Riis returns

RichN95.
RichN95. Posts: 27,262
in Pro race
Bjarne Riis, as rumoured, is officially taking over NTT (formerly Dimension Data) with some Danish backers as co-owners. Official press conference/funeral for African cycling tomorrow
Twitter: @RichN95

Comments

  • gweeds
    gweeds Posts: 2,613
    Urgh
    Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Exciting.
    _
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    I know some won't agree and think he (and past dopers) have no place in cycling, but i've always liked Riis and will be pleased to see him back in the top level of the sport.
  • amrushton
    amrushton Posts: 1,313
    Good (or bad depending on your view). denmark has produced some excellent riders, look at the ones who appear with Wiggins on 'Dane of the Day' ;-)
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 13,270
    amrushton said:

    Good (or bad depending on your view). denmark has produced some excellent riders, look at the ones who appear with Wiggins on 'Dane of the Day' ;-)

    😊
    I don't hold to the 'can never be forgiven' trope but... would prefer a bit of contrition, hand up, yes I did it, fair cop, you know David Miller style. Recall an episode of The Cycling Podcast during the Tour from some years back which had an interview with Riis where he came across as in aggressive total denial.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,262
    edited January 2020
    orraloon said:

    amrushton said:

    Good (or bad depending on your view). denmark has produced some excellent riders, look at the ones who appear with Wiggins on 'Dane of the Day' ;-)

    😊
    I don't hold to the 'can never be forgiven' trope but... would prefer a bit of contrition, hand up, yes I did it, fair cop, you know David Miller style. Recall an episode of The Cycling Podcast during the Tour from some years back which had an interview with Riis where he came across as in aggressive total denial.

    Was that Riis? I remember them doing one with Rasmussen were he came across as a sociopath who felt that anti-doping was some sort of infringement of his human rights.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Best tactical DS I can remember, save for perhaps bruyneel (for all his BORING tactics, they were rather good), though arguably Riis can do more with less.

    That 2008 Sastre victory was a tactical materpeice.
    _
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 13,270
    RichN95. said:

    orraloon said:

    amrushton said:

    Good (or bad depending on your view). denmark has produced some excellent riders, look at the ones who appear with Wiggins on 'Dane of the Day' ;-)

    😊
    I don't hold to the 'can never be forgiven' trope but... would prefer a bit of contrition, hand up, yes I did it, fair cop, you know David Miller style. Recall an episode of The Cycling Podcast during the Tour from some years back which had an interview with Riis where he came across as in aggressive total denial.

    Was that Riis? I remember them doing one with Rasmussen were he came across as a sociopath who felt that anti-doping was some sort of infringement of his human rights.
    Ah, indeed. Mea culpa methinks. Could well have been Rasmussen I was thinking of in that Cycling Podcast interview. You know you are getting middle aged when... 😉
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,262
    edited January 2020
    orraloon said:



    Ah, indeed. Mea culpa methinks. Could well have been Rasmussen I was thinking of in that Cycling Podcast interview. You know you are getting middle aged when... 😉


    I don't Riis has ever said much about his doping at all. More just a shrug of the shoulders and 'what happened happened'
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    RichN95. said:

    orraloon said:



    Ah, indeed. Mea culpa methinks. Could well have been Rasmussen I was thinking of in that Cycling Podcast interview. You know you are getting middle aged when... 😉


    I don't Riis has ever said much about his doping at all. More just a shrug of the shoulders and 'what happened happened'
    I think he eludes to the cost it has had on his health in Overcoming. Long time since I watched it but IIRC there's a bit where he complains about the constant headaches he gets since he retired. Haven't watched it since he admitted to it all but I remember thinking it was a curious bit at the time.
    _
  • carbonclem
    carbonclem Posts: 1,798
    Wasn’t he outed as being lazy and useless as a DS. Found watching box sets on an iPad in the car in stages of the tour when with Tinkov?
    2020/2021/2022 Metric Century Challenge Winner
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Find that hard to believe but if it happened it happened.

    I guess what's more surprising is that Hamilton made it clear that Riis encouraged his riders to get on a decent doping program, which might stick in Bruyneel's craw.
    _
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,575
    Whatever you think about his past misdemeanours, he's exactly what NTT need, i.e. someone who's going to teach them how to win bike races.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,262
    edited January 2020
    I wonder how good he will be. The sport has moved on at a quick rate over the last decade and he's been out for five years and maybe he'd been going stale for the last couple of them. This seems like a football club bringing back Kenny Dalglish or Kevin Keegan as manager (a lot further back admittedly).
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,620
    RichN95. said:

    I wonder how good he will be. The sport has moved on at a quick rate over the last decade and he's been out for five years and maybe he'd been going stale for the last couple of them. This seems like a football club bringing back Kenny Dalglish or Kevin Keegan as manager (a lot further back admittedly).

    Jose Mourihno then.
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    Don't forget he's been involved since leaving tinkoff in the lower cycling ranks (continental) and with women's cycling, so has stayed quite involved.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    Happy for him... he's always struggled with his mental health, so it's good to see him back...
    left the forum March 2023
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,486
    redvision said:

    Don't forget he's been involved since leaving tinkoff in the lower cycling ranks (continental) and with women's cycling, so has stayed quite involved.

    So he was only 60% unemployed?
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • zest28
    zest28 Posts: 403
    andyp said:

    Whatever you think about his past misdemeanours, he's exactly what NTT need, i.e. someone who's going to teach them how to win bike races.

    Riis has no experiencing winning races as it was the drugs that did it.

    People should not learn from this guy on how to “win”.
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,486
    What a well thought out and nuanced opinion. :p
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • zest28
    zest28 Posts: 403
    It is not an opinion, it is a fact that his only claim to success is due to doping. Without it, nobody would even remember his name.

    The guy is a looser as he was involved with doping of riders while he was a team manager of CSC. Also he was fine when Hamilton was doping while he was a team manager (not a surprise since he is a cheat himself).

    Riis should be not be able manage riders at all given his history.
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    Riis advised Cav to try for the stage in Brive in 2012, which in any other persons mind would have been one for the break, amongst many others. he's a pretty shrewd tactician.

    as for the team he's inherited they are probably not going to influence races as much as he'd like.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    zest28 said:

    andyp said:

    Whatever you think about his past misdemeanours, he's exactly what NTT need, i.e. someone who's going to teach them how to win bike races.

    Riis has no experiencing winning races as it was the drugs that did it.

    People should not learn from this guy on how to “win”.
    You calling Sastre a doper?
    _

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