super classy.

 

[The Hitch]

I am eagerly awaiting the post race reaction.

Schleck was so tense when it happened. THis mightr make him stronger.

+ hes won some fans. Like me.. not that i think Bertie was neccesarily wrong, but that he was so unlucky.

 

[scribe]

As mentioned in the race thread, Andy never waited after the cobbles mess for alberto, so why should alberto wait for andy here? They are both cases of Sh!t happens when u veiw it like this.

AC was NOT in yellow on the cobbles. Which is the end of the discussion

 

[roundabout]

So he did learn something from Armstrong.

Times like this make me really miss Jan.

 

[ericthesportsman6]

Just watched the replay, AC was responding before the chain break.

 

[scribe]

AS had a huge gap at the time of the mechanical.

 

[xmoonx]

Wow, knowingly attacking the MJ with a mechanical. Sure you can do it but it says a lot about AC, DM, and SS.

 

[Straßenrennen]

And yes, there's a huge difference between this situation and the stage 3 situation when AS gained a little time.

Okay when Andy gives back this little time he won on stage 3 and alberto gives back the time he won today Alberto is still leading..... They both took advantage of when there opponenent was in trouble. And alberto is an obvious opponennt, it was clear from the start he would be one. When you want to preech about riders having respect make sure both have acted by the same standards. The score for "not waiting" stands at 1:1.

 

[khodder]

I don't have a problem with Alberto continuing to ride up the hill. What I do think reflects badly is that he went immediately to the front, got out of his saddle and pushed himself all the way to the top of the climb.

On the brightside, Schleck was gaining on Alberto up the climb, he lost time on the descent, but he was bound to with Alberto having Samu pulling him down the climb...

I cannot fault Menchov, had to stay with those two to save his GC place, he did no work up the climb, or on the descent.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

What was AC supposed to do, sit up and wait for AS by himself and allow Menchov and Sanchez - two pretty damn good TT'ers - to ride off? It's tough luck for AS, but it's not a two-man race.

Didn't stop him yesterday

If he wants to prove he's the strongest then that's exactly what he should have done. Menchov and Sanchez can make their own decisions

If he wants to win the Tour at all costs then that's up to him

 

[VeloCity]

It would be completely impractical to wait for certain opponents who got into difficulty.

So AC sits up and waits for AS but lets Menchov and Sanchez ride off?

Yes, it is impractical to wait for certain opponents when two of your other opponents can gain time.

 

[Mach Schnell]

Moves like todays are why I have never been, and never will be an AC fan.
A mechanical is a mechanical. Whether you throw the chain (if the bike is in good order, that shouldn't happen) or flat, you shouldn't attack, especially on a stage like today.
Now its probably just academic, as AC would have taken that time out on Schleck in the TT, but now we'll never know.
Great riding by Ryder today!

 

[patrick767]

What was AC supposed to do, sit up and wait for AS by himself and allow Menchov and Sanchez - two pretty damn good TT'ers - to ride off? It's tough luck for AS, but it's not a two-man race.

Ullrich had a whole group of riders with him when Armstrong crashed one year on an ascent. They did not attack when very likely Ullrich and others could have done so. It ended up really costing Ullrich too as soon after Armstrong rejoined the group, he attacked himself and buried Ullrich. Yet it was pure class.

 

[El Imbatido]

AS had a huge gap at the time of the mechanical.

And what would you have AC do when he got to AS? Slam on his brakes help AS put his chain back on then give him a running push start???????? FFS Berto was already responding to the attack

 

[scribe]

"My belly is full of anger. I would have not raced that way" -shrek paraphrase

 

[Straßenrennen]

AC was NOT in yellow on the cobbles. Which is the end of the discussion

Then why didnt he wait when chavennel got caught in the traffic jam caused by franks problem? Double standards seem to be rife here.

 

[The Hitch]

It is a bit unfair to say that if someone isnt in yellow, they are more at risk of mechanicals.

+ its a team sport and shcleck didnt have anyone with him.

Contador had vino. So contador gets the ad of if something happens, his teammate will help.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Schleck: I will take my revenge!

Andy: "I would not have raced like that. My stomach is full of anger. I will take my revenge."

Awesomeness. Game on.

 

[scribe]

And what would you have AC do when he got to AS? Slam on his brakes help AS put his chain back on the give him a running push start???????? FFS Berto was already responding to the attack

There was a significant gap that was going to gain quickly. That was THE moment of the stage. A move by the yellow jersey. Do you understand the yellow jersey was attacking successfully, had a mechanical, and Contador took the yellow from him based on the mechanical?

 

[Derry Walsh]

AS Mechanical - What Happened? !!

Anybody else have SRAM Red?

Looks to me that AS was shifting from the large C/R to the small and go the dreaded Red chain suck. I get it all the time shifting at slower speeds from the large C/R to the small. The chain just does not release from the teeth on the large C/R and gets sucked up into the bike (very similar to what sometimes happens on a mountain bike). I've tried Shimano and KMC chains as well as SRAM.

In the post race interview AS says "when I dropped my chain" but is non-specific beyond that.

I wonder if slower replays will show the cause for sure.

 

[khodder]

And what would you have AC do when he got to AS? Slam on his brakes help AS put his chain back on then give him a running push start???????? FFS Berto was already responding to the attack

Maybe just ride tempo and keep the group the same until Andy Rejoined.

However Alberto got himself to the front, out of the saddle and pushed himself to the extent that he dropped all but Menchov and Sanchez.

 

[bbgobie]

Clearly Menchov and SS followed Contador up.
If he sat up and paced they would've followed.
If Alberto sat up and paced, and Menchov or SS attacked, he could've followed them doing no extra work and we'd be blasting them now...

As it stands, it was Contador who took advantage and attacked.

 

[VeloCity]

Didn't stop him yesterday

If he wants to prove he's the strongest then that's exactly what he should have done. Menchov and Sanchez can make their own decisions

If he wants to win the Tour at all costs then that's up to him

It's not a two-man race. AC has to be concerned with Menchov and Sanchez as well as AS.

What if AS had to stand by the road for a minute? Two minutes? Does AC stand there and wait with him while Menchov and Sanchez ride away?

I think it's easy to judge while sitting on the couch watching it on tv, but on the road it's a snap call and imo AC decided that he couldn't afford to allow DM and SS to ride away.

 

[Arnout]

Own mistake of Schleck. I mean, its a bike race, you're supposed to know how to handle your bike.

Schleck was lucky in the third stage, took profit from the fourth stage and made a mistake in the, what, 16th stage or something. **** happens.

Nothing wrong with riding for Contador, Menchov and Sanchez (the latter two looked very strong on the climb and will be much stronger TT'ers than Schleck). Its bike racing.

I mean, in Formula 1 if someone gets a puncture or a mechanical or something the others don't stop racing either. That's racing, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[scribe]

No respect for the maillot jaune ...
its more than a prize,
regardless of who's wearing it.
Berto sullies it.

Liggett says it was a great race?
Had Berto and Menchov and Sanchez sat up up for a bit,
THEN we'd have seen a great race.

Yes. What we saw today was a handful of hopefuls looking to beat the strongest rider in a moment of mechanical.