Frankie Andreu on local sports radio discussing Landis

[wineandkeyz]

Frankie Andreu was interviewed yesterday afternoon on 850 "The Buzz" (a Raleigh, NC, sports radio station) by Adam Gold. I've been trying to find a transcript or a podcast of the interview but haven't had any luck yet, so I'll try to remember as much as I can.

Andreu said he thought Landis is innocent. That he knows Landis and doesn't think he'd do this kind of thing. But he also said that proving his innocence would be a big hurdle for him. He also called this a big hurdle for cycling.

What struck me is how uninformed he is. For example, in discussing the failed T/E ratio test, Gold said he had read reports that Landis's testosterone level wasn't actually elevated, but that the epitestosterone level was very low, causing the 11:1 ratio that's been reported. Andreu said that Gold had it backwards, that the epitestosterone was way high, and that the ratio of E:T was 11:1. At first I thought I had heard him wrong, but he repeated it.

Then, when Gold asked if the lab that did the testing was the same one that was involved in the Armstrong affair from last year, Andreu said he didn't know. He didn't know?!?

Then Andreu said something totally bizarre. He said something to the effect that the Armstrong story hadn't been looked into very much (I guess he hasn't read Vrijman's report!), but that the case against Landis would be.

As the interview wrapped up, I was wondering how someone supposedly so involved in cycling could be so uninformed. I mean, first he expressed his opinion that Landis was innocent, but then he was wrong about so many basic facts that it would be hard to trust his opinion on anything...

Did anyone else in this area hear the interview?

 

[bobke]

Frankie Andreu was interviewed yesterday afternoon on 850 "The Buzz" (a Raleigh, NC, sports radio station) by Adam Gold. I've been trying to find a transcript or a podcast of the interview but haven't had any luck yet, so I'll try to remember as much as I can.

Andreu said he thought Landis is innocent. That he knows Landis and doesn't think he'd do this kind of thing. But he also said that proving his innocence would be a big hurdle for him. He also called this a big hurdle for cycling.

What struck me is how uninformed he is. For example, in discussing the failed T/E ratio test, Gold said he had read reports that Landis's testosterone level wasn't actually elevated, but that the epitestosterone level was very low, causing the 11:1 ratio that's been reported. Andreu said that Gold had it backwards, that the epitestosterone was way high, and that the ratio of E:T was 11:1. At first I thought I had heard him wrong, but he repeated it.

Then, when Gold asked if the lab that did the testing was the same one that was involved in the Armstrong affair from last year, Andreu said he didn't know. He didn't know?!?

Then Andreu said something totally bizarre. He said something to the effect that the Armstrong story hadn't been looked into very much (I guess he hasn't read Vrijman's report!), but that the case against Landis would be.

As the interview wrapped up, I was wondering how someone supposedly so involved in cycling could be so uninformed. I mean, first he expressed his opinion that Landis was innocent, but then he was wrong about so many basic facts that it would be hard to trust his opinion on anything...

Did anyone else in this area hear the interview?

I didnt hear the interview, but I think what you heard is why Frankie was relieved of his duties as DS at Postal and then again at Toyota United.
Not the brightest lightbulb in the store.

 

[helmutRoole2]

I didnt hear the interview, but I think what you heard is why Frankie was relieved of his duties as DS at Postal and then again at Toyota United.
Not the brightest lightbulb in the store.

Exactly.

I love it when professional athletes refer to what they do as a job. Anyone who'd make a statement like that has never held a job.

 

[JRMDC]

Exactly.

I love it when professional athletes refer to what they do as a job. Anyone who'd make a statement like that has never held a job.

Even if you do what you love, it is still a job.

And my impression, correct me if I am wrong, is that if you are a domestique (as Andreu was in Europe, no?), you don't make much money at all. Can someone provide a rough estimate of what, say, the 7th-9th guys on a TdF team would make? How about someone who is part of the 27 in a team but can't make the top 9?

So it's not like someone who makes the minimum in one of the major US sports - the minimum salary in US baseball is $327,000. These guys make way, way less.

 

[bobke]

Even if you do what you love, it is still a job.

And my impression, correct me if I am wrong, is that if you are a domestique (as Andreu was in Europe, no?), you don't make much money at all. Can someone provide a rough estimate of what, say, the 7th-9th guys on a TdF team would make? How about someone who is part of the 27 in a team but can't make the top 9?

So it's not like someone who makes the minimum in one of the major US sports - the minimum salary in US baseball is $327,000. These guys make way, way less.

Frankie actually had some results...top ten Paris Roubaix, was gonna medal inthe Olympics until the DS called him back to ride for Lance in Atlanta 96...no one knew Lance had cancer and he tanked, therby robbing Frankie of a medal probably.

So yes a domestique but he was a good rider.

 

[wineandkeyz]

So yes a domestique but he was a good rider.

Yeah, but not much of an interviewee. As the interview was wrapping up, I figured the host was thinking he'd never have Andreu back on the show again.

 

[Bro Deal]

Then Andreu said something totally bizarre. He said something to the effect that the Armstrong story hadn't been looked into very much (I guess he hasn't read Vrijman's report!), but that the case against Landis would be.

Looks like that is the only thing he got right. Armstrong's positive results for EPO were never looked into by Vrijman, not one bit.

 

[JRMDC]

Frankie actually had some results...top ten Paris Roubaix, was gonna medal inthe Olympics until the DS called him back to ride for Lance in Atlanta 96...no one knew Lance had cancer and he tanked, therby robbing Frankie of a medal probably.

So yes a domestique but he was a good rider.

He was nonetheless "doing a job," and I suspect for much of the time at a low rate of pay. My contention was with that point, not with Andreu's palmares.

 

[bobke]

He was nonetheless "doing a job," and I suspect for much of the time at a low rate of pay. My contention was with that point, not with Andreu's palmares.

Agreed he probably didnt make much.

 

[helmutRoole2]

He was nonetheless "doing a job," and I suspect for much of the time at a low rate of pay. My contention was with that point, not with Andreu's palmares.

A job is something you would not do if you did not get paid. I love my job. But if I did not get paid, I would not show up. If I got an offer to ride in the Tour, I wouldn't ask what the pay rate is because I would do it for free. When those guys retire or **** hot, they get sent off the playground and into the adult world if they haven't earned enough money to retire outright. And in the adult world, they are often behind the power curve.

 

[bobke]

A job is something you would not do if you did not get paid. I love my job. But if I did not get paid, I would not show up. If I got an offer to ride in the Tour, I wouldn't ask what the pay rate is because I would do it for free. When those guys retire or **** hot, they get sent off the playground and into the adult world if they haven't earned enough money to retire outright. And in the adult world, they are often behind the power curve.

We all think we would ride the TdF if given the chance...but it really means no beer/wine for months, salad for dinner for several months. living and race in a foreign culture, training and racing your brains out8-9 months a year. Just to finish would be an honor.
But to listen to the riders...you have to have some special motivation to get through it.
Even Lance said by the end he couldnt stand the racing the media the pressure...very similar to whtat Tom Boonen said before and during this year's tour.

But having said that, to race a bike for a living is a dream.
Or more precisely, to be good enough to do so and then be able to make the choice.

 

[JRMDC]

A job is something you would not do if you did not get paid. I love my job. But if I did not get paid, I would not show up. If I got an offer to ride in the Tour, I wouldn't ask what the pay rate is because I would do it for free. When those guys retire or **** hot, they get sent off the playground and into the adult world if they haven't earned enough money to retire outright. And in the adult world, they are often behind the power curve.

Having read this further note from you, I think even more that you confuse the high-paid athlete of the major american sports with these guys, specifically referring to those who exclusively are domestiques.

I can't remember if you are American. If you are, you may understand what I mean when I say that domestiques are not to be compared with Latrell Sprewell saying that he needs his millions because he "has to feed his family." When those guys call what they do a job, I can see where the criticism comes from.

Or maybe I don't understand what point you are trying to make.

 

[meehs]

Very simple.

Frankie Andreu = moron

 

[helmutRoole2]

Having read this further note from you, I think even more that you confuse the high-paid athlete of the major american sports with these guys, specifically referring to those who exclusively are domestiques.

I can't remember if you are American. If you are, you may understand what I mean when I say that domestiques are not to be compared with Latrell Sprewell saying that he needs his millions because he "has to feed his family." When those guys call what they do a job, I can see where the criticism comes from.

Or maybe I don't understand what point you are trying to make.

Okay, I'll personalize it.

I grew up in a trailer park. Worked in restaurants (dish washer, prep cook, line cook) and bike shops through high school, joined U.S. Army (46Q), GI Bill grad while working a full time job (bike shop), then a journalist, then an editor, now a flack.

For me a job is something you have to do, not something you would do anyway or even pay to do.

For me, sports are not jobs. Jobs are jobs.

 

[limerickman]

Very simple.

Frankie Andreu = moron

Andreu's record as a rider/domestique is impressive.

Nine TDF starts : Nine T'sDF completed. Excellent record.

The only American rider to start and complete more T'sDF is?
George Hincapie : and he only passed that record in 2006.

Andreu was regarded as an essential cog in the Motorola setup : Jim Och suggested that Andreu was the rider of that team.
Andreu was polled as the 10th best USA rider ever by Cycle Sport magazine in
2005.

I hadn't reckoned you as one of the revisionist **** brigade here, Meehs.

 

[DiabloScott]

Andreu's record as a rider/domestique is impressive.

Maybe so, but the guy's dummer'n a box o' rocks.

 

[limerickman]

Maybe so, but the guy's dummer'n a box o' rocks.

I can't say - to be honest.
His record as a cyclist is impressive.

He was appointed Directeur Sportif at USPS in 2002.
Can't be that stupid, one would suggest.

 

[lwedge]

I can't say - to be honest.
His record as a cyclist is impressive.

He was appointed Directeur Sportif at USPS in 2002.
Can't be that stupid, one would suggest.

Maybe Diablo means Silicon Rocks . The kind used in super computers, micro chips, race radio's ..... Acqua ! Acqua! (What's Italian for "My Leg Is Cramping") Acqua!




He seems okay to me but my only exposure to Frankie is listening to him on ESPN over the years. I have not read any of his papers, thoughts, and articles so I can't be a judge.

 

[meehs]

Andreu's record as a rider/domestique is impressive.

Nine TDF starts : Nine T'sDF completed. Excellent record.

The only American rider to start and complete more T'sDF is?
George Hincapie : and he only passed that record in 2006.

Andreu was regarded as an essential cog in the Motorola setup : Jim Och suggested that Andreu was the rider of that team.
Andreu was polled as the 10th best USA rider ever by Cycle Sport magazine in
2005.

I hadn't reckoned you as one of the revisionist **** brigade here, Meehs.

Hey Lim, don't lump me in with the revisionists! I agree that Andreu's record as a pro cyclist is very impressive and can't be overlooked. In fact I've talked about it on this very forum in the past, saying that he's completed more TdF's than any other American rider. But from what I've seen of Frankie on OLN and other media outlets, on an intellectual level, the guy is a moron. That's all I'm saying. I don't necessarily agree, disagree or care about what he has said. I don't understand how my feeling that the guy is an idiot makes me a revisionist. Please explain.

 

[cheapie]

Andreu's record as a rider/domestique is impressive.

Nine TDF starts : Nine T'sDF completed. Excellent record.

The only American rider to start and complete more T'sDF is?
George Hincapie : and he only passed that record in 2006.

Andreu was regarded as an essential cog in the Motorola setup : Jim Och suggested that Andreu was the rider of that team.
Andreu was polled as the 10th best USA rider ever by Cycle Sport magazine in
2005.

well said lim.[size=-1]
[/size]