Re: Re:
This pretty much sums it up.As for me I still dont think he could have been good classic rider if he wanted.I think Nibali always had more potential as a classic rider.Zinoviev Letter said:Angliru said:ILovecycling said:Thats true, I think he doesnt care about them cuz he knows he isnt good classics cyclist.I dont believe he would have been good at classics if he peaked for them.The Hitch said:This year maybe, but in the past I think Contador could have fit Ardennes in (I mean other gt riders have, even in recent times), or in the years he did the Vuelta, he could have tried Lombardia or the worlds ( he entered them but spent all day smiling at the camera)
The one time he focused on the Ardennes he made the podium of Fleche Wallone. That to me shows he could at minimum have won one of them. I would have loved it if he had devoted more attention to the Ardennes, San Sebastian and GdL.
I used to wonder why he was so bad in one day races, at least relative to his stage racing brilliance, but really it's not that hard to work out why he wouldn't invest much energy in them. He has a worse sprint than anyone he might reasonably expect to come to the end with. He could conceivably win Fleche by going earlier on the Mur than is optimal for the punchier riders, but that's a very hard way to win that race these days. Otherwise he seems to be in a similar position to Kreuziger or Nibali - winning is possible but only with a solo attack from range, which always has low odds. And why would Contador, of all riders, waste a performance peak on races where he's just one of a couple of dozen riders who could win like that?