Contador Slams Armstrong, Lance Replies on Twitter
Alberto Contador lambasted Lance Armstrong during a press conference after returning to his hometown of Pinto (near Madrid), saying that the tense relationship between the two riders caused a very uncomfortable situation for all team members.
“My relationship with Lance Armstrong is non-existent. Even if he is a great champion, I have never had admiration for him and I never will,” the Contador said. “On this Tour, the days in the hotel were harder than those on the road. It was a delicate situation, very tense, the two riders who had most weight on the team did not have an easy relationship and that puts the rest of the technical staff and the riders in an uncomfortable position.”
Lance’s reply, via Twitter:
“Seeing these comments from AC. If I were him I’d drop this drivel and start thanking his team. w/o them, he doesn’t win.”
“hey pistolero, there is no “i” in “team”. what did i say in March? Lots to learn. Restated.”
Astana Team captain Johan Bruyneel and Armstrong both are leaving the team at the end of the year, and at present Contador is unsure of where he will go, saying “I do not know where I’ll go, but I am clear that it will be a team that is 100 percent behind me.”
Comments
Lance Armstrong has always been arrogant and condescending to his teammates. I am glad that Alberto won. Perhaps the once-mighty Armstrong needs to go back to his Hollywood lifestyle and quit thinking that he is theTour de france. For an old guy, he showed no class.
I doubt that Lance is perfect. Probably far from it. However, Contador’s comment that “I do not know where I’ll go, but I am clear that it will be a team that is 100 percent behind me.†is a clear indication that he was the source and cause of the uncomfortable situation for all the team members, not Lance.
After his comments, and until he has seven Tour wins and a top three finish in his late thirties I doubt that many will have any admiration for him.
Contador has zero class or style. Of course you have tension when you are winning the Tour de France. What an idiot. That is what pushed him to compete harder. Can anyone else say ‘DUMB JOCK’?
@stacy – Lance is a true team player. Remember, this is the guy that always gave up his share of race winnings so that they could be re-distributed to the rest of the team (as is customary) but also kicked in his own $$ as a bonus, knowing full well that it was his team-mates that gave him the wins.
In any event, the only thing that matters is what happens on the bike. Contador pulled some bonehead stunts on his team this year (i.e. dropping AK, etc.), while Lance never lost his head and forgot that he had a squad to worry about. Perhaps AC will figure this out in time, but if he doesn’t get it together quickly, his chance of getting the YJ are much less.
From my understanding it’s tradition that winners share the wealth with the team. In part because they CAN’T get there alone anymore.
In my opinion, AC has way too much of an ego for his age and Lance has always been an ass. However, as we all know is true of politicians and great personalities everywhere, it’s a lot of what gets them to where they are or were. Personally, I don’t really like either of them but I respect the fact that they can do what they do at age 37 or at 20-something. It’s about 10X more than I could ever do with or without invisible little helpers in a capsule.