The most over-rated cyclists... - Page 2

Jean Francois Bernard.

Great call, I remember the hype around Jeff during the late 80's. Touted as the next great French hope after Hinault but fizzled and never lived up to expectations. Turned out to a fine (super) domestique for Big Mig though.

__________________
Live long, Ride far.

I agree with Eldrack on Capie - he's a good domestique, road captain, team leader type guy.

I think Big George is a good guy and people want him to do well, but he just isn't elite.

I just stumbled across this You Tube video
Tour de Georgia, Stage 4 (TT), Tracking David Millar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI4ofNuQvms

Hilarious! Road Magazine did a two part special on Millar. But props to him, he did finish top 10 in the stage.

1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 44.51
2 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 0.41
3 Nathan O'neill (Aus) Health Net presented by Maxxis 1.18
4 Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1.31
5 Dominique Cornu (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 1.41
6 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval - Prodir 1.47
7 Danny Pate (USA) Team Slipstream 1.55
8 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2.15
9 Brian Vandborg (Den) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2.20
10 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 2.28

__________________
Lance Armstrong’s Last Words, August 10, 2007 - “We're proud of our record. We won eight Tours, a Vuelta, a Giro and other races and not one positive test," Armstrong said. “I’m not sure if there are many other teams who can say that right now. Couple that with our ethical record, despite all the gossip and nonsense that goes on.”

Back to back days on Cycling News. I could have sworn that Valverde was leading the race.

"Great ride" for Millar

Garmin-Slipstream's David Millar finished 11th on the Dauphiné's mountain top finish on Mont Ventoux yesterday, a performance which put the Scotsman in fourth position on general classification, 1.43 minutes off the current leader Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne). After a very strong time trial already on Wednesday, where he finished third, Millar stepped up yet another overall placing and now has the final podium within his reach.

"A great job and a great ride for David Millar!" said Garmin's team director, Lionel Marie. "An intelligent race as always, following the good form he has. It is a big result for him and for the team on top of Mont Ventoux. It's great to see him smiling.

"Yesterday he was the fastest guy in second part of time trial and today the team was around him and Dan Martin all day, protecting them for the final climb."

On a hot and windy day in Provence, it was essential for the team to work together. "Steven Cozza was there for bottles. Svein Tuft like a body guard for the first 120 kilometres with Dave [Millar] - Christian Meier and Timmy Duggan with Dan [Martin]. A total team effort."

Martin could not follow the pace on the final climb and finished 37th. "He was not feeling well today, perhaps hypoglycemia [deficiency of sugar in the blood - ed.]."


Rested Millar finds key to Dauphiné success

By Jean-François Quénet in Briançon, France
Thanks to some strong and consistent riding at the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, David Millar is sitting in fifth place in the overall. The attack he launched in the final five kilometers of stage two suggested he was in form. Though that attack lasted just until the sprinters caught him with 35 meters to go, Millar continued riding well with a third place in the lengthy individual time trial of Valence. Then after an impressive 11th place finish on Mont Ventoux on Thursday, Millar rode up the Izoard on Friday during stage six with the GC leaders Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) and Alberto Contador (Astana).

"It's a bit of a surprise. I hoped to go well here at the Dauphiné, but I've hoped so many times in the recent past without success," the Scot said to Cyclingnews in Briançon before explaining his good form. "I trained too much. This time, between my time at the Giro d'Italia and the start of the Dauphiné, I've done almost nothing. I think this is the best for me: to just rest between the races and race hard."

Feeling fresh has changed Millar's impressions on the bike. "When you are going well, climbing goes very quickly," he said, referring to the Izoard climb during stage six on Friday when he never appeared in any difficulty as he kept pace with the favourites.

"Contador, Evans and Valverde are at the same level. [Robert] Gesink and [Vincenzo] Nibali are also very strong. After them, I'm kind of the best."

What he has learned from his past is not to be too excited too soon about his apparent return to the top of the world of cycling. "I'm taking every day as it comes," said Millar, who declined to name his next objective.

__________________
Lance Armstrong’s Last Words, August 10, 2007 - “We're proud of our record. We won eight Tours, a Vuelta, a Giro and other races and not one positive test," Armstrong said. “I’m not sure if there are many other teams who can say that right now. Couple that with our ethical record, despite all the gossip and nonsense that goes on.”

Cadel Evans

Twice world cup mountain bike champion, winner tour of romandie, winner of the protour, two tour de france second places and a fourth, two second places in the dauphine. Yeah its hard to see how that matches his rating as a solid time trialist and a formidable stage racer. But those words are of his peers and what would they know anyway. And many of these achievements against riders with drug question marks against their names.

MTB wins?! Are you kidding? Do you also want to count BMX races? How about schoolyard showdowns? Does he have some blue ribbons from kindergarten you want to tell us about?

Second place doesn't mean anything either. What matters is wins!! And winning the ProTour doesn't count because you can never win a single race but still 'win'. Cadel sucks, plain and simple. He sucks wheel and doesn't have what it takes to win.

So winning matters. Count more than 20 for Evans. So if you win the tour de france without a stage win that doesn't count. I'd say the only thing the sucks is your logic.

hahaahha, made me laugh. Can I count my tricycle wins?

His MTB wins came during a time when world cup XC racing was dominated by ex-roadies who brought high-level doping to the dirt. Nothing to sneeze at.

I think stage wins matter. Especially when a rider already has the yellow jersey and still is attacking and representing yellow like a true champion, not a wheel sucker.

The same goes for any of the jerseys. I think it was a few years ago when Boonen or McEwen was crushing everyone in the sprints and even won a few stages, but Hushovd won the green jersey. It was like, how did that happen.

__________________
Lance Armstrong’s Last Words, August 10, 2007 - “We're proud of our record. We won eight Tours, a Vuelta, a Giro and other races and not one positive test," Armstrong said. “I’m not sure if there are many other teams who can say that right now. Couple that with our ethical record, despite all the gossip and nonsense that goes on.”

McEwen has been quoted as saying that you should only be in the running for the greend jersey if you've actually won a stage. Seems fair enough in many ways. You could apply the same to the KoM: Only entered into the competition if you've been over a 1st or HC climb in first place.

__________________
"Hope is the first step on the road to dissapointment."

Your joking about mountain bike wins only demonstrates you lack of understanding of cycling - as other posters have gone to the trouble of showing you. All you have managed to do is devalue your opinion.

I think we need to be clear that MTB is in no way comparable to road racing. One is a beautiful sport with a rich history, artful machinery, and attracts the highest level of competition. The other is a pastime (hobby perhaps) where 'almosts' and 'has been's' do their best to destroy nature on ungainly contraptions that only slightly resemble the bicycle.

A question for you and your Aussie counterparts. Why do you all get so emotional and defensive about Cadel? Is he truly representative of the athletes in your country? Is he the model of Australian manliness? You are more passionate about him than Americans are about Lance. It's quite funny really....