Aquarius wrote:
Not sure if it's news worthy (probably not actually), but I found this :
Not quite sure what they say, first must be "can you imitate Chris Froome ?" (that one I'm certain of), second would be "could you imitate Jan Ullrich now ?". Maybe an actual German speaker could confirm ?
Narrator (0:11): "Jan, turn around for a moment"
Narrator (0:16): "So Jan Ullrich and Thomas Joch (?), today hard mountain stage, pre-determining.."
Jan (0:24): "Yes, but I'm feeling good.. Nicely eaten yesterday, slept long in the morning, and my helpers are also still [something..]"
Narrator (0:31): "Do this.. How does Froome ride?"
[Jan looks down]
Jan (0:38): "... but then a bit faster... "
Other rider in the back (0:40): "Jan, ride in the style of your [...]"
[changes gear]
Nah. Armstrong had the guts to attack from far in the last climb, Froome goes away in the end.
Froome rides the last climb as fast and steadily as he can, he knows nobody (assuming he's the strongest) will be able to endure that tempo till the summit.
Of course that won't drop other favourites at the bottom of the climb, but before he's up it, no one else should be with him.
Boring but lethal. Dot tactic in PCM... No need to attack.
Aquarius wrote:
"Only" ? If Pantani was Usain Bolt, who or where would Evans be ?
9"58 x 42'10/26'50 = 10"97
He wouldn't even reach the semi-finales in national championships. Evans would be a total nobody.
Interesting comparison. Evans arguably had more than his fair share of suffering at the hands of the doped fraternity - his relatively consistent level of performance took a long time to pay off, ironically probably when he was already declining too.
Not news, but a question. How does it come that so many promising young russian riders don't manage to succeed in professional teams. When you look at junior and U23 races, there are so many russians and when you look at their later results, few to nothing. Widespread doping problem at junior racing in russia, or something else? Maybe Aquarius or issoisso could help me out.
ppanther wrote:
Not news, but a question. How does it come that so many promising young russian riders don't manage to succeed in professional teams. When you look at junior and U23 races, there are so many russians and when you look at their later results, few to nothing. Widespread doping problem at junior racing in russia, or something else? Maybe Aquarius or issoisso could help me out.
I'm quite sure there's a widespread doping problem, but that's also true for the Spanish and Italian junior racing, and possibly in more countries, even in France it's getting worse. Doping may be even worse at Russia, but I'm sure the biggest problem is how they prepare the youngsters. Most of them are so overtrained and have raced so much their bodies are pretty much done when they should be ready to enter the pro ranks.
Something similar, although not nearly as bad, happens in the Netherlands and Denmark.
Edited by kumazan on 12-06-2013 22:28
ppanther wrote:
Not news, but a question. How does it come that so many promising young russian riders don't manage to succeed in professional teams. When you look at junior and U23 races, there are so many russians and when you look at their later results, few to nothing. Widespread doping problem at junior racing in russia, or something else? Maybe Aquarius or issoisso could help me out.
I'm quite sure there's a widespread doping problem, but that's also true for the Spanish and Italian junior racing, and possibly in more countries, even in France it's getting worse. Doping may be even worse at Russia, but I'm sure the biggest problem is how they prepare the youngsters. Most of them are so overtrained and have raced so much their bodies are pretty much done when they should be ready to enter the pro ranks.
Something similar, although not nearly as bad, happens in the Netherlands and Denmark.
You nailed it. Legendary coach Kuznetsov is especially bad about this. His riders are almost guaranteed to not progress once they turn pro.
There's also another reason. They train like dogs every day in a strict environment with no freedom as if they're in the special forces.
Then they turn pro and suddenly they're free to live how they want. They discover society, essentially. Heelloooooooo nightclubs
Edited by issoisso on 13-06-2013 00:19
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
ppanther wrote:
The "not blood doped" Moreau did very well.
Moreau not doped
That's hilarious
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
Moreau had always been shabby since the Festina affair (he was before too, actually).
Abandoning for weird reasons (2001, 2007), etc. it felt a bit like if ASO had kindly asked him to go home if he didn't want one more doping scandal where he'd be the main character.
Just like Ullrich at 42 %, I don't buy Moreau at 39.
Nah. Armstrong had the guts to attack from far in the last climb, Froome goes away in the end.
Froome rides the last climb as fast and steadily as he can, he knows nobody (assuming he's the strongest) will be able to endure that tempo till the summit.
Of course that won't drop other favourites at the bottom of the climb, but before he's up it, no one else should be with him.
Boring but lethal. Dot tactic in PCM... No need to attack.
I interviewed Jens Voigt last night, mainly about TdF, but also other topics, e.g. whether RadioShack will continue. Based on his answers, it seems there's truth to the story that Trek will take over the team's license (despite Becca saying that he'd like to continue his sponsorship).
Voigt also said that he'd like to continue riding, possibly doing another Tour next year, "if I'm still counted as a valuable member of the team".
On Schleck: "It's going to be very, very difficult to reach the podium". His Tour top 3 guess: Froome, Contador, Van Garderen.
The fact that Schleck is not ready to fight for the GC means that Radioshack, including Voigt, will get the chance to go for breakaways more often.
Edited by CrueTrue on 13-06-2013 08:34
Today is Leif Hoste's bio passport hearing if he's found guilty he will receive a 2 year ban (pointless seeing as he's retired) and a fine of up to 300,000 euros. He would also have all his results from July 08 to December 2010 wiped out.
CrueTrue wrote:
I interviewed Jens Voigt last night, mainly about TdF, but also other topics, e.g. whether RadioShack will continue. Based on his answers, it seems there's truth to the story that Trek will take over the team's license (despite Becca saying that he'd like to continue his sponsorship).
Voigt also said that he'd like to continue riding, possibly doing another Tour next year, "if he's still counted as a valuable member of the team".
On Schleck: "It's going to be very, very difficult to reach the podium". His Tour top 3 guess: Froome, Contador, Van Garderen.
The fact that Schleck is not ready to fight for the GC means that Radioshack, including Voigt, will get the chance to go for breakaways more often.
You had a chance to talk to the king? Amazing
Van Garderen in third, I'm not so sure about that. So far he didn't impress yet as a Tour podium contender.
Schleck going for a stage win might be the best thing to do for him, actually.
