Contador and Sky's trainer

rayjay

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contado ... n-de-jongh

frenchfighter

Ha, saw this earlier and must admit I had to chuckle. Sky reject gets a job training the best stage racer of his generation. I'm guessing he is much happier but would be interested to hear what he says.

rayjay

If you can't go to Sky then they will come to you

Do you think Contador has a new rain cape or is it the pillow

RichN95.

He wasn't a trainer at Sky though, he was a DS. Big difference.

iainf72

So effectively Bert starts training properly, gets better results?

Did Berts form originally take a dive when Pepe Marti disappeared from the scene?

snowley

It is funny, but it seems an obvious place to train if you want to work at altitude and do big climbing miles day in day out.

I can't understand why all the other teams don't do this with their GC contenders, it clearly works.

frenchfighter

iainf72 wrote:

So effectively Bert starts training properly, gets better results?

Did Berts form originally take a dive when Pepe Marti disappeared from the scene?

Lets not overplay this. The reason Contador is firing is mainly due to weighing less and working very hard over the winter, no doubt spurred on by an average year for his standards and he didn't take a trip half way round the World so he could prepare properly. He had a lot of commitments for sponsors etc over 12-13 which led to him coming in on the backfoot, he had been off for a protracted amount of time before that, he had a different schedule to normal. SDJ will help for sure but it is not going to change methods completely after a decade of racing.

phil s

frenchfighter wrote:

The reason Contador is firing is mainly due to weighing less

Not suggesting anything untoward about Bertie's form this season but interested in what your evidence is for him weighing less. I think his arms and legs look bigger, and so do other journos who know him well - obviously not Greipel-big, but bigger than the Bertie of old.

mroli

He's not really a Sky reject though is he? He is someone whose dodgy past precludes him from a job with Sky due to their code of conduct. He now has a job coaching someone who is guilty of a drugs transgression and served a ban. Although that person would probably be the most interesting coaching job out there... I don't know why you think he'd be "much happier" - no-one that has left Sky has said anything bad about the team. Apart from possibly Yates who said he didn't like the pressure.

What is interesting though is that Contador has changed his training (Riis confirms this). He trains with a powermeter, has started riding at altitude, changed his training plans and so far, this season, is seeing very positive results from this. I like to see this as a massive positive - that with the correct training, even (incredibly talented) riders like Contador can improve which will make (hopefully) for more interesting racing. I am really quite excited about how this is going to play out!

mroli

Also from Cyclingnews:

""I'm not going into details about how he trained and what we do but maybe it's a little more structured," Riis said.

"It's not that he never trained before but it’s a little more precise and we worked on the things I wanted him to work on. He's done that and he could see the result the whole winter in his testing. That's what's important. He feels good and he's happy."

Contador trains with a power metre but Riis was happy that he raced on instinct, not by looking at his data.""

ocdupalais

You're priceless, FF - you bring humour in ways I suspect you don't intend.
Who said the French can't be funny?
Even your avatar can't keep a straight face...

frenchfighter

phil s wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

The reason Contador is firing is mainly due to weighing less

Not suggesting anything untoward about Bertie's form this season but interested in what your evidence is for him weighing less. I think his arms and legs look bigger, and so do other journos who know him well - obviously not Greipel-big, but bigger than the Bertie of old.

Which journos are you referring to?

To my eyes he looks a lot leaner.

But I base the weight point on what he said himself:
"I also kept my mouth closed to keep my weight under control, which is harder to do as you get older. I think we can see the results of all that work today. It’s clear that my season has only just started, I still need more race rhythm. My weight is where it needs to be but I need some more tone in my legs. I don’t yet have that little bit extra bit for the big goals of the season like the Tour de France and the Vuelta."

rayjay

I agree ff.
I am sure new things sometimes can help and seem to be helping.
But a few years ago Contador could not be equalled in a GC race. He was King. He does have a certain amount of knowledge and not let us forget that.

I more interested Contador getting is TT times back up with the best of them.

Then Froomy will have something to really worry about.

DeVlaeminck

We are probably talking a couple of pounds, enough so you'd feel it at the sharp end of a race, not enough so you'd know for sure by looking at him.

I can see Contador having a good season. Plenty have been premature in predicting his demise, Froome beat him fair and square last year but there wasn't as much between them as the final result suggested, Contador certainly ended up losing second place in the Tour trying to win it. I think Froome at 100% still edges it but there are just hints of weaknesses in Froome's descending and his and Sky's strength to maintain a US Postal type control over a 3 week race - only hints but enough to make it interesting.

inseine

phil s wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

The reason Contador is firing is mainly due to weighing less

Not suggesting anything untoward about Bertie's form this season but interested in what your evidence is for him weighing less. I think his arms and legs look bigger, and so do other journos who know him well - obviously not Greipel-big, but bigger than the Bertie of old.

Not suggesting anything untoward but I see no envidence that he's lighter than other years. Seems that he's always 61-62k.

rayjay

DeVlaeminck wrote:

We are probably talking a couple of pounds, enough so you'd feel it at the sharp end of a race, not enough so you'd know for sure by looking at him.

I can see Contador having a good season. Plenty have been premature in predicting his demise, Froome beat him fair and square last year but there wasn't as much between them as the final result suggested, Contador certainly ended up losing second place in the Tour trying to win it. I think Froome at 100% still edges it but there are just hints of weaknesses in Froome's descending and his and Sky's strength to maintain a US Postal type control over a 3 week race - only hints but enough to make it interesting.

I agree , early days, but it has given the season a bit more of an edge and Sky may be put under real pressure for the first time in a tour they are expected to win.

Still feel Quintana and Purito are big miss in the Tour.

Paulie W

Leaving everything else aside, a flying Contador versus a fully-fit Froome at the Tour is something to look forward to. Based on recent form you have to assume Valverde will be in the mix too (esp. given the strength of Movistar). Plenty of younger riders to add into it too - if not to challenge for the podium then to make it an interesting and varied race.

r0bh

DeVlaeminck wrote:

I think Froome at 100% still edges it but there are just hints of weaknesses in Froome's descending and his and Sky's strength to maintain a US Postal type control over a 3 week race - only hints but enough to make it interesting.

Going to have to pull you up on this - where is the evidence for the now pervading view on this forum that Froome can't descend? It was Contador who crashed out on a descent in the Tour last year, nearly wiping out Froome in the process.

Macaloon

The Steve Petters angle is interesting:

"Alberto is such a generous human being - a cycling Mother Teresa if you like - he spent much of 2013 cruising the peloton bestowing blessings and bidons. This Winter we've worked on not worrying about the riders scorched by the afterburners."

thomthom

This 'weakness' of Froome's descending was created out of nowhere during last year's Tour, as the pundits did everyhing in their power to make the race open for as long as possible even if it's was a lost cause. No sure why anyone bought it as Froome was pretty much in front of the peloton on every descent during that race and did just fine.

I remember he did an interview where he frowned at the journalist when he was asked about the possibilities of riders taking advantage of his weakness, that is descending. Froome answered: "B.. but I'm a pretty good descender?.."

ddraver

So Sky Rival trains like Sky and does better...

This is news to some of you?

rayjay

ddraver wrote:

So Sky Rival trains like Sky and does better...

This is news to some of you?

Perhaps you should have had a read before you posted :roll:


De Jongh knows the secrets of how Team Sky trains its athletes but Contador played down suggestions that he was interested in copying the British team.

"He hasn't told me anything and I'm not interested in knowing anything [about Team Sky.] The important thing is that we keep doing as well as we have so far," Contador said

ddraver

Bull


Sh1t

iainf72

Worth revisiting this

http://inrng.com/2010/07/contadors-myst ... ing-plans/

rayjay

ddraver wrote:

Bull


Sh1t

A case of angry presumption

rayjay

iainf72 wrote:

Worth revisiting this

http://inrng.com/2010/07/contadors-myst ... ing-plans/

Does not give much away apart from a strong suggestion of you know what.

Given Contador seems to have got off to a strong start to this season maybe it's more about mental confidence this year as well as some new training ideas and going into the tour having had some top performance's.

OfficerDigby

If FF says he's lost a few pounds then you all have accept the experts opinion.
As there surely is no one on earth who studies as long(ingly) at the Contador form.
;-).

DeVlaeminck

r0bh wrote:

DeVlaeminck wrote:

I think Froome at 100% still edges it but there are just hints of weaknesses in Froome's descending and his and Sky's strength to maintain a US Postal type control over a 3 week race - only hints but enough to make it interesting.

Going to have to pull you up on this - where is the evidence for the now pervading view on this forum that Froome can't descend? It was Contador who crashed out on a descent in the Tour last year, nearly wiping out Froome in the process.

Tirreno Adriatico last year is the obvious one.

A pity Movistar chose not to go with Contador on the Sarenne as the fuss Froome had kicked up about that one suggested he wasn't happy with that descent either. I'm not saying he's going to go into meltdown in the wet like Wiggins did but I think there is enough there to back up the comment that there are hints of weakness in his descending.

mfin

"He hasn't told me anything and I'm not interested in knowing anything [about Team Sky.] The important thing is that we keep doing as well as we have so far," Contador said

This made me smile, someone who could be party to knowing some information about how their closest competition trains expecting people to think he's effectively be saying 'naaaaah, no point in telling me about that, doesn't interest me'. Putting that it is AC and Sky aside, what kind of pillock would do that? and what kind of pillock would expect people to think they would?

ddraver

Simon - So we re gong to do an hour of over/unders, 1min x 15

Bertie - did you do that at Sky?

Simon - I dunno probably...

bertie - yeah we re not doing that if Sky do it

Simon - erm....ohh...how about we do 59secs by 16?

bertie - much better thanks

:roll:

rayjay

He hit the panic button in the tour last year when Contador headed down town on stage 16.

Froome should have let Contador go, instead he followed and nearly came a cropper big time.

Could have been Beloki moment.