Richard Verinque

thebluetrain

What is up with Dick Verinque?? Every year this guy proves himself to be among the top climbers yet every year he settles for the table scraps thrown his way by Armstrong, Ullrich, and the spaniards. And the French love him for it. Should'nt he retire and give the other French riders a chance at the KOM jersey since that is all that seems to matter to them?

HellonWheels

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The French enjoy seeing suffering on the part of their racers, I don't get it myself. LA doesnt give them that, so they hate him (one reason why, anyway.) I think to them suffering proves manliness more than just winning. Maybe that's how they see Virenque. The Story of O by Pauline Reage did come out of France, after all.

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"He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior"--Confucius

patch70

Off topic but why do you think the French hate him? He seems fairly popular there. Not surprisingly, they'd like to see a Frenchman win their race, but they still gave plenty of positive cheers to Lance.

HellonWheels

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LA himself has said (in his first book) that a lot of the resentment toward him by the French is because he is American (USA American). he said when the drug testers kept going after him at all hours of the day and night, the French scientist kept insisting that there HAD to be something, that he couldnt be winning without drugs....and LA said he knows they target him because they dislike an American winning "their" race.

__________________
"He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior"--Confucius

meehs

Good question. I happen to have a very good friend who is French. His father is a way bigger fan of LA than I am! He must've called 50 times during the Tour to give us "updates" (apparently he didn't realize that we were watching live coverage on OLN ). Anyway, I don't think it's fair to say that the French in general hate Armstrong. Some probably do and some don't.

meehs

Sorry but with all due respect I think you have it all wrong. I think that Virenque realizes that his days as a conteder for the overall GC are behind him and instead focuses on the KOM title. He has set a record for winning the most Polks-Dot Jerseys and I think that has become his main goal in the TdF. I don't think he's "settling for scraps". I think he's just setting realistic goals for himself (and accomplishing them I might add). What's wrong with what he accomplished in the TdF this year? I thought he performed brilliantly!

In an interview on OLN Armstrong said that Virenque is putting the same effort towards winning the KOM that he is putting toward winning the GC.

What do you mean when you say; shouldn't he retire to give other "French" riders a shot at the KOM? Do you think that's the only title that the French riders are interested in? I don't get it. Riders from all countries would love to win the KOM, not just French riders. Am I missing something? Should Armstrong retire and give other riders a shot at the GC?

patch70

Sure, he gets tested a lot - maybe the price for being so dominant - but that does not mean the French as a group hate him. Like you, I watched the tour and he got some of the loudest cheers. If you go to a local race and see Freddy Rod sprinting against Cipo, wouldn't you be cheering for Freddy? Does that mean you hate Cipo? Of course not, it's just a bit of patriotic cheering.

thebluetrain

Sorry but with all due respect I think you have it wrong. What do you mean his days as a GC contender are over and instead focuses on the KOM title. Virenque won the KOM jersey in 1994-97, 99, 03-04. He probably would have won it in 98 but we all know what happened then. This guy has been focusing on the KOM jersey since 94 when his GC days were well in focus. I have alot of respect for Virenque but in the last 10 years I would have thought he would have wanted a TdF championship at least once.

meehs

LOL! I guess we just disagree on this point then. I'm sure that Virenque would have liked to win the TdF GC! I just don't think he has it in him anymore so he goes for the KOM instead, which has become his primary goal. I think his early KOM titles were a nice, but not necessarily "intended" result of his efforts to win the GC.

limerickman

I can't stand Virenque !
I find it appalling that this man was allowed back in to pro cycling along with the other Festina cheaters.
That ends my rant.

I agree with you Meehs, I think he goes for KOM because GC was never
really an option under Indurain or Armstrong's TDF dominance.
He did try for it under BigMigs reign but he was destroyed and if he tried
it in the Armstrong era he'd be pulverised as well.

The reason he's loved by the French is that he's the only French rider who
is currently winning a classment jersey
Since Jalabert retired RV's popularity has soared.

rejobako

What's the problem with Virenque goign for the KOM record? The man wants to replace his chequered past with a polka-dotted one, and I think it's very intelligent of him to realize that he doesn't have the talent to win the GC title, so he goes for the KOM jersey, and has done so with a lot of style and courage. His win on Mont Ventoux last year was pretty damned cool, in my opinion.

I know a lot of people, especially my fellow countrymen, don't put much emphasis on the "lesser" Tour titles, but I admire all the cyclists who have set a goal for themselves to win one and who have succeeded. Winning seven KOM titles is quite an accomplishment -- give the man his due.

limerickman

Well how many of his KOM were won unassisted by doping ?
Willy Voet suggests that Virenque was the most virulent EPO user in Festina.
The man cheated.
In my book he can win 10 KOM competitions, it still doesn't take away the justifiable doubt about his performances.

I have the utmost respect for all the classment jersey competitions - it just sickens me to see him and his fellow cheats veing so warmly welcomed back and (in RV's case) lauded for his "achievement of winning 7 KOM jerseys"