Alberto Contador is a great rider who makes for very entertaining racing. His never-give-up attitude has made him a fan favourite, and rightly so. But he'll never be a champion for the ages, like Hinault or Merckx were. Why?
First of all, because he's missed out on an entire half of cycling: monuments and classics. The only one-day race of note Contador has won is a Milan-Turin, while the aforementioned Hinault and Merckx racked up one monument win after the other. Furthermore, both of them became world champions too. Jacques Anquetil too won important classics and set a new Hour Record to boot. Contador still has time to correct this, but it seems very unlikely he'll ever win anything better than a Flèche Wallonne.
Second, and most importantly, while he's collected several Grand Tour wins, most of them have important caveats that undermine Contador's claim to being a legend. Let's have a look at them:
2008 Giro d'Italia: A fine win by Contador, that's for sure. But a legend-class win? No way! He didn't even manage to put 3 minutes into such Grand Tour "all-time greats" as Marzio Bruseghin and Franco Pellizotti! As I said, he was a worthy winner of the race... but not a fantastic one.
2008 Vuelta a España: After Leipheimer's surge in the final time trial, one of only two stages in which Levi could really ride for himself, Contador's winning margin dwindled to 31", just two seconds more he had taken in time bonuses. Levi and Alberto were almost tied in real time! Now, consider the fact that Leipheimer had worked his *** off for Contador, and the fact that Leipheimer was forced to stay behind with Alberto's rivals when the latter attacked (out of fear of dragging them back onto Alberto's wheel), and it seems quite likely that Leipheimer would've won the race if he hadn't been Contador's domestique. A true cycling legend wins because he's the best, not because the best has been neutered as his domestique.
2009 Tour de France: Possibly the best GT win in Contador's career. He won the race with a dominant performance. However, the lack of serious competition does detract somewhat from his triumph. Who came in third? A living fossil. Who came in fourth and fifth? Two guys unable to unseat a living fossil. But even so, if all of Contador's wins had been like this one, there'd be fewer qualms about his claim to legendhood.
2010 Tour de France: He's been stripped of it, but let's have a look at it nevertheless. The asterisk on this one is pretty big: he won the race thanks to the Chaingate episode. Whether it was a malicious, deliberate attack or a serendipitous coincidence, a true cycling legend doesn't win simply because he attacked his rival when he had a mechanical.
2011 Giro d'Italia: He's been stripped of it too. If he'd got to keep it, it would be the best GT win of his career. If all his wins had been like this one (and he hadn't tested positive), he would undoubtedly be on Merckx-Hinault-Anquetil level. But they weren't... and technically he didn't even win this one.
And that's all, folks. Is Contador an awesome rider? Yes. Is he the best GT rider of the 21st century so far? Very likely. Is he a legend of cycling for the ages? Absolutely not.
First of all, because he's missed out on an entire half of cycling: monuments and classics. The only one-day race of note Contador has won is a Milan-Turin, while the aforementioned Hinault and Merckx racked up one monument win after the other. Furthermore, both of them became world champions too. Jacques Anquetil too won important classics and set a new Hour Record to boot. Contador still has time to correct this, but it seems very unlikely he'll ever win anything better than a Flèche Wallonne.
Second, and most importantly, while he's collected several Grand Tour wins, most of them have important caveats that undermine Contador's claim to being a legend. Let's have a look at them:
2008 Giro d'Italia: A fine win by Contador, that's for sure. But a legend-class win? No way! He didn't even manage to put 3 minutes into such Grand Tour "all-time greats" as Marzio Bruseghin and Franco Pellizotti! As I said, he was a worthy winner of the race... but not a fantastic one.
2008 Vuelta a España: After Leipheimer's surge in the final time trial, one of only two stages in which Levi could really ride for himself, Contador's winning margin dwindled to 31", just two seconds more he had taken in time bonuses. Levi and Alberto were almost tied in real time! Now, consider the fact that Leipheimer had worked his *** off for Contador, and the fact that Leipheimer was forced to stay behind with Alberto's rivals when the latter attacked (out of fear of dragging them back onto Alberto's wheel), and it seems quite likely that Leipheimer would've won the race if he hadn't been Contador's domestique. A true cycling legend wins because he's the best, not because the best has been neutered as his domestique.
2009 Tour de France: Possibly the best GT win in Contador's career. He won the race with a dominant performance. However, the lack of serious competition does detract somewhat from his triumph. Who came in third? A living fossil. Who came in fourth and fifth? Two guys unable to unseat a living fossil. But even so, if all of Contador's wins had been like this one, there'd be fewer qualms about his claim to legendhood.
2010 Tour de France: He's been stripped of it, but let's have a look at it nevertheless. The asterisk on this one is pretty big: he won the race thanks to the Chaingate episode. Whether it was a malicious, deliberate attack or a serendipitous coincidence, a true cycling legend doesn't win simply because he attacked his rival when he had a mechanical.
2011 Giro d'Italia: He's been stripped of it too. If he'd got to keep it, it would be the best GT win of his career. If all his wins had been like this one (and he hadn't tested positive), he would undoubtedly be on Merckx-Hinault-Anquetil level. But they weren't... and technically he didn't even win this one.
And that's all, folks. Is Contador an awesome rider? Yes. Is he the best GT rider of the 21st century so far? Very likely. Is he a legend of cycling for the ages? Absolutely not.
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