"PRO" Cycling Discussion

[Kjetil]

I came to think of Steven Roche. The one season where everything clicked into place.

[HammerTime2]

The main thing that clicked into place for Stephen Roche that year was Lemond's brother-in-law clicking the trigger and shooting Lemond (accidentally).

[Kjetil]

Oh well. Let's party like it's 1999.

I wonder if this is the real yawn:

[jooo]

I hope not!

ewww - but then again, I probably like it more than the current Blanco kit

[KWalker]

The current Blanco kit looks as if it were designed in MS Paint. This one is immediately better.

[Tinea Pedis]

The current Blanco kit is meant to be a close resemblance to the Giant kit

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/_generate ... _FRONT.jpg

just inverted colours and a different font. Made sense to me.

[djconnel]

I like it: it represents the style of the Belkin web page. It's also simple and recognizable and the color selection is restrained.

2013 Belkin is simpler than 1999... here's a 2000 Kelme jersey (similar to their 1999 design):

[jmilliron]

The current Blanco kit looks as if it were designed in MS Paint. This one is immediately better.

Won't win any awards but I like it just fine.

Garmin Sharp is still by far my favorite kit. Glad they didn't change it this season.

[airwise]

or maybe this last season was exeptionary for Wiggins. he's achieved more than he normally would have, given his abilities, both mental and physical

Last years form was the norm - certainly since 2009 and his concentrating on the road. It was the results which were exceptional - first winner of the Tour and Olympic gold medalist at home. If I were him I would have wanted to retire in January. What a career. How do you top that?

[maquisard]

What about his 18th place in the 2010 Tour de France when he described his performance as 'mediocre' and the 2009 result as a 'fluke'.

I hardly think last year was the norm, the course suited him and he had a good year both in terms of his physical and mental preparation.

[airwise]

2009, 2011, 2012. All showed the same abilities.

One season did not. Which was the norm?

The statistics suggest 2010 was an odd one. Remember he finished first in the Tour of those who did a very difficult Giro that year.

[djconnel]

What a career. How do you top that?

By adding a Giro win, then coming back and re-winning the Tour, or at least helping his teammate do the same.

Easy to say "I would have retired" but retirement is forever.

[HammerTime2]

Retirement is not necessarily forever.

As to the wisdom of coming out of retirement, ask Lance Armstrong, who perhaps had aspirations of increasing his TdF haul to 8, 9, or even 10, but wound up reducing it to 0.

[airwise]

What a career. How do you top that?

By adding a Giro win, then coming back and re-winning the Tour, or at least helping his teammate do the same.

I can understand his lack of motivation. If you lived in Britain you'd probably get the enormity of what he achieved in the eyes of the public last year. The adulation of the general populous must dwarf the kudos won in the eyes of the cognoscenti sitting in the Rapha bar in central London.

The Giro? No one on the street in the UK has heard of it and to be honest, many "cycle enthusiasts" are now only discovering the climbs of Lombardy and Dolomiti because they heard that Wiggins was racing there. For my money he would never have won there, the climbs are too steep. He's not alone of course. The Giro never suited Armstrong or Evans, Ullrich or LeMond. It's a very different challenge and one suited to climbing specialists IME - indeed Froome would be a better bet to win there.

[tymon_tm]

airwise, i'm amazed how low you think of your fellow citizens regarding their familiarity with major european sport events. i always thought cycling is particularly popular among British folks, plus you do get Eurosport there don't you?


LOL:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/doping- ... eport-says

imagine such news 10 years ago. today it's just "oh, another one, thank god doping ended in 2006..."