Did Astana pay CSF ?

coneofsilence

Yes....

huboon

And sand in yer crack from a week at the beach.

Runitout

Contador deserved to win. He rode faster than the others. The posters here are not bagging him so much, but rather the Astana PR-machine - with its assorted rubbish assertions of training at the beach and broken elbows - and the glassy-eyed orgasmic fandom that unquestioningly follow the word of Dear Leader.

Most fans would prefer a di Luca or Ricco to have won - someone who attacked and gave the race some excitement. For the same reason, people were cheering Soler and Contador last Tour instead of Evans and Leipheimer - because they attacked and made the race interesting, rather than followed wheels for three weeks.

As pointed out by other posters, there's also a reaction against the Discatana fans' assertions that it is all done clean - the wilful suspension of reality that has characterised their understanding of pro cycling since 1999 and continues to this day. As long as this syndrome exists, there will always be other cycling fans who jump harder on Bruyneel's teams than, for example, Liquigas, Lotto, or Quickstep. The harder one side proclaims its innocence, the harder the backlash will be. It's only natural.

I don't think anybody has illusions about di Luca - oil for drugs is as implicating as Contador's name on the Puerto documents - and to think otherwise is to live in a parallel fantasy-land.

The problem for cycling fans is whether to cheer for a rider who just might be clean now, but almost certainly wasn't a year or more ago. Sometimes it's safer to assume the worst.

__________________
And saying so to some
Means nothing; others it leaves
Nothing to be said.

musette

Some of Bruyneel's insights are below:

"Q: How far has Contador come in his progression as a rider?

JB: For me, starting last year when Alberto was at the point of winning the Tour, I said were witnessing the birth of a great rider. We were just beginning to work together. Now you can say we’re in front a new phenomenon like Lance Armstrong. I don’t like to compare riders, but I’ve seen in him things I’ve only seen in Lance, especially what he can do in the mountains.
Alberto has improved a lot in the time trial, too. He’s the best climber in the world and he’s the best time trial trialists among the climbers. That’s an ideal formula to win big tours. If luck stays with him, he can go very far. If he won the Giro at 80 percent, I don’t want to think what he can do at 100 percent. I see a big future, especially when you consider he’s only 25 and Lance won his first Tour at 27."

In many Tours he participated in, LA was the best climber and the best time trialist (period, not among the climbers, just the best ITTist). AC has room for improvement on ITTing, but he does have a certain explosiveness and ability to change pace rapidly in his climbing rythmn that is quite captivating at times (albeit not in this Giro). On Stage 21 of the Giro, AC's cadence looked downright like LA's!

"Q: Contador likes to attack, but he was unable to in the Giro, what does that say about his character?

JB: Alberto definitely is very strong in his head, he’s proved that already. He was not able to attack because he was not in top shape. We raced in a different manner.... Now he was able to take advantage of the gaps from the time trials and all he had to do was follow the attacks. It was a different style of racing. It was good for his evolution as a rider. Cycling is very unpredictable and you have to be able to react to a lot of different scenarios. That’s part of a way a champion is built. You really have to get familiar with different strategies. I think that Alberto has proven that he’s a very mature rider for his age. He’s able to make decisions without much steering from the car."

http://www.velonews.com/article/770...great-champion-

missile

I have heard of teams giving their water bottles to riders that weren't on their own team, but only when it's a breakaway and that rider does not have their team car for support. My understanding that it is considered sportsman to do so. To take water bottles from a team that is not your own might be problematic unless that rider trusts the team completely. What if he later tested positive for something?

Klodifan

LOL!!!

Now that, my friends, is pure comedy!!!

Runitout

And so Dear Leader's epistles are spread by his apostles.

__________________
And saying so to some
Means nothing; others it leaves
Nothing to be said.

poulidor

That kind of statement are just food for their fans.. but are stupid.

Is JB preparing the arrival of the doped Contador as he was on last TDF, or is here giving to Contador an excuse to his abyssal drop of power on this GIRO / last TDF?

As usual bullshit statement from the same person..treasured only by blind and fanatic people.

__________________
6 samples with EPO have banned Lance Armstrong of TDF !

Rolfrae

I agree, it's corporate myth making in the mould of the Lance myth. In the future when we see him storm to a Tour victory we won't question him on doping because we will all remember how he won a Giro at 80% form straight from a holiday on the beach, and with a broken elbow. I also think Brunyeel is trying hard to sell Contadope to the US fans, making as many connections with Lance as possible.

TheDarkLord

But why is he trying to sell to US fans? The team is not American; the rider is not American; JB is not American. Does he get some form of US funding?

Rolfrae

Money comes from marketing. Contador can help sell Trek bikes, Giro helmets, SRam components etc etc. The US market is huge and Lance made a killing and brought these fans and their dollars to the Tour de France. I can't see Astana remaining title sponsor forever without Vino or Kash on the team and what better market to look to than the US for the next backer?

micron

I thought USDiscatana were already 'America's Favourite Team'?

Rolfrae

They are, and rising even higher in US estimations now they have a mythical hero at the helm - and I'm not talking about little baldy Levi.

whiteboytrash

Easy ! Bestiality is great mate !

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