Who is your rider of the year?

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  • greeny12
    greeny12 Posts: 759
    Has to be Thomas de Gendt...

    Seriously though, hard to see past Contador simply because - like it or not - the Tour is the Big One and he won it handsomely.

    No i in 'team' pistolero? Nope, and no i in 'playground bully' etiher....
    My cycle racing blog: http://cyclingapprentice.wordpress.com/

    If you live in or near Sussex, check this out:
    http://ontherivet.ning.com/
  • dulldave
    dulldave Posts: 949
    The Prodigy wrote:
    Convincingly beat AC and CE at the Dauphine.

    Did you watch the Dauphine? Contador helped Valverde win it.

    It has to be Contador for me. Fair enough, Cav won MSR and a lot of tour stages. But the Tour is the biggest prize in cycling and Contador won it emphatically despite the pressures of his so-called team.
    Scottish and British...and a bit French
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    I just cannot give my vote for Contador this year. He is the 'rider of July', not 'rider of the year', and I do not want to support that idea that only the Tour de France counts, and it's OK to ride around 'in preparation' before and go on holiday after.

    For me it is between Valverde (winning throughout the year and finally getting his GT) and Cavendish (dominant in his specialty and winning beyond it in MSR), with special mention for Cadel Evans, Phil Gilbert, and Sammy Sanchez, for providing entertainment all year round in a variety of types of races. Hopefully no dying breed of racers....
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    RichN95 wrote:
    Well this is who the Belgians gave their Flandrien Award for best international (i.e. not Belgian) rider to. Not sure about the suit though.

    http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/photo?slug=2 ... prov=getty

    That suit is ... :oops:

    But Gilbert winning Flandrien of the year?! Wassatallabout?
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    afx237vi wrote:
    But Gilbert winning Flandrien of the year?! Wassatallabout?
    It's a general 'rider of the year' trophy, not necessarily the best Flandrien-style rider, and certainly not Flemish rider of the year ;).
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Ah, the distinction between Flemish and Flandrien still catches me out sometimes. I know you can be a Flandrien without being Flemish - Flecha, Ballan etc - but can you be Flemish without being a Flandrien?

    I confused myself about 5 times writing that sentence.
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    edited October 2009
    afx237vi wrote:
    Ah, the distinction between Flemish and Flandrien still catches me out sometimes. I know you can be a Flandrien without being Flemish - Flecha, Ballan etc - but can you be Flemish without being a Flandrien?

    I confused myself about 5 times writing that sentence.

    The Dutch/Flemish word for someone from Flanders is 'Vlaming'. Flandrien is used for the hard working, attacking, more brave than tactical riders that thrive on cobbles and mud in rain and wind, just like the Flemish like their cyclists. So in Flanders Flandrien is only used for a particular type of cyclist, it's not about where you're from. Although obviously it helps if yo've grown up on mud and cobbles, not smooth tarmac in the sun among palm trees.

    This idea: http://www.stephanvanfleteren.com/galle ... index.html

    and yes, you can be Flemish without being a Flandrien. I wouldn't call Jurgen van den Broeck for instance a typical Flandrien, or Kurt van de Wouwer, or Lucien van Impe. But it seems most Flemish riders have a bit of the Flandrien in them.
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    afx237vi wrote:
    Ah, the distinction between Flemish and Flandrien still catches me out sometimes. I know you can be a Flandrien without being Flemish - Flecha, Ballan etc - but can you be Flemish without being a Flandrien?

    I confused myself about 5 times writing that sentence.

    I'm also dying to know how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • Noodley
    Noodley Posts: 1,725
    edited October 2009
    I'll have to go along with some suggestions so far.

    Overall I'd go with Gilbert for the whole season.

    ...with Cav, Sammy Sanchez, EBH and Cancellara getting honourable mentions throughout as well...and Evans for his World's ride.

    And Contador for July for being ballsy and talented enough to take on Voldemort and the the Death Eaters of Team Askaban
  • Tusher
    Tusher Posts: 2,762
    Kléber wrote:
    Respect to Cavendish for winning a great award.

    2fa2621c5b416f49f411ec950d4f58dd-getty-cycling-flandrien-trophy.jpg



    No, no, no Cav. DO NOT leave the house looking like this again. White trousers are just so disco 70s and they suit no-one over the age of 3 months.

    Now, if you had gone through with the wedding, you would have been a happily married man and Mrs Melissa Cavendish would have made sure that you were dressed in something nice.

    Men, sometimes they just can't help themselves.

    BTW, and it is truly none of my business and he should be left well alone to have his private life, but I'm a gossip. Did he chuck her, or did she chuck him?
  • Philip S
    Philip S Posts: 398
    Riders who have got me out of my seat and cheering this year:
    Cav at MSR
    Boonen at P-R and on those hills in the last 10k of P-T
    Cancellara at the Worlds (both races) and that TdF descent

    Riders who have got me cheering, but still sat on the sofa:
    Gilbert at GdL
    Cuddles at the Worlds
    Wiggins at Verbier and Ventoux

    On balance, Tom Boonen's probably my favourite - his attacks at the end of P-R and, particularly fresh in my mind, P-T (bonus points for doing that while wearing the Belgian champion's jersey) were fantastic. More of that and less of the bugle next year, please.
  • ozzzyosborn206
    ozzzyosborn206 Posts: 1,340
    cav deserves a mention for what he did at milan san remo but alot of his other wins had as much to do with the colombia train working so well i am sure katusha should have won more stages at tob had it not been for the colombia train, ebh had another good season but his time to win it outright will come, contadors kick still mesmerises me, a schlek for being so awesome and a nice guy, boonen for showing you can live it up and still do well but my pick has got to be cancellara what other riders has th eability to blow apart the competition on the world tt then days laters have riders such as cunego on the rivit on a climb, so exciting to watch and on erider onne would want to let get away, think he was strongest in world rr too but was watched like a hawk in last few k
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    My top 5

    1. Cav. A winner pure and simple.
    2. Evans. Apart from TDF a great year on topped it off with the worlds
    3. Armstrong. Showed strong and peaked at the time he needed. If he hadn't have broken his shoulder who knows?
    4. Valverde. Has a GT under his belt and other great results.
    5. Cancellara. Man's an animal! Love his TT and the decent in the TDF was so good. His worlds TT ride was exceptional.

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