Monday, July 19, 2010

Alberto Contador: Lying, !@#hole Punk, or Fair-Play Good Sport?

The Sinners Have Much More Fun: okay, you saw it: everybody loves Baby Schleck had a mechanical on the climb, and Contador attacked his !@#. So is Contador a scum-dwelling, mud-sucking slimelord--or is he actually telling the truth when he says that he didn't even notice that Andy had a problem? Of course, the boy's self-absorption *does* know no bounds--but even someone that egomaniacal doesn't notice that the wheel he's been 2 seconds away from for 4 hours seizes up and jerks his prime competitor--in a rather distinctive yellow jersey, no less--to a complete halt on a climb? Then again, Menchov did confirm that he himself was clueless, but then again, (1) he's wrangling for 3rd with Samu (woo-hoo Samu!), not watching those guys, and (2) I still hate his weasel guts for stealing we still love Roberto Heras' Vuelta, so nothing he says really matters anyway. And even Bjarne, Johan, and Samu of the Gods say it was just the way things shake out sometimes.Me, I say let's look at the facts objectively: either Contador is not the rider he was last year, or Schleck's come in to his own enough to match him, 'cause Alberto sure as hell can't drop him; this puppy bought him an opportunity even he couldn't make for himself; and since Lance Armstrong who shrieked insults at him as his own teammate all last Tour to the press wouldn't insult him, and he wouldn't be polite to someone who'd beaten him fair and square without some nefarious purpose, he must think that Contador was enough of a skank to savor the pleasure of watching the little twerp hang himself. Or, our sweet little wonderboy could simply be a fair and reasonable tactician wholly entitled to win the Tour like a no-class bum-rushing dir--I mean, who is the accidental beneficiary of Andy's sadly-timed accident. I'm sold--cancel out the results of all these clowns, and give the final maillot jaune to Jens!

Relax, Don't Do It: speaking of Armstrong, and leaving his intermittent attention to Levi Leipheimer aside because we here at racejunkie do respect him for that, am I the only one thinking that Lance is being too !@#$ing lazy and selfish to help Leipheimer like he promised--and ought to--and is treating the rest of this Tour like a 3-week booze-cruise to the Caribbean every day? That's right, Lance cultists, give the man all your worldly possessions dress in baggy pastel sackcloth uniforms and start handing out daisies on the sidewalks to unwilling passers-by--that's a critique. Or is Armstrong not even up to being a superdomestique at this point? All right, all right, I'll cut him slack--he's still the same man who won the Tour seven times and podiumed last year after an unprecedented absence-by-champion--he's just intentionally being a jerk. Hey, cabana boy--bring Lance another beer, willya?

Anyhoo, Pistolero, enjoy the Tourmalet--it's probably the last mountain the peloton's gonna let you ride in one piece!

14 comments:

Rosemary said...

If I had known there would be all this drama, I would have postoned my TGV trip back to Paris until the rest day!

Anonymous said...

Yes, Contador is a turd. He dumped his team last year and took advantage of a mechanical problem this year in order to take the yellow jersey. What a POS!

Unknown said...

There's a saying about when class is clearly cacking......., as in take away the C and the L.

Do the math.

I cannot remember in over forty years plus of witnessing stage events such as the TdF whereupon either the winner or jersey holder was ever boo'd. Contador rightfully was. He has permanently branded himself.

PJ said...

For goodness sakes, lighten up on AC. He struggled with a mechanical, and he fell and AS gained time. He had to follow Menchov and Sanchez or one of them would have taken the yellow jersey. I am still 100% for AC. Shleck is a good kid, and if he is that good he can get 8 seconds on AC. The TT will be the determiner, and I think AC will take the overall.

Fonk said...

Agreed about Lance. A friend and I were just discussing that today - is Lance going to do anything during the rest of this Tour? Exactly how is helping Levi, or helping the team achive its stated goal of winning Team GC? He's kinda worthless out there right now...

@tourpro said...

It looks to me like Levi is in full survival-mode. Not much Armstrong can do to help him now.

I'm really hoping he helps Horner get a win today.

Poor PR for AC to attack/deny/apologize. But after all the Saxo work that day, to attack and then drop your chain is pretty lame. Still, it's fun to watch.

Anonymous said...

I think you guys are being highly unfair with AC, he lost 37 seconds when he was involved in a fall at th beginning of the Tour and AS didn't stop for him. Imagine the 3rd and 4th riders attacked at that moment? By the way, why didn't Hamilton wait for Alonso after he "unfairly" overtook the safety car in F1? Is Hamilton a punk by the same reasons AC is?

Rosemary said...

I'm back near a TV and only caught the final 10K or so.

How did that "revenge" work for Andy?

Anonymous said...

Told you AC was a LIAR.

PJ said...

AC a liar, etc? I don't agree. He has shown great poise and anyone who has never been in a situation where a less than perfect decision was made without realizing it, and then graciously apologized, he/she has lived in a bubble. AC is a champion, giving us a lot of entertainment, and deserves some slack and respect, not hateful name calling. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

Anonymous said...

Would you rather have Contador allow Sanchez or Menchov to ride off with the race? What the heck was he supposed to do? If Andy is the man he will beat him in the TT, I do not think what happened will have a huge bearing on the outcome. I think Saxo also realizes it.

Rosemary said...

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/refusing-to-quit-the-tour-de-france/

Who doesn't love Jens?!

Unknown said...

Little Bert is definitely a champion but also showed that he has some doubts about whether he could beat AS straight up. He saw an opportunity and jumped. Both he and Vino were right behind AS. No way they didn't notice. He did what he did and I think he regrets it. It was a cowardly attack. And he attacked all the way home.

Anonymous said...

For everyone who is complaining about Contador not waiting for Schleck....how about the day on the cobbles, early in the Tour, when Contador had a mechanical and Schleck did not wait. Thoughts? Is it only important to be an outstanding sportsman when the race is competitive?