contador's a poor sport

[Gary_Yngve]

he needs to stfu and thank lance for helping him win

[Hugh Conway]

the cunting never stops with Gary

[No. 13 Baby]

lance fanbois are so cute!

[Gary_Yngve]

i'm not a lance fan. he's actually way cooler now that he's not #1. though i think it would be cool if lance could ride the tour for the next ten years and be the granddaddy of the grupetto eventually.

 

this year the schleck duo was cool, as was thor hushvold.

[olyclimber]

you seem fixated on the word "cool".

 

if you ask me, i think both lance and contador are grandstanding beyotches.

 

it will be interesting to see what sort of team contador can put together, because you know lance is going to have a good one. but i hope andy schleck doesn't sign with him, because then andy could be in the same place that contador was in this year (trying to figure out who is the leader of the team).

[Gary_Yngve]

Lol.. It is a bit hot outside, eh?

 

 

[glassgowkiss]

second is as good as last. Spaniard won fair and square and earned the right to brag for a bit. now it's the yank who should stfu. races are won on tarmac, not during the pre-race interviews.

[Choada_Boy]

TdF is one by a team, not an individual. Someone should mention that to Cuntador.

[Gary_Yngve]

Ya, but if contador were on a pussy team, he probably would not have won. He owes his team some respect. Contador has also had a bad attitude wrt media regarding doping. Why can't he say his vo2max?

 

Also contador wasn't pulling his fair share in the tour... Sure the other riders could by loser whiners, but i think they have a point

 

contador might be what beckey is to climbing... A superstar, but not a charismatic leader

[Choada_Boy]

I'm sure he cashed his check. Armstrong rode for free.

[Kimmo]

you cycling experts fail to amuse.

 

contador was dominating, to say the least. stage 18, anyone?

 

he'll come back next year on a weaker team and still kick arse (although i'm damn curious to see what armstrong can muster after a year of serious prep and the deep pockets of radio shack etal).

[olyclimber]

dude this is a climbing board. thanks for putting in your 'spert prediction.

 

oh, and you're not funny either

[olyclimber]

but i do agree that if i was picking them now, contador would be my expert opinion as favorite. i do hope the schleck bro figures out how to time trial though so it will at least be an interesting race.

 

if anyone has any other questions they would like to ask an expert, ask away!

[j_b]

TdF is one by a team, not an individual. Someone should mention that to Cuntador.

 

because Armstrong was working for the team when he challenged Contador for leadership?

[Choada_Boy]

They started the race as "co-leaders". Remember?

 

And Armstrong didn't do so bad (Third) having 12 screws in his shoulder from a crash just a couple months ago...and being a withered old man past his prime of 37...my age...

[j_b]

No, I remember that Contador was clearly the favorite and declared team leader by Bruyneel 4 days before the race started.

It seems as if history is being rewritten to justify Lance's behavior (irrespective of his outstanding perf).

 

Contador leads Astana

Article By:

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:08

Astana have named former yellow jersey champion Alberto Contador as their leader for the Tour de France, which begins in Monaco and will run from 4-26 July.

 

Contador, who won the 2007 Tour de France but did not compete last year, is the pre-race favourite to succeed Spaniard Carlos Sastre.

 

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will be one of the key riders in the Kazakhstan-sponsored team, making his return to the race since he retired in the wake of his seventh consecutive victory in 2005.

 

As well as Armstrong, fellow American Levi Leipheimer and German Andreas Kloden have been included in the nine-man team which, on paper, looks one of the strongest in the race.

 

Leipheimer is on his seventh Tour appearance and finished third in 2007.

 

Kloden is a two-time podium finisher on the world's toughest bike race, and wins selection despite allegations in Germany last month that he was involved in doping at the 2006 Tour, when he finished second while racing for T-Mobile.

 

Also included is one of Contador's closest team-mates, Portuguese Sergio Paulinho. Kazakh Dmitriy Muravyev, Ukrainian Yaroslav Popovych, Swiss Gregory Rast and Spaniard Haimar Zubeldia make up the team.

 

Last year Contador became only the fifth rider in history to win all three three-week Tours of France, Italy and Spain when he won the Giro d'Italia in June and the Vuelta a Espana in September.

 

However as doubts linger over who the real leader of the team is - much of the media focus has centred on Armstrong's bid for an eighth crown - the Spaniard was featured second in line on a video presentation shown on Astana's website on Thursday.

 

The first rider to feature was Armstrong, who tuned up for his big return by racing the Giro in May and June.

 

"After three-plus years away from competition I'm very happy with where Lance's form is leading up to the Tour," said team manager Johan Bruyneel, who helped orchestrate all seven of Armstrong's wins, and Contador's victory in 2007.

 

"I think racing the Giro was a very smart decision and really prepared him for July. He's worked very hard during his comeback season and I know he is extremely motivated for the Tour de France."

 

On Contador, Bruyneel said: "After winning the Tour in 2007 and then becoming the fifth cyclist in history to win all three Grand Tours, it's hard to find a better stage race rider than Alberto.

 

"He has worked very hard, earning the right to represent our team as the leader this July."

 

http://sport.iafrica.com/cycling/news/1770980.htm

[Gary_Yngve]

you cycling experts fail to amuse.

 

contador was dominating, to say the least. stage 18, anyone?

 

he'll come back next year on a weaker team and still kick arse (although i'm damn curious to see what armstrong can muster after a year of serious prep and the deep pockets of radio shack etal).

 

or maybe he'll bonk again, like he did paris-nice.

[Gary_Yngve]

TdF is one by a team, not an individual. Someone should mention that to Cuntador.

 

because Armstrong was working for the team when he challenged Contador for leadership?

 

when did he challenge contador? he never did anything to compromise contador's lead. the only thing was the over-dramatized move that lance cued onto in stage 2, which contador wasn't in position for. there were plenty of times that lance could have attacked, but instead stayed back w/ wiggins, schlecks, etc.

[olyclimber]

all those men, all those tights

[rob]

i just got off the phone with lance. He says you're all a bunch of wankers. Except you, porter. He thinks you're a lovable scamp.

[No. 13 Baby]

there were plenty of times that lance could have attacked, but instead stayed back w/ wiggins, schlecks, etc.

 

That is some funny shit!

[StevenSeagal]

all those men, all those tights

 

[video:youtube]v=9Z23ehBIecs

 

[j_b]

TdF is one by a team, not an individual. Someone should mention that to Cuntador.

 

because Armstrong was working for the team when he challenged Contador for leadership?

 

when did he challenge contador? he never did anything to compromise contador's lead. the only thing was the over-dramatized move that lance cued onto in stage 2, which contador wasn't in position for. there were plenty of times that lance could have attacked, but instead stayed back w/ wiggins, schlecks, etc.

 

From my armchair, it looks to me that 1) Astana didn't try to bring Contador back (or limit the damage to their official leader) in the lead group on stage 2 but rode with the breakaway, 2) Armstrong said several times he was racing to win even though he didn't have the gas to do it by attacking and was probably going for a tactical win (keeping it close enough with Astana controlling the race, then hope for something like the bordure of stage 2 or Contador making a mistake, etc ..), 3) how many times did we see no Astana rider in support of COntador unless Lance was in that group versus how many time did we see Kloden pacing Lance when he was in trouble, 4) contador was isolated within Astana with most team members rallied around Armstrong and Lance poking jabs at contador from the get go (plus all the details that are surfacing now about what happened before the ITT), ... show that a power strugle was taking place between Contador and Lance even though Contador was the official team leader.

[Winter]

TdF is one by a team, not an individual. Someone should mention that to Cuntador.

 

because Armstrong was working for the team when he challenged Contador for leadership?

 

when did he challenge contador? he never did anything to compromise contador's lead. the only thing was the over-dramatized move that lance cued onto in stage 2, which contador wasn't in position for. there were plenty of times that lance could have attacked, but instead stayed back w/ wiggins, schlecks, etc.

 

From my armchair, it looks to me that 1) Astana didn't try to bring Contador back (or limit the damage to their official leader) in the lead group on stage 2 but rode with the breakaway, 2) Armstrong said several times he was racing to win even though he didn't have the gas to do it by attacking and was probably going for a tactical win (keeping it close enough with Astana controlling the race, then hope for something like the bordure of stage 2 or Contador making a mistake, etc ..), 3) how many times did we see no Astana rider in support of COntador unless Lance was in that group versus how many time did we see Kloden pacing Lance when he was in trouble, 4) contador was isolated within Astana with most team members rallied around Armstrong and Lance poking jabs at contador from the get go (plus all the details that are surfacing now about what happened before the ITT), ... show that a power strugle was taking place between Contador and Lance even though Contador was the official team leader.

 

1) Why would Astana organize a chase when ALL of the other GC riders missed the break? Basic team strategy - don't reel in one of your riders when he's up the road.

 

2) Lance backed up off as soon as it was apparent that Contador was the stronger rider and declared his support for Contador, which he demonstrated the way he rode through the Alps.

 

3) Contador had Astana support the entire time except when he attacked his own team. Kloeden was fully committed to Contador and the team, but Contador attacked and dropped him for no reason when they were out with the Schleck's.

 

4) What happened before the ITT? Haven't seen that.

[Gary_Yngve]

contador was isolated within Astana with most team members rallied around Armstrong

 

maybe the team members didn't like contador, because he wasn't a good leader and didn't treat them well. that's certainly what it's seemed like based on his comments.