Hola! Welcome to the FORUM of the Alberto Contador Notebook!
Since many of you have indicated that you’d like a place to discuss Contador at the 2009 Tour de France, we are revamping our message board. Let’s use this space to talk about Alberto at Le Tour.
If you’d like to leave Alberto an encouraging message, please go to MESSAGES FOR ALBERTO.
This is a place for fans of Alberto Contador. Please be considerate of others when you post. Discussions will be monitored.
If you’d like to suggest a topic, let us know at contadorfans@hotmail.com .
Let me be the 1st! I’m from Hungary and love Alberto a lot! I’ve been his fan since he arrived to Discovery Channel team! I just enjoy to watch his style of racing, especially his climbing! And I’m very glad that he and Benjamin Noval became friends as Benjamin has been a my favourite rider since his first Tour with USPS! I’m lucky because I can share my passion with my best friend, Beáta, who is also a great fan of Alberto!
Alberto,
Don’t give up, you are better than Armstrong and you will show that. Please know that people in the USA love you and are pulling for you, don’t give up!!!
Rick
Alberto
Everyone knows your professional commitment into competing at the highest level of cycling. I personally admire your manners so far during TDF. As you always say – “i’ll let the cycling do the talking”. I have no doubt that you will be a worthy winner of TDF 2009. Come on, brother!!!
Hi,
Please click beneath the title “Contador fans, todo el mundo” to talk about where you’re from, and click on “Messages for Alberto” at the top of the page if you’d like to leave a message of support.
Sorry if it’s confusing!
Thanks!
Alberto,
I watched every stage of the Tour on TV and you are better than Lance. He has had his share of big victories. Now it’s your turn. Take what you truly deserve — the Tour win. I know you can do that.
Stage 14: I think……… Bruneel more or less admitted – that he and LA would have liked to let Hincapie into yellow; watching, it was evident that Alberto was not party to this little game. Perhaps LA is missing his injured American ally, and is looking for additional support?
Go Alberto, go; just show them all and good luck for tomorrow; as someone said, take what is yours; you deserve it.
LA & Bruneel did want Hincapie in yellow; the question is Why?
There are a million questions, emotions, thrills about today’s stage. The idea of letting someone as strong as Hincapie into a high-placing seems dangerous – better to assume something like that will come back to bite you.
Hincapie deserves good things, he’s like an old friend to lots of fans.
But he’s on a rival team, so imo that makes it a questionable military move.
Maybe the director has a clever piece of strategy in there somewhere that’s not apparent unless you’re on the inside.
Bravo Alberto! I was leaving near Pinto in San Martin de la Vega in 2007 and I still remeber the athmosphere in the town when you won that Tour!
Today you teach ‘them’ a lesson, after all the miseries you get from Bruyneele and your ,so called,’team mate’ LA.
When you start the attack today,I was so excited like I was in 2000 when Pantani (rep) fight with Armstrong on Ventoux. I’ll put my money, me and other Romanians, on you, for a great win on Mt Ventoux! Bravo and watch out, el enemigo esta en casa! Madrid la suma de todos, Viva Espana!!! Con amistad, Alejandro, in Romania
When you are strong and feel strong, you don´t need a team like this one you have in this Tour. Go for the win, be smart, forguet those who support you today and try to pull-out you tomorrow. I think Contador it´s like the old days cyclist, the team it´s there, but only your legs push you up to the win.
Go Alberto!!!
From Lisbon
What on earth is the matter with this Astana team? Alberto rode like a perfect gentleman today, (Wednesday) and once more has got it in the neck from Lance and Bruneel – (& apparently Leipheimer from his armchair)……….Kloden was cooked on that last climb, the Colombiere, and any leader worth his salt wearing yellow, wasn’t going to let the 2 Schlecks simply go away and put in yet more time on all their rivals? In any case, Alberto immediately cut his attack when he saw Kloden wasn’t there, and even waited for him.
The sooner Alberto has a full supporting team around him the better: LA and Johann between them have made his life on this tour a misery. Let’s hope he isn’t ordered to escort LA up Ventoux.
I ageee with the last post. What ever happened to attacking? This has gotten to be a total press attack on Alberto and everything gets “spun” the way JB and LA want it to go. Is Alberto supposed to just give the tour to LA? I have been so unhappy with the coverage here in the USA, and I love professional road cycling! GOOOOOO Alberto! Hope you can find a team that appreciates your talents and supports you!!!
First of all: what an amazing time trial performance from Alberto today!! I was cheering for him in front of my tv, wow. I’m even more impressed by him now then I already was.
I agree with the 2 previous commenters. I’m getting so tired of all the stupid sayings from Lance and Bruyneel. Alberto deserves so much more respect then what’s he’s getting from them. It’s just unfair, it really is. Bruyneel is some sort of puppet from Lance. I’m sure that if Lance still could win the Tour, Bruyneel would force Alberto to ride for him. Thank god Alberto stands minuts in front of Lance now. I’m so fed up with those 2, that I’m even hoping that Lance won’t be on the podium in Paris.
I’m sure Alberto won’t stay at Astana, there are rumours that he’s already talking with Caisse Espargne. That would be the perfect team for him. Good riders, who will be 100% faithful to him.
I will always support you Alberto and I can say that 95% of the Netherlands also supports for you!!
My thoughts exactly. The team should be focused on making sure that Alberto’s position is safe . If by chance they can win 2nd and 3rd positions then marvelous. But, at this point in the race it should be all about Alberto.
It’s getting increasingly difficult NOT to ‘Lance Bash’, but as said in a previous commentary, I think Johann Bruneel is even guiltier – well – almost! It was JB who prevented Alberto going elsewhere when LA imposed himself on the team, and as for supporting his number one rider and leader…….Huh – He wasn’t even in the car following Alberto on the TT yesterday; no prizes for guessing who he was following. A lot of French commentators couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
Alberto really does deserve so much better; rumour also has it that he is staying with Astana; LA replaced by Vino? I really hope not.
Alberto is not the first rider who was treated bad by Bruyneel. Another victim was Floyd Landis (doping aside) who wanted to train to become a better time trialist but it was Johan who didn’t allow it. Paolo Savoldelli left Astana when he learned that Bruyneel was comming….etc …..
I hope that Alberto will find a way out of Astana. Nearly every contract has a kind of a “backdoor”. With the help from his brother and a good lawyer it should work.
Alberto should go home to a spanish team — Caisse d’Epargne or the Alonso project.
Since the break-up of the team seems to be a sure thing, maybe it’s healthy just to be relieved that the tension of the current situation will be gone. Hopefully the next phase will be happier for everyone.
We don’t know what will happen next year, but whatever team Contador rides for, he’s got the mentality to make it work.
What do you think of the possibility of a new team being built for Alberto by Fernando Alonso? It’s only a rumor, but it’s fun to speculate.
I think it would be a simply great idea to have a whole new team built around Alberto. I know Alonso was very fed up that Alberto wasn’t allowed to do the tour last year, so maybe they can get something together between the two of them. Alonso was interviewed on the subject recently and said that it was an ‘on going’ idea, but that it would be difficult; “Maybe next year”
Manager? Team mates?
I just so admire him – Alberto – for being able to ride above all this – in both senses of the word!
I think it will be a great idea if Alberto and Fernando Alonso build a new team together. Alberto will be the absolute leader of the team so no fuss about that. And if Alberto can choose the other cyclists on the team, he can really build a team around him. Just imagine: no conflicts, no other cyclists who wants to be the leader too, everything will be about Alberto. I think it would be perfect!
But I’ve heard that Alberto still has a contract with Astana for one more year. I don’t know if he can get out of that contract, maybe he can now that Vino returns to the team, I don’t know. I personally hope he will leave Astana at the end of this season. I think it will be better for Alberto if he has his own team with Fernando Alonso or go to a team who will be 100% dedicated to him, like Caisse Espargne.
Congratulations Alberto,
You are a worthy winner and under the extreme tension and mind games that you must have endured from Armstrong and Bruyneel is amazing. Your control and humility is refreshing, just ignore their comments and focus on your racing like in the tour. It is time to move on to a team that is totally committed to you.
Well done and good luck.
Congratulations with your great victory Alberto!
It was very clear to every cycling fan that only one man deserved to win this Tour: YOU!
Don’t listen to LA when he says you ‘re not a team player, everybody could see that you didn’t only compete the other teams, but also many others in your OWN “team”.
Well done and good luck in future Tours, Giros, Vueltas,…!
Greetz from “Flanders”
Hi, everybody,
In moderating the comments posted to this thread and to the message board, we’ve had to delete some supportive messages and great thoughts merely because of the language.
Please self-moderate as a first step – we don’t want to delete your thoughts, but can’t allow the posts to descend into the mire of four-letter words.
Not that there isn’t reason to feel provoked – there is.
Your comments are welcome, encouraged. Can’t post ‘em if they’re full of swears and virulent disrespect, however.
Just wanted to say as a long time JB and LA supporter I was ashamed at how they played their games. I had you picked for the winner you are Alberto and thought your every action was justified.
I too was horrified by the VS coverage. Phil and Paul showed no backbone in supporting you Alberto. You rode a perfect race. Good luck with your new team…. get ready for more games 2010 TdF.
You have many fans in the USA
I was not surprised at all. They always played their games. I read the book “Lance Armstrong’s War” by Daniel Coyle which it’s very informative and partly shocking. Neither Armstrong nor Bruyneel are heroes but Alberto is.
John, I totally agree with you. I did not expect more from LA, but I always thought JB was the best. I was horrified to see what was done to you, Alberto. It almost ruined the TdF for me, but I was so happy to see you triumph. In the end you proved who was the best man.
Best of luck in the coming months, especially choosing a new team.
So, the news that Paulino is going to RadioShack really surprised me. He was the only one (from the Astana cyclists) who stood behind Alberto and saw first hand what Lance did to him, how he treated Alberto. And now he’s going to Lance his team?! It makes me angry but also sad. This sort of feels like a backstabbing action from Lance to me. Like he’s thinking: “hey, I’m getting Paulinho in my team, then I can show Alberto he hasn’t got any friends left at Astana haha.” It wouldn’t surprise me that Lance thought that, we all know his (bad)character. But that Paulinho took the offer, that’s something I really don’t understand. Apperently, money can buy away friendships…
That was my first thought… however maybe Alberto is joining a strong team that has no room for Paulinho, so Alberto gave him his blessing.
Yes it is about the money but I think that Alberto had a hand in this too!! I am very excited about the next Season, and who he will land with…. idea’s anyone?
Team Sky is my guess
It’s hard seeing Contador’s team being pulled apart. Impossible to imagine that the rider who has won 2 Tours, the Giro and the Vuelta by the age of 26, and all within two years, could be deserted by his team.
It’s best to remember that there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that we, as fans, don’t know anything about. However things seem to us, reality might be quite different.
The riders have their own futures to take care of, their own families to provide for. Just because two very powerful people have been deceitful, that doesn’t make it true of all the others.
When sponsorship for the Discovery Channel team was allowed to fail in 2007, when Contador’s team was banned from the Tour in 2008–both times, things turned out better than we could have imagined. That’s a pretty good track record.
It always seems to apply to Contador’s career, that whenever things look bleak, they have a way of working out to be more beautiful than we ever could have imagined.
I’m looking forward to another beautiful outcome.
RLB
Couldn’t agree more with Bianca’s last post, but also found
albertocontadornotebook’s remarks comforting; let’s hope they are right. Alberto really deserves the best.
The remarks of albertocontadornotebook are true. We, as fans, don’t know all the things that are happening behind the scenes and it’s true that we don’t know exactly why Paulinho has accepted the offer from RadioShack. There’s always more to a story then we think there is. But the Paulinho transfer gives me a sad feeling and a bitter taste in my mouth. I just want the best for Alberto and I think that Paulinho would have been a very good rider to have on his side.
But I’m sure Alberto will find a good team that perfectly suits him. He and Fran (Alberto’s brother/manager) will think about the team situation very carefully and I have 100% faith in a good outcome.
Nice post Bianca.
Some people might think that the signing of Paulinho was psychological warfare from team radio shack. This is just a long uphill time trial for Alberto and team. Some people show their true colors when confronted by power.
When you sign with another team, make sure you have special interests that the contract will meet. This will enable you to get out of a contract if they change the team around like what happened with Astana. Trying to get out of the current contract will be a bit difficult based on what I have read.
You are the leader of the team, ensure that your lawyer is versed in cycling contracts and international law. Look for national loop holes that will give you an advantage when a dispute comes. We all know disputs in cycling happen all the time. It is its pro cyclings nature.
I sure hope the next years tour doesn’t have too many long individual time trials. This however doesn’t look like the case.
I wish you the best of luck in 2010, you will really need it.
Johnny
Using a gas chromatograph to cross analyze the data using a mass spectrometer will show you future doping results. This type of analysis is not being done for the WADA efforts in cycling. Yes they are stored for future testing but they don’t use any algorithms to cross reference the data for future abuse.
In order to eliminate doping to its full extent, there must be a partnership with international pharmaceutical developers and WADA. This is not the case so there will be doping in cycling until this has been fixed. Just look at Ricardo in last year’s tour. He got away with it in the Giro, but not the Tour. They are catching up, but they have a lot of work to do.
Think of it this way. North Korea is developing medicine for kidney issues among other things. If they came across a control that WADA doesn’t know about because they are not part of the council, that would be an in for any athlete to exploit.
This is what I’m talking about. The WADA is probably at least a year behind the current technology.
This will not be fixed until communism is bridged with democracy.
It is just a matter of time before this becomes a huge issue.
Johnny Oregon
Good luck with the new team. Win tdf next year. From ex armstrong fan
Here should be the Giro and Tour roster for team radio shack: lance levi chris geroge andreas Yaroslav. I only have 6 names so far. Working on the rest. I should have the roster finished in 2 months:)
………..Haimar Zubeldia, Sergio Paulinho and José Luis Rubiera: your last 3 names?