If you are following then
OH IAN IS FOLLOWING MY STORY! This is Awesome! Yay, I love your stories, wish mine will ever be even close.
If not, then thanks for popping in! I'm currently quick simming my way through his injury time, so be back soon!
I reported to Astana (the city), to see the team doctor after the race. It was rather odd. He told me that it wasn't too bad, that I'd be back to racing before I knew it, things like that. Apparently, I hadn't done any major damage. However the team contacted me the next day. They said that I'd be missing a few days of my schedule for recovery. This was gutting as this period was going to form the main part of my season!
So I wouldn't race again until August. The news was gutting, I mean, surely they could fit me in somewhere, it's not like I was crippled and needed to take the year off! I didn't have to sit on the sidelines for too long. Good thing too. Team Astana kept racking up the successes, even in the classics we got a podium or two! Then the doctor called me over.
He had been very sympathetic to my situation, said it was terrible I'd lose so much time in my first season, bad for my career apparently, but I hope the team hadn't lost faith in me. He said he'd do his upmost to get me back to racing again, his way of saying thank you for being so helpful.
Anyway, one day he gave me a card, with an address on. Said it was for a specialist who could help me. I looked at the address. After a while I came to know the city quite well. Let's just say this place was in a rather shady area. Still, the doctor seemed like a nice guy, and I owed him one, so i went along anyway...
And yet only cunego has cought on
These updates are pretty easy for me, (probably why they are low quality!) so I'll do another one today, and then after a few more well be back racing.
I walked down the narrow road, leading off one of the badly maintained main roads synonymous with 'downtown' areas. I was wondering why here, I mean doesn't this guy have a clinic, and if he does, why not stick it somewhere nice, it's not like he'll be strapped for cash or anything right? I brought some money, but I'm starting to regret it now. I won't make it seem like a horror movie,but the place was pretty creepy, I wouldn't like to conduct business here.
I reached the door, and looked for a knocker I found one. And i uh knocked it...
A man reached out and pulled me in. Unlike everyone else I'd seen, he was in classy attire, with a suit and tie, this was looking better. His lab looked not so good though. Anyway, he started shouting at me, took me a while to figure out what he was saying...
"Do you think you're doing here?"
"Umm, my doctor sent me here"
"What ****** doctor?"
"The team's one..."
His face lit up, "oh you're a cyclist, ain't seen you around before."
"I'm new"
"Fair enough"
He showed me round to the table, and there was a big chest, he opened it up, and it was packed with syringes. I probably said some things I'd rather you didn't repeat.
I had been a bit of a dim lad, but it didn't take me long to clock those goings on. I punched him in the nose, and limped out the door as fast as I could. I didn't tell the team or the doctor anything, but what could this mean, I mean, why is the doctor connected to this man, and why did he send me there?
A week after I got a message from the team. It was rather a disturbing one. I had gotten over my injury, but was still fuming at the fact they'd cut short my race schedule. I hoped it was good news, but I found that hard to believe. Then there was the matter of the doctor's 'friend'. I would have reported him to the team, but I fear that might have put me in a worse place. I didn't know all the details, maybe the whole team was in on this little scheme, it would explain a lot. Even so, it would be me, a neo-pro, against him, a qualified professional.
The letter explained a lot though. What did it say?
Don't you think I'm coming to that, have some patience, youths these days.. I'm only 2 years younger than you.
Ah go away, well, not literally, just be quiet and take some notes.
I opened the letter and read it.
I can't remember the exact details, and after reading it, I believe I threw it out in the rain, but this is a brief description, obviously they said it better, but still...
Dear Mister Wilskracht
We are writing to inform you that we have decided not to renew your contract for the next calendar year unless we see a noticeable and significant change in your performance. We feel you do not fit the ethos of the team and that there are more cyclists who we are willing to trial. We wish you the best of luck in your future career.
Basically, they said they don't care a Goliath Rabbit Devouring Fish, and that I was sacked. This couldn't be a coincidence. I decided the team had to be pro-doping, and that they thought I was a liability. Just where did they think a significant increase in performance comes from, it was join us or leave us, and I knew which one I'd be choosing.
Edited by The Hobbit on 13-11-2013 10:19
He had recovered, it was only minor, so he was unable to run/race, but still can walk. The main problem is he missed the peak of his season, like to Boonen, a 10 day injury with the ronde and Roubaix in is much worse than a 50 day injury mid season.
@Ian: :Thank you, especially from the master of interesting story lines!
Good Times for Astana
Meanwhile I sat moping at home, waiting for my season to right itself, hoping for a miracle which could save me from this inevitable fate. In fact, I found it unlikely that I would ever get a new contract, spectacular leap or not, if i didn't lower myself to the level of these other rats who call themselves cyclists. I had not just been sitting playing cycling computer games all day long, well, mostly, but still...
What games
PCM2013, great game, you should try it.. I got the news one, great development from year to year
Yeah Cyanide have upped their act. You used to barely be able to write a decent fan fiction story, still back we go, there's news to be written.
In fact, I'd been doing some investigating. Looking around, asking questions. I came to a surprising conclusion. There is not one clean cyclist in this forsaken squad. It is terrible really, I'm the last one left, the final person of an era. I don't know the details, how they evade all the checks, or if they just bribe the UCI, but all I know is that they aren't clean.
Even Nibali?
Yes, even him. But he's a legend in Italy, do you have any proof.
Do you really think I'd be stupid enough to come here without proof.
That ideot in the alleyway in Astana, Kazakhstan was foolish enough to keep a receipt list. It shows all the cyclists who went to him, mostly Astana, but a few Kazakh nationals. You're not on there?
Just how stupid do you think I am?
(to himself) Nibali, Brajkovic, Fuglsang, who knows about this?
No one yet, what you gonna do with it? Publish it i guess, how do we know it isn't fake?
Dunno, check the address, DNA, if I were you I'd give it to the police before you get your prints all over it...
Back to 2013.
Astana was ridiculously successful, now we know why eh!
They got top 10s in almost every race, Nibali was looking good! 2nd in the Romandie, his second race! Then it was off to the Giro. He blew everyone away, winning by 12 minutes, and the point rankings! Purito Rodriguez came close, but pulled out stage 20, even he couldn't match Nibali and paid for it on the descents with a nasty crash.
He won the Dauphine, easily again.
Things were going well, no wonder they didn't have time for saps like me. The Tour and Suisse went smoothly. Then they announced my a calendar for the 2nd half of the season. It read like this...
The Tour des Fjords
Monism Venezia il Padania.
That was it, they said more races could be added later, but this is ridiculous, what did they expect me to do. The Fjords was all flat for goodness sake, and they couldn't expect me to pull it all out of the bag in Padania, they hadn't even let me ride a mountain stage before. It would be hard to find a contract now.
The Hundredth tour was one of the most historic races of our time. It was truly a tribute to our time, one of the greatest races ever. It defied the odds with a fascinating race and an interesting result. Pre Race it was rigged as Contador vs Froome, the old era versus the new, but it didn't quite turn out like that... Unfortunately a Frenchman couldn't take home the win, their best man was Rolland in 18th. They did take stage 3 and 6.
Horner held the lead most of the way through, and held it right until the stage 17 ITT where he lost a lot of time to Froome, who inherited it. Horner faded, while Contador was strong in week 3, but it wasn't enough. Froome one in 82h45m15s. Horner was second at 3:55, Contador 3rd at 7:14.
4- Van Garderen
5- Our very own Tanel Kangert
6- Moreno
7- Wiggins
8- Costa
Froome was also the first man since Mercx to win both the GC and KOM standings, with Contador second and Nieve third. Cavendish edged out Greipel by 12 points to take the points stakes, with Sagan 118 behind. The youth rankings were won by Van Garderen, followed by Kwiatkowski. (Kelderman 5th)
Sky also won the team stakes, perhaps unsurprisingly with Froome and Wiggins.
It is a shame my career wasn't timed well enough to partake in this historic race, but I got plenty of times in the future.
My first race after the injury was not to my liking, 3 flat stages and a Team Time Trial, not exactly perfect for a pure climber like me! Anyway, it was in Norway, so there were plenty of climbs on route. I was hoping this was my chance to prove the team wrong and that I could perform without doping.
Here is the startlist, as you can see I was given a free role. This took lots of arguing with the DS, but I now know that I have the upper hand. After all, I was in good shape, and had a different motivation. Instead of hope to making it as a professional, I was fuelled by an anger against the team, and cycling as a whole, though I still didn't know how wide this would be. I figure it's a bit like carbohydrates, one lasts long and efficiently, the other one is fast burning and kills you slowly from the inside afterwards. Unfortunately I was on the second one...
I quickly tried to figure out what it'd be like as a free man, but it didn't work...
In was straight out the back, only a few km from the roll out... i had to work hard on the front for 15km just to get onto the back, and even so I was drained!
However, as soon as I'd recharged my batteries I was living up to my role. I attacked, looking to join the breakaway and increase their gap, maybe get away and even win the stage ideally. I didn't fancy my chances, but I am a terrible sprinter, so I didn't have any other choice.
It was my best attack yet, but it still didn't last long before I was reeled in, to wait for yet another sprint finish
End of Part 1
Edited by The Hobbit on 15-11-2013 17:34
I was dropped on the way into the finish, but managed to attack myself back on, it was a story that I was beginning to get tired of, and a waste of energy.
Undetered I was on the attack the next stage, hoping to reach the breakaway, and after that hoping to win with a late attack.
Next stop was the TTT. We knew we weren't going to do well, and, uh, we were right, we came in right near the bottom, even worse than expected. Unfortunately our DS has not quite got his head around them so we still had energy left at the end. Here went any chance of performing in GC, if we had any, with a below par sprinter and a few punchers we were stuffed anyway.
After the TTT I was on the attack again. Maybe I wasn't showing my strength, but I was certainly showing a skip-ful of grit. It was worth it, and I had less race days than possibly any other pro cyclist, so I was much fresher.
In fact, this time I had succeeded, I made it to the breakaway, and was looking good from here. I had to rest up, I'd just bridged a 3 minute gap, but then I was relaying again. Annoyingly though, the peleton must have seen me as a threat as they instantly stepped up a gear and chased like I was the proverbial carrot on a stick.
Then the unthinkable happened. Instead of the break waking up and taking on the chase, they sat up, throwing away the strong chance they had of winning. I'm the vein hope that the peleton would see this and slow, I pulled at the front, draining myself completely. Then, they attacked, and left me behind, broken completely.
This was just another piece of evidence as of the unfairness of modern cycling, they were caught in the end, Matteo Trentin winning, but even so, this made me realise just how hard it would be to find a team. I'd have to lower myself to their level, either in the pedis cussed way, or tactically. And at the time I wasn't willing to do that.
Spoiler
Guys I am having some technical issues. Because I write on iPad, I am being really annoyed by the auto-refresh function. This means when I click to Imageshack then back it reloads my page and deletes all the edits I've done. Anyone know a fix to this problem? If not you'll have to bare with me for all proper reports as they might take hours to complete
Well, not the injury, probably, but the visit at the doctor's, well ... 
I guess he has some crutches!
