# Contador vs the Chicken----AGAIN! AWESOME!



## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

What an amazing rider! What a day! Vino ahead! Contador and Rass. Contador has Hincappie now- - interesting!


----------



## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

Vino "he's going for glory!" I love the 2007 Tour de France!


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Too bad the cars got in the way, although they were likely too close to the top of the climb to actually make a difference.


----------



## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

And again, 6 attacks?!


----------



## Vandizzy (Jul 11, 2007)

Gotta Love How That Contador Grills That Chicken!


----------



## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

Vandizzy said:


> Gotta Love How That Contador Grills That Chicken!


Nice! Have we got a nickname for Contador yet?


----------



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

this tour is


*AWESOME, BABY!*


----------



## QuiQuaeQuod (Jan 24, 2003)

zeytin said:


> What an amazing rider! What a day! Vino ahead! Contador and Rass. Contador has Hincappie now- - interesting!


What can I say about Vino? I don't have the words. Bravo!

And bravo Contador! And once again the tactics of Discovery were many and well played.

Rasmussen, well, he will not be broken it seems. Quite impressive of him to respond to all those attacks. Wednesday will be interesting. I think Disco will try to up the pace at some point BEFORE the big attack. See what they can do, after all it is clear there are only two climbers in contention, Contador and Rasumussen. Winnow the field early and launch on the last climb.

Darn that rest day, I want MORE!!!


----------



## allison (Apr 19, 2006)

Great end to the stage today!! I loved it!


----------



## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

zeytin said:


> Nice! Have we got a nickname for Contador yet?



Condor?


----------



## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

*Venga! Allez! etc.!*

What do you say in Danish?


----------



## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

dr hoo said:


> And once again the tactics of Discovery were many and well played.


Hmmm, I don't know. They were in great position, with Popo, Contador, and LL with Rass, and Hincapie up the road.

Popo made the move, but neither Contador nor LL followed. Seems to me like that was the chance for attack repeats. Contador finally went on his own at the top, but couldn't shake Rass.

Too little too late?

JSR


----------



## rogger (Aug 19, 2005)

Vandizzy said:


> Gotta Love How That Contador Grills That Chicken!


He's just seasoning the chicken right now, if there's any grilling to be done it'll be wednesday..


----------



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

The Contador move was very dangerous. Normally, Rasmussen shouldn't care about a hundred yard gap at the summit since he can nail it back on the descent. But Hincapie was waiting at the summit to give Contador a train ride. That means if Contador had even a ten yard gap on the chicken, they could have dropped the chicken on the descent. Whew!

Contador the Cheetah
the Gazelle
the Mongoose

"when contador attacks, most riders look the other way"
sherwen

fc


----------



## mtbykr (Feb 16, 2004)

*well*

Call Contador "the chef" because he's going to continue to grill the chicken Wednesday. The chicken was hurting towards the end there and if contador had started a little earlier he may have pulled it off. The chicken did a good job to stay up with him because if he had to descend on his own he would be screwed.


----------



## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

Argentius said:


> What do you say in Danish?



"trust me"....


----------



## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

from Pez Cycling News's narrative:

<i>Contador threw down the gauntlet, picked it up again and slapped Rasmussen in the face until he was as punchy as Rocky will be in Rocky 10</i>


----------



## daveIT (Mar 12, 2004)

I can't wait to see what Contador does in Spain. I bet he'll want to win there. Does he want to win or does he just want a podium spot?!?!?!


----------



## mtbykr (Feb 16, 2004)

*ok*



daveIT said:


> I can't wait to see what Contador does in Spain. I bet he'll want to win there. Does he want to win or does he just want a podium spot?!?!?!



It doesn't finish in spain, but dips into it a bit during the stage.....i have a feeling that since he's #2 right now, he will try for the top spot, i mean how often do you get that chance.


----------



## shabbasuraj (May 14, 2005)

Ras took every punch Conty fired, and was left standing. You can look at it any way you want.... Conty attacked.. Ras responded... Ras and Conty basically punched the entire GC group/contender/peloton in the mouth, and Cadel, and SLOWTWITCH LEVI did nothing...! Popo and Conty should be the given the green light.. Levi is a good domestique and not really a GC contender in Le Tour.

People keep saying that Conty waited to long to attack... but in reality no one had anything in them .. as Rabo kept the pace too high... Rabo was trying to lull the entire group to sleep with the high pace....... in full knowledge that the last climb was relatively short, with a quick dash to the finish...... and they practically pulled it of.

Chicken seems like the real deal... has a team to help him......and did everything right today.


----------



## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

shabbasuraj said:


> . but in reality no one had anything in them .. .



contador certainly <i>looked</i> to me like he had plenty left. he should have gone sooner. I'd bet that he pops CowChicken the day after tomorrow.


----------



## shabbasuraj (May 14, 2005)

blackhat said:


> contador certainly <i>looked</i> to me like he had plenty left. he should have gone sooner. I'd bet that he pops CowChicken the day after tomorrow.



woulda-coulda-shoulda...

ya he had plenty left on a 'shorter' climb... to me that looked a little like desperation...

if that climb was any longer, it may have gone the other way.... Ras is showing he too can sprint up a mountain...

all I am saying is that, yes I agree he waited to long... but I think that was partly caused by the high pace set by Rabo... and I think the fact that NO ONE responded to the sprint up the cat1 climb... was further proof that the pace was a little too much during the earlier half of that climb...

regardless.... great racing today..


----------



## QuiQuaeQuod (Jan 24, 2003)

JSR said:


> Hmmm, I don't know. They were in great position, with Popo, Contador, and LL with Rass, and Hincapie up the road.
> 
> Popo made the move, but neither Contador nor LL followed. Seems to me like that was the chance for attack repeats. Contador finally went on his own at the top, but couldn't shake Rass.
> 
> Too little too late?


I read the Popo move as a test. I saw the group as disorganized at the bottom, and after his attack Rabobank had to set tempo to catch him. After that they did the work for a good long time. Good tactic to get Rasmussen's team to burn some energy at the start.

Contador's attacks seemed like part of the plan. It would either work or hurt Rasmussen. And Hinc meeting up at the top... that seemed pretty nicely timed... which may have set the timing of the attack. Good tactic.

Keep in mind that the higher slopes of the climb were the steeper bit, so attacks down low were less likely to succeed. That delayed the timing too.

Still, I agree I would have called for a higher pace on the lower slopes, and I think Disco could have done that. I expect them to do exactly that on Wednesday, perhaps with LL giving his all for Contador... if the young man still has the gas in the tank. I hope he does.


----------



## LeRoi (Jan 4, 2007)

*Hey Francois*

How much time does Rass have to be ahead going into the final TT? 37 seconds on the first TT, do you think it will be the same on the second flatter TT?


----------



## Guest (Jul 23, 2007)

Contador is the man. I've never seen anyone climb so fast. I believe it's him or the chicken for all the marbles.

There is that outside chance that Tom Boonen will start his sprint to the line within the first 5K of the race and not stop until he pulls back the 2hr 40min deficit he has and pulling on the mellow johnny in the process.


----------



## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

gnauss said:


> Contador is the man. I've never seen anyone climb so fast. I believe it's him or the chicken for all the marbles.
> 
> There is that outside chance that Tom Boonen will start his sprint to the line within the first 5K of the race and not stop until he pulls back the 2hr 40min deficit he has and pulling on the mellow johnny in the process.


Yeah and Robbie McEwen will finish runner up. :mad2:


----------



## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

zeytin said:


> What an amazing rider! What a day! Vino ahead! Contador and Rass. Contador has Hincappie now- - interesting!


You're really excited eh zeytin? 

I'm really p!ssed I can't watch the Tour live. Live text feeds are my only source and it's a little hard to be as excited when the action is all by words.

Darn it.

Still, go Alberto!!!


----------



## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

zeytin said:


> Nice! Have we got a nickname for Contador yet?


Cont the door?

Flying grill?

Anti chicken?

Chopper?

Cont-the-chicken hater-dor ?

Motha hen?


----------



## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

daveIT said:


> I can't wait to see what Contador does in Spain. I bet he'll want to win there. Does he want to win or does he just want a podium spot?!?!?!


Spainn?

You talking Vuelta? :idea:


----------



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

LeRoi said:


> How much time does Rass have to be ahead going into the final TT? 37 seconds on the first TT, do you think it will be the same on the second flatter TT?


Contador beat Ras by 37 seconds in the first ITT. The second ITT is about the same length but flatter and less twisty.

So I don't think Rasmussen will do as well. I don't think Contador will ei do as well either since he's a climber too. I think Contador has the edge since he has a better TT position and seems more relaxed. This is the kind of ITT where form is key since they'll be on the same position for a while.

So double that 37 seconds... 1 minute fourteen and I'd say Rasmussen is ok. 2 minutes would be a good buffer.

fc


----------



## sonex305 (Jun 17, 2007)

bas said:


> Condor?



I think "Condor" would be perfect for him considering the way he "flies" up those mountains!


----------



## lx93 (Jun 14, 2007)

zeytin said:


> Nice! Have we got a nickname for Contador yet?


FYI, "contador" means "counter" in Spanish from the very "contar" "to count", as in counting down til exactly the right time to grill a Danish chicken...


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Never had a chance to watch Marco or Roberto in their primes?*



gnauss said:


> ......I've never seen anyone climb so fast. ....


Marco Pantini anywhere or Roberto Heras in the Vuelta.

Get thee to the video store.......


----------



## dagger (Jul 22, 2004)

*Pace wasn't too high*



shabbasurajRabo was trying to lull the entire group to sleep with the high pace....... in full knowledge that the last climb was relatively short said:


> It appeared that Rabo was happy with the 8min status quo behind the leaders as they maintained that for 100k. Pace picked up a little when Kaschechkin went off, then they settled down until Conti went.


----------



## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

*It's close*



MB1 said:


> Marco Pantini anywhere or Roberto Heras in the Vuelta.
> 
> Get thee to the video store.......


I don't know MB. I have about 150 races on video. I've seen Roberto win on the crazy steep Vuelta stages, and Pantani play with Tonkov, and Armstrong play with Pantani. For short 100-200 meter bursts, I think Contador has them beat. We'll have to wait till he wins on the Alpe to get a good comparison.


----------



## Lifelover (Jul 8, 2004)

francois said:


> The Contador move was very dangerous. Normally, Rasmussen shouldn't care about a hundred yard gap at the summit since he can nail it back on the descent. But Hincapie was waiting at the summit to give Contador a train ride. That means if Contador had even a ten yard gap on the chicken, they could have dropped the chicken on the descent. Whew!
> 
> Contador the Cheetah
> the Gazelle
> ...


What size Jersey do you wear?


----------



## Guest (Jul 23, 2007)

*That's a tough comparison*



MB1 said:


> Marco Pantini anywhere or Roberto Heras in the Vuelta.
> 
> Get thee to the video store.......


I've seen both climb but how do you compare riders seperated by years of racing. I've just never seen anyone jump out of the saddle and accelerate so fast. Besides we know what special jet fuel Marco and Roberto were using. We don't know what Alberto is on...yet.


----------



## edhchoe (Jun 3, 2007)

How about 'the Goat' for Contador? Mountain goat? The Goat!


----------



## cityeast (Sep 16, 2004)

Well, if Rasmussen wins yellow, he should at least give Boogerd the sleeves. That guy worked damn hard for chook today.


----------



## rufus (Feb 3, 2004)

I dunno, I don't know if Rasmussen was hurting as much as Phil, and particularly Paul, were saying. Contador might have opened small gaps with his fierce explosions, and look as if he'd dropped Rasmussen, but Rasmussen settled down, and rode back up to him every time. And it looked a couple times as he pulled alongside that he was talking to Contador, maybe giving him a "is that all you got?" bit of trashtalk. 

and Sherwen, with his "Contador is slapping him all over the mountain, beating him up and down mercilessly, it has to be having an effect on Rasmussen's confidence". Please. Rasmussen did exactly what he needed to do, ccrawled back up to Contador every time, and stayed right with him. That's what you do when you have a two and a half minute lead on someone attacking you. Rasmussen was slapping Contador around just as much, taking the best he could dish out, and hanging right there with him. 

One thing, this certainly seems to have settled who the team leader on Disco is. You do not pull the yellow jersey along to put time into your own team leader. If the intent was to break Rasmussen for Levi, then he went way too late for that, he should have gone after Popo got caught. All he succeeded in doing was put his team leader even further behind the yellow jersey. 

It's a two man race now, Rasmussen and Contador, and if Contador can't drop him on the next stage, I don't think he takes over two minutes back in the time trial. And no way Levi or Kloden take six.


----------



## rufus (Feb 3, 2004)

cityeast said:


> Well, if Rasmussen wins yellow, he should at least give Boogerd the sleeves. That guy worked damn hard for chook today.


forgot to mention that. Boogerd has been a beast out there.


----------



## QuiQuaeQuod (Jan 24, 2003)

rufus said:


> and Sherwen, with his "Contador is slapping him all over the mountain, beating him up and down mercilessly, it has to be having an effect on Rasmussen's confidence". Please. Rasmussen did exactly what he needed to do, ccrawled back up to Contador every time, and stayed right with him.


I would give your more "Rasmussen was not suffering" point more credence if he had not pulled in front of Contador when the crowd thickened, clearly trying to keep him from passing and getting a break from the attacks. I saw it, and I interpreted the body language at that point. And Contador still attacked a few seconds later. But that, plus breaks in his form late in the attack flurry showed me he was hurting lots and looking for anything to hang on.

But that is reading a lot into a tv feed


----------



## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

*another exciting stage, no question*

I don't really understand why it was necessary for Contador to attack Rass so many freaking times, especially the last couple of attacks that were within spitting distance of the finish. What, was he honestly just trying to get an extra 5 seconds on the chicken within the last couple of K before the finish? That's about all he would've gotten if he had held any gap. Seems like he was just being a d1ck, they would've both been better off working together all the way to the line, at least after Contador's first couple of attacks.

OTOH, the chicken has Contador to thank in part for giving him the motivation to broaden their time gap above Evans, etc.

Why do so many ppl on here seem to be anti-chicken? I think he is incredibly underrated.


----------



## mtbykr (Feb 16, 2004)

*what*



BenWA said:


> I don't really understand why it was necessary for Contador to attack Rass so many freaking times, especially the last couple of attacks that were within spitting distance of the finish. What, was he honestly just trying to get an extra 5 seconds on the chicken within the last couple of K before the finish? That's about all he would've gotten if he had held any gap. Seems like he was just being a d1ck, they would've both been better off working together all the way to the line, at least after Contador's first couple of attacks.
> 
> OTOH, the chicken has Contador to thank in part for giving him the motivation to broaden their time gap above Evans, etc.
> 
> Why do so many ppl on here seem to be anti-chicken? I think he is incredibly underrated.




what????? If contador could have dropped the chicken he had Hincappie waiting for him at the top and they would have put a lot of time on the chicken on the decent. If the chicken didn't have anyone to follow down he would have gone much slower and/or crashed trying to keep up


----------



## B2 (Mar 12, 2002)

*Popo's Attack*



dr hoo said:


> I read the Popo move as a test. I saw the group as disorganized at the bottom, and after his attack Rabobank had to set tempo to catch him. After that they did the work for a good long time. Good tactic to get Rasmussen's team to burn some energy at the start.


Popo's attack confused me at first. Why would Rabo need to chase Popo? I don't think that was the reason for the attack. I think Disco was trying to use Popo as a stepping stone to Hincappie. If Popo could have stayed out front a little longer and created a larger gap, Contador could have made the jump to Popo and used Popo up to get to George before Chicken had a chance to reel him back in. Given Contador's acceleration, it may have worked.

Aaahh yes, all the speculation and theorizing the Tour brings out...


----------



## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

mtbykr said:


> what????? If contador could have dropped the chicken he had Hincappie waiting for him at the top and they would have put a lot of time on the chicken on the decent. If the chicken didn't have anyone to follow down he would have gone much slower and/or crashed trying to keep up


I'm mainly talking about within the last 1-2 K, after Contador dropped Hincapie in one of his last 1 or 2 attacks against the chicken. Seemed unnecessary and futile at that point, and was just psychological warfare.


----------



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

Contador the Bull... cause he keeps charging!

fc


----------



## sgt (Apr 17, 2007)

*How about....*



zeytin said:


> Nice! Have we got a nickname for Contador yet?


Col. Sanders! Finger Lickin' Good!


----------



## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

Contador already has a nickname. He is "The Accountant". Don't believe me? Look it up!


----------



## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

MB1 said:


> Marco Pantini anywhere or Roberto Heras in the Vuelta.
> 
> Get thee to the video store.......


your video store has Vuelta DVDs?!! Where is this magical store?!!

Also, who the hell is this Pantini guy? Is he related to Pantani by any chance?

Seriously though - hard to compare people from different decades, but I agree with whoever said that for 100m accelerations on steep climbs Contador looks unbelievably quick. It's like he is toying with them...


----------



## JohnHenry (Aug 9, 2006)

Argentius said:


> What do you say in Danish?


_Something smells funny._(There's something rotten in Denmark)


----------



## zosocane (Aug 29, 2004)

How about . . . Metalhead? Or hammerhead? :mad2:


----------



## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

gnauss said:


> I've seen both climb but how do you compare riders seperated by years of racing. I've just never seen anyone jump out of the saddle and accelerate so fast. Besides we know what special jet fuel Marco and Roberto were using. We don't know what Alberto is on...yet.



Lets not forget Rasmussen himself.. he covered all those moves 2 days in a row.

Rasmoosen didn't look as fazed as Eurosport was saying today on Stage 15.


----------



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

I got it.

Contador the Assassin
- he is relentless. he will hunt you down.

<img src="https://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2007/tour07/tour0714/fs001.jpg">

he does a gunshot on his victory salute too.

fc


----------



## rensho (Aug 5, 2003)

What's with the VS commentators being so damn biased against Rass? It's like they're gonna cheer if Rass drops out or something. The guy is a MAJOR underdog and now is holding onto the Yellow like no one's business.

If Contador could have dropped Rass, it would have happened. Cont just hides his pain better.


Great ride by Vino. Pure passion baby! (he better not be doping)


----------



## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

rensho said:


> What's with the VS commentators being so damn biased against Rass? It's like they're gonna cheer if Rass drops out or something. The guy is a MAJOR underdog and now is holding onto the Yellow like no one's business.
> 
> If Contador could have dropped Rass, it would have happened. *Cont just hides his pain better.
> *
> ...


a la Lance Armstrong?


----------



## snowman3 (Jul 20, 2002)

rufus said:


> and Sherwen, with his "Contador is slapping him all over the mountain, beating him up and down mercilessly, it has to be having an effect on Rasmussen's confidence". Please. Rasmussen did exactly what he needed to do, ccrawled back up to Contador every time, and stayed right with him. That's what you do when you have a two and a half minute lead on someone attacking you. Rasmussen was slapping Contador around just as much, taking the best he could dish out, and hanging right there with him.
> 
> It's a two man race now, Rasmussen and Contador, and if Contador can't drop him on the next stage.


Conti + Ras are softening each other up and I love it! The young stud and the crafty veteran so to speak. Conti was definitely hitting Ras w/ some big blows, but as mentioned, Ras recovered every time. I think Ras looked more weary than Conti by the end of it all. However, I don't think that is a tell tale sign for round 3. The bigger factor will be how they each respond on the off day, not if one of them had a slight edge at the end of stg 15.

I love watching them duke it out though! Awesome that Conti is pushing himself!


----------



## Spirito (Nov 26, 2001)

zeytin said:


> Nice! Have we got a nickname for Contador yet?


Contra Douche ®™spirito :thumbsup:


----------



## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

Go Alberto!!! O La Ola

Muy Caliente!!


----------



## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

gnauss said:


> I've seen both climb but how do you compare riders seperated by years of racing. I've just never seen anyone jump out of the saddle and accelerate so fast. Besides we know what special jet fuel Marco and Roberto were using. We don't know what Alberto is on...yet.


Check out Pantani - I think it's in the '95 Tour. Where he goes past Indurain on the climb up Alpe d'Huez like he's standing still. Indurain watches him go by, thinking of getting on his wheel, then thinks the better of it when he looks down and sees Pantani is climbing the Alpe..._on his big chainring_.


----------



## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Classic racing here. I'm really looking forward to Wednesday!


----------



## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Let's call him The Accountant. After all, that's what his name means in Spanish.

(There are too many posts here to read every one, so if this has already been said, ignore it.)


----------

