"I will pretty much only think of the Tour de France for next year,"
by sminer on Oct 25, 2009 7:04 PM EDT
51 comments
I know who must have said that.
Who said that? Does this ever sound familiar Contador fans? Some of us have moved to the Contador side of the field to cheer him on because he's just so endearing. (Gag me now before I offend) I don't know, but others have also intimated that Contador will follow suit where LA left off. Funny thing that winning the TDF does to some riders. Lust for fame and riches possibly. "Lay before me a team that is at my beckoning" kind of attitude. Not Contador! Oh but of course, not our beloved little Pistolero. If it's possible, I think we will see less diversion from the TDF from AC than we got from LA.
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I hope eventually that he can try to go for some doubles or something that would put him down as the greatest GT
racer. Or actually race after July, that could do something too.
by Vlaanderen90 on Oct 25, 2009 9:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i could stomach it
when it was an American, but by the end the repetitive Tour victories got pretty dull. For a guy I have no connection to to rattle off a bunch of Tour wins will pretty much take the race off my mental calendar. If he’s dominant… I still have hope for some of the challengers.
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris... on Oct 25, 2009 9:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
With your classics fixation (and others here) and GH's move to BMC next year
my mind is all into the spring
And I’m hoping for the challengers over the next few years.
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Oct 25, 2009 10:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
And what has only focusing on the Tour brought LA
what’s that? World wide fame and millions and millions of dollars? Boy tough life. Now I’m not pleased if his entire career he only focuses on the Tour, but he will be 27 next year and time is still there for him to race other races. Plus, focusing on the Tour doesn’t mean he still won’t do the Vuelta for instance, but that comes after the Tour and is less important. Then again he has already won one more Vuelta and Giro than LA and has won other races such as Paris-Nice and the Vuelta Vasco. Of course you could also not ignore from the same CN article(if that’s where you got it) this line
A change in his programme could see him ride the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Dammit Elk! I don't care if it's your mating season, you are disturbing my peaceful sleep! Just STFU!
by Phil H. on Oct 25, 2009 10:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Phil, I'm not sure that the multi-tour wins
are what brought Armstrong the fame and cash.
After all, some dude named Indu . . . something or other . . . won 5 straight tours and won European fame, sort of.
Nah . . . I think that Armstrong’s fame and cash pivots off of his willingness to market his image (and the acuity to cultivate lasting good relationships with corporations who also have an interest in amplifying that market image).
by R Mc on Oct 25, 2009 10:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well certainly not in the US, but he can market himself in Spain
sure it will mean he isn’t as rich or as popular worldwide as Lance, because he will get less exposure being Spanish and not American, but it’s still is a sweet life. Let me reintegrate that I certainly hope Bert doesn’t become one trick pony like Lance, but I can’t see it being a stupid move, and I don’t think you can judge a person on it(Lance always focusing on the Tour isn’t what annoys me about him).
Dammit Elk! I don't care if it's your mating season, you are disturbing my peaceful sleep! Just STFU!
by Phil H. on Oct 25, 2009 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Focusing to win an event doesn't make a rider a one trick pony.
And certainly in Lance’s case, he has more than shown his talents and diversity as a cyclist and as an athlete in general.
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Oct 25, 2009 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I meant in terms of cycling races
I know Lance is an amazing athlete and does other sports such as the marathon very well.
Dammit Elk! I don't care if it's your mating season, you are disturbing my peaceful sleep! Just STFU!
by Phil H. on Oct 25, 2009 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I meant in terms of cycling races too
which is why I said “he has more than shown his talents and diversity as a cyclist”
LA’s cycling biography is easy to find and it shows that he is far from a one trick pony despite focusing on winning the TdF for seven of his cycling years.
And I think Contador has less potential to diversify (in cycling) as LA did and does. He may very well win more GT’s than LA but he will likely branch out even less. And when AC says he isn’t concerned about the number of TdF victories LA has collected, I say “liar”.
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Oct 26, 2009 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes, earlier in his career, before he became a superstar
but after his cancer his palamers is almost entirely Tour wins, and those were the days where Americans payed the closest attention to him. I don’t know if he could have made some casual fan suddenly watch Flanders every year but he didn’t diversify the sport that much. I don’t believe AC will either mind you, because I don’t see him ever doing well in the classics.
Dammit Elk! I don't care if it's your mating season, you are disturbing my peaceful sleep! Just STFU!
by Phil H. on Oct 26, 2009 12:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Adding that I belive LA was a more complete cyclist in his prime than AC
he could do all the classics, and quite well. I would have liked to see him give it a go more often later in his career(and why not next year?), I would like to see AC also try the classics because who knows, maybe he will be better in them than expected with a bit of experience.
Dammit Elk! I don't care if it's your mating season, you are disturbing my peaceful sleep! Just STFU!
by Phil H. on Oct 26, 2009 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
So, what I'm saying...
is that we’re about to see the second coming of LA in Bert, as far as the obsession of winning the TdF.
And you’re right, Lance could have wonFlanders and P-R 10 times each and it wouldn’t help the popularity of the classics. As a lot of people around here like to say “it’s the event that makes the rider, not the rider that makes the event”.
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Oct 26, 2009 4:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He could have won PR and Flanders?
Eeh no.
by Frinking on Oct 26, 2009 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm not saying he could have.
I was speaking hypothetically, to make a point. Yea?
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Oct 26, 2009 9:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Contador could win every bike race on the planet
and not achieve what LA has.
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Oct 25, 2009 10:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well Contador almost died too...
but what he almost died from cannot be prevent with more research and funding and having a multi-national corporation named after him helping those causes. He could totally sell himself and become an image that is seen all over the world but he is not the business man that Armstrong is because of how he is as a person i.e. being a bit more humble and not as “Texas” as Lance is.
by Vlaanderen90 on Oct 25, 2009 11:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think there is a lot of guessing going on about Contador's personality.
But you point out another eerie similarity.
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Oct 25, 2009 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
reliable recognition/ detection of cerebral hemorrhage and access to CAT scan & brain surgery?
Cerebral hemorrhage can sometimes be prevented, and for sure the outcomes could be massively improved with more education and access to treatment.
Far more than stoke (also something that goes under-recognized in the crucial first few hours) the symptoms are not well recognized by the general public, nor by doctors.
I don’t know if AC plans to go all out, the way Lance did, but some PR on the topic could save a lot of lives. About six months ago I read a good article (that I now can’t find—Albertina?) on how “following standard guidelines” prevented a doctor from totally dismissing a subarachnoid aneurysm that was about to burst. He figured the older, Japanese woman and her daughter were being a bit hysterical, and maybe hyperventilating. He didn’t want to order a CAT scan, but did so dutifully because the rules at the hospital required it for unexplained headache with other diffuse symptoms.
Would you recognize these warning signs? More, or less, than paying attention to a lump in your ya-yas? I’ve got to think there’s room for education. And maybe raising funds to get enough scanners for quick access, and train more brain surgeons. (I’m not going to touch health care access here, but in some places, that’s also a big issue.)
by JFS_PGH on Oct 29, 2009 9:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
hmmm
I don’t doubt what you’re saying is true but I don’t see why there should be any obligation – not that I’m suggesting you’re saying Contador is obliged – to do any PR. He might just be very glad that’s done with & pleased to get on being a rider & think about it as little as possible.
by civetta on Oct 29, 2009 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That he had cancer.
Is so not relevant in what he has done and achieved afterwards.. It’s not that his 7 Tour win were more special due that.. Or in my opinion
by Frinking on Oct 26, 2009 5:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
"out of the mouths of babes"
but man you’re tough Frinking. I’m not a huge admirer of LA, but I still think his determination in the face of adversity is still something I feel is laudible.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
by Seahorse on Oct 26, 2009 5:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
'determination in the face of adversity'. Hmm, a bit like...
…
My god, but it has rained here for the past two days! We’re having some serious Weather, for sure. I
by Lou... on Oct 26, 2009 5:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Running on cliches
Antidote to a day with Foucault ;) And I can rarely work up a head of steam on the black helmeted one …
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
by Seahorse on Oct 26, 2009 5:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Right on
Getting healthy is not “fighting cancer” or “beating the disease,” it’s about the right treatment and/or a bit of luck. Also, there’s wide speculation that his testicular cancer was brought on by HGH use, which may or may not be true, I wouldn’t know.
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/55032
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/lance_armstrong_inspires_thousands
(more cycling fun from The Onion: http://www.theonion.com/content/news/non_doping_cyclists_finish_tour_de )
by tedvdw on Oct 26, 2009 7:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's not that he had cancer
(though I think that most definitely DOES make his Tour wins more special)…
It’s that he decided to do something to help others fighting cancer, and that he has worked hard and achieved a lot in that regard. Like him or not, that is a real and (at least in large measure) altruistic accomplisment, and he deserves credit for it.
by tgartner on Oct 26, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm pretty sure Bert said that this year too.
He’s saying that when talking about the Grand Tours only. I presume he’ll race the Vuelta IF he feels good after the Tour.
We should remember that Bruyneel guided both Lance and Bert.
by ursula on Oct 25, 2009 11:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I think though, that after you win the TdF
there is so much demand for you to be here and do this that it takes a lot of your energy and time for training. I would think the motivation falls tremendously too.
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Oct 26, 2009 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
beautiful
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Oct 26, 2009 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I like to think/hope that the quote applies to next year's Tour only
(But who really knows…)
Next year’s Tour has Lance at it. Contador’s quotes in the CN article acknowledge that winning a Tour with Lance in it is a bigger deal than winning one without him in -(“worldwide impact”)
There also seems to be a personal element to it – from Cycling Weekly’s print version (thur 22 oct) in the Grapevine column:
“Which American Pro tour manager recently spent an afternoon in Paris with Alberto and Fran Contador? No agreement came of it (yet), but Contador did say his main aim for 2010 was not only to beat Lance Armstrong at the Tour but to “humiliate” him, and could this man help?"
A phrase Lionel Birnie has picked up on – para 6 here
by andrewp on Oct 26, 2009 4:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i would like to think extra emphasis is for the 2010 tdf... to be able to defend his tdf win
since he didn’t have the chance in 2008 (for the 2007 tdf)
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Oct 26, 2009 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Delicious thought,
but the “humiliate” part in the link supplied here isn’t a quote. So we have to take the Grapevine’s word for it – never completely satisfying, but still, rather satisfying.
There was an American ProTour team manager who tweeted recently about how difficult it was making yet another trip to Europe with a son in school in the US, and yet went back to France again a very short while later. There was something about a truffle, and an odor.
by Steno on Oct 26, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ohb that tweet was so funny!
"the rest was over 30. And that doesn't mean old and useless, but experienced and with the stamina"
Jens! Voigt, Crit Intl Interview, 2009
by CycleGirl on Oct 27, 2009 2:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I suppose it cannot be Cunego since he has surrendered Grand Tour ambitions...
But this could be Bruyneel, always obsessed with vicariously winning le Tour through other riders,
"As you can imagine, there are better places to have your birthday party than in some village called Mushny Mush Mishme." --The Wisdom of Jens
by Josenka on Oct 26, 2009 9:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Snort
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
by Albertina on Oct 26, 2009 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
now why do you hate low to mid table EPL sides?
ha ha
by rbjhan on Oct 26, 2009 9:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I have little interest in any EPL sides!
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
by Albertina on Oct 27, 2009 7:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
"Contador: Geen Giro"
So says Sporza. Translation, no Giro for the Accountant. I gather he’s not negotiating with any Italian teams then?
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris... on Oct 27, 2009 6:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
no Giro, shocker
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Oct 27, 2009 6:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Actually Leaky was mentioned
but they are the one Italian team that cares more about the Tour than Giro.
(and he announced he wasn’t doing the Giro right after he said the quote that this post is titled after)
Dammit Elk! I don't care if it's your mating season, you are disturbing my peaceful sleep! Just STFU!
by Phil H. on Oct 27, 2009 8:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
And now Cadel seems to be saying
exactly the same thing. Has all the talk of shared leadership between him and Van den Brock been forgotten?
by Monty. on Oct 29, 2009 3:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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