I cannot stand Chris Horner HYPE anymore!!!

[Crankster]

This is just so annoying. I visit a lot of american-populated forums. Can anyone else explain why Chris Horner is so popular?

He is a decent rider, nothing special. He could have been a solid domestique in most Euro teams, not enough stuff to be a leader though. He went to Europe, realized he it was a lot tougher than he thought it would be, so he ran back to US, where he was spanking local yokels at various "high profile" canadian and american races.

Now he is 33 or 34 and decides to give Europe one last try. He has one significant win in Europe in his entire career - a stage at TdS. But come one, TdS is just a Tour tune up.

Horner symbolizes everything that could go wrong with an athlete, mentally. He is an arrogant smug jerk who doesn't miss a chance to badmouth anyone who happens to be better than him at a race. He doesn't have balls to race in Europe, instead prefers to be a big fish n small US pond. He is not a team player. He wasted his best years racing against mediocre riders because of his enormous ego. He has very little to show for it.

So why does everyone like him so much?

Americans complain that nobody in US cares about anything except the Tour. But by hyping up Horner they make it even worse - they imply that american races are somehow more special than spring classics or other grand Tours. They value brash, arrogant statement of Horner over quiet, unassuming and modest interviews of Levi Leipheimer (who actually won a thing or two!). Or Bobby Julich who was struggling for years to get good results in Europe, yet it never occurred to him to go back to US and enjoy beating on those cat 1 racers.

So many american (or non-american) riders deserve a lot more attention than bottle-throwing arrogant Horner. WHY, WHY, WHY do all americans hype up Horner so much? No, he is not going to be in top 10. Apparently he won't win a race at TdF this year. At his age he won't be able to make any strong statement at next year's Tour either.

 

[JohnO]

Who is Chris Horner?


(feel better now?)

 

[mr tibbs]

Who is Chris Horner?


(feel better now?)

brilliant!

 

[tcklyde]

I'm an American and a serious cycling fan and I wasn't aware that Horner was getting over hyped. I like Horner enough, but really, where is this hype that annoys you coming from? There is not a single American publication that cares the slightest bit about Chris Horner's chances in the Tour.

Does it annoy you that he mostly raced in the US? Why? Valverde has mostly raced in Spain. He's had a good Tour.

So Horner played Lookey-loo today. Man, races are lost all the time by that. Boonen benefited in the Tour of Flanders by an unorganized group (five guys arguing for second instead of chasing). And a thousand other examples.

 

[mitosis]

Maybe people from the US are looking for someone else to support apart from LA. Like hoping there might be someone else with a bit of talent.

 

[Mark Willis]

Maybe people from the US are looking for someone else to support apart from LA. Like hoping there might be someone else with a bit of talent.

I think the OP's point is that Horner should be somewhere between #15-25 on the list of American talent and of the many that are more talented than him, they do not get as much attention.

I totally agree with the premise of his argument. Either Chris Horner is a successful domestic racer, who is not in the same class as those racing in Europe, or he is a blatant sandbagger. I mean it does give you some insight into his psyche to know that he thinks he can do a top ten GC at the tour, and yet he spent his entire career playing in the minor leagues.

 

[Powerful Pete]

Maybe people from the US are looking for someone else to support apart from LA. Like hoping there might be someone else with a bit of talent.

Fair enough, with the announcement of Armstrong's retirement. But, apart from a stage at the TdS, Horner has little to show, albeit also 'thanks' to his crash at the start of the season (he broke something, keeping him out of the spring classics, right?).

I read an interview somewhere how he did not feel he could adapt to living in Europe his first time around. Kinda silly. Like having an up and coming baseball player from Europe (preposterous, I know) decline playing in the Major League in the US because he had trouble adapting to the lifestyle.

Suck up and deal. You are being paid to ride your bike in all of the most important races in the world!

But then again, apparently Chris has come around...

 

[Crankster]

Fair enough, with the announcement of Armstrong's retirement. But, apart from a stage at the TdS, Horner has little to show, albeit also 'thanks' to his crash at the start of the season (he broke something, keeping him out of the spring classics, right?).

I read an interview somewhere how he did not feel he could adapt to living in Europe his first time around. Kinda silly. Like having an up and coming baseball player from Europe (preposterous, I know) decline playing in the Major League in the US because he had trouble adapting to the lifestyle.

Suck up and deal. You are being paid to ride your bike in all of the most important races in the world!

But then again, apparently Chris has come around...

Exactly. And his brash arrogant attitude pisses me off too.
The problem is not that Horner gets plenty of support from US cycling base, as he should. The problem is that a lot of US fans lack perspective and buy into Horner's claims that he is going for top 10 in GC, some even were saying he might go for podium! This is only because they saw him race in US and dominate, so they feel like they know him personally.

In the meantime there are plenty of US riders like Julich or Leipheimer or Hincapie or Landis who are doing very well and yet you don't hear them complaining about how american racing is so much more strategical and more "intellectual", while european racing is easy and straightforward (quote by Horner). They don't finish second to someone only to say "he wasn't the strongest man today".

I have a lot more respect for guys like Jonathan Vaughters who went to Europe and gave their best shot, even though Jonathan had plenty of bad luck, even though they could have easily dominated US circuit and tell everyone how "american races are the real thing".

For talk vs. performance, Horner is easily the most overhyped american rider in TdF in the past 5 years.

 

[wolfix]

Exactly. And his brash arrogant attitude pisses me off too.
The problem is not that Horner gets plenty of support from US cycling base, as he should. The problem is that a lot of US fans lack perspective and buy into Horner's claims that he is going for top 10 in GC, some even were saying he might go for podium! This is only because they saw him race in US and dominate, so they feel like they know him personally.

In the meantime there are plenty of US riders like Julich or Leipheimer or Hincapie or Landis who are doing very well and yet you don't hear them complaining about how american racing is so much more strategical and more "intellectual", while european racing is easy and straightforward (quote by Horner). They don't finish second to someone only to say "he wasn't the strongest man today".

ent.

I have a lot more respect for guys like Jonathan Vaughters who went to Europe and gave their best shot, even though Jonathan had plenty of bad luck, even though they could have easily dominated US circuit and tell everyone how "american races are the real thing".

For talk vs. performance, Horner is easily the most overhyped american rider in TdF in the past 5 years.

I am not a Chris horner fan. I did get to watch Chris Horner in a road race where he rode off the front from the pack . What made it remarkable was that there was a rider in the peloton that had more TDF talent then any European has "ever" had. The rider in that group was to go on and win more yellows then any rider Europe ever has . This rider was Armstrong of course. Oh yeah , this happened when Armstrong was young. That would be a great explaination why a Chris Horner could ride away from Armstrong. Except on that particular day Mr. Armstrong was wearing the World Championship Jersey. I think he earned it by riding away from the finest riders in Europe the week before. And what made it more interesting was Mr. Armstrong had 3 other TDF riders {And a stage winner} in the chase with him ..... They did not close the gap.
Chris Horner has talent. He could ride with any of the Europeans on any given day. Yes, he has a world class mouth too.
But I do not see any hype concerning him. Sure Phil & paul speak of him frequantly, but their audience is composed mostly of English speaking people. What is your problem with Chris Horner???? His mouth is no bigger then Vino's, Simoni's,Mick Jagger's....

 

[Mtventoux]

You people amaze me! Why do you freakin care what Chris Horner does, or where he races??? Look, we all have choices in life. Horner is an unbelievably talented and strong rider. He didnt feel the Euro lifestyle was for him. he had young children that he was solely responsible to care for......give him a break! He did what he thought was best for him --- AND HIS KIDS YOU A HOLES!!! Now, maybe looking back he felt unfinished business, or didnt want to look back and think he could have done more, or missed out on something, so he tried to take one more chance! Isnt that admirable??? I think so! I'm so tired of this anti-American sentiment on this board. There is no respect! I guess it gauls you all that Americans have 3 of the top 7 or 8 riders in the Tour this year.

 

[MJtje]

Lol, who is anti-american then?? What a BS.........

You people amaze me! Why do you freakin care what Chris Horner does, or where he races??? Look, we all have choices in life. Horner is an unbelievably talented and strong rider. He didnt feel the Euro lifestyle was for him. he had young children that he was solely responsible to care for......give him a break! He did what he thought was best for him --- AND HIS KIDS YOU A HOLES!!! Now, maybe looking back he felt unfinished business, or didnt want to look back and think he could have done more, or missed out on something, so he tried to take one more chance! Isnt that admirable??? I think so! I'm so tired of this anti-American sentiment on this board. There is no respect! I guess it gauls you all that Americans have 3 of the top 7 or 8 riders in the Tour this year.

 

[Powerful Pete]

You people amaze me! Why do you freakin care what Chris Horner does, or where he races??? Look, we all have choices in life. Horner is an unbelievably talented and strong rider. He didnt feel the Euro lifestyle was for him. he had young children that he was solely responsible to care for......give him a break! He did what he thought was best for him --- AND HIS KIDS YOU A HOLES!!! Now, maybe looking back he felt unfinished business, or didnt want to look back and think he could have done more, or missed out on something, so he tried to take one more chance! Isnt that admirable??? I think so! I'm so tired of this anti-American sentiment on this board. There is no respect! I guess it gauls you all that Americans have 3 of the top 7 or 8 riders in the Tour this year.

Sorry, dongeddit. Who was anti-American on this thread? The comments were about a talented rider who chose not to mix it with the big boys in the big races. And bull honky about his kids and not adapting.

Anyway, he has come around, he is racing with the gang in Europe. But as an anti-American, I will give you the benefit of the doubt that the racing is far more competitive at... the... ehm... yes, that's it, one of the several famous American stage races. You should also relax, it is not nice to call people you do not A holes. You should apologise, rather than give us a reason to be anti-american.

Disclaimer: all the above intended in good spirit!

 

[rejobako]

You people amaze me! Why do you freakin care what Chris Horner does, or where he races??? Look, we all have choices in life. Horner is an unbelievably talented and strong rider. He didnt feel the Euro lifestyle was for him. he had young children that he was solely responsible to care for......give him a break! He did what he thought was best for him --- AND HIS KIDS YOU A HOLES!!! Now, maybe looking back he felt unfinished business, or didnt want to look back and think he could have done more, or missed out on something, so he tried to take one more chance! Isnt that admirable??? I think so! I'm so tired of this anti-American sentiment on this board. There is no respect! I guess it gauls you all that Americans have 3 of the top 7 or 8 riders in the Tour this year.

I may be mistaken, but I think that, on this board and in general, the people who are most critical of Horner are Americans. I fall into that category, because in my opinion, it's OK for a professional cyclist to be arrogant and self-centered, if those qualities enhance their dedication to performance, which does not seem to be the case with him.

His quotes after yesterday's stage were typical. He essentially blamed Chavanel for not gift-wrapping a lead-out for him, as if his own all-day breakaway entitled him to deference. Screw that. I admired his willingness to take a risk and try to stay away all day, but when two cyclists have maneuvered themselves into position to take stage honors, it's each man for himself. He (and Chavanel) badly miscalculated the finish yesterday. Had they responded differently it may not have mattered, but one thing's for sure. Horner's questionable sense of entitlement guaranteed that he was going to lose yesterday. His meanspirited, transparently petulant comments after the stage yesterday revealed the boor he really is.

 

[wilmar13]

You people amaze me! Why do you freakin care what Chris Horner does, or where he races??? Look, we all have choices in life. Horner is an unbelievably talented and strong rider. He didnt feel the Euro lifestyle was for him. he had young children that he was solely responsible to care for......give him a break! He did what he thought was best for him --- AND HIS KIDS YOU A HOLES!!! Now, maybe looking back he felt unfinished business, or didnt want to look back and think he could have done more, or missed out on something, so he tried to take one more chance! Isnt that admirable??? I think so! I'm so tired of this anti-American sentiment on this board. There is no respect! I guess it gauls you all that Americans have 3 of the top 7 or 8 riders in the Tour this year.

Uhhh while you could certainly make an argument that many on this site are transparently anti-American... you picked the wrong thread to rant. There are some people here who think Horner is arrogant with no reason to be... I agree and it has nothing to do with him being an american. He is a good rider and has the talent to be a solid pack-fodder type of rider with the big boys with some occational glory.

Also to a certain extent, he is like that guy who went off to college, did poorly, moved back home,got a job at the factory and cruised in his trans-am around the highschool trying to pick up chicks...No judgement intended, but I think he liked being a big fish in a small pond over being a reletive nobody in Europe.

 

[limerickman]

I haven't read any comments by Horner.

I just see that he's ridden the Giro, Tour of Suisse and now the TDF this season.
Good on him, I say.

I hold no views as to his personality.

 

[musette]

Horner is something like 34 years old. At most he has one or two reasonable years left. I appreciate this is the second period he has been riding in the European peloton, but let's face it, his record, by the standards of that peloton, is very poor.

 

[mitosis]

Fair enough, with the announcement of Armstrong's retirement. But, apart from a stage at the TdS, Horner has little to show, albeit also 'thanks' to his crash at the start of the season (he broke something, keeping him out of the spring classics, right?).

I read an interview somewhere how he did not feel he could adapt to living in Europe his first time around. Kinda silly. Like having an up and coming baseball player from Europe (preposterous, I know) decline playing in the Major League in the US because he had trouble adapting to the lifestyle.

Suck up and deal. You are being paid to ride your bike in all of the most important races in the world!

But then again, apparently Chris has come around...

You guys don't like him much do you. I thought another yank in Europe flying the flag would be seen as a good thing.

Sounds like he's got a few of the same attitudes as LA, yet you can't see a fault in him. Hard to understand but then I'm not a yank.

 

[Powerful Pete]

Sounds like he's got a few of the same attitudes as LA, yet you can't see a fault in him. Hard to understand but then I'm not a yank.

Yes, but then again, Lance wins big. When you win you are always right! And this is coming from someone who does not root for Lance.

 

[Virenque]

This is just so annoying. I visit a lot of american-populated forums. Can anyone else explain why Chris Horner is so popular?

I bet that`s the reason! I was searching for some photos of Lance winning AGR back in 2001 and look what I`ve found!

 

[TrekDedicated]

I bet that`s the reason! I was searching for some photos of Lance winning AGR back in 2001 and look what I`ve found!

Wow, you must be bored. All the way back to July 2005....