Doesn’t surprise me in the slightest – Home Hero retires versus Johnny Foreigner wins our race.

Eurosport were using the host feed, so it was the same: Contador being interviewed in the large window, with the presentations going on in a smaller window.

did you endure any of the cringeworthy fanboi cheerleading that was the BBC “commentary” of Mo Farah’s last races? Pretty much unwatchable, which is why I turned it off and put Eurosport’s coverage on.

Have you watched the coverage of the run in to the finish though? Sure the last bit was downhill, but as I wrote before Froome looked like he was hanging in there and Poels was looking back to check he was still there – though I rewatched it and I was wrong, Froome did take one short pull at the top of the climb, but presumably that was the last of his energy and a minute isn’t really very long to recover when they were still pushing on. There was no impression at all of a gift to Poels on the TV coverage – I’m not sure why people think there is any significance to 2nd place on a stage?

Froome had a big grin even before crossing the line, he already knew he’d done it at that point – but that’s just more evidence to suggest that he didn’t gift the placing, he just knew he’d done enough and didn’t try sprinting. No, the Green jersey wasn’t anywhere on the list of priorities – I presume the focus was so single minded that they’d not even thought about it at that point.

THe final stage anointing of Saint Contador was so nausiating. For a sport that is try desperately hard to show it is clean, or at least that they can pass doping control, it seems strange to make such a song and dance about a drugs cheat.

For a sport that is try desperately hard to show it is clean, or at least that they can pass doping control, it seems strange to make such a song and dance about a drugs cheat.

Not sure the ‘sport’ has that much control over it, the Spanish cycling fans and public love him. At worst ASO were pandering to what the fans want, and they’d be fools to do otherwise, they’re a business after all. Dunno if you’ve seen the mobile phone videos of the fans surrounding the Trek bus, huge crowds chanting “one more year”, but it’s the sort of atmosphere you’d expect at a football World Cup win.

Daniel Friebe on the Cycling Podcast attempted some analysis of it, suggesting the culture in Spain (possibly influenced by Catholicism) is very forgiving, and they see him as being embattled and returning from adversity (aneurysm when he was younger). Contrast that with Germany where Ullrich was ostracised and professional cycling shunned.

Yeah ‘the sport’ hasn’t one view. The view of doping historically in Britain, America post lance and possibly France post festina is a bit of an outlier. The anglophone members of uci seem to be shit scared of doing enough to please IOC and anglophone sponsors but not so much they catch too many people. the rest of the cycling world couldn’t give a shit I don’t think. Provided it’s good racing Crack on.

Spain seems to have a more forgiving and relaxed attitude to doping. It’s been what, at least ten years since operation Puerto and those blood bags are no closer to having a name attached to any of them

No love lost between Sky and Quickstep as they are rivals after all. Part of the problem may well have been payback for Enric Mas (ESP) seemingly helping Contador on the Angliru.

Froome also said in interview that he and Poels tried to catch Contador on that climb for Poels to win the stage although he recognises it wouldn’t have endered him to the Spanish public!

Part of the problem may well have been payback for Enric Mas (ESP) seemingly helping Contador on the Angliru.

Mas, a young Spanish rider who started out on the Contador Federation development team? Nah, doubt they have a beef with him.

Froome also said in interview that he and Poels tried to catch Contador on that climb for Poels to win the stage although he recognises it wouldn’t have endered him to the Spanish public!

Not buying it. They let Contador go and just marked Nibali, and only ‘attacked’ when they’d dropped everybody else with, what, 2km or so left. Definitely think Sky and Froome allowed Contador to go and get the stage win; Froome saying they were racing validates the win rather than demeaning it by admitting it was a gift.

Not buying it. They let Contador go and just marked Nibali, and only ‘attacked’ when they’d dropped everybody else with, what, 2km or so left. Definitely think Sky and Froome allowed Contador to go and get the stage win; Froome saying they were racing validates the win rather than demeaning it by admitting it was a gift.

They finished only 17 seconds behind Contador. Once he knew they had Nibali beaten they went for the win.

With Froome as ruthless as he is you think he would choose gifting a stage in a GT to Contador over a devoted teammate like Poels? He would choose Poels in a heartbeat especially after what Contador did to him on stage 15 of the Vuelta last year.

With Froome as ruthless as he is you think he would choose gifting a stage in a GT to Contador over a devoted teammate like Poels?

Was it a gift or did Bertie or his team help out Sky at some critical point in the race in return for being given leeway on Angliru? That’s the way these things are done normally.

Nah, I doubt it. They let him go as he was no risk on the GC and then, when it was clear the GC battle wasn’t going to be in doubt, they gave chase either to give Froome another stage or give Poels one. If anything over the Vuelta, Sky have been happy to give Trek/Contador plenty of leash to get a stage win but he’s not made it stick until the end.

Froome is always happy to let his domestiques go for a stage win, when it’s too late.

The view of doping historically in Britain, America post lance and possibly France post festina is a bit of an outlier.

Unless it’s Saint Tommy Simpson, of course. Or Anquetil. Or any of the other drug users that people are fine with.

Anyway, I reckon the Spanish are just cynical enough to think everyone’s doing it, and who cares anyway if it’s entertaining?

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/article/20170912-gb-cyclingteam-news-British-Cycling-confirms-Great-Britain-Cycling-Team-for-UCI-Road-World-Championships-0

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/41244654

chakaping – Member

Froome is always happy to let his domestiques go for a stage win, when it’s too late. they’ve done what they’re paid for.

FTFY

Unless it’s Saint Tommy Simpson, of course. Or Anquetil. Or any of the other drug users that people are fine with.

Anyway, I reckon the Spanish are just cynical enough to think everyone’s doing it, and who cares anyway if it’s entertaining?

Dopers of yester-year when we didn’t know enough about them to make a judgement on their personalities are always viewed through rose-tinted glasses. Look at Pantani; a company like Rapha who were, at the time, sponsoring the pre-eminent TdF team (who were themselves constantly answering questions about doping) produce a Pantani themed collection. They’ve also done a Coppi collection and a Simpson collection. I know you can’t go too far back before most of the stars were doping in some form but the arguments people use against Lance and his peers (i.e. who knows who was the best of that era given the doping) apply to those giants of cycling too.

The willingness of fans to ignore this history for the image of panache and suffering we see in old, grainy photos and video from the early days to the late 90s exists everywhere. Not just the Spanish 😉

apply to those giants of cycling too.

Not quite. Yes, they were all doping, as per Anquetil’s famous quote, but it was not systematic doping the way it seems today. EPO was the game changer so the doping process changed in the early 90s.

Not quite. Yes, they were all doping, as per Anquetil’s famous quote, but it was not systematic doping the way it seems today. EPO was the game changer so the doping process changed in the early 90s.

Surely that’s only because they were not as informed back then, science was not as prevalent as nowdays and these drugs were only in their infancy.

The doping process never changed, it was just improved.

HOwever, that doesn’t mean the previous generations were cheating less, they were cheating at their maximum for the technology at the time ?

Sky have been happy to give Trek/Contador plenty of leash to get a stage win but he’s not made it stick until the end.

He was never a threat to froome but he was a podium threat so it meant other teams had to work as well as Sky if Bertie was doing well

Whether they agreed to let him win on his last big mountain day or not I dont really care much as it helped them and it was a fitting end to Berties career

I think he is the last rider we will see who just attacks each day rather than grind out wins which has been the MO for the best since Indurain

Oh i don’t know about that, there’s plenty of riders currently who will attack the heck out of things, Aru, Nibali, Barguil to name but 3 but sadly, they can’t do it day after day after day usually.

Nibali’s a bit like that, and will probably get more so as he gets older.

It’s only Rapha and cycling journos that really have a Tom Simpson fetish isn’t it?

Barguil has moved teams specifically so he can attack for stage wins rather than going for GC.

The doping process never changed, it was just improved.

The drugs themselves changed, and the way I read it, that made teams themselves become more complicit in doping, rather than leaving it to the individual. Is it coincidence that the first entire team to be accused of doping was after EPO arrived? That teams started taking the whole podium in classics? And that whole teams now look indestructible day after day?

Contador on a retirement tour…

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-being-stripped-of-2010-tour-and-2011-giro-was-a-tremendous-injustice/

Hmm not so sure I agree with his assessment that being stripped of his Tour and Giro win was a tremendous injustice. Maybe he’s forgotten the circumstances that led to him winning his first Tour too. And lets have a quick run down of the teams he rode for… ONCE under dirty Manolo Saiz (arrested as part of Puerto), Discovery under dirty Bruyneel (and we all know what went on there), Astana with dirty Vino (entire team banned from the Tour for positive tests and only given a reprieve to ride the Giro – which he won – at the last minute), Saxo Bank under dirty Riis (Mr 60%, and a big fan of the blood bags), before finishing off at Trek.

I’m willing to give him some benefit of the doubt here, breadth of team choice and salary requirements being what they are. But I’m not sure I’d be venting injustice now given his domination of Grand Tours in what is now known to be a pretty dirty era and given the company he chose to keep.

Probably just the drugs talking
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjDRbf7MG5M[/video]

I’m willing to give him some benefit of the doubt here, breadth of team choice and salary requirements being what they are. But I’m not sure I’d be venting injustice now given his domination of Grand Tours in what is now known to be a pretty dirty era and given the company he chose to keep.

Exactly my thoughts. Just keep quiet about it, Bertie. Enjoy your retirement.