Even the Cannibal thinks there are too many (PT) races

[Kjell Arne Olsen]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2005/interviews/?id=eddy_merckx_interbike05
--
http://www.brumunddal-sk.idrett.no/
Remove your clothes if you want to answer by e-mail!

 

[sonarrat]

Kjell Arne Olsen wrote:

> http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2005/interviews/?id=eddy_merckx_interbike05

He didn't say as much about the racing schedule in this interview; he
seems more concerned about the number of Pro Teams there are. I agree
completely - I think they could cut free Domina Vacanze,
Euskaltel-Euskadi, and Bouygues Telecom and all parties would be much
better off for it. They could take part in the races that their
sponsors want them to take part in, and not waste energy on compulsory
events they could care less about.

As it is, you just see what you've always seen: all the teams save their
best riders for the best races and send the same crew of lunch-meat to
every other race. You would expect that from a small team, of course -
but it's not just the small teams. How many times did Jan Ullrich
appear in competition compared with, say, Tobias Steinhauser? How many
times did Lance race compared with Michael Barry? The UCI wanted these
riders to be more active, but instead the team directors took the
direction of stretching the hard-working underlings to their limit.

Now on the other hand, you have the Paolo Bettini, Danilo Di Luca,
Alexandre Vinokourov, Tom Boonen type that is more than happy to race as
much as possible. Drop a flag, and they go. Did the Pro Tour change
them? Not really. It does seem to give them a great chance to strut
their stuff though. All of them enjoyed one of the best years of their
lives.

 

[[email protected]]

I have mixed feelings about the Pro-tour. On the one hand it helps
promote the bigger races. On the other hand it stifles international
racing. One day pro cycling could take off in the US again and it
possibly pose serious competition. If a race like the California tour
was carefully promoted then it could serve as a catalyst for other
races. Perhaps a regionally based pro tour format hybrid will have to
be formed.

I still believe that the answer is have pro-tour based upon overall
cumulative time.

 

[Kyle Legate]

sonarrat wrote:
>
> Now on the other hand, you have the Paolo Bettini, Danilo Di Luca,
> Alexandre Vinokourov, Tom Boonen type that is more than happy to race as
> much as possible. Drop a flag, and they go. Did the Pro Tour change
> them? Not really. It does seem to give them a great chance to strut
> their stuff though. All of them enjoyed one of the best years of their
> lives.
>
With the exception of Zurich, I was disappointed in Bettini's year.

 

[Kenny]

So far; but the Giro dell'Emilia, the Giro del Piemonte and the Giro di
Lombardia are still coming up. So wait 2 weeks before making Bettini's
bill.

Kenny

 

[sonarrat]

Kenny wrote:
> So far; but the Giro dell'Emilia, the Giro del Piemonte and the Giro di
> Lombardia are still coming up. So wait 2 weeks before making Bettini's
> bill.
>
> Kenny

I thought his Giro d'Italia was quite good (one stage and the points
jersey), though that tiff with Cooke put a bit of a black mark on it.

 

[[email protected]]

sonarrat wrote:
> Kenny wrote:
> > So far; but the Giro dell'Emilia, the Giro del Piemonte and the Giro di
> > Lombardia are still coming up. So wait 2 weeks before making Bettini's
> > bill.

> I thought his Giro d'Italia was quite good (one stage and the points
> jersey), though that tiff with Cooke put a bit of a black mark on it.

It left even more marks on Cooke.