Pais Vasco Queen Stage 4 *spoiler*

rick_chasey

deejay wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

calvjones wrote:

Bloody J-Rod 49s down. Bye bye PTP overall

I feel your pain.

He's rubbish at the moment.

I thought about him for today (OK I came unstuck with Andy) and decided J-Rod had too much compitetion today as he won the Volta Catalunya without a stage win.

This is the heartland of Pais Vasco and the Euskaltel-Euskadi team and maybe pitti wanted a smooth passage down the mountain.
I wish I had worked that out earlier.

Ah racing in Iberia.

Never really got it to be honest.

Even did a bit of Franco at Uni and it was a mess to me then too.

greeny12

I thought this had to be Euskaltel's day, somehow or other - unfortunately picked the wrong Basque for my PTP!

frenchfighter

Been away for a bit and come back to Valverde taking wins left right and centre and maybe GC, as well as LLS taking a stage and likey GC. The sig line is getting pretty heavy. Champions.

frenchfighter

4mins of footage:
http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/videos/201 ... 0036.shtml

Reuters

RichN95.

frenchfighter wrote:

Been away for a bit and come back to Valverde taking wins left right and centre and maybe GC, as well as LLS taking a stage and likey GC. The sig line is getting pretty heavy. Champions.

These people in your sig line - are you their coach or something? No wonder you're so proud of their achievements.

blazing_saddles

RichN95 wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

Been away for a bit and come back to Valverde taking wins left right and centre and maybe GC, as well as LLS taking a stage and likey GC. The sig line is getting pretty heavy. Champions.

These people in your sig line - are you their coach or something? No wonder you're so proud of their achievements.

More likely teenage hormones or something.

frenchfighter

No, just not afraid to say I really like some riders, unlike a lot of people on here who seem to avoid that at all costs, apart from universivally loved riders. I can explain quite clearly why every one of those riders is there.

RichN95.

frenchfighter wrote:

No, just not afraid to say I really like some riders, unlike a lot of people on here who seem to avoid that at all costs, apart from universivally loved riders. I can explain quite clearly why every one of those riders is there.

You can like who you want, but why do you feel the need to brag about it as though you'd won yourself?

I like Samuel Dumoulin (because he's a midget). He won today, but I'm not lording it up.

Pokerface

frenchfighter wrote:

Been away for a bit

Ah, No wonder the forum's been so pleasant recently. Oh well, back to the battles.

frenchfighter

RichN95 wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

No, just not afraid to say I really like some riders, unlike a lot of people on here who seem to avoid that at all costs, apart from universivally loved riders. I can explain quite clearly why every one of those riders is there.

You can like who you want, but why do you feel the need to brag about it as though you'd won yourself?

I like Samuel Dumoulin (because he's a midget). He won today, but I'm not lording it up.

It is pretty silly to say that I brag about it like I won it myself as it is abundantly clear that I don't have any hand in the matter. I'm just happy when they do...I wouldn't take it as anything more than that.

frenchfighter

Pokerface wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

Been away for a bit

Ah, No wonder the forum's been so pleasant recently. Oh well, back to the battles.

You kid yourself as many on here actually enjoy the baiting etc. I for one don't like having to partake (which is the over-riding reason why I sometimes say I have nothing more to say)...it just so happens that much of it is directed at me and my comments and opinions.

Glad you had a good time though. A change is as good as a rest.

DaveyL

frenchfighter wrote:

You kid yourself as many on here actually enjoy the baiting etc. I for one don't like having to partake (which is the over-riding reason why I sometimes say I have nothing more to say)...it just so happens that much of it is directed at me and my comments and opinions

Maybe it's directed at you because you spend much of your time on here attempting to "educate" the rest of us as to what cycling is all about, when in actual fact you know bugger all about the best Grand Tour of the last 20-odd years, which took place only 5 years ago?

frenchfighter

Quite wrong you are. I don't try and 'educate' anyone here on the history of cycling, not least when many of you are clearly much older than me and have been following cycling for significantly longer. If anything I want to know more and ask people for information, like via the Di Luca photo, which you have unsuccessfully tried to put me down with. Luckily I am not like yourself amongst others and prone to defence with anger.

takethehighroad

frenchfighter wrote:

Been away for a bit

Where did you go to? Argument school? You seem to have come back all guns blazing.

moray_gub

DaveyL wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

You kid yourself as many on here actually enjoy the baiting etc. I for one don't like having to partake (which is the over-riding reason why I sometimes say I have nothing more to say)...it just so happens that much of it is directed at me and my comments and opinions

Maybe it's directed at you because you spend much of your time on here attempting to "educate" the rest of us as to what cycling is all about, when in actual fact you know bugger all about the best Grand Tour of the last 20-odd years, which took place only 5 years ago?

+1

moray_gub

frenchfighter wrote:

Pokerface wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

Been away for a bit

(which is the over-riding reason why I sometimes say I have nothing more to say)..

.

The over riding reason you say that is basically becuase you often make a c*nt of yourself and you use it as some kind of verbal retreat.

DaveyL

frenchfighter wrote:

Quite wrong you are. I don't try and 'educate' anyone here on the history of cycling, not least when many of you are clearly much older than me and have been following cycling for significantly longer. If anything I want to know more and ask people for information, like via the Di Luca photo, which you have unsuccessfully tried to put me down with. Luckily I am not like yourself amongst others and prone to defence with anger.

Except I didn't say "cycling history", I said "cycling".

Pross

Thought Sammy played a blinder there, realised he wasn't going to be allowed to win with Horner in tow to take the GC so eased up until Valverde caught up and then went again. Excellent tactics whether it was a gift from Valv or not.

bigmat

frenchfighter wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

No, just not afraid to say I really like some riders, unlike a lot of people on here who seem to avoid that at all costs, apart from universivally loved riders. I can explain quite clearly why every one of those riders is there.

You can like who you want, but why do you feel the need to brag about it as though you'd won yourself?

I like Samuel Dumoulin (because he's a midget). He won today, but I'm not lording it up.

It is pretty silly to say that I brag about it like I won it myself as it is abundantly clear that I don't have any hand in the matter. I'm just happy when they do...I wouldn't take it as anything more than that.

Its not "Dr Frenchfighter" then?

deejay

I can throw my hat in this ring and further the cause of controversy.
I like Alejandro Valverde, so there.

Whoa, tie a knot in it.
I like a rider who, drugs or not, can still be seen to hurt himself (herself ?) and yesterday AV put in a good ride in my book.

Then you have the others that win without much effort being shown and I don't have to name them but you know who I mean and a start would be Bjarne Riis.
I have despised him since he dropped back along the selection of real mountain climbers and then just poodled off up the mountain.
It was so different the year before when I stood on a mountain (Zulle went past about 9 mins up and the next group had not long passed down on the valley road) and saw Riis with eyeballs bulging as he stared at a back wheel of 5/6 riders with Big Mig setting the pace as usual.
The following year when he took off, I said (and ever since I maintained my point even though I was out of line) that WTF sort of Juice was he on.

I am a Fan of Reechar V, Pantani, Alex and even Georg Totchnig among others.
Aw hell don't forget Claudio.

Of course I cannot place Spartacus as he makes it look so easy but then he has always had a talent for TT and a vivid memory of his prolog in Liege and his progress since.
So I'm 99% sure I'm a fan.

bigmat

Riis is an interesting one - when you said you like riders who obviously suffer, he was the first that sprang to mind. I remember him coming second to Mig in a tour tt possibly the year before he won, he was doubled over the bike at the end his face as red as his Danish champions jersey. The guy clearly was prepared to push himself well beyond the limit. You then mentioned him as an example of the exact opposite and I must admit his Hautacam ride was a pretty gratuitous display of being on the juice! I too was cynical at the time - to be honest I was a naive Mig fan and I always felt Riis lacked class and had "cheated" him out of another Tour win.

Kléber

In case it hasn't been mentioned, note that Wiggins lost 4.23 yesterday. I don't know where this puts his preparation and even if he does a good ride in the TT stage I'm sure he would have wanted more from the spring stage races.

greeny12

Kléber wrote:

In case it hasn't been mentioned, note that Wiggins lost 4.23 yesterday. I don't know where this puts his preparation and even if he does a good ride in the TT stage I'm sure he would have wanted more from the spring stage races.

Indeed - that was a bit of a gnarly climb but it was no Ventoux...

Guess the Giro will be a better place to judge where Wiggo's at in terms of Tour prep though.