Davey Crockett <
[email protected]> wrote in message news:<87r7ufwwwr.fsf@cpe000423176ea9-cm0f2069983361.cpe.net.cable.rogers.com>...
> Richard Adams <[email protected]> writes:
>
> > Van Hoorebeeck Bart wrote:
> >> Davey Crockett schreef:
> >>
> >>>And judging by the shape he's in with around a couple of months+ to go, he'll have as much chance of winning the Tour as the kelme and Cofidis lads.
> >>>--
> >> He'll keep Vino out of the wind in the flat stages.
> >>
> >
> > Heck, he'll keep the whole team out of the wind.
> >
>
> In a slightly different vein, I really feel sorry for Jan,
>
> He won it fair and square in 1997 and was always a better rider than the
> rider who is going for a sixth go-around this year.
No. He's not. All things being equal, better riders win races over
people who are not as good as them. Everybody has a little bad luck,
but the fact that Ullrich has lost the tour four or five times since
the year he won says something. Sure maybe Ullrich has more natural
talent, but if year in and year out he's losing, then he's not better
than the competition. In fact, if you believe that he has more talent
then the only real choice you have is that he's a slacker, or that he
doesn't have the head of a champion.
Being a better racer than somebody else is about winning more than
them. Who knows, there could be 20 people who either are racing or
have been racing that have more talent than Lance or Jan. Maybe they
don't have the right work ethic. Or maybe they have too many doubts
and lose because they are weak in the head. But you know what? If
that's the case, they aren't as good.
Professional bike racing is about having the whole package. Climbing,
time trialing, sprinting, suffering in the rain and heat, crosswinds,
cobbles, short, steep climbs, 20 km mountain passes and having the
mindset that goes along with it. The best riders just go out and win
races. The best bike racers win because they are stronger, smarter
and harder. They win because they make that final counter attack even
though they feel like they are going to die. That make that attack
because every nerve ending in their body says "GO NOW!" It hurts
terribly, but they win because at the moment it mattered most, the
others were weak.
If I had a dollar for every bike racer I knew who had an enourmous
talent, but never went anywhere I'd be rich. Look at the other end.
Look at a guy like Mike Sayers. We were team mates 8 or 10 years ago.
To put it bluntly, Mike wasn't exactly oozing with raw talent. He
got dropped on any real hill. But Mike wanted to be a bike racer and
he worked HARD! He's been a pro for years now and raced in the
****ING Tour of Flanders! I could probably name off a number of guys
who everybody thought had more talent who are still racing industrial
park crits in Nor Cal if they are racing at all.
Having said that, I have an enourmous amount of respect for Jan, but
here we are yet again, it's late April and Jan is having to skip the
harder races because he's not fit enough to finish them. I'm sure he
will get much fitter, and I'll bet he's on the podium in Paris this
year again. But it won't be on the top step unless something happens
to the guy who got his third win of the year today. Somebody else my
beat Armstrong, but it won't be Jan...
Kevin Metcalfe
[email protected]
Pleasant Hill, Ca
