The official debate: Should Contador have waited for Schleck?

[Dedelou]

When Sparticus made everyone slow, no one had to, they just did. Their bad.
Saxo rode the front on the cobbles, they did not stop and wait for Frank. When Chavenel flatted he was already off the back. Contador rode as well as he could in that stage all things considered.
Attacking a guy with a mechanical is a cowards tactic.

and throwing a chain when a deadly competitor is about to eat you back up after you attacked is poor bike handling and should not be rewarded with the kindness they untimately shown by easing up so he could catch back on

 

[blaxland]

No he shouldnt have waited,there no way Schleck would wait for him"I think most of us here will just agree to disagree"

 

[El Pistolero]

"where Andy took advantage of me" -Alberto in his own words from his "please let me explain video..." Seems to me that everyone who knows anything about racing knows the difference between the day on the cobbles and today. Here is a simple observation for Berto...

On the cobbles you where not on Andy's wheel (or even close to it) and this is racing on the cobbles. Today you saw with your own eyes the MJ with something wrong (he had no idea if was flat or dropped chain) and had your team radio telling you. Andy rode smart on the Spa stage. You took advantage of him today. Get a clue and spare us your pathetic PR ploy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOJLuePexs

He wasn't in Andy's wheel when Andy attacked today, so how is it not the same? Conti got hold back cause of Frank Schleck's crash on the cobbles, not because of a mistake he made. Andy took advantage of that and now he gets threated the same as he threated every GC contender on that stage. Karma's a *****.

How the hell can your chain fall of anyway? Most GC contenders have something that makes it impossible for your chain to drop off. Too bad Schleck didn't have that huh ;-) Perhaps that 50grams extra weight was too much for him to climb with. If you're taking risks don't complain about the consequences.

His chain dropping off was clearly not a mechanical error, but his own mistake. He was clearly shifting when the chain fell off.

Get a clue your self and spare us your posts.

I thought it was a dumb mistake that everyone waited on stage 2 and I'm glad they didn't do a repeat now.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

Is 1200 posts in about 7 hours some sort of record?

Can this get to 2000 by tomorrow?

Wow. Now that I have seen it a couple times, that's just how the ball bounces. It was NO mechanical, and people who keep screaming it doth protest too much.

Could AC have slowed up? Maybe. How much time did he have to think about it? Not much.

But AS has been pretty lame considering how badly he needs time, so tomorrow and thursday should be totally nuts. I wish I could take both days off from work.

Are you saying the chain slipping off is not a mechanical, or that the chain did not slip off and something else happened?

What do you mean, "it was NO mechanical"???

 

[Bazza_13]

Spaniard

He's a Spanaird. say no more.
No matter the sport, Spanaird's and Spanish speaking countries have no ettiquitte. That's a fact!
In fact, the only Spanaird with class is my Orbea!

 

[El Pistolero]

Are you saying the chain slipping off is not a mechanical, or that the chain did not slip off and something else happened?

What do you mean, "it was NO mechanical"???

No one else had his chain fall of this Tour(not without a heavy crash at least).

I don't know the name of it, but they have something to prevent your chain from falling off like that Schleck didn't have it, Contador for example does have it equipped on his bike.

 

[nowhereman]

Schleck is supposed to be a professional cyclist (ie. getting paid money to ride a bicycle). This would imply that he should know how to operate said piece of machinery/equipment.

Snapping a chain or ripping off a deraileur because your legs are applying massive torque is a "mechanical". Dropping a chain because you don't know how to change gears properly is amateurish.

Same goes for any "professional" rider who crashes a corner because they clip their pedal (ie. learn to ride a bike, pharmboy).

Perfectly summed up. A+

 

[Biffins]

Alberto Contador will get no sympathy or mercy from anyone if he has any issues at all while wearing the yellow. That seems for certain.

 

[Dedelou]

Actually let's be honest... yes Lance waited for Jan. but in 03 Lance and Mayo went down right in front of Jan. he almost came to a stop... and literally had to put every ounce of force into getting himself going again... then Hamliton and the rest of the field caught him. Lance said back then. look at the tape he was cleary attacking when i went down. Lance is a douche. He said back in the day he "gave" Marco that stage... but yesterday or the day before he says: "i didn't give gifts back in my day"

sorry for the sidebar

He lost respect from whom? People who didn't like him in the first place? I don't think people who genuinely liked him before will change their mind an account of today. The race is not over Andy only need 8 seconds to win. Can he be 8 seconds better than contador? that is what he has to prouve now. The race still gives him 7 mountains to show us.

 

[jeffballinger]

Who are you guys kidding?

So all of a sudden Andy Schleck doesn't know how to operate his bike? Come on. That's a ridiculous assertion way too many supposedly intelligent riders have made in this string. Take another look at the tape. I don't see either of Schleck's hands shifting gears. http://www.versus.com/videos/

 

[dwrollin]

Was the mechanical an issue with Schleck not knowing how to change gears properly when attacking. This also shows that you need good mechanics to help prevent mechanical issues.

 

[nowhereman]

.

It would be interesting to know how many weeks those who believe Contador was correct, have been following cycle racing.

I'd say that line was comical, if it wasn't so downright idiotic. Are you proud of yourself?

 

[red_flanders]

Let's break down this 3 week tour on the merits of advantages.....

ITT advantage: Contador
Cobbles advantage: Shrek/Saxo
Mountains advantage: Toss up, leaning Shrek based on the acceleration I saw today.
Opportunist based on mechanicals: Contador

Winner by a hair: Contador as decidedly advantage today's stage.

You willing to put money on that? You've stated it enough times. I'll take Contador -40 seconds at the finish if you're interested.

Tomorrow will be interesting.

I pick AC for the win on the Tourmalet. I say Contador wins the tour by 2:50 or more.

 

[Kender]

i think those that think contador may not have known he had a problem may need to watch the video again

the astana rider that was responding to the attack was vino. vino was looking back to see where contador was. AC was futher back and he most definately saw andy almost at a standstill looking down at his bike. he went riding on past at a sprint and never looked back

anyone else notice that although AC was trying hard to put time into AS, he was still unable to drop sammy and denny?

AS has to attack now or lose 2nd place

 

[Bicicleta]

I am not a fan of either Schleck or Contador. Kind of funny that the only person that comes out looking good in this whole scenario is Vino because of his gut reaction to stop, albeit ever so briefly, when Schleck had the mechanical.

 

[Steel4Ever]

Karma's a *****.

I beg of you, do NOT mention karma and the unfortunatness (yes, I did just make it up) of others in the same sentence! The cyclingnews powers that be do NOT like it!!! Perhaps it's just a bit too voodoo-ish or something for them...I don't really know.

They will shut this thread down, delete your posts, and give you a yellow card!

Karma is a NO-NO!


(that's right, babies, I'm milkin' it!)

 

[nicholaaaas]

now being a formerly rather successful cyclo-cross racer (i've been paid appearance fees for UCI races in the US). i don't think anyone is gonna wait for me if i drop my chain (highly likely on the terrain... i learned to either power it out in my 48 tooth chain-ring no matter what or run). but if i dropped my chain on the inside i knew to shift to my big ring and get my chain back on and shift to the gear i wanted and keep going... or do the opposite if it dropped on the outside. I'll lose 10 seconds but that's it. he sat there like a baby who knew nothing of bike mechanics.

MAN UP

act like you know how the thing [a bike] that pays your bills works. i was once lapping a guy who didn't know how to move out the way. he moved to the right... and then to the left as i was passing him. i bounced off him using the Mark Renshaw tactics that I used to PRACTICE with teammates. The guy glued to my wheel (but unable to make a move) didn't get by so lucky. he didn't crash but may have lost two seconds. should I wait? cause no doubt he would have blown by me and put me on the offensive for the first time that day. we were friends, he knew i did nothing wrong. it was the last lap of the race and I DIDN"T cause his bad luck someone else did (he also knew he was lucky to hang with me the whole time)

but it's the same what Andy should think... Alberto didn't cause it, and it was a point in the race where you go all out; and if you don't you are a fool

 

[42coppi]

Contador ethics

i would say contador didnt have to wait,but if he did he would ve shown a lot of class

I agree - but then Contador doesn't seem to have the charisma or class of a true champion anyways. Yes he can climb and timetrial but zero personality.

 

[TahoeNL]

I hope the next time Contador has to stop to pee, Saxo Bank bring spartacus to the front and put the frickin hammer down on the peloton.

that brilliant!

 

[Saddlesaw]

Indeed, but neither you nor they were in the heat of the race as professional cyclists attacking each other to gain a supreme advantage. It is time some of you here were more objective in your evaluations. Some of the worst comments have come from Eurosport - and even worse those commentators still cannot stop themselves from allusions to Vino's suspension each time he makes a manoeuvre. When I watch the TdF now in the absence of Canal TV with a much superior French commentary, I have turned the sound down. The English alternative, apart form Sean Kelly, is way below standard. The main commentator often fails to comprehend tactics. Contador was under attack all the way up the last climb by a Saxo-Bank team clearly out to distance him at some point. I doubt if anyone around Andy really knew what was going on until later. The hypocrisy gets worse when you consider Chavanel had the yellow jersey on the cobblestones and in spite of two punctures & other problems, nobody waited for him. This "unwritten rule" is nothing more than a myth. It is an act of graciousness used by some cyclists at certain times but most usually it is not used at all. The Chavanel case is one among many incidents of this nature throughout professional cycling in more than just the TdF.

It is time for Andy to prove he is worthy of the yellow jersey in Paris - playing psychological poker with AC is not good enough with a time-trial imminent. End of stage talk is insufficient. Do your talking on the bicycle. The gauntlet is down. You have done no one, except your team-mates, any favours - they not need to give you any in return. You have two stages left to make your move. Make it!

+1....Great post. I can't believe the whinning about this issue. Are the GC contenders simply required to line up behind Andy and follow him to Paris as he has some pre ordained entitlement to the win? Riis and Saxo may like us to think that but the reality is he has to earn it and no one is going to give it to him no matter how much he wishes it to be so.

History is littered with GC contenders in all of the GT's who have had a little bad luck along the way. I didn't see this much passion from the massed fans when Cadel waited for 1 minute 23 sec for a bungled neutral wheel change, all the while Valverde rode on and to his Vuelta victory having beaten Cadel by that same margin.

That's racing.

 

[Steel4Ever]

So all of a sudden Andy Schleck doesn't know how to operate his bike? Come on. That's a ridiculous assertion way too many supposedly intelligent riders have made in this string. Take another look at the tape. I don't see either of Schleck's hands shifting gears. http://www.versus.com/videos/

Wow! Eyes such good you have, hrmmm! (not my best yoda )
You must have super slo-mo zoom corneas.

Just how much finger travel does it take to shift a SRAM lever, anyway?

Bet you never saw pharmboy shooting up with dope either, doesn't mean it didn't happen.

 

[scribe]

+1....Great post. I can't believe the whinning about this issue. Are the GC contenders simply required to line up behind Andy and follow him to Paris as he has some pre ordained entitlement to the win? Riis and Saxo may like us to think that but the reality is he has to earn it and no one is going to give it to him no matter how much he wishes it to be so.

History is littered with GC contenders in all of the GT's who have had a little bad luck along the way. I didn't see this much passion from the massed fans when Cadel waited for 1 minute 23 sec for a bungled neutral wheel change, all the while Valverde rode on and to his Vuelta victory having beaten Cadel by that same margin.

That's racing.

Contador won the race today. If that suits you, congratulations.

 

[dolophonic]

Like he said

 

[lagartija]

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

a handful of hopefuls........wow you really do have it bad for lance..........
we are talking about a guy who has won 4 grand tours on a trot
another whom has 3 grand tour victories and an olympic champion...........

are you serious....because i cant take anything you say seriously.....

you are talking about a guy that lost well over a minute in the prolouge....
gained time on stage 3 by doing exactly what your crying about contador did...
and then had his team mate hold up the entire peleton on his behalf while others were ready and willing to race...........no man andy has had his fare share of good fortune this go around.............strongest rider, get real

 

[Steel4Ever]

I agree - but then Contador doesn't seem to have the charisma or class of a true champion anyways. Yes he can climb and timetrial but zero personality.

Whoops.
I thought I was on a bike racing forum, not a high school class president popularity myspace page.

What jersey exactly is it they award for "Best Personality" any way?