Thulsadoom

Hmm. That's not neccessarily true every day. AC never was able to drop Andy in the mountains at last years tour. And he gave it a good shot on several stages. That said, AC didn't appear to be in his best shape last years either.

FogVilleLad

Their battle on that stage where the climbed in and out of the fog made for sensational viewing.

I think that AC was taking anti-biotics for something when the tour started. He may not have been in top shape. He certainly is now. Looking forward to those two battling it out again.

boogoshea

Well I hope Andy is in better form that he was in the TOC.

bikeride

Here we go. Another super cyclist performing super human feats. Amazing! Stupendous! How does he do it?

2ndGen

Contador is the evolution of the modern rider.
Patient. Egoless. Focused. Driven. Serene.
Formulating his ride. Explosive. Disciplined.
I might not know jack about racing,
but it's awesome to see him at work.

2ndGen

nvrlnd7

I've liked contador since i started following cycling in 2009,it's been funny to see the "lance fan boys" adopt andy,but sorry guys if contador is feeling good,shleck wont have a chance,and he looked horrible in the TOC.
If andy shows up to the tour with awesome that form i dont see him doing much,plus he has to combat his poor bike handling skills,bad shifting skills,and crap TT skills, there was no chain gate it was simply someone who cant do a normal shift. Contador in for the triple would be amazing.

Jed19

I really think Contador, after he's all done racing, is gonna make cycling fans ask the question "Lance who?"

He is that talented. And only 28years old too. My God, he looks good accelerating up a mountain, doesn't he?

I just hope PEDs are not involved.

OrionKhan

Good luck with that. And I don't mean just with Contador.

2ndGen

I like to see him keep a steady pace then just to play head games with the other riders,
while they're "working at it", he'll get up out of his seat and start dancing up the climb
and they'll all reluctantly fall in line behind him.

When when they catch up with him, he sits back down and goes back to pacing himself.

I think Sun Tzu is is trainer.



This video...

...with this as it's soundtrack...

...Beautiful.

Thulsadoom

The coolest thing, I think anyways, about AC is that it seems like his greatest strength is his ability to eat stress like candy. It seems like he's always in his greatest shape when he's surrounded by chaos.

The year Astana was not invited to the tour, he won both the Giro and the Vuelta.
The year he had to deal with the Lance bull****, he was totally on form.
Last year, there was no big bunch of crap going on and he didn't really seem to impress as much as usual.
This year, he's dealing with a positive dope test and probable suspension and he's dominating once again.

kabex

Also, when the "leaders" are struggling up a mountain pass, on their lowest gear Contador reaches them, drafts for a few minutes then hits the big ring and just flies past. Did so in this Giro, in the Zoncolan or the day after, can't remember.

Absolutely brilliant.

2ndGen

Word.

18hockey

2ndGen- You clearly know very little about Contador if you think that list is what he is like.

Back on topic, I will just say that he tested positive last Tour and he has an "interesting" list of teams and DS.

dahoss2002

I just hope the Giro didnt take too much outta him and He can recover before the TDF

OrionKhan

The way he looked, I don't think he's going to have that problem. What was really crazy was that it didn't seem like he was pushing himself to the max. A couple times, it seemed like he attacked just because nobody else was. He finished 3 in the final ITT and he sat up was gesturing to the crowd before the finish. He clearly backed off on several stages or he probably could have had 4 or 5 stage wins.

dahoss2002

I know what you're saying but a couple years back when Menchov won, I made the mistake of using him on my TDF fantasy team. Then last year I used ..............BASSO. I know Contador is in a different class but winning the Giro seems like a jinx to the TDF the last couple years. Hopefully he can pull the double.

2ndGen

Like Orion, I wasn't the only one noticing that Conti was "giving up" a
couple of stages and to me, seemed very controlled the whole time.
I think this year, he's going to work to blow records away at the TDF.
After this, he'll only need one more TDF to be considered one of "The Greats" (5 TDF Winners).

tagaproject6

I want him to win the TdF and the Vuelta.

OrionKhan

Ha! I did the same thing the last two years with my fantasy team. But AC seems like a can't miss for the TdF.

guadzilla

The problem is, this was a motherf****r of a Giro, and given where the TdF is, it is quite unlikely he'll be able to recover from the stress of the Giro and peak again in time for the Tour.

It's going to be a sub-peak Contador vs the real contenders (AS, Basso and Cuddles). I'll give Basso the edge in that lot but I think AC could actually make it interesting.

This is going to be one helluva tour.

2ndGen

What's tougher? The Giro or the TDF?
If The Giro, then the TDF should actually be easier for AC.
No?

2ndGen

Basso (if not Conti).

Jed19

I do not think any cyclist currently in the pro peloton can hang with AC. He is all in a class by himself. I think the reason AS was close at last year's TdF was b/cos AC was not in the best of forms.

I am gonna predict right now that he is gonna win the TdF. Nobody is close to his present form.

tagaproject6

Looking good for the TdF. Hopefully, he can race https://velonews.competitor.com/2011/...-august_176702