Poll: Favorite Moments in Tour de France 2009
Published October 9, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a CommentThe Agence France Presse reports today that QuickStep’s manager Patrick Lefevre is in “constant contact” with Alberto Contador regarding a possible signing for 2010.
Lefevre has said that he has spoken with Contador as recently as last Friday about the possibility of the winner of the Triple Crown and two editions of the Tour de France joining the Belgian team.
At QuickStep, Contador would join forces with Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Carlos Barredo, Stijn Devolder and Allan Davis, among others.
According to the report, space has been made in the roster for Alberto to bring with him four other riders of his choice.
Update, September 28 – We asked in a poll which four riders would be the best choices to accompany Contador if he were to sign with QuickStep. Two hundred and forty-seven of you participated, and here’s what you said:
Benjamin Noval, 21%
Jesús Hernandez, 21%
Andreas Klöden, 19%
Ivan Basso, 9%
Dani Navarro, 18%
Cadel Evans, 3%
Other, 9%
Unfortunately, we don’t know all the great ideas contained in 9% of votes in the “other” category. Hmm, wonder who…
Just for fun, we asked this question last week, and took answers in the form of a poll: Can you guess the breed and name of Alberto Contador’s dog?
Well played, everybody. Here are the results:
Jack Russell Terrier named Pakito – 32%
Saint Bernard named Verbier – 32%
Weimaraner named Tour – 15%
Border Collie named Spectaculo – 12%
Bulldog named Lance – 7%
Dobermann named Attack – 2%
As you see, the most popular answers were Verbier the Saint Bernard and Pakito the Jack Russell Terrier.
After his Stage 15 win at Verbier in Switzerland during this year’s Tour, Alberto posed with a lovely canine hostess – a Saint Bernard – on the winner’s podium and at the start line the next day. And a zippy Jack Russell named Pakito seems like a perfect pet for someone who’s known for bursts of rapid acceleration. But unless you answered Weimaraner, you’re in the dog house!
Alberto actually has a Weimaraner named Tour. It was presented to him as a gift from a television station.
As you all know, the scene for 2010 is starting to take shape. Contador stays at Astana along with Vino and others, the rest go somewhere else.
Who goes where, how much of the current team remains, and who is hired to replace them- these are things we’ll soon find out.
It’s unsettled and strange, true. But it is what it is.
A mentally-healthy tactic could be to jump ahead to some fun speculation about Astana next year. Who’s going to make up a team for Contador? Directors, riders, staff…who?
Got any good ideas? Who are the best people in the sport currenlty not under contract? Who do you think would be a perfect DS for Contador?
- Skinny Lizzy
Here’s a devoted fan of Contador that you’d probably enjoy meeting. She has a special story.
Lizzy is a fictional girl who went to the Tour de France this year, and unfortunately, got run over by the entire peloton. Each and every rider ran over her, from the leader of the escape to the lanterne rouge. Now she’s totally flat. What a disaster!
But there are certain advantages to being as thin as a sheet of paper…
She’s so skinny now that she can fit into an envelope and travel anywhere in the world. Her new mission: to visit Alberto Contador’s friends and fans all in all parts of the international pueblo de Contador.
Skinny Lizzy left last Saturday to visit Christine and Roger in Paris. She rode with them in the car to Assen, stopping in beautiful Bruges, and is now attending the Vuelta.
You can read about her adventures, and find out how to invite Skinny Lizzy to visit your home at http://skinnylizzy.wordpress.com/ .
Have fun!
Everybody in the cycling world is dying to know what team Alberto Contador will ride for next year.
After the tension in this year’s Tour, fans of the Triple Crown Champion, the winner of Tour de France 2007 and 2009, and the Spanish TT Champion are anxious to see him well-settled.
Will he find a team that has absolute confidence in him, from the level of management right down to the neo-pro rider? Will he find a team with a deep enough talent pool to give him the support he needs?
Will he build a team himself, or go to an established team?
Will he find a happy workplace?
Vote here. You can discuss your choices in the comments section.
Our contest for the Pistolero cap – just like the one Alberto Contador wore on the final podium at the last Tour – ended yesterday.
Our official dog Jenny did the drawing – she loves everybody and is very impartial. We put each entrant’s name on a tab, and put the tabs into a Shimano shoebox. Then we sprinkled in a few oats, closed the box, and shook it thoroughly. When the box was opened, Jenny rooted for the oats, and the first tab that stuck to her nose was the winner!
That lucky winner was Eniko, who is from Hungary. Congratulations, Eniko!
What was cool was that a lot of people from all over the world entered the contest. Entries came from places like Australia, Austria, Britain, Canada, Kazakhstan, China, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Hungary, Oman, Portugal, Slovakia, and the USA.
Somos el pueblo de Contador. We are the city of Contador.
Thanks for playing. We’ll do another contest by and by.
Our video gallery is open at last!
Enjoy seeing Alberto win the Profronde van Stiphout, and review some dramatic moments of the Tour.
GO TO VIDEOS
If you’d like to leave a message of support for Alberto, click on MESSAGES FOR ALBERTO at the top of the page.
BRAVO, ALBERTO!!
When Alberto Contador won the Tour de France for the first time, in 2007, his life changed forever. Suddenly people all over the world knew who he was, and what a great thing he had done.
Of course, many people in many nations became Contador fans. Then he won the Giro, and the Vuelta! And now he’s the Spanish Champion time-trialist! Lots more people have joined the ranks.
Rebble Kelsey took this photo of Alberto and Benjamin Noval at the Tour of Missouri
Alberto has fans all over the world, from Constantinople to Timbuktu. In Antactica? Maybe. In the Aleutian Islands, or Mali, or Bangladesh?
Now Alberto is riding the Tour again, and the whole world is watching. So tell us, fans, what is your home country, and what’s it like for you to support Alberto Contador?
We’ll start: The home of the Alberto Contador Notebook is in the USA, in Kansas City, Missouri. We were really happy and proud when Alberto rode through our city in the Tour of Missouri in 2007.
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