Pot calling kettle? - Haussler @ crymore
I watched with great interest the Cervelo "Beyond the Peleton" videos on Youtube the other day and couldn't help chuckle at how much Haussler was riled by Cav during the TdF, whining about him showing disrepsect.
So it was quite suprising to see this http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/haussle ... -this-year where Haussler has obviously converted to Cav's twin.
Sure Sky's tactics at the Tour of Qatar and Oman were very odd, but the way he whines about it did tickle me pink. And I am pretty certain at one stage he call Boassen Hagen a nub doesn't he?
As Sky are miles ahead of Cervelo in the results stakes this year so far, I suspect he should look within first.
So it was quite suprising to see this http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/haussle ... -this-year where Haussler has obviously converted to Cav's twin.
Sure Sky's tactics at the Tour of Qatar and Oman were very odd, but the way he whines about it did tickle me pink. And I am pretty certain at one stage he call Boassen Hagen a nub doesn't he?
As Sky are miles ahead of Cervelo in the results stakes this year so far, I suspect he should look within first.
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Aussie sportsman in whingeing shocker...Le Blaireau (1)0
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Is he an Aussie this week?
I'd be careful about talking about respecting the rules of the sport when paying money to a certain Italian doctor for 'training plans'.0 -
Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser.
Having a team of riders that just hate losing is useful and one of the most effective tactics to motivate your team is to create an 'us and them' mentality. Create an enemy and build it up into a big deal and just watch how the team reacts.
That said, you don't want your riders to be targeted too much, but a bit of resentment from the rest of the peloton should stand Sky in good stead.0 -
At least when Cav opens his gob it's when he is winning...0
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He's not really whingeing much. Don't read too much into the quotes and remember if people jump on a rider's every word then before you know it they'll all be undergoing media training and limited to Premiership footballer discussions, "we played well" etc, rather than personal insights into the sport.
But it's true, if you bagged the Ronde van Vlaanderen then you don't really need to win much else in the season. Just ask Jacky Durand who made a career out of his win from a lucky break.0 -
To be fair to Durand, he won a bit more than Flanders, i.e. two Tour stages, Paris-Tours plus other assorted races.0
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andyp wrote:I'd be careful about talking about respecting the rules of the sport when paying money to a certain Italian doctor for 'training plans'.
Do you have any actual evidence to back that up, or is it just internet nonsense ("He went to St Moritz once so he must be doping")?Twitter: @RichN950 -
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Yes, indeed and he managed to drop Thomas Wegmuller on the way to the finish. But the Flanders win set up him very nicely. I just meant that if Haussler bags a classic then the whole season will be a success.andyp wrote:To be fair to Durand, he won a bit more than Flanders, i.e. two Tour stages, Paris-Tours plus other assorted races.0 -
RichN95 wrote:Do you have any actual evidence to back that up, or is it just internet nonsense ("He went to St Moritz once so he must be doping")?
Having a working relationship with Michele Ferrari is not something one tends to shout about these days. However, Haussler has been known to spend quite some time in St Moritz, is rumoured to be working with the evil Doctor and was probably the most improved rider in the peloton last year (to go, virtually overnight , from a fair to middling sprinter to classics strong man and Tour moyenne mountain stage winner isn't normal).
So to answer your question, no I personally do not have actual evidence, but, as the old adage goes, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quack likes a duck then it probably is a duck.0 -
dougzz wrote:
Nope, Jose Mourinho...
Actually, I thought Mourinho said that "show me a good loser" quote before, but looks like it was Vince Lombardi, the American football coach...0 -
andyp wrote:RichN95 wrote:Do you have any actual evidence to back that up, or is it just internet nonsense ("He went to St Moritz once so he must be doping")?
Having a working relationship with Michele Ferrari is not something one tends to shout about these days. However, Haussler has been known to spend quite some time in St Moritz, is rumoured to be working with the evil Doctor and was probably the most improved rider in the peloton last year (to go, virtually overnight , from a fair to middling sprinter to classics strong man and Tour moyenne mountain stage winner isn't normal).
So to answer your question, no I personally do not have actual evidence, but, as the old adage goes, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quack likes a duck then it probably is a duck.
I seem to recall significant (almost miraculous) improvements made be a certain Bradley Wiggins during the 2009/10 season. Going from a top-5 prologue rider to knocking on the door of a Tour GC podium finish in Paris and riding with the front group throughout the Pyrenees and Alps, when in each of his previous attempts he was riding the autobus wiht the sprinters.
What was that about ducks?0 -
Which preparatore has Wiggins been linked to though?
Otherwise, I'd agree. Miraculous improvements in a rider's abilities lead to raised eyebrows. Which is a sad reflection of the state the sport is in.0 -
None. Instead he's been part of the British Cycling set up which for years put track cycling at its peak, partly because it could achieve things there but above all because of the funding criteria it was given. So anytime Wiggins showed any talent it was directed towards the track rather than elsewhere. Most of us would love a sackful of Olympic medals but you can't help wondering if Wiggins has wasted a large part of his sporting career on the track.andyp wrote:Which preparatore has Wiggins been linked to though?0 -
andyp wrote:Haussler has been known to spend quite some time in St Moritz, is rumoured to be working with the evil Doctor and was probably the most improved rider in the peloton last year (to go, virtually overnight , from a fair to middling sprinter to classics strong man and Tour moyenne mountain stage winner isn't normal).
Just highlighting the rock-solid chain of evidence there.
As for "not normal"; is it that unusual for a rider (or other sportsman) to start really showing what he can do at around Haussler's age (25, 26)? A bit of Popular Search Engine effort turns up Tom Boonen in 2005-2006 for example, and, though not as directly comparable, Robert Millar in 1984.
And somebody's got to be the most improved rider in the pro ranks every year; are they always going to get this sort of thing bandied around? I know it's the sport's own fault but it's the kind of mud that sticks to careers for years."We're not holding up traffic. We are traffic."0 -
I didn't say the evidence was rock solid, hence my use of words like 'rumoured'.
As for showing promise, you'll need better examples as Boonen had shown his promise by finishing on the podium in Paris-Roubaix as a neo pro, and Millar had a string of high placings in the first couple of years as a pro.
Haussler was a fair to middling sprinter who'd never shown any promise in the classics before last season.0 -
andyp wrote:Haussler was a fair to middling sprinter who'd never shown any promise in the classics before last season.
The thing is, his two second places came from early surprise sprints from a bunch of about thirty riders. It's not like he went on the attack and rode them off his wheel. He'd come in the top ten at GW and Zurich before and Cervelo gave him the opportunity to ride for himself, which he may not have had at Gerolsteiner.Twitter: @RichN950 -
Personally, I find it rather depressing that when a rider improves and peforms over and above expectations, a doping witch-hunt follows. What is even more depressing is I can understand why.0
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From the linked article I can't find where Haussler is moaning. He states that EBH is one of the strongest riders in the peloton (true) but that a lack of experience has already cost him the yellow jersey twice this season (also true).
He doesn't seem overly critical of anyone, including Sky, and in fact says that EBH will still be very hard to beat.IN THE SADDLE
"Locals are watching from pavement cafés. Non-racers. The emptiness of those lives shocks me." Tim Krabbé, The Rider0 -
Haussler - Neo Pro 2005: Stage 19 Vuelta a Espana.
If that isn't clear sign of potential then what is?0 -
As I've said already, repeatedly in fact, he was a fair to middling sprinter so it wasn't like he was a complete unknown. However, he'd not shown the potential to be a monument winner before, in the way that Boonen did as a neo-pro.
In 2007 and 2008 he won a total of 3 races, two stages in low ranked German events and a stage of the Dauphine (in a bunch sprint if I recall, a race marked by the lack of participation of top rank sprinters). Not exactly world beating is it?0 -
He's still not a world beating sprinter. Nothing's changed in that respect. What seems to have happened to Haussler is he's training with more dedication - something he openly admits and arguably his racing tactics have improved - something which was evident from the suprise early sprints in San Remo and Flanders last year and his breakaway stage win at Le Tour.
I personally find it hard to level any criticism at Haussler because he seems genuinely talented and (now) hard working. He comes across as brash but I think that's simply what makes him the rider he is. He's not affraid.
Moreover Cervelo TT clearly provides an environment where riders can perform to their best. Who was Serge Pauwels before last year? Who was Phillip Deignan before last year? Hushovd got Green and Sastre was immense at the Giro.
I think the evidence for Haussler suddenly finding his feet without the aid of doping is more compelling than that of him allegedly being a doper.0 -
But you've offered no evidence whatsoever!
At least I offered rumour, innuendo and hearsay. 0 -
Lol and you have every right to suspect he is doped. The proof, for me, are in his results (early career and last year) and the lack of a positive drugs test.
Of course if he turns up a positive he is a very naughty man.0
