A True Champion

rokkala

It's a shame for the race, as I think everybody(AC fans excepted) would like to have seen Schleck get another minute at least from Contador before the ITT, would have kept things interesting.

Person i feel the most for is poor frenchfighter. Away to the Pyrenees to watch his idol and hopefully see him moving into his 'rightful position' and further cement his True Champion status. Then when it happens he gets massively booed! Don't know if he could handle that

jrduquemin

wicked wrote:

jrduquemin wrote:

wicked wrote:

AC had a chance today to become a patron and be respected by the peloton and the fans. Unfortunately he did not take it and now the yellow jersey is stained.
Its no use bringing up other examples of poor sportsmanship or what happened at spa this is not football, cricket or whatever this is cycling and AS deserved the respect owed to him as leader of the race, its called tradition and its one of the things that makes cycling great.
For me AC has looked more worried about AS all race and he is not in the best of form, but if wants to win the worlds greatest race (if he does) in this manner then it a poor show.
Poor form contador.

+1 from me also. Very poor form from cuntador ;-)

I am sure that was just a typo there

Of course, how silly of me :-D Alberto may be a great Grand Tour rider, but if Jan Ullrich can wait for Lance Armstrong, then Contador should have waited for Andy Schleck in the spirit of fair play...

dg74

If Cuntador didn't know about AS's mishap, then why was he constantly looking over his shoulder until he was sure that AS wasn't there?

He knew what he was doing - the b*£@ard

nferrar

BS from Contador that he didn't see it, fair enough he didn't see Schleck get off but it was obvious he had a problem as Contador came up behind him and then attacked. It's a shame really, I'm a Contador fan but that was out of order IMO and something he didn't need to do. I'm sure he'll win the TdF by more than he gained during today's stage but it will still be a bit of a stain on the result.

Ben6899

I would have done exactly the same as AC did.

Nice guys don't win anything.

RichN95.

Mad Roadie wrote:

the TDF is a race, Bertie was ride to seize the moment, or are some saying he should have got off and waited - how long for, what if the fix for AS was major? shall we wait and let the Peloton pass so AS and AC are equal on the day? if you do that why race at all - sit in Paris and decide whose turn it is to win each day....

They shouldn't be racing at all. They should all be sitting at the side of the road in Belgium, waiting for Vande Velde's collarbone to heal before completing stage 2. That would be proper sportsmanship.

bdu98252

Frowson wrote:

stagehopper wrote:

Didn't see Schleck waiting for Contador on the cobbled stage when his brother Frank's crash held up almost all the other favourites. Instead he sat in the wheekl of Cancellara and they attacked to take as much time as possible.

But Contador didn't have the yellow jersey at this point. Isn't it the jersey that's owed the tradition of waiting rather than the rider? If this is the case then Schleck did nothing wrong by not waiting over the cobbles.

Chavennel had yellow and he did not wait for him. I am fed up watching the riders decide when and when not to attack. I say attack all the way to Paris. And by the way Franks crash is the only reason he is in yellow after his piss poor performance int he opening time trial.

stagehopper

Schleck was the one on the attack, let's not forget ...

mapleflot

If AC had waited for AS,
would Menchov have waited for AC?

luckao

It's not like he was the victim of the longest wheel change ever. I can't feel as bad for him as I did for Cadel. Contador's decision wasn't nearly as controversial as Valverde's.

Really disappointed at the crowd's reaction. Boooo, hssst.. this one's going to drag on.

rokkala

Ben6899 wrote:

I would have done exactly the same as AC did.

Nice guys don't win anything.

Jenson Button

KevGuinness

If AC thought he was ok to attack AS after the chain incident why would he not come out and say well that's racing??
His shifty looks and evasive "I didn't know" pish poor bull5shit excuse would seem to suggest he knows he shouldn't have done what he did?

If he felt he was ok to do it then he should have the guts to come out and say it rather than trying to cover his ar5e

It will not happen but I would love for AS to rip the entire field a new one over the next two mountain stages.

carl_p

Rokkala wrote:

It's a shame for the race, as I think everybody(AC fans excepted) would like to have seen Schleck get another minute at least from Contador before the ITT, would have kept things interesting.

That's how I feel about it. Foregone conclusion now I'm afraid. Shame it's all over so quickly. AS doesn't have a strong enough team around him to turn this around and on the strength of his TT he might even struggle to get on the podium.

davidmiller

RichN95 wrote:

Mad Roadie wrote:

the TDF is a race, Bertie was ride to seize the moment, or are some saying he should have got off and waited - how long for, what if the fix for AS was major? shall we wait and let the Peloton pass so AS and AC are equal on the day? if you do that why race at all - sit in Paris and decide whose turn it is to win each day....

They shouldn't be racing at all. They should all be sitting at the side of the road in Belgium, waiting for Vande Velde's collarbone to heal before completing stage 2. That would be proper sportsmanship.

LMFAO, thanks for that :-)

davidmiller

Frowson wrote:

stagehopper wrote:

Frowson wrote:

stagehopper wrote:

Didn't see Schleck waiting for Contador on the cobbled stage when his brother Frank's crash held up almost all the other favourites. Instead he sat in the wheekl of Cancellara and they attacked to take as much time as possible.

But Contador didn't have the yellow jersey at this point. Isn't it the jersey that's owed the tradition of waiting rather than the rider? If this is the case then Schleck did nothing wrong by not waiting over the cobbles.

When there's only two people in with a realistic chance of winning the Tour the yellow jersey is meaningless in this ethics debate.

I almost completely agree except I would say AC has LOST his class in the face of an opponent he IS frightened of. I thought he handled LA in a classy manner last year but where is that Contador now?????

You could say the same about Armstrong and Ullrich in 2003 and Ullrich didn't attack. Contador simply has no class and no respect for the traditions of the tour.

Gazzaputt

Not only is it bad enough he didn't wait he then tries to take the viewing public as fools.

Liar and a lowlife in my book.

Well done that the crowd at the podium showed him we all saw what happened.

luckao

Castrate him.. bring back the death penalty.. :roll:

scrumpydave

I don't recall the same level of unhappiness when Evans punctured in the Vuelta last year (although he wasn't leading). Methinks some people don't like Contador much and are letting it cloud their opinions...

Rutlandblue

KevGuinness wrote:

If AC thought he was ok to attack AS after the chain incident why would he not come out and say well that's racing??
His shifty looks and evasive "I didn't know" pish poor bull5shit excuse would seem to suggest he knows he shouldn't have done what he did?

Spot on.

Although I also thought Roche had a point about the chain slip being an 'avoidable' event.

Where morality/ethics enters sport there is never a consensus as it is such a personal thing.
Certainly spices things up for the next 2 stages. Bring it on!

Ben6899

Rokkala wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

I would have done exactly the same as AC did.

Nice guys don't win anything.

Jenson Button

He's not nice on the track; he'll do anything to win.

ms_tree

Erm as a certain Texan would say 'no gifts'.
Did he wait when Beloki had his crash? No he got a lot of praise for riding across a field. Then joined up with Twins Hamilton and co.
Did the peloton wait when there was that huge crash on that causeway? No, HIS team put the hammer down; did they wait when Mayo crashed no? They ploughed on to get to the cobbles.
This is life, people walk all over other people to get what they want. Live with it.

Ben6899

WTF are you on about?

We obviously have a different opinion on the matter, which is fine by me but you feel the need to tell me to p1ss off.

I suggest you stand back and have a think. This is a forum in which we express opinions and/or arguments.

There's no place for telling someone to p1ss off; your comment simply looked childish and I'm guessing you're cleverer than that.

Tom Butcher

I thought it was poor form - against the unwritten rules of the sport - whether people agree or disagree with the tradition that you don't attack your main rival the moment he has a mechanical is one thing but given that is the tradition Contador should have respected it.

If Contador punctures at some innocuous point in a stage are Saxo justified in sticking Cancellera on the front full gas to make sure he doesn't get back on ? I can't see how it would be much different.

Valy

Ben6899 wrote:

WTF are you on about?

We obviously have a different opinion on the matter, which is fine by me but you feel the need to tell me to p1ss off.

I suggest you stand back and have a think. This is a forum in which we express opinions and/or arguments.

There's no place for telling someone to p1ss off; your comment simply looked childish and I'm guessing you're cleverer than that.

Awww.

That's what came up. Real big of you not to throw a tantrum though.

Ben6899

Valy wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

WTF are you on about?

We obviously have a different opinion on the matter, which is fine by me but you feel the need to tell me to p1ss off.

I suggest you stand back and have a think. This is a forum in which we express opinions and/or arguments.

There's no place for telling someone to p1ss off; your comment simply looked childish and I'm guessing you're cleverer than that.

Awww.

That's what came up. Real big of you not to throw a tantrum though.

Seriously mate... give the liquor a rest.

Airwave

All this talk of tradition&doing the right thing by the yellow jersey.I think some of you need to look up the early tour history to see the skullduggery that went on.People who like AC will say he should'nt have waited,people who like AS will say he should've waited.Me i just watch the spectacle of pro racers doing their thing,they don't need us crying for them.Just enjoy it.

magliaceleste

Slightly off topic and I know Saxo use SRAM, but what's the point of "advances" like Electronic Dura Ace (e.g. no mis-shifts) if you are not able to take advantage of the fact?

Personally, I think it's tough luck Andy.

Garry H

Tom Butcher wrote:

I thought it was poor form - against the unwritten rules of the sport - whether people agree or disagree with the tradition that you don't attack your main rival the moment he has a mechanical is one thing but given that is the tradition Contador should have respected it.

If Contador punctures at some innocuous point in a stage are Saxo justified in sticking Cancellera on the front full gas to make sure he doesn't get back on ? I can't see how it would be much different.

It wouldn't be different at all, now. I'm 50/50 on the incident, but what AC has now done is given AS carte blanche to do the same should the roles be reversed.

Well done Voeckler though, a great win for him.

Valy

Ben6899 wrote:

Valy wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

WTF are you on about?

We obviously have a different opinion on the matter, which is fine by me but you feel the need to tell me to p1ss off.

I suggest you stand back and have a think. This is a forum in which we express opinions and/or arguments.

There's no place for telling someone to p1ss off; your comment simply looked childish and I'm guessing you're cleverer than that.

Awww.

That's what came up. Real big of you not to throw a tantrum though.

Seriously mate... give the liquor a rest.

My fucking post got deleted?!?!?!? :O

Homer J

i wonder what the rest of the peloton think? I know that the phil and paul had different opinions.