Professional Cycling For the Fans - garmin courting contador......

it's a fact.

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_12919159

ed rader

don't think he'd look all that good in argyle but who does? their ttt would be even
stronger and he'd have some good support in the mountains. i have to question the
team's insistence to run farrar out there against cavendish in terms of energy spent.
if contador signed with garmin, would they concentrate 100% on the yellow jersey
and the overall & still try for sprint stage wins simultaneously? seemed like it always
took a little something away from deutche telekom/t-mobile all those years trying both
to win the green with zabel and the yellow with ullrich.

I am no expert, but based on my experience in Europe in other sports, here is my two cents:

While Garmin wants to court AC, the real question will be,... Can Garmin afford AC?...........
Even if they can, I am not so sure they would be able to sign him........ If Alonso goes forward with plans to start an all Spanish team, I think that is the most likely spot where AC would end up.......after all he is a National (insert "God" here)/Hero in Spain........

If not, Then it's an open market and we will all have to see who is willing to spend the $$$money$$$......If Garmin has the money to spend, they are certainly a team that can provide the support for a GC contender like AC.:thumb: Of course how much Garmin will spend depends on what kind of return the powers at Garmin think AC can generate. (I personally doubt he would be a big money maker in the US market, but without question would be soild gold in Spain and other parts of Europe)

That said, based on Garmin publicly saying they are going after AC, and Wiggin's performance in the tour,........Does it mean Vande Velde will be going back to the role he knows best, ..."Domestique". (w/ Garmin or Radio Shack)

3 GC contenders in Wiggins, VdV and Contador? Doubt Wiggins will be pleased!

Plus, everyone speaks English in that team ...

3 GC contenders in Wiggins, VdV and Contador? Doubt Wiggins will be pleased!

Plus, everyone speaks English in that team ...

One (or 2) of them will have to go. Isn't the new British Sky team trying to hire Wiggins?

One (or 2) of them will have to go. Isn't the new British Sky team trying to hire Wiggins?

Yeah ... I think Wiggins will leave to lead a team of his own, possibly Sky.

I think its highly likely Contador rides for a Spanish team, Caisse D'Epargne, (spanish team albeit French Bank)or the new rumored spanish team.

Contador does not want to find himself in another situation like Astana. I think loyalty, and dedication to his TDF defense will be key to him. I think he will think he can best find that on a Spanish team.

News? Of course every team will want to "court" him. How much does it really cost to take someone to dinner? If they actually hire him though I may have to delay my 705 purchase. :)

I think its highly likely Contador rides for a Spanish team, Caisse D'Epargne, (spanish team albeit French Bank)or the new rumored spanish team.

Contador does not want to find himself in another situation like Astana. I think loyalty, and dedication to his TDF defense will be key to him. I think he will think he can best find that on a Spanish team.

You're right. Looking at Caisse ... Pereiro and Valverde are the obvious GC contenders, and possibly LLS too. But Contador is clearly heads and shoulders above them all, so if Valverde is willing to share leadership with Contador, they might have a real powerful squad in terms of top level talent. Not sure if their workhorses are as good as Paulinho, Zubelda etc at Astana.

You're right. Looking at Caisse ... Pereiro and Valverde are the obvious GC contenders, and possibly LLS too. But Contador is clearly heads and shoulders above them all, so if Valverde is willing to share leadership with Contador, they might have a real powerful squad in terms of top level talent. Not sure if their workhorses are as good as Paulinho, Zubelda etc at Astana.

contador is not going to walk into another situation where there will be leadership issues. garmin is a team of second-tier guys who would be great support riders.

ed rader

contador is not going to walk into another situation where there will be leadership issues. garmin is a team of second-tier guys who would be great support riders.

ed rader

Correct. But with him language will be an issue. If the Alonso plan goes through, perhaps that might be the best.

It will probably come down to who can offer the most money. Slipstream is trying to get another big sponsor (like HTC) and that extra $$ will go to Contador...I'm betting he goes to Garmin. They train in Girona, Vaughters speaks Spanish, etc.

Edit: Also, with Team Sky coming next year (English team) Millar and Wiggins could be gone.

You're right. Looking at Caisse ... Pereiro and Valverde are the obvious GC contenders, and possibly LLS too. But Contador is clearly heads and shoulders above them all, so if Valverde is willing to share leadership with Contador, they might have a real powerful squad in terms of top level talent. Not sure if their workhorses are as good as Paulinho, Zubelda etc at Astana.

i think we all would agree that valverde is at his best racing classics/one-day races-maybe best in the
world right now. contador is the best stage/gt racer. that would be a devastating combination.
there are enough races on the calendar between the one-days, weeklong stage races and grand tours
to have dual leaders on the team. pereiro's best days are behind him as a gt rider and sanchez (at this point)
is too inconsistent. however, both pereiro & sanchez are good enough to attract attention and make a
difference in any race they enter. valverde's always had a bad day in every grand tour he's ridden.
i've never gotten the feeling that he's totally convinced himself that he's a top gt rider. valverde has had
some relatively high finishes but may race too much to be rested/peaking for a gt.
in the classics & one-days though, that ability to attack on any gradient combined with his finishing
sprint always put him in contention. my big question for caisse is do they have enough of a budget
to have both valverde & contador under contract? if so, can they still afford most/all their great
secondary riders like pereiro, sanchez, joaquim rodriquez, etc?

contador is not going to walk into another situation where there will be leadership issues. garmin is a team of second-tier guys who would be great support riders.

ed rader

There won't be leadership issues anywhere he goes.

1) Armstrong's return, and the Armstrong/Bruyneel combination was really the only situation that could have put Contador's leadership role for the TDF in doubt.

2) While Contador might not be the most savvy guy out there, he's smart enough to nail down what his role will be and what support he will have before he signs. He's pretty much got the leverage to dictate terms.

So much for Garmin sticking with their "team clean" image. I'm not saying one way or the other whether or not AC dopes, but he certainly comes with a lot of baggage and by all accounts I've seen or read, Vaughters wanted to get away from all that (supposedly the reason he started this team in the first place). Guess everyone is blinded by yellow at some point . . .

So much for Garmin sticking with their "team clean" image. I'm not saying one way or the other whether or not AC dopes, but he certainly comes with a lot of baggage and by all accounts I've seen or read, Vaughters wanted to get away from all that (supposedly the reason he started this team in the first place). Guess everyone is blinded by yellow at some point . . .

or by winning. garmin will be lucky to have any sponsors if they don't start producing.

ed rader

or by winning. garmin will be lucky to have any sponsors if they don't start producing.

ed rader

Same point I was making. I was simply making it within the context of Le Tour, as it's still fresh on my (and I imagine everyone else's) mind.

Vaughters has already stated that Contador's full medical history, blood work, etc. would be gone over with a fine tooth comb before and terms were agreed on.

Vaughters has already stated that Contador's full medical history, blood work, etc. would be gone over with a fine tooth comb before and terms were agreed on.

vaughters would not say he was courting contador if contador had not already been approved, i'll bet.

ed rader

I like that Garmin seems committed to being the dominant U.S. team in cycling. You could tell they were irritated with Columbia winning all of those stages and then almost getting Hincapie in the yellow. So they stepped in to stop it. I like that spunk in 'em. Shows they want to win, bad.

If AC ends up with them, they're won't be any controversy about who's leading and who's riding for who. Wiggins will conform or leave. He doesn't have the resume to even raise the argument.

So much for Garmin sticking with their "team clean" image. I'm not saying one way or the other whether or not AC dopes, but he certainly comes with a lot of baggage and by all accounts I've seen or read, Vaughters wanted to get away from all that (supposedly the reason he started this team in the first place). Guess everyone is blinded by yellow at some point . . .

Is that the reason they hired David Millar?

Is that the reason they hired David Millar?

Ha! Valid point.

Although, I guess I'm one of the few who believed (albeit naively, perhaps) that Millar's whole reason for joining Garmin in the first place was because he wanted to turn over a new leaf and leave the stigma of his past behind.

Is that the reason they hired David Millar?

Millar has served his time for doping, it's noble to have given him another bite of the cherry.

But I doubt the super-clean ethos of Brailsford's proposed British Sky team will be willing to compromise by chasing the ageing Millar's signature.

Ha! Valid point.

Although, I guess I'm one of the few who believed (albeit naively, perhaps) that Millar's whole reason for joining Garmin in the first place was because he wanted to turn over a new leaf and leave the stigma of his past behind.

I don't think this is naive. I am a firm believer in innocent until proven guilty when it comes to doping- otherwise I would not be able to enjoy cycling at all. That being said, I still have my doubts about riders from time to time. Somebody like Millar, who has been caught and has made the effort to start fresh, is even easier to trust then somebody who has never been caught but simply has a lot of question marks. Of course teams like Garmin and Sky (from what little I've gathered about them) aren't going to pick up someone like Landis or Vino, but somebody like Millar is an excellent choice.

I guess my point is that I think Millar is great for Garmin, and I think he could be great for Sky too. Hopefully he stays with Garmin though, they are my favorite!

As a non English speaking dude, and the recent American (LA, Levi e.t.c) conflict, I dont think the Spaniard would want to join an English speaking/American/British team.

Vino might keep him on and get more Spanish riders onto Astana if its still around. Vino only wants to ride a year anyway, and what better way to do his forced team takeover than producing a Tour win for AC?
Im sure Astana will pay the price tag too, because all the investors might want to see some kind of return after all of this year's other sponsors flaking. The few that are still in a committed, albeit thanks to Brunyeel and Lance might want to see it through as a personal endeavor.

vaughters would not say he was courting contador if contador had not already been approved, i'll bet.

ed rader

I disagree. I doubt Contador would release that information before he needs to. This is the beginning stages, and there is no need for him to just release his private information he doesn't need to. Vaughters needs to court him to convince him to turn over his records.

it's a fact.

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_12919159

ed rader

They also courted Sastre last year but they couldn't afford him.

They also courted Sastre last year but they couldn't afford him.

Or maybe, they didn't think he was worth the asking price. Contador is clearly in a different class than Sastre. Younger and stronger. Will no doubt be a serious threat to win multiple grand tours over the next few years. And thanks to this whole Astana situation, AC's got better name recognition in the U.S. than Sastre. It might be easier to come up with more money for Contador.