Best Athletic performances of 2009

dave_1
dave_1 Posts: 9,512
edited November 2009 in Pro race
given the circumstances, height, weight, age...competition...which were the best athletic performances of 2009? Not so much who won the biggest races...but how theyw ere won, by how much, circumstances of the win and so on...

Contador's prologue at Paris Nice and TDF TT win

Armstrong's 3rd at TDF

Cavendish's kick across to Hassuler in the last 200m
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKBacb2V ... ata_player

Comments

  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    Cancellara's display at the Worlds was just awesome to watch. A demonstration rather than a race.

    Brice Fellieu at Andorra, holding off the pack to win as an unfancied neo-pro in his first GT summit finish, a huge step up.

    Boonen Vs Pozzato at Paris Roubaix as well, with Boonen's prowess on the cobbles allowing him to build a slim advantage and then the two of them hammering at each other but the gap holding steady to the finish.
    "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
  • SpaceJunk
    SpaceJunk Posts: 1,157
    Paris - Roubaix = Boonen v Pozzato was good.

    I enjoyed Evans' win at World's

    Astana's TTT win @ TdF was also quite awesome (as was Garmin's efforts). Sure, the TTT killed off a lot of riders' hopes, but to see 9 riders working like that was great.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,481
    Some good ones so far. Here's a couple of others to add to the mix.

    Andy Schleck at L-B-L with his attack from 20 kilometres out that held off a high quality chasing group.

    Pip Gilbert at Lombardy, everyone knew he was in form and would attack but no-one, with the exception of Samuel Sanchez, could do anything about it when it came.

    Cadel Evans at the Worlds, he used his head to get into a position to launch a solo attack and then timed that attack to perfection. He increased his lead all the way to the line.
  • avoidingmyphd
    avoidingmyphd Posts: 1,154
    Contador's ride to Verbier has to be up there, for the psychological circumstances it came under.

    Otherwise, my ideas are already taken! +1 to Cav at San Remo and +1 to Cancellara at the World's TT. I'm not sure we'll see a performance like that again for a while.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,871
    edited November 2009
    Dave_1 wrote:

    Contador's prologue at Paris Nice and TDF TT win

    Armstrong's 3rd at TDF


    bertie's verbier stage wasn't exactly short of "superlatives" either for watts/vam/ performance etc etc....

    LA "for his age" thing is ok but he hardly lit the world on fire with a single devastating performance.. working wiggins over on the Romme/colombiere was a willy piece of roadcraft but does that count as athleticism?

    Cavendish's kick across to Hassuler in the last 200m

    +1 I still find the overhead of that catch somewhat remarkable... Haussler was in a different country when Cavendish started sprinting
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,871
    edited November 2009
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    Cancellara's display at the Worlds was just awesome to watch. A demonstration rather than a race.

    I think it was the performance of the year


    garmins ttt with just 5 guys which despite not being a win is worth a minor mention
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • Matt the Tester
    Matt the Tester Posts: 1,261
    does it have too be a cyclist? if not id say usain bolt and mark cavendish :)
    Coveryourcar.co.uk RT Tester
    north west of england.
  • intothe12
    intothe12 Posts: 190
    Haussler winning the tour stage and Hushovd for fighting gravity to claim the green jersey.

    anything that Gilbert does....clearly a great end of season campaign.

    (honourable mention to Chav for his climbing ability in managing to haul himself up the step ladder in order to reach up to his new Italian piece of fluff)
  • dave_1
    dave_1 Posts: 9,512
    for me Contador's beating of cancellera is the ultimate performance of the season...physically it is baffling but still...it's the biggest shock anyone has had in the 2009 season-nobody would have predicted it
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKBacb2V ... ata_player
  • intothe12
    intothe12 Posts: 190
    Dave_1 wrote:
    physically it is baffling
    indeed....best performances should not leave a bad taste.... this does however (even despite no backup from stana
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    mididoctors wrote:
    LA "for his age" thing is ok but he hardly lit the world on fire with a single devastating performance.. working wiggins over on the Romme/colombiere was a willy piece of roadcraft but does that count as athleticism?

    I'd agree. Coming 3rd in the Tour isn't a brilliant display of athleticism like the other things mentioned in this thread. It only because interesting when you put the whole story around it.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • intothe12
    intothe12 Posts: 190
    mididoctors wrote:

    working wiggins over on the Romme/colombiere was a willy piece of roadcraft but does that count as athleticism?

    very true.... (i must use that saying some day when someone takes it upon themself to shell me out the back on a saturday morning spin)
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    Dave_1 wrote:
    for me Contador's beating of cancellera is the ultimate performance of the season...physically it is baffling but still...it's the biggest shock anyone has had in the 2009 season-nobody would have predicted it

    If you look at it in the context of 1) It being well into the 3rd week of a Grand Tour and 2) It having a 5km climb in the middle of it, it's less baffling to me.
    "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
  • dave_1
    dave_1 Posts: 9,512
    intothe12 wrote:
    Dave_1 wrote:
    physically it is baffling
    indeed....best performances should not leave a bad taste.... this does however (even despite no backup from stana

    we don't know how tired the field were relative to Contador that day. I pick it out as verbier was no surprise to anyone... I'd say the gap Cav closed down to Haussler was something never seen before
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKBacb2V ... ata_player
  • avoidingmyphd
    avoidingmyphd Posts: 1,154
    dave did you start this thread just to reopen the argument about contador's TT ability? and then, when it didn't work, and it turned into a perfectly sensible thread, you posted AGAIN to give the fight another chance to get started?

    anyway, getting sucked in, you are wrong to say that "noone" would have predicted his TT dominance. Lots of people did - just have a look at our very own PTP thread from the time: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... &start=800

    lots of people predicted it. you just weren't taking any notice!
  • singlespeedexplosif
    singlespeedexplosif Posts: 1,564
    Lizzie Armitstead's silver in the Worlds scratch race. Awesome.
  • dave_1
    dave_1 Posts: 9,512
    avoidingmyphd wrote:
    dave did you start this thread just to reopen the argument about contador's TT ability? and then, when it didn't work, and it turned into a perfectly sensible thread, you posted AGAIN to give the fight another chance to get started?

    anyway, getting sucked in, you are wrong to say that "noone" would have predicted his TT dominance. Lots of people did - just have a look at our very own PTP thread from the time: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... &start=800

    lots of people predicted it. you just weren't taking any notice!

    he's a tiny little climber...it's amazing output for someone of that size. And yes, I am trying to start an arguement-about best performance...getting away from who won the biggest races of the year and instead look at the best wins of the year, not so much the name of the race. Valverde won the Vuelta..Evans was unlucky, Evans win the worlds...neither stood out for me... Contador and Cav did...am not hinting at drugs.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKBacb2V ... ata_player
  • intothe12
    intothe12 Posts: 190
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    Dave_1 wrote:
    for me Contador's beating of cancellera is the ultimate performance of the season...physically it is baffling but still...it's the biggest shock anyone has had in the 2009 season-nobody would have predicted it

    If you look at it in the context of 1) It being well into the 3rd week of a Grand Tour and 2) It having a 5km climb in the middle of it, it's less baffling to me.

    I must say this does not work for me....the nervous energy that is expended in watching moves during the day and the probably stress of watching who stabs you in the back at night etc.. should have left him tired. or at the very least it should have left him tired enough for Cancellera to have won. Cancellera had a relatively comfortable run in to the TT and I think he was suprised as anyone not to have won.

    I find this performance very baffling, in the same way as I find Hears putting in a super time trial in the last 2 days of the 2004 vuelta to finsh the stage 4th and take yellow (even though a rider i resepct sastre finsihed 3rd on the day) or Pantani knocking out several a top ten places in the time trials in the GT's. all very baffling.....
  • maltiv
    maltiv Posts: 34
    Thor Hushovd for dragging his fat ass first over 2 cat 1. climbs!
  • maltiv
    maltiv Posts: 34
    Maybe it wasn't the most impressive as no one really tried to chase him in the peleton, but worth a mention anyway.
  • ozzzyosborn206
    ozzzyosborn206 Posts: 1,340
    http://www.velonews.com/article/95744
    cancellara saying contador paced the motorcycles which probably was the difference between 1st adn 2nd, cavs kick was awesome, you have to respect wiggins change from olympic track champ to world class gt rider in a year too
  • dave_1
    dave_1 Posts: 9,512
    Gerrant Thomas last week on the track?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKBacb2V ... ata_player
  • dulldave
    dulldave Posts: 949
    Me going under 29 minutes on a 10 mile TT. :lol:

    Oh go on then. I'm just talking about the stuff I've seen that made the best watching for me.

    Giro (unfortunately DDL stole a lot of the limelight)
    Sastre's well timed attack to send Armstrong back to "help Levi"
    Wiggins climbing (who knew?)
    Pelizzotti showing Basso how to climb

    Dauphine
    Evans attacking (who knew?)

    Tour
    Hushovd climbing for sprint points
    Columbia on the Champs Elysee
    Wiggins climbing (OK we'd had some warning by then)
    Haussler's stage win (There was something in my eye, OK)
    Armstrong for being a wily old fox

    Worlds
    Cancellara being awesome
    Evans for good timing
    Scottish and British...and a bit French
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    My kids think the 34.25 min club 10 I did 10 weeks after breaking my leg in 3 places was the best thing of 2009.
    I think the 26.12 I did 4 weeks later was better...

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