"PRO" Cycling Discussion

[KWalker]

Sky's performance isn't surprising. They're well organized, play their strengths, figure out the demands of their races and train EXACTLY for them, and from what I've been told the team is so well-run and organized that the riders basically just have to eat (often prepared for them by top class chefs), ride, and chill out/recover. Its not rocket science, but you have a hell of a lot of riders and teams that might use powermeters and whatnot but still can't put all of these simple things together and make it work. Cycling is very tradition based and Sky just doesn't follow that stuff and does what works.

[LeePaton]

No one bad mouth Froome on twitter, his missus comes after you.

[ticou]

!9.16 seconds. Wiggo did it in 19.12 last year.

[de zwarten]

I wanted to mention something about domestique and average climber Porte nearly beating the time of TDF winner Wiggins on low-profile wheels in worse circumstances than last year, but I guess this topic is not the appropriate place to discuss this in length. Nice to see how Armstrong-esque Porte was riding.

[ticou]

I'm not doubting his talent at all, and he hinted in the post race interview that Sky may make him leader in next years giro. Or this years even?

[Guerdi]

Game of spot the difference

[ultyguy]

Without a doubt, Sky is doping....

Financial doping remember JV's tweet during the Dauphine last year, something like a 600k guy pulling an 800k guy pulling a 1m guy finishing it off with a 2m guy.

[KWalker]

I wanted to mention something about domestique and average climber Porte nearly beating the time of TDF winner Wiggins on low-profile wheels in worse circumstances than last year, but I guess this topic is not the appropriate place to discuss this in length. Nice to see how Armstrong-esque Porte was riding.

Apparently you did not see Porte in the Maglia Rosa in the Giro. He is definitely not an average climber- he's above average and he can TT pretty well. Add in 2 years of progression with a decent team/staff of trainers plus his young age and its quite obvious that its not really out of nowhere.

Best Young Rider at 2010 Giro with jersey for 4 stages and 4th in that year's world TT champs and 1st in the Tour de Romandie TT (25 years old)
6th in the 2011 world TT champs
1st at Volta ao Algarve in 2012

So please, tell me how that is "average". The dude is only 27, he's 5 foot 7 and 140lbs, clearly has a motor, and can clearly climb.

[Imaking20]

Wait, a professional cyclist put in a good ride?! Doper. He's got to be a doper. Definitely the next Lance...

[Kjetil]

Game of spot the difference

EPS front shifting and mechanical rear.
But why? And is that a polished Athena rear mech?

[KWalker]

Actually, its pretty easy to imagine considering the amount of pro riders that have come out who had colleagues at nationally run sporting institutes that had no formal knowledge of their doping.

Leinders is gone, Sky is still riding well.

[Geoff]

Financial doping!

[HammerTime2]

It's probably harder to get away with doping than it used to be, although not as hard as it is for artray to get away with posting under new identities.

[ave]

If it is only financial doping, it's still plain wrong.
In T/A a domestique (Uran) was finishing together with other teams' leaders.

[btompkins0112]

Lets face it....Sky are the Yankees of cycling.

Also, good to see Artray back in the fray.....he is username doping.