Sunday 21 September. Alberto Contador of the Astana team today won the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain) in emphatic fashion to become one of only five riders to have won all of the three week grand tours: The Tour de France, Giro D’Italia, and the Vuelta. Contador adds his name to a quartet of cycling legends, Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, Belgian legend Eddy Merckx and Italy’s Felice Gimondi. What makes Contador’s achievement even more notable is that his wins all come in a little over a year, starting with his win in the 2007 Tour de France. He followed that up with victory in this year’s Giro in May, where he beat Riccardo Ricco (subsequently thrown off this year’s Tour de France for doping), before today sealing his triumph in the Vuelta. The win is another emphatic riposte to the Tour de France organisers who controversially “uninvited” Contador and his Astana team from this year’s race – despite, the team, name aside, being virtually a completely different outfit from the one thrown of the 2007 Tour when then team leader Alexander Vinokourov failed a blood test for EPO. The banning of Astana was held in many quarters to have less to do with making an example of Astana for past sins, and more do with with a settling of old scores with the new Astana management lead by Johan Bruyneel for their success in winning the Tour seven times in a row – six with Lance Armstrong (US Postal and then Discovery) then followed up with last year’s victory for Contador. While not exactly welcoming back Astana with open arms the Tour de France organisers have said the “disinvitation” was not a permanent snub to Astana. Either way, it will be very hard to leave the man who currently dominates three week stage racing out of next year’s Tour. Like it or not it seems that ASO, the Tour organisers, will just have to put up with the fact that Contador and Bruyneel are going to be part of the scene for quite some time to come. Finally, assuming Lance resumes his career with his old team this leaves Astana officials with a potentially tricky task – who will be team leader for next year’s Tour de France? Is it conceivable that Contador will give up on the chance to win a second Tour after being denied last year too, particularly since he can lay claim to a legendary cycling feat of his own. Vuelta 2008: Final overall standings 1. Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana, 80hrs 40mins 23secs 2. Levi Leipheimer (US) Astana, +1:01s 3. Carlos Sastre (Spa) CSC +4:31" 4. Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Xacobeo, +5:04" 5. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, +5:45"
Contador wins Vuelta to seal place in history and give his team a potential problem
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the National Bus and Rail Union told the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) the following month, saying the requirements (making the cyclist scum wear helmets and HiViz) would, “make the roads a safer place, as it would make potential hazards easier to spot.” Nothing to do with driver behaviour then? Stagecoach is even putting intimidating threats against cyclists on the side of the buses now! ttps://upride.cc/incident/px60beo_stagecoach41-closepass/
.......the government was focused on the “enormity of the e-scooter problem” Just wait until they find out how absolutely effing gigantic the car problem is. The whole thing is just motornormativity at government level, and while Ciarán Cannon talks sense, Seán Canney is fecking eejit.
40% of fatal road incidents (70 deaths p.a.) in Ireland involve excess alcohol. Pass a law mandating compulsory alcohol interlocks for all motor vehicles and see what that does for road safety first.
@mitsky I didn't say it was applicable in this case or that I thought it should be, I was simply answering your question as to whether anyone had ever shot someone and been charged with anything other than murder or attempted murder, to which the answer is yes.
@perce The new troll, my friend, is solely piss and wind, the new troll is solely piss and wind.
Very correct price for a basic, no-frills frameset. Older and wiser -after a warranty case on a '100 year' Ti frameset that lasted 5 years before a drive side chain stay weld said sayonara- I'll never again purchase a really high cost Ti frame. If the replacement -3999 Euro at retail but I paid 800, which is what it took for them to +- honour the warranty- fails, I'm done. Firstly because they do fail. Titanium is very finicky where welding conditions are concerned and good luck with that warranty, better read the wording very carefully. Secondly, often the price is justified with 'it's a frame for life'. Errrr....yes, unless you decide you want something different after 5 years, it breaks or technology evolves to a point where your frameset becomes aa anachronism and after 10 years you can start hunting for spares(UDH and disc brakes, anyone?). Third: I'm getting a bit tired reading about these so-called 'magical' properties of Ti. The only magical thing about it is the corrosion resistance. All that absorbing of vibrations etc is mainly function of frame design/geometry. If you want vibration damping: larger tires, lower pressure, done.
True,but I can't count thé number of times I've seen him on TV as an invited expert for comments since
"...there was enough suspicion to warrant an out-of-hours knock on the door for the Tour’s then-top two." A generic statement that sounds like a cover-your-arse mumbling. Can they be more specific? Nope. Good to see Vaughters join Lefevere to add up some controversy to the very politically correct pro peloton. In the late 1990s and early noughties, when cycling was becoming a global phenomenom, officials, race organisers and team managers turned a blind eye on doping. Nobody wanted to slay the goose with golden eggs.
Am I missing something. Pogacar would be firm favourite no matter what you did unless you made it a very flat edition which no one would want. Outside of Pogacar its all up for grabs. You can't build a good multi-week race with Pogacar in the form he is in. Take Pogacar out and this would be fine.
Sounds a little like a pissed off driver decided to teach a cyclist a lesson by brake checking them after overtaking them. I hope I am wrong.
2 thoughts on “Contador wins Vuelta to seal place in history and give his team a potential problem”
Nicholas Roche
Great ride by Nichlas Roche, 13th place and almost won a stage as well. Chip of the old block!
yeah good effort
Both the reports I’ve read in the Irish press (basically the same story re-cycled) talk about him “coming off age” which must be slightly galling when your 24 (okay a youngster in grand tour terms, but then Contador is only 25) and you’ve already been selected to lead your country’s cycling team at the Worlds.
Top effort though.