Contador (with spoilers)
While I definitely think Contador would have won at the angliru stage anyway, I got the feeling that his huge attacks for victory (particularly today) are in answer to Bruyneel and Lance. I think he wanted to show that HE was the team leader and that Lance is going to have trouble taking him on. I have no idea if he's heard the rumor that Lance/Bruyneel both knew about Lance's plans much earlier but if so, he certainly would want to show his strength.
I think he's going to use the Vuelta and the records (shortest time ever to win all three GT's - 14 months - and youngest ever to win all three) to make clear that he's the best in the game now, not Lance. The question is, will he be forced to ask out of his contract? And will there be anyone by that time, besides maybe Katusha, that will take him?
I think he's going to use the Vuelta and the records (shortest time ever to win all three GT's - 14 months - and youngest ever to win all three) to make clear that he's the best in the game now, not Lance. The question is, will he be forced to ask out of his contract? And will there be anyone by that time, besides maybe Katusha, that will take him?
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Agreed donrhummy
I looks like Bertie and Levi are sending a very clear message that the onus should be on LA to prove himself a leader if he is hoping to ride with the team. I can't see him doing it without causing major upset, which is a shame, since the 2 distinct teams (Disco & Astana) that have joined together with no problems, at least from the outside!
I think that Lance's 'misson' is best served by a new team, as Astana has it's own purpose.0 -
SecretSqirrel wrote:Agreed donrhummy
I looks like Bertie and Levi are sending a very clear message that the onus should be on LA to prove himself a leader if he is hoping to ride with the team. I can't see him doing it without causing major upset, which is a shame, since the 2 distinct teams (Disco & Astana) that have joined together with no problems, at least from the outside!
I think that Lance's 'misson' is best served by a new team, as Astana has it's own purpose.
I agree. I think he's going to start an Anti-Cancer team (probably named after his foundation) and Bruyneel will get out of his Astana contract to direct the team.0 -
... and i'm a big fan of LA, Contador is the Gold standard of Grand Tour pros. I'd say, that Lance Armstrong only has one pro to beat to make me thinks he's able to be the best, and that is Contador on a strong team.
Contador is absolutely sensational. I hope he goes on to win the Giro, Tour and Vuelta again, again and again. No reason, at this point, why he can't become the greatest, winningest pro of all time. That is what I'm interested in now. How much can Contador win...
LA will be great for cycling here in the US. I hope he does come back....0 -
Not until he has won Paris-Roubaix a couple of times and takes the hour record as well he won't be the winningest.....jhamlin38 wrote:Contador is absolutely sensational. I hope he goes on to win the Giro, Tour and Vuelta again, again and again. No reason, at this point, why he can't become the greatest, winningest pro of all time.
.... He is quite sensational though. 0 -
jhamlin38 wrote:... and i'm a big fan of LA, Contador is the Gold standard of Grand Tour pros. I'd say, that Lance Armstrong only has one pro to beat to make me thinks he's able to be the best, and that is Contador on a strong team.
Contador is absolutely sensational. I hope he goes on to win the Giro, Tour and Vuelta again, again and again. No reason, at this point, why he can't become the greatest, winningest pro of all time. That is what I'm interested in now. How much can Contador win...
LA will be great for cycling here in the US. I hope he does come back....
While Contador is having a great time winning all 3 GT's he's said before that he'd never have tried it if he hadn't been forced to and that he's unlikely to try the giro again (too close to the TDF which is his real desire).0 -
I dont see that Lance will go to Astana. Why would he advertise for them ?
He's on a cancer crusade - not promoting Kazakh business interests.0 -
These days, guys winning the spring classics OTHER than LBL, MSR (maybe) aren't GT contenders. Sure, green jersey, but not yellow. Cancellara, Boonen, Ballan are fantastic riders. But they're going to have to pile on more classic wins for another few years to be considered an all time great.
If cancellara replicates this year, one or two more times, he's an alltime great. contador is already there. He does it a few more times, its more than enough for me.
They are completely different riders in this day n' age.
I'd love to see Valverde win a tour, Giro, or Vuelta, and bring home PR, or Flanders.0 -
At least some of the other GT contenders (Valverde, Evans, Cunego (does he still count?) the Schlecks) do well in some of the classics whereas i think Contador didnt really do anything in any of them? I dont think Sastre did either? (Am sure someone will prove me wrong though
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As to which team Lance wants to go to. I would have thought he would have a fairly open pick? Or would the name of the team be a big stumbling block? As Lance has been criticised in the past for his team being likely to be doped will the intensive testing also stretch to his team?0 -
Yes they are, but that doesn't mean they could become the greatest ever that way.jhamlin38 wrote:These days, guys winning the spring classics OTHER than LBL, MSR (maybe) aren't GT contenders. Sure, green jersey, but not yellow. Cancellara, Boonen, Ballan are fantastic riders. But they're going to have to pile on more classic wins for another few years to be considered an all time great.
If cancellara replicates this year, one or two more times, he's an alltime great. contador is already there. He does it a few more times, its more than enough for me.
They are completely different riders in this day n' age.
The way Lance Armstrong dominated his Tour de France wins he could have been very competitive in the classics and world chamionship if he had put his mind to it (like he did early in his career). The fact that he didn't is the thing I most dislike about him, not the doping suggestions or bullying.
Contador has had just one and a half great years and has a long long way to go to be among the all time greatest. Of the three classics riders you mention Boonen has been dominant for a long time and at least the greatest classics rider of his generation.0 -
you dislike Armstrong more because you disagree with his choice of races than because of the possibility he was a cheat and the certainty that he was/is an arrogant bully?0
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Yes.avoidingmyphd wrote:you dislike Armstrong more because you disagree with his choice of races than because of the possibility he was a cheat and the certainty that he was/is an arrogant bully?
The doping is suspicion and there's similar suspicion that in the late 1990s more or less every single pro was using EPO. I do not believe Armstrong stood out in that way.
Armstrong was a bully at times, but so was Bernard Hinault. And although Armstrong went too far in the Simeoni affair, to some degree being dominant in the peloton is part of being a truly great rider. I prefer that over the boring and passive like Indurain, Zoetemelk, Evans, etc.
I respect sportsmen that try to get everything they can out of their career. I do believe Armstrong would still have won his seven Tours if he would have put his mind to also winning classics and other grand tours those same years. For whatever reason (commercial considerations, family life, control freakiness) he did not even try. That's what I dislike most about him. Just my personal opinion.0 -
At least Indurain was a nice guy!x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
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gabriel959 wrote:At least Indurain was a nice guy!
Imagine how many more wins he would have had if he was a bullying gobsh*te
Seriously, perhaps Indurain just didn't feel the need to bully. Although, didn't Pantani complain that he was intimidating him at one time? Something about not giving him anything??0 -
Is Contador doping, too?0
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gabriel959 wrote:At least Indurain was a nice guy!
What evidence is there for this? Ok so he didnt come across as becoming as bad as Armstrong - in fact he didnt come across as anything?0 -
Garry H wrote:gabriel959 wrote:At least Indurain was a nice guy!
Imagine how many more wins he would have had if he was a bullying gobsh*te
Seriously, perhaps Indurain just didn't feel the need to bully. Although, didn't Pantani complain that he was intimidating him at one time? Something about not giving him anything??
This is a quote I've seen about Indurain:
"Indurain makes me sick because he's actually a really nice guy. You can't actually work yourself up, there's no hate involved, no anger. He's a really nice bloke and a true champion." — Chris Boardman
Anyway, he was always very calm and relaxed (apparently his relaxed heart bpm was 28!!!)x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
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gabriel959 wrote:Garry H wrote:gabriel959 wrote:At least Indurain was a nice guy!
Imagine how many more wins he would have had if he was a bullying gobsh*te
Seriously, perhaps Indurain just didn't feel the need to bully. Although, didn't Pantani complain that he was intimidating him at one time? Something about not giving him anything??
This is a quote I've seen about Indurain:
"Indurain makes me sick because he's actually a really nice guy. You can't actually work yourself up, there's no hate involved, no anger. He's a really nice bloke and a true champion." — Chris Boardman
Anyway, he was always very calm and relaxed (apparently his relaxed heart bpm was 28!!!)
Yep, seen the Boardman one before. Sean Kelly said similar things. I've never actually heard a cross word said against him, apart from the "lack of panache" b*ll*cks that was usually sprouted by the likes of Hinault and Pou Pou at the time. I am therefore convinced that he was actually a "nice guy". Bet Pou Pou would swap his Panache for any one of Indurain's Tour wins though 0
