Hillbasher

So let's hear some input on thoughts about his taking advantage of Schlecks mechanical problems the other day, stage 15 I believe. You all know the stage I am talking about, whether you saw it or just heard about it. I say what he did was WRONG, from the word go. One doesn't advance when the rider wearing the yellow either goes down in a crash or has mechanical problems. I wouldl be willing to bet if it had happened to him, he would have *****ed up a storm. What do you all say?

Hillbasher

So let's hear some input on thoughts about his taking advantage of Schlecks mechanical problems the other day, stage 15 I believe. You all know the stage I am talking about, whether you saw it or just heard about it. I say what he did was WRONG, from the word go. One doesn't advance when the rider wearing the yellow either goes down in a crash or has mechanical problems. I wouldl be willing to bet if it had happened to him, he would have *****ed up a storm. What do you all say?

JoelS

It's been discussed to death now. You'd have a pretty good idea if you checked the other threads in the 'Professional Cycling' forum.

Look here: https://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...sional-Cycling

ptle

I think it was wrong of him to attack because of Schlek's mechanical issue. It doesn't matter if he already begun his attack before it happen, like he said. I also wouldn't call it an attack if he's just trying to bridge up to Schelk's attack. I would call what he did after Shleck had a problem, an attack.

Homebrew01

Yeah, Contador cheated ...... The rules clearly state that riding your bike is a violation.

mike868y

Why do so many people seem to forget that there is a race going on?

mocolotion

I think it was poor form on Contodor's part. You could see Vinokourev sit up and stop hammering as soon as he noticed the mechanical whereas Contodor continued to attack. By the same token, however, did anybody wait for Armstrong when he got a flat on the cobblestones? Nope, Saxo Bank kept the pace up that entire time. As long as Contodor doesn't lose any time to Schleck tomorrow and then really puts the hurt on him in the time trial then none of this will matter. If Schleck finishes within 31 seconds of Contodor in Paris we'll have controversy.

BillyD

Unwritten rule, huh?

If the rule isn't written, it isn't a rule.

Tough titty!

rangerdavid

I think it is more of an unwritten sportsmanship TdF thing. Sure, for many of us a race is win or lose, but do you clap in a tennis match during a serve, do you cheer when someone is putting golf? I guess In a French bike race you dont pass the yellow jersey on a mechanical, unless you don't care about sportsmanship.

wrr1020

I wouldn't call it cheating because theirs no rules against it. Did i agree with his move, no. But it doesn't matter what i think. The thing that gets me the most is when they interviewed Contador after the stage he said he didn't see Schleck had a mechanical error. No way in hell you didn't see it, he was about 50 feet back and i guarantee you had his eyes on Schleck the whole time. The fact Schleck's rear wheel went up in the air right in front of him and for him to say he didn't see it is BS. Just say you saw it and i attacked, be a man about it.

Tulex

Said the kitty but the milk tastes good.

JoelS

Maybe because there are a bunch of threads on the subject. Not just one. I did provide a link to the forum where it's been discussed. Settle down.

PhilNYC

Lance was not in yellow...

psalm

At the beginning of the stage Schleck was 31 seconds in front of Contador. The advantage Contador got after Schleck dropped his chain was 13 seconds. Contador finished the stage 39 seconds ahead of Schleck. So in the descent Contador gained 26 seconds on Schleck. Schleck should still have the yellow but by only about 5 seconds.

I watched it over and over again, to me it looks like Andy mashed on his pedals while he was shifting, causing the chain to come off. I don't think it was a mechanical problem, I think it was a rider mistake. It's a race, the ultimate goal in a race is to win, so it's hard to blame Alberto for taking the advantage he did, being a race and all.

That being said, I think Contador took more advantage then he should have.

mike868y

The bottom line is it probably isn't going to matter. Tomorrow is going to be a neck and neck duel without either gaining significant time and then Contador will beat AS in the TT by a long shot.

The Weak Link

If they all rode Pfars they wouldn't have to worry about dropping chains.

tagaproject6

No cheating happened. AC never gave a rat's ass about any unwritten rule.

under18cyclists

It was wrong.

RNAV

You're right, there is a race going on -- one that is supposed to be a race amongst men. Men have honor and integrity -- Contador clearly has neither. To call him a female dog would be too large a compliment.

baribari

This isn't a group ride, it's a professional bike race. There is no no-drop policy.

Luck and mechanical problems are a part of racing. The guy who has the most luck and the fewest problems wins, as long as he arrives first.

charliekeri

7 teams riding SRAM. Don't you think if there was a mechanical issue you'd have seen another?

It was operator error combined with bad luck. If it was a sprint for the final green jersey and a shifting error cost the jersey it would be another story huh?

Damn, I'm saying this and I don't even like SRAM.

grwoolf

To me, it's enough of a grey area that I can see it either way. For the people who hate Contador to begin with, now you have another reason not to like him. Schleck had already gotten lucky once from a stop in the race and I think the chain problem was somewhat self-induced, so I don't think he was cheated out of anything and I doubt it will affect the outcome on the podium.

I just wish he hadn't dropped his chain, that attack might have gotten a gap on Contador and made the Tour interesting, but we'll never know. Even if Schleck could take a minute from Contador tomorrow, I don't think it would be enough at this point.

grrlyrida

Menchov, Sanchez and even Leipheimer didn't slow down. I think there a lot of xenophobia going on regarding Contador. People like bagging on him because he's dark, doesn't speak english and handed Armstrong his @ss last year. I don't believe he did anything wrong.

Schleck should have known better to shift his SRAM gears while out of the saddle climbing. Same thing happens to me with my Shimano gears. It's a race to win.

No one stopped for Chavanel on the cobbles.

Mr. Beanz

Dam Mexicans!

FrankBattle 

*someone else pointing out the darkie angle. cool*
*quiet as it's kept*