can Contador win Tour-Vuelta Double in 2012?

[55x11]

Assuming he is cleared, assuming his season is going well blah-blah...
He couldn't quite do Giro-Tour double, but Giro was so tough. What about Tour-Vuelta double?

Contador Reveals His 2012 Race Programme | Cyclingnews.com

discuss...

[Ventruck]

He couldn't quite do Giro-Tour double, but Giro was so tough.

Pretty much the key thing to speculate. Was a double out of reach only because the Giro was supposedly the hardest of the 3?

I don't know if he can do Tour-Vuelta, but I think he has nothing to lose. Gets to appeal to his native Spanish fanbase, likely would've won the Tour anyway if he was cleared.

[spookyload]

I say yes. Knock out the tour for the win, and the field of the Vuelta isn't as deep as the field of the Giro. No problem. As a bonus, they moved the Tour to a week earlier for the Olympics, so he will have extra time to rest after the Tour. Very doable.

[Funakison]

If you win the tour why bother with the vuelta,, its job done for the season , The worlds, olympice n vuelta are small potatoes compared with the tour.

[spookyload]

Not if you are spanish. In Spain you are a hero for winning the Vuelta. What is more important to win in the US, Olympic basketball gold medal or the NBA hampionships. In European, nationalism runs very high. They love cheering their flag. At the cyclocross world championships last year, they fanatically cheered for their country, not the rider.

[The Weasel]

As a bonus, they moved the Tour to a week earlier for the Olympics, so he will have extra time to rest after the Tour. Very doable.

This is a very good reason to believe he can.

[Funakison]

point take about nationalism and patriotic fervour, but winning the tour is cyclings holy grail, And if you can pull it off there are chat shows and interviews, award ceremonies and sponsorship deals. Tour winners are busy busy men and the liklihood is that by september they have lost their edge.

[weltyed]

the vuelta always has this feeling of "also-rans" or "you helped me this season, so here is a bone for you." granted, i have a jaundiced view of the vuelta.

i see this as doable. i think he woulda done the double this year if it werent for bad luck and haters. seriously, if that spectator didnt have their foot in the road, the entire tour would have been different. or if they had been a few k closer to the finish...

[spade2you]

Perhaps. He'll need a slightly stronger team to accomplish this.

[thirstyman]

That is going to be pretty hard to do while he is sitting on the bench.

[quadrat]

In Europe, nationalism runs very high.

Not really. You see national flags in international sport events, but otherwise most people appreciate the eu, and hardly any private citizen would fly the flag of his nation on the roof of his home. With the exception of the UK and her countries perhaps. I bet there are more flags of football clubs in private possession, than national flags.

[Wile_E_Coyote]

Not really. You see national flags in international sport events, but otherwise most people appreciate the eu, and hardly any private citizen would fly the flag of his nation on the roof of his home. With the exception of the UK and her countries perhaps. I bet there are more flags of football clubs in private possession, than national flags.

I have always wondered about this. A co-worker hosted a German exchange student who seemed to scoff at our nationalism and said Germany does nothing like this. But then again, it seems a lot of European nations can get pretty nationalistic when the World Cup comes around.

[spookyload]

Not really. You see national flags in international sport events, but otherwise most people appreciate the eu, and hardly any private citizen would fly the flag of his nation on the roof of his home. With the exception of the UK and her countries perhaps. I bet there are more flags of football clubs in private possession, than national flags.

You might not see it on their roof all the time, but during sporting events, they are everywhere. In Germany there were flags everywhere during both the womens and mens world cups till their teams were eliminated. Cars had flags on them, people were wearing shirts with flags...everywhere there were flags. During the tour, the roads on the climbs are covered with painted flags. Turn 19 on Alpe d'Huez is solid flags of Luxembourd for almost half a kilometer. Huge flags on poles waiving everywhere. Five kilometers up the road, the Dutch had painted the road solid orange. During sporting events, nationalism is huge. Watch the Vuelta again. You will see folks wearing orange and waiving the Basque flag everywhere. For that matter, during the tour as well through the pyrenese.

[charliepuyear]

I think his team is everything.. The current roster on Saxo-Bank isn't deep enough for two back to back Grand Tour victorys. Sure Contador is a strong enough rider, but imo Saxo isn't. It also depends on what other big players will go to the Vuelta. If he's riding against a bunch of no bodies then his chances sky rocket.

[quadrat]

I have always wondered about this. A co-worker hosted a German exchange student who seemed to scoff at our nationalism and said Germany does nothing like this. But then again, it seems a lot of European nations can get pretty nationalistic when the World Cup comes around.

Too many swastikas in Germany not too long ago, that's why nationalism got rooted out. Patriotism light came back under the red-green government about 10 years ago, interestingly not under the conservatives. The terms nationalism and patriotism share almost the same sentiment in English, but there is a clear distinction in other languages. Patriots love their country, while nationalists despise all other countries. Because that's not good, nationalism has a pretty negative connotation, associated with fascism.

[FlandersFields]

point take about nationalism and patriotic fervour, but winning the tour is cyclings holy grail, And if you can pull it off there are chat shows and interviews, award ceremonies and sponsorship deals. Tour winners are busy busy men and the liklihood is that by september they have lost their edge.

Typical American ignorance...something that's very rare on this site, usually.

The TdF is the most important, but if you do nothing but ride a TdF, you'll never be a legend. Gilbert is a busy busy man as well, and he keeps his focus throughout the season.

Now that that the TdF route has leaked, we can conclude it's going to be very hard for Contador.