Wegelius

Tusher

Whilst we're all jumping off our sofas cheering for Mr Wiggins, does anyone know how Charly's tour has been?
I can't find out if Evans is pleased with him or not. I know he wasn't 100% race fit as he wasn't expecting to race the Tour, but in previous years, he would have been been interviewed nightly as the only Brit in the peloton.

There was only one interview I saw (but I've not caught them all) with him when he looked shattered but was proud that he's been able to stay with Cadel when he was needed.

Coriander

He has a very amusing Twitter account in which he has shown a fair amount of modesty.

http://twitter.com/wegelius

Tusher

Thanks Coriander- had a quick read through and decided I Like Wegelius.

Coriander

Tusher wrote:

Thanks Coriander- had a quick read through and decided I Like Wegelius.

Yeah, that was exactly what I did too. Laurens ten Dam also comes across as a really nice guy.

We all know whose twitter account makes them look like an utter tosser...

RichN95.

One of Cadel's twitters

@laineyme -like I told Charlie today: The fact that he 'turned up in Monaco is above and beyond the call of duty'.

It seems he's happy with him - maybe enough to take him to his new team.

top_bhoy

Tusher wrote:

Thanks Coriander- had a quick read through and decided I Like Wegelius.

mmmm...he must have changed. In the past (2005 Madrid) he was found to have sold-out his team-mates in an underhand manner for a few pieces of silver!!! Nothing much for me to like in him.

The Prodigy

Top_Bhoy wrote:

Tusher wrote:

Thanks Coriander- had a quick read through and decided I Like Wegelius.

mmmm...he must have changed. In the past (2005 Madrid) he was found to have sold-out his team-mates in an underhand manner for a few pieces of silver!!! Nothing much for me to like in him.

Exactly what I thought, never liked him much. He almost seemed to despise Britain in the past.

teagar

The Prodigy wrote:

Exactly what I thought, never liked him much. He almost seemed to despise Britain in the past.

Can you blame him? :roll:

disgruntledgoat

I always saw him as more of an Italian rider than a brit... based there, highly thought of in their set up, rode for their teams, spoke the language very well. Also, I don't think that Roger Hammond was in with a shout at the 2005 worlds anyhow.

top_bhoy

disgruntledgoat wrote:

I always saw him as more of an Italian rider than a brit... based there, highly thought of in their set up, rode for their teams, spoke the language very well. Also, I don't think that Roger Hammond was in with a shout at the 2005 worlds anyhow.

Whether Hammond was in with a shout is irrelevant to going behind the teams back and accepting what was, no more than a bribe. If he wasn't happy with the situation he should not have ridden - it was clear well beforehand that the team would be riding for Hammond.

teagar

Top_Bhoy wrote:

Whether Hammond was in with a shout is irrelevant to going behind the teams back and accepting what was, no more than a bribe. If he wasn't happy with the situation he should not have ridden - it was clear well beforehand that the team would be riding for Hammond.

A bribe? More like he knows which side butters his bread.

Can't blame the chap.

mgcycleguy

I have a theory about this and its something very interesting about the sport of cycling. Many "world" sports as such have their routes in English "sports" created in the C19th to foster a spirit personal endeavour and sacrifice for the good of ones team... to train an elite to run the British Empire as such. There has always therefore been the idea at the route of many popular sports an idea of a "golden age" of amateurism... the triumph of "the Gentleman over the Players" if you will.

... cycling on the other hand has always been professional from the word go. It therefore doesnt have these amateur "yearnings" for the good old days... its an upfront brutal professional exercise.

... think about it this way, I owe my "allegience" to my employer, they put the food on my table, they keep the roof over my head... whether that employer be British, Amercian, French, Spanish or Italian ... so why would a professional cyclist be any different. And if truth be known, its the same in Football (see debate over club and country), Cricket, Rugby, Atheletics.... its just these "sports" have as part of their product offering this Golden age component so the professionalism has to be hidden to a degree.

top_bhoy

Main Entry:1bribe
Pronunciation:\ˈbrīb\
Function:noun
Etymology:Middle English, morsel given to a beggar, bribe, from Anglo-French, morsel
Date:15th century
1 : money or favor given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust
2 : something that serves to induce or influence

teagar

Top_Bhoy wrote:

Main Entry:1bribe
Pronunciation:\ˈbrīb\
Function:noun
Etymology:Middle English, morsel given to a beggar, bribe, from Anglo-French, morsel
Date:15th century
1 : money or favor given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust
2 : something that serves to induce or influence

So his salary then? :roll:

If Wegelius doesn't have any affiliation with Britain, then why should he ride for them, when he could just as well benefit the lot who pay him?

Get with the times. Sporting nationalism is soo 20th Century.

top_bhoy

teagar wrote:

Top_Bhoy wrote:

Main Entry:1bribe
Pronunciation:\ˈbrīb\
Function:noun
Etymology:Middle English, morsel given to a beggar, bribe, from Anglo-French, morsel
Date:15th century
1 : money or favor given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust
2 : something that serves to induce or influence

So his salary then? :roll:

If Wegelius doesn't have any affiliation with Britain, then why should he ride for them, when he could just as well benefit the lot who pay him?

Get with the times. Sporting nationalism is soo 20th Century.

You miss the point entirely. This has nothing to do with an affiliation to Britain (or any particular team) and everything to do with 'doing the dirty' on your teammates and going behind their back, knowingly working against a team-mate to their detriment. If a colleague deliberately plotted and disadvantaged you, I assume you would think he did 'the right thing'.

teagar

Top_Bhoy wrote:

If a colleague deliberately plotted and disadvantaged you, I assume you would think he did 'the right thing'.

Spot on.

I don't really see it like that to be honest.

It's well known that stuff like that goes down in the worlds. It's par for the course. Hammond should be able to offer something to Wegelius to keep him allied to him, whether is help elsewhere in the calander or cash. It's all part of the racing.

mgcycleguy

"... If a colleague deliberately plotted and disadvantaged you, I assume you would think he did 'the right thing'...."

... sounds like an average day in my office to be honest

samb01

teagar wrote:

Get with the times. Sporting nationalism is soo 20th Century.

You're denying human nature. If it wasn't for tribalism, few people would care about professional sports.

Btw, didn't it used to be fairly common to ride in the service of your trade team mates in the WC back in the day, and big rivals from the same country would often ride against each other?

Kléber

I've raced with him and know him a bit. He's a nice guy, quiet and unassuming.

As for his incident at the Worlds, let's be honest the concept of national teams is so vague when it happens once a year. I can remember seeing Di Luca chasing down Bettini, all because they were on rival trade teams, despite both wearing the maglia azzura. This doesn't excuse Wegelius's behaviour on the day but it goes a long way to explaining it.

Besides, this was back in the day when Wegelius would have been on the start line knowing very well that the chances of a Brit winning were so slim that he might as well help his trade team colleagues and local Italian training partners, remember he is half-Finnish and lives in Italy with an Italian partner, he's hardly the sort of guy to wear union jack boxer shorts and own a bulldog.

Tusher

Does he hold a British racing licence?

emadden

I was on the Ventoux yesterday, about 2.5km down from the summit and when Charly was passing he yelled at me "Where's Tom, Where's Tom" (i.e. Tom Simpson's memorial)... That a sign of true British rider to me... . I dont know what he did when he passed as it is 1km further up the road, but I guess like most British riders he took his helmet off

DaveyL

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/british ... om-simpson


"Wiggins, when he passed the memorial and the small knot of spectators gathered there, was fully committed to his pursuit of Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong and the Schleck brothers in defence of his fourth place overall. While Wiggins couldn’t afford even a glance at the memorial during the stage, he later communicated a message via Twitter. "Shed a tear today for Tom," read his post. "I had a little extra strength today from somewhere. Had a photo of the man on my top tube."

The other three British cyclists in the Tour all paid their own tributes, Charley Wegelius turning towards the monument as he rode past, and throwing his water bottle towards it, to be added to the pile of cycling-related knickknacks – bidons, caps, shirts, inner tubes – gathered around it.

Then came Mark Cavendish, who removed his helmet, and just behind him David Millar, who reached into his back pocket, removed a cotton Garmin cap, and tossed it over the fence in the direction of the statue. The gesture was clearly planned in advance. "To Tommy, RIP, David Millar," read the scrawled message.

As Millar knows only too well, Simpson, who died with amphetamines in his pocket in an era when there were no dope tests and rampant abuse of drugs, the British rider’s legacy goes beyond his palmares. A legacy, that even in a Tour so far free of any positive drug tests, should not be forgotten."

emadden

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotcycling/3757404819/

pottssteve

emadden wrote:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotcycling/3757404819/

Nice photo!
Steve

ms_tree

DH said today that Charlie was going to get married this weekend but had to postpone it when he got the call-up.

DavidBelcher

Coriander wrote:

He has a very amusing Twitter account in which he has shown a fair amount of modesty.

http://twitter.com/wegelius

Just had a read and though it worth repeating this;

"I'm an all round rider: I go badly on all terrains". A top quality self-effacing remark!

David

simon_e

emadden wrote:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotcycling/3757404819/

Thanks for posting that link. The calm before the storm.

It's interesting how Simpson's memory/legacy/whatever has become so prominent. I believe that is mainly due to David Millar. I have a vague recollection of him having mentioned it to Bradley & co at some point.

I guess most of us don't know a lot about him. I know ITV spoke to him at Verbier stage and he looked totally knackered, having chased back to a fast-moving peloton after an early double pumcture then worked for Cadel for the rest of the day. But he was clear and unequivocal about Wiggins.

It's a shame we aren't able to hear more from the worker bees who invariably give up any chance of glory to benefit the team leader. All these things illuminate the race and a glimpse of what is done in the pursuit of victory or, for some, survival.

graeme_s-2

Simon E wrote:

emadden wrote:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotcycling/3757404819/

t's interesting how Simpson's memory/legacy/whatever has become so prominent. I believe that is mainly due to David Millar. I have a vague recollection of him having mentioned it to Bradley & co at some point.

Wiggins knew about him long before that. I read an interview with him recently where he said when he first went to race in Europe Wiggins stayed in places that Simpson had stayed and met people who had supported Simpson when he first went to Europe to race. These people told Wiggins about Simpson and what he was like.

stagehopper

Here's that Wiggins interview:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/gene ... 60541.html

And Tom Simpson's daughter:

She has followed Wiggins’s progress with great interest. "I lived with his father, you know," she said. "Garry Wiggins lived in the same digs as me in Ghent. I remember Brad being born."

simon_e

Thanks for the correction. The story is much better than I thought!