# Contador to Columbia?



## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

Thats what's being said in Spain (Marca):

http://www.eurosport.fr/cyclisme/contador-chez-columbia_sto1714269/flashnews.shtml

Would make sense since they are likely going to be having a few vacancies soon!


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## MG537 (Jul 25, 2006)

philippec said:


> Thats what's being said in Spain (Marca):
> 
> http://www.eurosport.fr/cyclisme/contador-chez-columbia_sto1714269/flashnews.shtml
> 
> Would make sense since they are likely going to be having a few vacancies soon!


Cavendish signed with the team 'till 2011. Will they sacrifice him to support Contador come GT time?


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

Probably - word is Stapleton sat down with Contador and placed a blank check on the table.


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## MG537 (Jul 25, 2006)

philippec said:


> Probably - word is Stapleton sat down with Contador and placed a blank check on the table.


If the rumours are true Kim Kirchen and George Hincapie would make excellent lieutenants for him. This may also explain why someone like Linus Gerdemann may be looking for another team according to this Cyclingnews article. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/sep08/sep30news2


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

if the other rumours are true, Kirchen and Hincapie might not be around next year -- who knows? 

I could still see Contador heading up Tele... err, I mean Columbia.


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## jhamlin38 (Oct 29, 2005)

id say contador at columbia would be pretty nice. but WITH gerdemann and Kirchen. Otherwise, who's the superdomestiques, and wholl contend in Giro and/or Vuelta?


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

philippec said:


> Thats what's being said in Spain (Marca):
> 
> http://www.eurosport.fr/cyclisme/contador-chez-columbia_sto1714269/flashnews.shtml
> 
> Would make sense since they are likely going to be having a few vacancies soon!



I can't believe Bruyneel would give up a future 9 time tour champion for 1 more year with Armstrong? 

Why can't anything think past next year?

Big mistake.


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2008)

bas said:


> I can't believe Bruyneel would give up a future 9 time tour champion for 1 more year with Armstrong?
> 
> Why can't anything think past next year?
> 
> Big mistake.


I can definately see why. AC is turning into a big whiny VAG. High maintenance. Bruyneel is probably hoping AC stomps away crying so he doesn't have to deal with him anymore.


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

philippec said:


> Probably - word is Stapleton sat down with Contador and placed a blank check on the table.


I hear the opposite, Bob said thanks but no thanks


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

I'm with you there. mistake+11


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

You might know better -- all I know is what I got off of eurosport reporting on Marca and Sportwereld coverage. This is truly how rumours get started!

http://www.eurosport.fr/cyclisme/columbia-vise-contador_sto1714367/story.shtml


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

philippec said:


> You might know better -- all I know is what I got off of eurosport reporting on Marca and Sportwereld coverage. This is truly how rumours get started!
> 
> http://www.eurosport.fr/cyclisme/columbia-vise-contador_sto1714367/story.shtml


Rumors have been flying this morning. For the good of the sport I hope they are all wrong.


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## cdhbrad (Feb 18, 2003)

Wonder why Contador can't see past next year either? Does he really think Armstrong will stay around for more than a year? So he is the GC contender for the Giro and/or Vuelta for 2009 and rides in support of Armstrong on the Tour, how bad is that? Come 2010, Armstrong will likely have moved on and Contador gets to take advantage of a strong Astana team that Bruyneels builds up to help Armstrong in 2009. Youth sometimes isn't an advantage when it comes to thinking long term.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

bigpinkt said:


> Rumors have been flying this morning. For the good of the sport I hope they are all wrong.


Well maybe we will know something this evening I know calls have been placed to Columbia.


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

philippec said:


> I'm with you there. mistake+11


I'm sure Johan would do the best he can to keep Contador. Right now, he is a complete GC rider for sure and can and will only get, much better in time.

Why'd he let his best hopes of future victories go away and have to plan against him in the coming years?

I think, Alberto would stay. 



cdhbrad said:


> Wonder why Contador can't see past next year either? Does he really think Armstrong will stay around for more than a year? So he is the GC contender for the Giro and/or Vuelta for 2009 and rides in support of Armstrong on the Tour, how bad is that? Come 2010, Armstrong will likely have moved on and Contador gets to take advantage of a strong Astana team that Bruyneels builds up to help Armstrong in 2009. Youth sometimes isn't an advantage when it comes to thinking long term.



True. 

Armstrong MIGHT stay one more season but he'd probably (just my thoughts that's all) focus on the smaller races maybe? Who knows.....


It's bad for Alberto because he's the best out there and sees no reason why he has to be a lieutenant when he's already been denied the chance to defend his maillot jaune this year. 

I don't know. I can understand his sentiments but I also think Astana would be the best squad for him as well.


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## jhamlin38 (Oct 29, 2005)

cdhbrad:
i agree and disagree. In the mind of the current vuelta, giro and Tour (sort of) champion, he ain't riding backup to anyone. It will be as likely as Terrell Owens saying he'd welcome Randy Moss to the cowboys as wide reciever. Sure it sounds good to strengthen the team, but really wouldn't.
Pro riders have a VERY short window to be on top, and while they're their, they're not likely going to let someone else in. Selfishness on Contador would be best for himself, and Astana. 
I hope he stays, and would love to see LA ride in support for AC, but don't realistically see that happening...
I think AC is outta here.


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## dagger (Jul 22, 2004)

*Astano to Columbia*

"Yes we will be glad to give you one prima donna for Hincappie and Kirchen. edit(it wasn't a hijack as it was a legitimate team trade issue)


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

*Moderators Note*

Please knock off the doping hijacks or the posting vacation will commence for repeat offenders. If your post has disappeared in this thread, consider that your last warning. Thanks for everyones' understanding.

RBR Mod


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

All anybody has to do to lead the Astana team is be the strongest man. Alberto has had 3 great GT's but with Lance returning is he the strongest man? Can he beat Basso? He's coming back too.


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

davidka said:


> All anybody has to do to lead the Astana team is be the strongest man. Alberto has had 3 great GT's but with Lance returning is he the strongest man? Can he beat Basso? He's coming back too.


Johann has a long history of not backing the strongest man based on politics. Lance is partial owner, if he is anywhere close in fitness to Contador will get no support


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## AidanM (Aug 11, 2006)

hahaahh contador nine time tour winner.... ya right!

hes good, but not thatttt good. Andy schleck has as much or more skill and ability than contador.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

bigpinkt said:


> Johann has a long history of not backing the strongest man based on politics. Lance is partial owner, if he is anywhere close in fitness to Contador will get no support


You mean Heras @ the Vuelta? I'll agree with that but Lance was always the strongest at the Tour. I don't think Lance has a stake in Astana, his stake was in Tailwind sports, USPS/Disovery's owners. Smart money is on Lance but if he comes into April/May and doesn't fully believe he can win then I bet he won't ride.


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## tete de la tour (Oct 26, 2006)

I think andy has more class than contador in the mountains. we will see. can
t wait.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

My guess is Armstrong finally gets to ride the Giro and some of the other races he wanted to do when the whole Postal to Discovery switch happened. It brings the Livestrong message to Italy which is a plus, the Italians would love it and Alberto does the Tour as the captain. 

But Armstrong would be in the back pocket if Alberto misses the Tour due to illness, crashing or injury (always a big risk for any pro). 

Plus then Armstrong could skip the Tour (tweaking ASO, who don't like him personally but crave the attention he would bring- Cognitive Dissonance at its finest, LOL) and then have a second peak for the Vuelta who would all but roll out the red carpet for him.

That's my bet.


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## zphogan (Jan 27, 2007)

AidanM said:


> hahaahh contador nine time tour winner.... ya right!
> 
> hes good, but not thatttt good. Andy schleck has as much or more skill and ability than contador.



hahahaha. Schleck has much more skill than Contador...keep dreaming. Has he won anything? Contador will smoke A. Schleck right now...its not even that close. He won't win nine, but he is going to win quite a few.


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

bigpinkt said:


> I hear the opposite, Bob said thanks but no thanks


And what came about the last time we heard that famous line?


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

jhamlin38 said:


> cdhbrad:
> i agree and disagree. In the mind of the current vuelta, giro and Tour (sort of) champion, he ain't riding backup to anyone. It will be as likely as Terrell Owens saying he'd welcome Randy Moss to the cowboys as wide reciever. Sure it sounds good to strengthen the team, but really wouldn't.
> Pro riders have a VERY short window to be on top, and while they're their, they're not likely going to let someone else in. Selfishness on Contador would be best for himself, and Astana.
> I hope he stays, and would love to see LA ride in support for AC, but don't realistically see that happening...
> I think AC is outta here.


Actually, I think a better comparison would be the NFL's leading rusher Adrian Peterson welcoming back Barry Sanders as the Vikings new starting running back. 
Terrel Owens would be happy to no longer have to deal with double and triple coverage.


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

davidka said:


> You mean Heras @ the Vuelta? I'll agree with that but Lance was always the strongest at the Tour. I don't think Lance has a stake in Astana, his stake was in Tailwind sports, USPS/Disovery's owners. Smart money is on Lance but if he comes into April/May and doesn't fully believe he can win then I bet he won't ride.


Lance is part owner of Johann's holding company, Olympus sarl, which is the paying agent of the Astana team.

I was not specifically referring to Heras, as there have been many times where Johann has chosen politics over performance. Another good example would be Jemison in the 99 Tour. He had a huge spring with some top 20's in the classics, USPRO championships, yet Johann took Peter Meinhart Nilson instead becuase Johann and Marty did not get along. PMN was just off knee surgery and dropped out in the first week.

Contador knows that he will not be #1 on Astana and should look for another team.


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

bigpinkt said:


> Lance is part owner of Johann's holding company, Olympus sarl, which is the paying agent of the Astana team.
> 
> I was not specifically referring to Heras, as there have been many times where Johann has chosen politics over performance. Another good example would be Jemison in the 99 Tour. He had a huge spring with some top 20's in the classics, USPRO championships, yet Johann took Peter Meinhart Nilson instead becuase Johann and Marty did not get along. PMN was just off knee surgery and dropped out in the first week.
> 
> Contador knows that he will not be #1 on Astana and should look for another team.


Are you positive on the Olympus Sarl? 

From Bicycling mag...

“The cycling team known as Astana is really Olympus Sarl, a holding company based in Luxembourg that is wholly owned by Johan Bruyneel. Bruyneel holds the UCI racing license for the team."


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

tete de la tour said:


> I think andy has more class than contador in the mountains. we will see. can
> t wait.


Let's see, 

Andy Schleck is younger. He's finished 2nd at the Giro last year and he's shown his climbing ability at the Tour this year.

Is he better than Alberto Contador in the mountains? They're probably not far off from each other IMO. Both are explosive and attack repeatedly. 

Contador would still definitely beat Andy hands down right now because his TT-ing is much better than Andy as of right now. 

In a few years? Well, we'd probably see a real nice duel indeed.


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

Coolhand said:


> My guess is Armstrong finally gets to ride the Giro and some of the other races he wanted to do when the whole Postal to Discovery switch happened. It brings the Livestrong message to Italy which is a plus, the Italians would love it and Alberto does the Tour as the captain.
> 
> But Armstrong would be in the back pocket if Alberto misses the Tour due to illness, crashing or injury (always a big risk for any pro).
> 
> ...


Erm....

I don't know if you realized this yet but Armstrong has stated that he'd want to race the Tour and try for the win too.

Also, in his race schedule he mentioned, no other big stage races are present save for the Tour. I don't think he'd do the Giro. It'd be nice indeed. But, not very likely IMO.


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

teoteoteo said:


> Are you positive on the Olympus Sarl?
> 
> From Bicycling mag...
> 
> “The cycling team known as Astana is really Olympus Sarl, a holding company based in Luxembourg that is wholly owned by Johan Bruyneel. Bruyneel holds the UCI racing license for the team."


The person who told me heard it straight from Johann. It came in the form of a threat, as usual with Johann. 

He said that "This is still a Johann Buyneel, Lance Armstrong partnership" referring to his management company. This was earlier this year in the spring time.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

uzziefly said:


> Erm....
> 
> I don't know if you realized this yet but Armstrong has stated that he'd want to race the Tour and try for the win too.
> 
> Also, in his race schedule he mentioned, no other big stage races are present save for the Tour. I don't think he'd do the Giro. It'd be nice indeed. But, not very likely IMO.


He has also said he is interested in doing the Giro, and seemed to have backpedaled a bit on the Tour thing. Also his interest in the Tour down under and Tour of California makes me think he is shooting for a much earlier peak- hence the Giro. Remeber before tour win 7, there was serious talk from him of skipping the Tour to do the Giro.

My prediction stands.


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## Sherpa23 (Nov 5, 2001)

Jesse D Smith said:


> And what came about the last time we heard that famous line?


Nick Saban went to Alabama.


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## adimiro (Jun 28, 2007)

Contador should stay in Astana... I predict there is a good possibility that first, Lance may not perform as well as he (and other rabid fans) predict. Hence, some of the recent backpedaling. Second, even if he does well this year and goes for #8 TDF, what happens the following year? How many more TDF can he deliver?


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## dagger (Jul 22, 2004)

bigpinkt said:


> Johann has a long history of not backing the strongest man based on politics. Lance is partial owner, if he is anywhere close in fitness to Contador will get no support


Lance is NOT a partial owner of Astana. Don't confuse TailwindSports with the Astana government.


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## jhamlin38 (Oct 29, 2005)

Scheck is a great talent with lottsa potential. But Contador is already proven. He's won the Giro, Tour and Vuelta already? I don't get the comparison. IMO Contador is a phenom and the best GT rider RIGHT NOW.


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## iherald (Oct 13, 2005)

Coolhand said:


> He has also said he is interested in doing the Giro, and seemed to have backpedaled a bit on the Tour thing. Also his interest in the Tour down under and Tour of California makes me think he is shooting for a much earlier peak- hence the Giro. Remeber before tour win 7, there was serious talk from him of skipping the Tour to do the Giro.
> 
> My prediction stands.


I read an interview with Lance somewhere where he said he'd be riding the Giro because he needed some real race experience after so long off. The Tour of California is good, but it's not a grand tour. When I read that Lance was riding the Giro because he always wanted too, and to get the experience of a grand tour before the Tour, it made sense to me. 

I also just read an interview with Johan saying that Alberto was under contract until 2010 and wasn't going anywhere.


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

dagger said:


> Lance is NOT a partial owner of Astana. Don't confuse TailwindSports with the Astana government.


Lance is part owner of Johann's holding company, Olympus sarl, which is the paying agent of the Astana team.


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

bigpinkt said:


> The person who told me heard it straight from Johann. It came in the form of a threat, as usual with Johann.
> 
> He said that "This is still a Johann Buyneel, Lance Armstrong partnership" referring to his management company. This was earlier this year in the spring time.


Ahh, I was looking for something fact based.


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## tricycletalent (Apr 2, 2005)

jhamlin38 said:


> Scheck is a great talent with lottsa potential. But Contador is already proven. He's won the Giro, Tour and Vuelta already? I don't get the comparison. IMO Contador is a phenom and the best GT rider RIGHT NOW.


He's been awarded the Tour IMHO. He was smoked by rasmussen.


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

teoteoteo said:


> Ahh, I was looking for something fact based.


 You can always ask him. 

While you are at ask him if he is cool with Vino coming back to Astana and if they will both be working with Ferrari next year.


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

bigpinkt said:


> You can always ask him.
> 
> While you are at ask him if he is cool with Vino coming back to Astana and if they will both be working with Ferrari next year.


True, but next meaningful conversation will be regarding my cousin 
with terminal sarcoma. After all im not quoting anon 2nd hand as fact so I have no real burden of proof.


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

teoteoteo said:


> True, but next meaningful conversation will be regarding my cousin
> with terminal sarcoma over winning an internet pissing match. After all im not quoting nameleess 3rd party as fact so I have no real burden of proof.


Sorry Teo, I didn't mean it to come off like that. It wasn't my intention to invoke a pissing match and I am sorry to hear of your cousin. 

There is additional background to what I have written but in the end it really does not matter if Lance is a part owner or not. It would be interesting to hear his take on Vino though.


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

bigpinkt said:


> Sorry Teo, I didn't mean it to come off like that. It wasn't my intention to invoke a pissing match and I am sad to hear of your cousin.
> 
> There is additional background to what I have said but in the end it really does not matter if Lance is a part owner or not. It would be interesting to hear his take on Vino though.


Thanks for the words. I know that we both would enjoy each other and have always appreciated your posts. I think we both have more detail than we can post here as it would affect ourselves or friends. 

I llaughed my arse off at the vino news today with co-workers. My cousin was admitted to his trial in Indy so he is supposed to gain some precious time.


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## jhamlin38 (Oct 29, 2005)

its nice to see some perspective in life, and some compassion on this forum, that usually has venom oozing from my keyboard and out of the pixels. good luck to you and your family.


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## Mr. Scary (Dec 7, 2005)

All of this bickering and Borat hasn't weighed in yet... C'mon!


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## jtw1n (Sep 20, 2008)

Supporting Lance instead of AC reminds me of t-mobile when they stood behind Jan Ullrich while he rode his big gear into the ground while they had Kloden i believe it was winning and competing stage in and out. Gotta pick your strongest guy and stand behind him. No lingering questions halfway into the races.


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## Andrea138 (Mar 10, 2008)

adimiro said:


> Contador should stay in Astana... I predict there is a good possibility that first, Lance may not perform as well as he (and other rabid fans) predict. Hence, some of the recent backpedaling. Second, even if he does well this year and goes for #8 TDF, what happens the following year? How many more TDF can he deliver?


It's an ego thing... if Lance DOES come in stronger, then the two will butt heads because Alberto isn't going to want to work for him. if Lance doesn't come in as strongly as predicted, then he's still going to get all of the attention, it it's still a blow to the AC ego. Nothing wrong with it, but it just makes for tension w/in the team, which is NOT what you want during a race.


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## Sintesi (Nov 13, 2001)

Coolhand said:


> He has also said he is interested in doing the Giro, and seemed to have backpedaled a bit on the Tour thing. Also his interest in the Tour down under and Tour of California makes me think he is shooting for a much earlier peak- hence the Giro. Remeber before tour win 7, there was serious talk from him of skipping the Tour to do the Giro.
> 
> My prediction stands.


Listen guys, Armstrong coming back is a publicity stunt. He'll ride the Tour as a contender AC on board or not because of the exposure. He's probably egotistical enough to think he can actually win again but he's also a realist. If AC stays on board w/ Astana he has a great shot of winning because Lance probably doesn't have the juice like in the past (seriously no pun intended - he's old). Of course AC would benefit greatly moving to a team where he's the sole captain w/ an all or nothing squad behind him.


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