Alberto Contador.
He won the time trial, once anti-clockwise around the lake of Annecy, gaining another minute and a half on Lance, who is sixteenth today. But Lance gets back on the virtual podium, because he gained time on both the brothers Shrek.6388. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 3:48:38 AM
Well they're already saying Contador is cheating.
6389. alistairconnor - 7/24/2009 6:38:45 PM
"They" is Greg Lemond.
Twice winner of the Tour, in the good old days of the eighties before EPO and blood doping. He has said similar things about Lance, any number of times.
The essence of his charge is that, judging by his performance of Contador at Verbier on Sunday, if he's not doping then he's the greatest athlete who ever lived.
Also pretty interesting that Contador replied "no comment" to questions about doping, and about his VO2max...
6390. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 7:19:16 PM
Contador a champion, but no team player
So says Phil Liggett
6391. alistairConnor - 7/24/2009 8:47:35 PM
No team player?
It was accepted by the team that he was the best rider, but the trifecta was still a possibility, until on the last Alpine climb of the Col de la Colombiere into the Grand Bornand on Wednesday saw Contador attack teammate Kloden and take with him the two most dangerous rivals he has had in this event, the brothers Andy and Frank Schleck.
That article is all screwy. Bear in mind that Contador was the acknowledged favourite at the start of the Tour. In any other team, that would have meant that all the other riders are at his service, and the strategy and tactics are all about him. With two other exceptional riders like Armstrong and Kloden on the team, they would have the right to take their chances too, but would not have any call on his services.
But with Johan Bruyneel's Astana, it was all about Lance, all the time. Thus, Contador is seen as some sort of rebel when he does what he has to do to win the race. The idea that he attacked Kloden is absurd. Kloden is there to help him as long as he can. He attacked the Shleck brothers. f he hadn't, they would have attacked him. Unfortunately they managed to follow him, all the way to the finish.
What Kloden does next is revealing. He's still in a very strong position, he can carry on and finish fourth, and save his place on the podium. That's good for his team! But no, he waits for Lance, and works for him, helping him limit his loss.
So when Contador is accused of not being a team player, he's accused of not working for Lance. Boo hoo.
Next year, Bruyneel and Lance will be working for Radio Shack. I'd be surprised if Contador was on the team.
6392. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 9:08:58 PM
Kloden could have been in a stronger position if he'd not been attacked by Contador...
That's twice he's deviated from the plan... not that I blame him, because you're right that Lance could have been the favorite... however that doesn't explain the other day. What purpose did his attack serve? He's a better TT rider than the Shlecks... all he had to do was respond. Intentionally separating himself from his support is risky tactics, and it pretty much destroyed the chance that the team had to sweep the podium.
And really, it just means you're being inconsistent when you decide who's being an asshole.
6393. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 9:09:21 PM
And Liggett has a tad more credibility.
6394. alistairConnor - 7/24/2009 9:47:20 PM
It may have escaped you iii, Lance opened the hostilities on one of the early stages, making his team ride like hell when Contador was trapped in a second peloton.
Realistically, they were the principal favorites from the start, therefore necessarily rivals. And each has attacked the other at every opportunity. I think Contador probably feared Lance more than he feared the Schleck brothers. So in that respecthis tactics were correct.
And this stuff about not following the script. Spare me. Bruyneel writes the script, and he makes only the vaguest pretense of being impartial between his two leaders.
At the end, Contador is being criticised for not being at Lance's service. I can think of one example of a rider capable of winning who sacrificed his chances in order to help his ageing leader. It was Miguel Indurain, before he won his first Tour. Once in the Pyrenees, at the top of a pass, he actually turned and rode back to help his leader, Pedro Delgado. Now there's a team player.
6395. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 11:02:05 PM
I'm just giving you a little shit Alistair
6396. alistairConnor - 7/25/2009 1:57:23 PM
The Giant of Provence on the program today. Mont Ventoux, a legendary stage.
One has done it oneself, of course. It's a steep hill. Today the wind is blowing at 110 km/h at the summit, the guys will be head-on into it in the last kilometres.
For the moment, there's a group of 16 who have nine minutes on the pack. They're still in the rolling foothills, in half an hour or so they will start the climb.
I don't expect Contador to take any prisoners. Probably the Shleck brothers will go with him, and will be 2nd and 3rd overall tonight, and in Paris tomorrow.
Lance is frankly too old to develop the power required for a climb like that. We saw that the other day already.
6397. anomie - 7/27/2009 5:06:18 PM
AC, I've been watching some of the bike race. I wish they would talk more about the equipment of the sport. I noticed time trial equipment looks much different. Why? Is it that they can use more combersome, but aerodynamic equipment when not jostling in the peloton? But the bike frames look thicker too.
And what is the purpose of that rear wheel spoke cover? I see it only on the time trial bikes?
Beautiful shots of the countryside throughout the race!
6398. anomie - 7/27/2009 5:07:05 PM
cumbersome, for Pete's sake.
6399. alistairconnor - 7/27/2009 5:58:43 PM
The big shots use carbon fibre frames for the time trials, several kilos lighter, but too expensive for everyday wear (possibly too fragile too).
The lenticular wheels are similarly specialised. They are more aerodynamic, unless there's a cross wind.
6400. anomie - 7/27/2009 8:51:31 PM
Hmmm, I thought carbon fiber was fairly common on all the bikes, but that makes sense. I guess the long helmets with tails would be too unweildly when riding in large tight groups, but serve a purpose in reducing drag in the time trials. They look strange though.
6401. wabbit - 7/28/2009 4:17:45 PM
It doesn't happen very often, but Michael Phelps actually looks vulnerable in one of his signature events. He'll dive in for the finals of the 200-meter freestyle at the world championships Tuesday against an up-and-coming German, a guy who's already shown he has no regard for the swimming elite. Paul Biedermann erased Ian Thorpe's name from the record book. Now he's ready to take on Phelps. Bring it on, Phelps replied.
But this isn't just Phelps vs. Biedermann. You see, at a record-breaking meet that is as much about what everyone is wearing as it is about the swimmers, the German will dive into the water in an Arena X-Glide, a polyurethane suit that is generally considered faster than Speedo's once-revolutionary LZR Racer. Acknowledging the disadvantage, Speedo gave all its swimmers a chance to switch to another suit if they felt it would improve their chances. But that wasn't really an option for Phelps, who's been sponsored by the company since he was a teenager and earns millions for wearing its suits. Biedermann believes the Arena suit improves his times by as much as two seconds, a staggering edge in a sport often decided by hundredths of a second.
The door is ajar for Michael Vick to return to the NFL. Only Vick, and any team willing to sign him, can open it fully.
