incredibly disrespectful to sastre. he tried yesterday to make a break. the pain was all over his face. but u cant outrace EPO. simple as that
Carlos Sastre a man of principle...
- Thread starter tonyzackery
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nonns said:
Thanks for the breath of sanity. I couldn't agree more. These --and many other riders--some of them in the limelight, many of them not, are ordinary people who don't see themselves as anything special, whether they are not.
Perhaps we should have a competition for the nicest rider of all time. I don't know many riders, but Jaja would be one of my picks, at least in his later years.
zander1983 said:
A question for you "which is more disrespectful - calling a rider a whiner or accusng him of doping?"
Sastre's little outburst really baffled me - mainly because I found the prospect of a returning 7 time champion taking on a pup who would have won the triple crown last year if he'd been allowed to ride the tour (and they'e both on the same team!) infinitely more interesting than the defending champion - the media felt the same way - hence the majority of the spotlight being placed on Armstrong versus Contador.
The other thing that baffled me was his "strong teams stifle the race" outburst. Maye his memory is worse than mine but didn't CSC win the overall team, best young rider AND have Sastre as the winner in 2008? So he rode on the strongest team last year but is complaining that the strongest team this year is ruining the racing?! Some serious double standards going on there...
Eldron said:
That is a very valid point.
CSC literally dominated last years TDF.
They swapped the yellow jersey for week 1 of the 2008 TDF .
Sastre won the 2008 TDF Yellow jersey.
Schleck won the 2008 TDF Young Rider jersey
CSC won the 2008 TDF Team jersey.
if that isn’t domination, then what is?
zander1983 said:
Zander - you are 100% correct. AC could easily be streets aheard of everyone else. He is obviously pacing himself to not stand out too much. He's playing a good winner but the disparity between him and the others is ridiculous. Cadel Evans has clearly got something to say but can't.
I have watched every stage live and it was obvious from early on that the result was always going to go the way it has. It's like knowing the punch line to a 3 week joke. Why do I stay up late every night?????
Sastre was interviewed before the start of yesterdays (Wednesdays) stage.
Interviewed in Spanish Sastre was asked how difficult was the stage going to be, given it is the hardest stage of the race.
Sastre replied “all the stages in the race are hard”.
Asked how he felt about this years race, Sastre replied “I feel the same way about this race as I feel about every race”!
Finally playing his hand more openly, asked if he would like to predict how the stage would play out, Sastre replied “I take each stage as it comes”
Maybe it’s the Spanish translation or his reticence with the media, but the interview was liking pulling teeth.
Interviewed in Spanish Sastre was asked how difficult was the stage going to be, given it is the hardest stage of the race.
Sastre replied “all the stages in the race are hard”.
Asked how he felt about this years race, Sastre replied “I feel the same way about this race as I feel about every race”!
Finally playing his hand more openly, asked if he would like to predict how the stage would play out, Sastre replied “I take each stage as it comes”
Maybe it’s the Spanish translation or his reticence with the media, but the interview was liking pulling teeth.
oh he's very prominent in the overall standings. he can usually be found in the top 10 positions. he goes under many aliases so maybe there's your difficulty
Eldron said:
Yeah, you're right - CSC's results at the end of the 2008 tour definitely imply they dominated the race in the same manner as Astana this year...If only Astana still had Leipheimer going this year, only then would their dominance approach that of CSC's last year...
Sastre Apologises For Press Conference Rant | Cyclingnews.com
Interesting. I have to wonder about the political pressure that came down on him. The tour being "boring" definitely brought the wrath of the ASO, I'm sure.
I'd still buy an insurance policy from the guy, that's how much I feel I could trust 'em; from some others - not.
Interesting. I have to wonder about the political pressure that came down on him. The tour being "boring" definitely brought the wrath of the ASO, I'm sure.
I'd still buy an insurance policy from the guy, that's how much I feel I could trust 'em; from some others - not.
"I'm not here to fight against anyone (for the yellow jersey),” Sastre said. “I'm here just to do my race. For me personally, winning the stage to Ventoux is my main aim right now."
Why even show up as the defending Tour champion and make a statement like that? Then not even factor in the race at any of the key moments. No wonder the press and public has no respect for this Spaniard. What happened to Sastre's challenge? It's a bike race, not an ethics or moral debate on principle. Either put up or shut up as they say....
Why even show up as the defending Tour champion and make a statement like that? Then not even factor in the race at any of the key moments. No wonder the press and public has no respect for this Spaniard. What happened to Sastre's challenge? It's a bike race, not an ethics or moral debate on principle. Either put up or shut up as they say....
Obviously Sastre couldn't get hold of the right type of EPO this time. Last year he was dopped off his eyeballs. The guy thinks he has the right to cheat.
TheDangerMan said:
How do you know?
Sastre was riding for a far stronger team at TDF 2008, compared to his new team in 2009.
This is certainly a factor in the performance stakes
If you want to add some excitement just compare biking with golf, baseball or football and then throw in poker. There you go biking is very exciting. The thing is these guys on the tour are all the same type guys. They don't dye their hair ornage like some basketball players. They don't beat the **** out of their wives and get arrested and change wives every other year like basketball and football players. They don't beat the **** out of each other like baseball players or basketball players do. They don't get multi-million dollar endorsements right out of high school like basketball players. It's sport of endurance and you can't make it exciting for some people. Now if Lance had approached Alberto after the stage he thought he took off when he shouldn't have and beat the **** out of him like they do in Nascar, then it would have been exciting for some people.
Most people can figure out why biking is not as exciting as the other sports. It never will be. I enjoy watching it, but I don't like when somene dominates the sport. If Lance were to be able to put together a winning team next year you have to believe that the other guys don't know what to do. If Alberto were to hookup with the Shleck brothers. It would be a lock next year. Maybe one of the sprinters on the team and they would win.
Bicycling and tennis to to hardest sports. Tennis it takes ten years to learn and biking you have to bike thosuands of miles. You could add swimming into the mix. All the other sports are gravy, because if a 20 million dollar basketball player doesn't feel like playing he can sit on the bench. The same with football, baseball, soccer, hockey and basketball.
Most people can figure out why biking is not as exciting as the other sports. It never will be. I enjoy watching it, but I don't like when somene dominates the sport. If Lance were to be able to put together a winning team next year you have to believe that the other guys don't know what to do. If Alberto were to hookup with the Shleck brothers. It would be a lock next year. Maybe one of the sprinters on the team and they would win.
Bicycling and tennis to to hardest sports. Tennis it takes ten years to learn and biking you have to bike thosuands of miles. You could add swimming into the mix. All the other sports are gravy, because if a 20 million dollar basketball player doesn't feel like playing he can sit on the bench. The same with football, baseball, soccer, hockey and basketball.
limerickman said:
Sastre decided to leave CSC/Saxo at the end of last year, to join the upstart Cervelo team. It was his call. Perhaps money was the luring/deciding factor? Perhaps he knew his days are numbered as "#1" with Riis's team with the rise of the Schlecks? Regardless, as a seasoned pro and Tour competitor, he must know that a (strong) team is critical to GT success. So by his own decision, he chose is own fate.
To save some prestige, Sastre at least could have challenged for a stage win. But instead we never saw him beyond the first mountain stage. Usually yo-yo-ing between the 2nd and 3rd chase groups. Very disappointing for a Yellow Jersey champion from only the year before. The '08 Tour champion was completely eclipsed by the returning powerhouses and new comers to the GT game. Like Evans, Sastre was a passing footnote in this year's race.
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