Well knock me down with a feather...

[wafflycat]

... so they don't get on. Who'd have thought it!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/war-of-words-erupts-between-contador-armstrong

The Texan doesn't like anyone doing better than him and certainly not someone from the same team!

 

[Hont]

Always difficult to properly assess comments that have been translated from their original language, but Armstrong's show such a lack of class. He should have been delighted with third, but appears to be merely churlish.

 

[Chuffy]

Always difficult to properly assess comments that have been translated from their original language, but Armstrong's show such a lack of class. He should have been delighted with third, but appears to be merely churlish.

Dropping into the team and expecting Bertie to move over and accept, at the very least, co-leadership was an act of monumental arrogance. Bertie was hardly a promising youngster who needed to be shown the ropes. He's already won a greater spread of titles than LA ever dreamed of. Bryuneel deserves a spanking too, it's not just Armstrong.

 

[Chuffy]

Well, lets look at the facts shall we....


1) LA has been an impeccable 'team player' for the past 2 weeks +, even though his own chances of personal glory were far from over.

2) He recently said this...

"I think this year's performance would have beaten my performances in 2001, 2004 and 2005," said Armstrong.

"Contador is that good, so I don't see how I would have been higher than that, even in the other years."


We're not falling for a bit of press sensationalism maybe?

Nope. His attitude from the start was shabby. It took Bertie kicking his arse, against team orders to show him who the boss was. A triple GT winner starting the race as the overwhelming favourite shouldn't be forced into doing that just to show his own team who they should be working for. All Armstrong did was bow to the inevitable, he couldn't keep up.

 

[andy_wrx]

Like Armstrong said : It's not about the bike, it's about ME !

Who or what is the Astana team though ?
- formed from the ashes of Liberty Seguros/Wurth with Kazakh money to support Vino, with additional intention of developing other Kazakh riders
- Vino promptly gets done for doping and suspended and the team nearly collapses again
- meanwhile Discovery have decided they won't sponsor any more due to to the bad publicity any drug allegations would cause, and Bruyneel and Armstrong can't find any other sponsor who will touch them, so Bruyneel comes-over and takes over running of Astana, bringing Alberto and lots of other Disco/ex-Postal riders, DS's, staff
- the Tour won't have them so Alberto wins the Giro and Vuelta with them, is undisputed as team leader and GC contender
- then Armstrong decides he's going to un-retire, because he thinks it's all very easy stuff, no great competition form riders like Ullrich that he had to face in his days, so reckons he can come back and 'kick ass'
- so he parachutes back into the team, expecting to instantly be head honcho again, and since Bruyneel is running the show and most of the riders and staff are ex-Disco and Postal, they drop back into their old roles of supporting him
- but Alberto has other ideas and does something Lance has never had to face before : actually beats him rather than being a dutiful domestique, grateful just to be given the odd stage win
- meanwhile the Kazakhs have been getting a bit disgruntled, wondering why they were paying their Kazakh money when there are no Kazakhs actually riding on the team, and whilst there is publicity it's all about Armstrong and nothing for Kazakhstan
- Vino's ban has now ended and he's coming back, the sponsors are going to make Bruyneel run him, so Armstrong and Bruyneel are off to set-up a new team

Interesting bit of soap opera...

 

[Panter]

It's appaling isn't it. A Seven times Tour winner and cancer survivor having expectations higher than serving someone else.
Tut tut, who'd have thought.

 

[simon_brooke]

Well, lets look at the facts shall we....


1) LA has been an impeccable 'team player' for the past 2 weeks +, even though his own chances of personal glory were far from over.

I do presume you're being sarcastic.

In the past three weeks

(1) How many bottles of water have you seen Bertie hand Lance (I've seen at least three)
(2) How many bottles of water have you seen Lance hand Contador (none)

In the past three weeks, how often have you seen Bertie riding on his own without another Astana rider in support? Ditto Lance?

Face it: Lance not only expected Bertie to domestique for him (even when Bertie was in yellow) but he also hoovered up all Bertie's domestiques so Bertie was more or less unsupported most of the time.

 

[Will1985]

Loving the tweets and re-tweets. There are plenty of people who agree that Contador is not a team man and lacks the tactical nous. In fact, he is very much like Armstrong in his youth when he rode with power instead of his head. He isn't developing the Contadope nickname for nothing (dual meaning of course....the dopey side which we can see at the moment).

 

[Will1985]

(1) How many bottles of water have you seen Bertie hand Lance (I've seen at least three)
(2) How many bottles of water have you seen Lance hand Contador (none)

I saw Armstrong give Contador at least 2 bottles. I presume you weren't doing any work and just watching the channel surfing/red button feed from lunchtime (like me most of the time)?

 

[andy_wrx]

It's appaling isn't it. A Seven times Tour winner and cancer survivor having expectations higher than serving someone else.
Tut tut, who'd have thought.

The Seven times Tour winner I can understand, but I don't see any relevance of being a cancer survivor to being team leader ?

 

[Hont]

Not sure how relevant bottle passing is, as they were both team leaders neither would be expected to fetch bottles for the other.

We really do not know what went on behind closed doors, but in public until the tour was over Bertie was very non-comittal and said almost nothing if he could. Armstrong on the other hand, criticised both the attack on Arcalis and the attack which saw Kloden dropped, as did Levi. For a team which saw them get 1st, third and sixth you think they'd be happier wouldn't you?

Outside of the battle by media I don't think there was much in the way of teamwork from any of the big names at Astana, except Klöden, who - after getting dropped on Ventoux - set the pace when he got back on, rather than try and preserve his 5th place.

Fundamentally I think the problem was Armstrong is just not used to anything other than a team built totally around him. What's funny is that the press have spent almost a year forecasting this type of thing, only for Astana to deny any problem.

 

[Hont]

The Seven times Tour winner I can understand, but I don't see any relevance of being a cancer survivor to being team leader ?

Especially given Contador's medical history. I can't imagine Brunyeel deciding team leadership based on Chemotherapy v Brain surgery.

 

[Panter]

The Seven times Tour winner I can understand, but I don't see any relevance of being a cancer survivor to being team leader ?

It probably doesn't, sorry.

Anyway, I'm backing out of this now, I get immensley irritated by all the hater comments when LA's name pops up on a forum.

 

[Chuffy]

Especially given Contador's medical history. I can't imagine Brunyeel deciding team leadership based on Chemotherapy v Brain surgery.

Damn, had this all typed out to post and got interrupted by work and lunch...

It's appaling isn't it. A Seven times Tour winner and cancer survivor having expectations higher than serving someone else.
Tut tut, who'd have thought.

Does surviving cancer beat surviving a brain haemorrage? Perhaps Bertie and Lance should play Serious Disease Top Trumps instead of bothering to ride?
But seriously, what does surviving cancer have to do with the team situation?

 

[Will1985]

It doesn't. The cancer/brain haemorrhage overcoming is just part of the media sensationalism which adds something to a good story.

On the other hand there is a team where selection is partly based on health situation: Team Type 1.