Rain, a bit of danger... and the peloton whinges? Come on.

frenchfighter

NapoleonD wrote:

Yep, I have no qualms about the situation. I said earlier, it's called 'racing', not 'waiting around for sh*t to happen'.

I was just saying that someone did crash. He should have gone a bit slower, it's the name of the game.

So someone crashed yeasterday?! Don't you mean today...the thread was talking about yesterday's racing.

Quite Frankly

frenchfighter wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Yep, I have no qualms about the situation. I said earlier, it's called 'racing', not 'waiting around for sh*t to happen'.

I was just saying that someone did crash. He should have gone a bit slower, it's the name of the game.

So someone crashed yeasterday?! Don't you mean today...the thread was talking about yesterday's racing.

Had me confused for a bit I must say.

stagehopper

The Horillo crash was today. And yesterday it wasn't just Armstrong who complained - if anything Mick Rogers was more forceful in his views and Cadel Evans called the descent crazy (admittedly watching on TV).

afx237vi

stagehopper wrote:

The Horillo crash was today. And yesterday it wasn't just Armstrong who complained - if anything Mick Rogers was more forceful in his views and Cadel Evans called the descent crazy (admittedly watching on TV).

But still no-one says what, in particular, was so dangerous about that descent. It wasn't technical, the roads weren't in bad condition, it wasn't even steep.

The only thing they can complain about was the weather, and whaddya gonna do about that? Perhaps they could take the lead from cricketers and stop off in a café for a cup of tea (or a gelato) every time it rains.

Descending is every bit a part of cycling as climbing or sprinting. Just ask Paolo Savoldelli or Samuel Sanchez if they want to see an end to downhill finishes.

mididoctors

the stage to les arcs in 96 was epic... and the weather was appaling..they just got on with it.

mididoctors

stagehopper wrote:

The Horillo crash was today. And yesterday it wasn't just Armstrong who complained - if anything Mick Rogers was more forceful in his views and Cadel Evans called the descent crazy (admittedly watching on TV).

rogers has crashed out of the tour descending.. but that was on a fine day...

if you can't handle the heat then get out of...etc

markwalker

Armstrong MTFU

JEZMON, GavH im sure also is commenting on the fact that personal pride and sense of self should carry these "proffesionals" through difficult times.
If they havent got the nuts to do the job their places would be taken no problem.

ARMSTRONG MTFU

deejay

Jez mon wrote:

Telling a low paid, undervalued domestique to MTFU is unfeeling and unwarranted, although it is a job that many of us would take in a flash, i bet that many of us would quit when we found out just what it entailed. Face it ... being a low paid professional cyclist is about as bad a job as you can get, sure you get paid to ride a bike, but it becomes a chore, and dependant on the team you can enter into a health program which can be seriously damaging to yourself.

What the hell is going on here, Low Paid WTF

The guy doing the "Winging" is the "Richest" man in the Peloton and his Targets are Self Preservation and keeping in the Public eye of the USA.
I have heard it is needed to launch into a Political Career and he is here (and at TDF) as a Showman only.
Is anybody else winging about the course which was anounced some months ago.
If he had any ambitions of trying to Win this Giro then he would have checked it out, like he did for 7 years elsewhere.

deejay

mididoctors wrote:

the stage to les arcs in 96 was epic... and the weather was appaling..they just got on with it.

But Armstrong packed in the rain that year.

mididoctors

deejay wrote:

mididoctors wrote:

the stage to les arcs in 96 was epic... and the weather was appaling..they just got on with it.

But Armstrong packed in the rain that year.

Jez mon

deejay wrote:

Jez mon wrote:

Telling a low paid, undervalued domestique to MTFU is unfeeling and unwarranted, although it is a job that many of us would take in a flash, i bet that many of us would quit when we found out just what it entailed. Face it ... being a low paid professional cyclist is about as bad a job as you can get, sure you get paid to ride a bike, but it becomes a chore, and dependant on the team you can enter into a health program which can be seriously damaging to yourself.

What the hell is going on here, Low Paid WTF

The guy doing the "Winging" is the "Richest" man in the Peloton and his Targets are Self Preservation and keeping in the Public eye of the USA.
I have heard it is needed to launch into a Political Career and he is here (and at TDF) as a Showman only.
Is anybody else winging about the course which was anounced some months ago.
If he had any ambitions of trying to Win this Giro then he would have checked it out, like he did for 7 years elsewhere.

I'm not talking about Lance Armstrong though, I'm talking about the lowly domestiques! Occasionally guys like Lance have to speak out for their benefit, because the press don't care that much about the ramblings of a domestique (unless they happen to be English speaking)! It seems that Lance wasn't making a fair point here, however, I was more making a general point that sometimes the risks pros are asked to take aren't really worth the rubbish pay that those who aren't stars get.

Pokerface

deejay wrote:

Is anybody else winging about the course which was anounced some months ago.
If he had any ambitions of trying to Win this Giro then he would have checked it out, like he did for 7 years elsewhere.

Well yeah. There were other people complaining. You just don't hear about them as much because they aren't Lance!

And the route wasn't the issue - it was the weather. Perhaps Lance should have scoped out the weather forecast several months ago and then decided whether or not to ride?

Scouting the route wouldn't have done anything to help. Plus kinda hard for him to do while recovering from a broken collarbone.

andyrac

GavH wrote:

Jez mon wrote:

To be honest, a lot of them don't get paid that much. However good a rider they are, a low ranking domestique can have his career ended for him in a split second, then what do they go on to do, most of the guys aren't well educated. At the end of the day, i'm not saying they should ban all decents, that would be stupid, but that there is a line, especially when a fall can result in death. By the sounds of it they didn't cross that line today, but we as fans need to remember that the domestiques aren't living the life and earning the wage of a professional footballer by a long way, and that asking them to take tremendous risks isn't really on.

I spent my formative years training to be a jump jockey, where low pay and risk of imminent death is prevalent. I am now in the Army, where low pay and risk of imminent death is still prevalent. I don't see anyone around me now (or a few years back in racing) complaining when it rained - either the wet stuff, half ton racehorses, or 1000lb bombs. Anyone who does complain gets told to man up.

My point is, they are professionals and should get on with it, because thats what pros do. In any line of work, regardless.

Jump Jockeys, now they are a Special breed - they have to be almost insane, I mean McCoy is a legend 14times Champion. Unbelievable.
As far as I'm concerned - you ride to the conditions - and the available grip, etc Well that's what I've been told, particularly in Motorsport.