Contadors right hand man fecks off to join Armstrong on Team Radioshack...

Hahahahahahaaaaa...

Paulinho follows Armstrong to RadioShack; Azevedo new DS - VeloNews

What? You're suprised someone can be bought off? Dollars will always trump perceived alliances...you should know that...but you're right though, Contador should be concerned that he can't win the Tour next year without his right-hand man Paulinho...

When was Paulinho Contador's "right hand man"? Paulinho has been riding on Bruyneel's team since Discovery.

But hey, if nothing else, at least Alberto's right-hand men don't keep getting caught for doping, like Lance's right hand men have a habit of doing. Now that's funny.

Really. Bertie's right hand man is Noval. You know, the guy Bruyneel left home for the Tour de France. Look for whom Paulinho rode in stage 3.

Given that Paulinho finished in the laughing group with Contador on Stage 3, he wasn't riding for Armstrong...

Paulinho was riding for Contador - unlike his other, uh, "teammate" - but that's a bit different than calling him Contador's "right hand man". Paulinho was never Contador's right hand man. Contador requested that two riders be part of the Tour team - Noval, who really is Contador's man (if there really is such a thing), and Paulinho. Bruyneel only chose one, and it wasn't Noval.

Both Paulinho and Contador rode on the Liberty Seguros team in 05 and 06. Both riders moved to Disco at the start of 07. Both riders were implicated somehow in Puerto and Bruyneel was the only one that'd sign riders who had been implicated in that - hence the much talked about Basso signing.

One could say that both riders at the very least have a history together...

Everything comes at a cost

.................so why did you refer to Paulinho as Contadors right hand man?

if Paulinho finished in the bus, he certainly wasn't riding for Contador either, eh.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

He finished in the same group as Contador... If he was riding for Contador would you expect him to be riding up front with Lance in the 1st group or just meander off the back and watch the daisies for the last hour? Just curious...

so he has a new team for 2010. bfd. what's amusing is how many are rumoured to have told big tex to bugger off. where is the rancor and anger from the fan boys about levi's and hinc's treason. they actually are considering riding for bmc and trying to get their programme moving up to the next level. such a snub for their ole captain lance. tony martin also apparently said "no." how does lance twitter-spin this? "i never wanted those old farts anyway?" "they aren't very good teammates, and i should know about 'team'?" and this is only the first act.

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"Kick over the statues and the tyrants die. Wave bye bye to their heroes with a hammer."
--The Redskins, Kick Over the Statues

Maybe Paulihno had transferred loyalties before the Tour de France and that’s why he finished in the bus?

Or maybe like Contador he felt like finishing in the bus that day?

Personally I wouldn’t view Paulihno as Contadors mate.
Friendships are seldom in the sport.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

This is true. There was no doping on Liberty Seguros, and there is no doping by any other riders from Spain.

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Lance Armstrong’s Last Words, August 10, 2007 - “We're proud of our record. We won eight Tours, a Vuelta, a Giro and other races and not one positive test," Armstrong said. “I’m not sure if there are many other teams who can say that right now. Couple that with our ethical record, despite all the gossip and nonsense that goes on.”

Contador felt like losing 41second just for the heck of it... Come on Lim, you know better than that.

What you put makes no sense... if he'd transferred loyalty during the Tour he would have been up the front with Armstrong. If he couldn't be bothered and just wanted to get to the finish he could have quite easily finished with the big bunch that finished behind... Instead he finished with Contador's group. He shared a room with the guy throughout the Tour. He was the only one to genuinely appear happy at the end of the Tour that Contador won. Contador brought the guy to Disco and then back to Astana (they both rode for Liberty/Seguros which became Astana). The guy buried himself for Contador on some of the key stages of the Vuelta last year.

I guess that Contador was the one that brought Paulinho and Noval to Astana had nothing to do with friendship. Nor the fact that they rode together for a couple of years prior to Disco...

Liberty Seguros... the team that used to be ONCE, known for it's squeaky clean image.