Rondje wrote:Wingguy I know you defend Froome because you say he gets attacked to often (I disagree but fine). But isn't it his own fault? He decides to ride for a dubious team, he decides to ignore the press or block people on social media when they ask hard questions or say things he doesn't like. Cycling as a sport is praised because you can get so close to the athletes, but his (and his team's) acts are opposite of this. It are not characteristics of a rider that get's liked by the fans.
You don't think Contador ever got questions he didn't like? Or Cavendish, or any other big rider. It's part of the job, they get payed that much to have that heat.
it's a deeper issue - dirt is what sells papers, or rather - gets you the right amount of 'clicks'. no one cares about a nice story, with happy people doing good stuff. everyone seeks the dark side, and who - if not the biggest stars - is worthy of our time and attention? I bet there are shadier teams and cyclists than Froome/SKY (whome I don't like very much myself and who I believe are infact dirty) - for instance a small Italian team popped two positives just before the Giro - it's very likely it's a real dope farm that establishment, but who cares, how many people will react to a headline with some unknown names in it? how can you sell such a piece of news if it doesn't contain names at least barely recognizable from "Toor the Frends" or, I don't know, social media.
in that way every successful rider is subjected to such a hunt. but is it totally unjustified? of course not, see: recent cycling history. besides, the way you handle yourself, the media, the way you do business, your entourage, it all adds up. SKY's done a lot of harm branding themselves the fair and clean ones, only to be found later as (basically) liars and cheaters. this is a path that leads straight to hell, despite the context - there's a saying in my language "the hell is paved with good intentions". in this case it's clearly so, and whether a certain rider does or doesn't do what he's being accused of, those impressions of him are the fuel for the press, the media, everyone that makes a living from writing the stuff other's read.
