Contador under fire from Tinkov boss.

ademort

Apparently Oleg Tinkov the owner of Tinkoff bank who co- sponsor Alberto Contador is non too impressed with the performance of Contador in the Tour De France.He says that Contador needs to change many things in his preparation and be more professional in his approach. He also says that Roberto is not value for money. His performance does not match the salary he is on and Contador is too rich and not hungry enough and says he needs to work harder.
Personally i think Contador did his best but came up too short on the day. He attacked when he could but just could not match Froome, Quintana or Rodriguez.What do you think?

ddraver

well, putting aside the obvious a sec, he clearly was nt as good as Froome or Qunitana (Not sure about J-Rod...) so he needs to train more or better (or both)

Not sure how Oleg is helping with comments like that, but he has a point...

Crozza

I think Contador just didn't have "it", but not sure anyone could question his effort in the Tour.

Mind you he said himself at the Dauphine that he was only at 70% iirc, so he might well question why that was. perhaps he is just trying to motivate him for next year

frenchfighter

I reckon he will probably take a pay cut until and if he returns to World Beater. I know he is super motivated to beat Froome.

Lack of professionalism and laziness is 100% the wrong thing to say about him and shows how little Oleg knows.

Crankbrother

Oleg might be peeved but Saxo got their monies worth by racing Contador during his ban ... plus I'm sure Spesh are happy to have AC on board as it allows them to have a boast-off with Trek about GT success ...

smithy21

The only person who really knows the answer to this is Contador himself. Could be just a simple case of him not being the same rider without the PED's, age catching up, maybe he misjudged the quality of the opposition, maybe he was used to winning races on his terms and couldnt deal with a dominant team.

I get that he tried but just couldnt make anything stick but I wouldnt in a million years have imagined we would have seen Kreuziger dragging him up mountains.

frenchfighter

...

Crozza

A very expensive former world-class rider, perhaps past his best?

somewhere at BMC a telephone rings...

thamacdaddy

Isn't he alluding to the fact that the winners the last two years have spent months of much publicised hardcore training in team camps.

Perhaps he feels that Contador isn't doing the same. I don't know anything about his training so of course I don't know if this is completely wrong.

TheBigBean

He's been at a fairly consistent level for quite some time. J-Rod and Valverde were dropping him in the mountains in the Vuelta last year, Evans and Schleck were dropping him in the tour in 2011 and he hardly looked great in the tour in 2010. The only exception is the Giro 2011. The entertaining thing about Contador is that he still tries to win and does so on many occasions. Tinkov should not be that surprised.

slim_boy_fat

That's a bit harsh on Contador. He obviously wasn't at the same level as Froome. However at least he tried to have a go at him, it probably ultimately cost him a podium place but I salute him for trying to attack Froome and not settle for a podium.

jameses

TheBigBean wrote:

J-Rod and Valverde were dropping him in the mountains in the Vuelta last year

Really? I remember him being quite aggressive in the mountains and easily coping with the attacks. He did win the vuelta after all, so can't have been doing too badly. His performance in the tour this year was disappointing (to say the least) but I would hesitate to write him off just yet.

No_Ta_Doctor

Slim Boy Fat wrote:

That's a bit harsh on Contador. He obviously wasn't at the same level as Froome. However at least he tried to have a go at him, it probably ultimately cost him a podium place but I salute him for trying to attack Froome and not settle for a podium.

People keep saying this, but when did he actually do it?

The echcelons stage, yes.
Attempted to gain a few seconds on a descent, twice (crashed once, was reeled in slowly by Movistar the 2nd).

Contrary to popular opinion, Froome never looked shaky on the descents, and in my opinion let them get talked up as a potential weakness because he knew they weren't a real problem.

Fair enough Saxo chucked a few riders at it (burnt out Roche and one other when they couldn't get in the break one day, got a man in the break but let it get too far ahead to be useful the next), but it was a bit rubbish really. Riis did little to bolster his reputation as a masterful tactician, and got the TT bike change decision very badly wrong.

I don't think Contador had the legs for a finish higher than he got, and I don't think there was much he could do - I'm just not sure where the idea came from that he somehow went down in flames, fighting all the way came from.

lostboysaint

"He needs to change his preparation!" That bit made me smile. Can't think why......

oneof1982

Is this really more complicated than "he used to rely on PED's, but can't now, so what do you expect"?

Just asking.

TheBigBean

JamesEs wrote:

TheBigBean wrote:

J-Rod and Valverde were dropping him in the mountains in the Vuelta last year

Really? I remember him being quite aggressive in the mountains and easily coping with the attacks. He did win the vuelta after all, so can't have been doing too badly. His performance in the tour this year was disappointing (to say the least) but I would hesitate to write him off just yet.

He was quite aggressive, but on most stages he attacked, got reeled in, then J-Rod kicked with 1km to go and gained time. On Bola del Mundo Contador lost 45s to J-Rod and 20s to Valverde. I think he did get the better of Valverde on a few occasions, but he only bettered J-Rod in the TT and that flat stage.

ddraver

Aggressive but ineffectual I think is the reality...

To be honest he was most like a certain Thomas Voeckler....

No_Ta_Doctor

OnYourRight wrote:

What I’d like to see: Contador walks out or gets fired, comes clean about his doping violation and any other doping he did in the past, goes to Garmin-Sharp, and races audaciously again next year. No chance, of course.

Now that would be truly spectacular!

LeicesterLad

JamesEs wrote:

TheBigBean wrote:

J-Rod and Valverde were dropping him in the mountains in the Vuelta last year

Really? I remember him being quite aggressive in the mountains and easily coping with the attacks. He did win the vuelta after all, so can't have been doing too badly. His performance in the tour this year was disappointing (to say the least) but I would hesitate to write him off just yet.

he was on the backfoot a hell of a lot in the Vuelta, getting dropped consistently by J-Rod. He won the Vuelta through a long range last ditch attack on the flat. If that hadn't have happened then he would probably have been beaten in the mountains.

thomthom

Tinkov leaving? What a shame...

We might get the amazing blue Saxo shirts back then.

bipedal

No tA Doctor wrote:

Slim Boy Fat wrote:

That's a bit harsh on Contador. He obviously wasn't at the same level as Froome. However at least he tried to have a go at him, it probably ultimately cost him a podium place but I salute him for trying to attack Froome and not settle for a podium.

People keep saying this, but when did he actually do it?

The echcelons stage, yes.
Attempted to gain a few seconds on a descent, twice (crashed once, was reeled in slowly by Movistar the 2nd).

Contrary to popular opinion, Froome never looked shaky on the descents, and in my opinion let them get talked up as a potential weakness because he knew they weren't a real problem.

Fair enough Saxo chucked a few riders at it (burnt out Roche and one other when they couldn't get in the break one day, got a man in the break but let it get too far ahead to be useful the next), but it was a bit rubbish really. Riis did little to bolster his reputation as a masterful tactician, and got the TT bike change decision very badly wrong.

I don't think Contador had the legs for a finish higher than he got, and I don't think there was much he could do - I'm just not sure where the idea came from that he somehow went down in flames, fighting all the way came from.

I agree about Riis - turns out that he isn't a tactical genius after all, he was just very good at running a dirty team during the era of blood doping

calvjones

ademort wrote:

Apparently Oleg Tinkov the owner of Tinkoff bank who co- sponsor Alberto Contador is non too impressed with the performance of Contador in the Tour De France.He says that Contador needs to change many things in his preparation and be more professional in his approach. He also says that Roberto is not value for money. His performance does not match the salary he is on and Contador is too rich and not hungry enough and says he needs to work harder.
Personally i think Contador did his best but came up too short on the day. He attacked when he could but just could not match Froome, Quintana or Rodriguez.What do you think?

I think maybe Oleg should
(1) see if he can top-5 in the Tour
(2) Learn his riders' names prior to slagging them off.

adamfo

OnYourRight wrote:

No tA Doctor wrote:

Contrary to popular opinion, Froome never looked shaky on the descents

Agreed. Froome is a proper racer with few real chinks in his armour. A hard guy to beat in a stage race. I think Contador’s approach was most likely to work, because Froome has a surprisingly reckless attitude to risk and can be goaded into doing silly things. He descended far too fast on several occasions when he didn’t strictly need to, he attacked needlessly early on stage 20 and lost half a minute to Quintana, he bonked once, etc. Beating Froome will involve repeatedly putting him under pressure and waiting for him to make a mistake or have a bad day, not fighting him on his own turf. Contador tried that, and it didn’t work this time – but it might have.

Froome has an analytical mind, he studied economics at university. The mistakes he made are unlikely to be repeated.

Vino'sGhost

[/quote]

Froome has an analytical mind, he studied economics at university. The mistakes he made are unlikely to be repeated.[/quote]

what utter utter fanboi bol ocks :roll:

ddraver

Think we need a Vino Avatar to make him feel better too guys...

rick_chasey

Tinkoff was the guy who Hamilton felt was encouraging people to juice up wasn't he?

Or am I getting mixed up?

Setarkos

bipedal wrote:

No tA Doctor wrote:

Slim Boy Fat wrote:

That's a bit harsh on Contador. He obviously wasn't at the same level as Froome. However at least he tried to have a go at him, it probably ultimately cost him a podium place but I salute him for trying to attack Froome and not settle for a podium.

People keep saying this, but when did he actually do it?

The echcelons stage, yes.
Attempted to gain a few seconds on a descent, twice (crashed once, was reeled in slowly by Movistar the 2nd).

Contrary to popular opinion, Froome never looked shaky on the descents, and in my opinion let them get talked up as a potential weakness because he knew they weren't a real problem.

Fair enough Saxo chucked a few riders at it (burnt out Roche and one other when they couldn't get in the break one day, got a man in the break but let it get too far ahead to be useful the next), but it was a bit rubbish really. Riis did little to bolster his reputation as a masterful tactician, and got the TT bike change decision very badly wrong.

I don't think Contador had the legs for a finish higher than he got, and I don't think there was much he could do - I'm just not sure where the idea came from that he somehow went down in flames, fighting all the way came from.

I agree about Riis - turns out that he isn't a tactical genius after all, he was just very good at running a dirty team during the era of blood doping

Riis wasn't at the Tour this year.

Setarkos

Contador will have to prepare differently next year; rely less on his instincts/traditional old school training and get better coaching.

Vino'sGhost

Rick Chasey wrote:

Tinkoff was the guy who Hamilton felt was encouraging people to juice up wasn't he?

Or am I getting mixed up?

he was

No_Ta_Doctor

Setarkos wrote:

bipedal wrote:

No tA Doctor wrote:

Slim Boy Fat wrote:

That's a bit harsh on Contador. He obviously wasn't at the same level as Froome. However at least he tried to have a go at him, it probably ultimately cost him a podium place but I salute him for trying to attack Froome and not settle for a podium.

People keep saying this, but when did he actually do it?

The echcelons stage, yes.
Attempted to gain a few seconds on a descent, twice (crashed once, was reeled in slowly by Movistar the 2nd).

Contrary to popular opinion, Froome never looked shaky on the descents, and in my opinion let them get talked up as a potential weakness because he knew they weren't a real problem.

Fair enough Saxo chucked a few riders at it (burnt out Roche and one other when they couldn't get in the break one day, got a man in the break but let it get too far ahead to be useful the next), but it was a bit rubbish really. Riis did little to bolster his reputation as a masterful tactician, and got the TT bike change decision very badly wrong.

I don't think Contador had the legs for a finish higher than he got, and I don't think there was much he could do - I'm just not sure where the idea came from that he somehow went down in flames, fighting all the way came from.

I agree about Riis - turns out that he isn't a tactical genius after all, he was just very good at running a dirty team during the era of blood doping

Riis wasn't at the Tour this year.

Errr, yes, he was. Missed the first few days, that's all.

dsoutar

I'm far from being a fan of Contador as can be readily assessed from previous posts but I think Oleg - who rapidly seems to becomng the equivalent of Abramovich in terms of behaviour - is way off the mark here. What does he know about contemporary pro-cycling ?

He's paying for a team of professionals who in theory should know how to run a team and prepare the riders. If he believes that isn't working and I think there is certainly evidence that things could have been done better (see above) then it's them he needs to have a discussion with, in private, rather than just shouting his mouth off.

Whilst I'm sure the peloton are glad of the dosh he's throwing at cycling, I think we'll all be glad if he keeps his nose out of team affairs.

Contador just wasn't good enough for whatever reason and he needs to appreciate that whoever he has in his team isn't necessarily guranteed to win any race