Least favourite rider?

[Roy Gardiner]

This thread seems now to be 'which sprinter is least favourite' because the top of the list is all sprinters.

I think this is misguided, and don't understand why one kind of specialist is singled out for hate. No-one runs down climbers, descenders, TT specialists or indeed any other kind. I'm sure it's because people think that being a sprinter is somehow a soft option or unfair on everyone else, which again I believe to be misguided.

Zabel hasn't got the top end: 4 Milan-San Remo, 6 TdF points. Can get up hills which defeat other sprinters, sprints clean -- seems OK to me.

Sprinters leave stage races early: why not? Cipo once won 4 TdF stages in a row - why then spend 2 weeks in the gruppetto for the chance of glory in Paris? He wouldn't earn any more money. And in his home Giro he *does* stay in - his Italian sponsers may have something to say! And the same reasoning applies to all the fast boys. Do your job, go home.

It's true that sprinting isn't fair. The difference between Lombardi and Zabel is a couple of lengths in San Remo -- after Lombardi has done all the work! But cycling is not fair, it's far from fair, and that's just too bad.

Sprinters are hard, brave athletes just like all professional cyclists and don't deserve special condemnation. The other riders don't run them down, why should we?

 

[mjolnir2k]

Although I am not sure if you can still classify him as a "racer"...clearly the most despised rider should be Marco Pantani

If there was ever a true "ASS" of the sport, he would be it

Many riders have disgraced themselves and the sport, but Marco takes it to a new level and just continues to do so every year! I wish he would just drop into oblivion and spare us his meaningless chatter!

 

[Sidi]

Originally posted by lazysegall
Class act yes, but he just doesn;t have that top end. I like the sprinters who can sit on the front and when people move out of their slipstream they just can't keep up. McEwin always seems to be able to suck Zabels wheel. I mean i like Zabel more than McEwin, but there is a reason not to like him.

On Petacchi, did you expect him to finish the Tour? I would rather have him not try than put on some show. If it hurts him later in his career when he has his own team like Cipo then he can pay the consequences. Theoretically, Fassa had other riders. Even if Petacchi dropped out they still should have been a competitive team. On the Stomach Bug, when Baden Cooke won his first stage Petacchi was dropped (remember that Petacch stayed with the peloton in the giro when Cipo was dropped). He could have had a stomach bug. Look at Petacchi's goals for this year as well. He wants to be the first rider to win a giro, vuelta and tour stage all in the same year. Doing that would be hard if you were forced to finish every tour. Even Cipo doesn;t enter that many events to drop out.

From what I have heard the Hamilton WC course is pretty flat and Pettachi should be a heavy favorite especially if he can get a lead out from some other Italian (although that may be doubtful). Basically, I just don;t see how you can complain that a guy showed up, demolished the field in a few sprints and then he didn;t want to stick around for 100 degree heat in the mountains. We should just be happy that he graced the race with his prescene at all because the other sprinters are not even in Petacchi's league. If even if you hate Petacchi because he is like Cipo then you sort of have to likepetacchi for being the only guy who can beat Cipo. Don;t call him soft either becuase he continued to ride in the giro even after a fall when the Nazon didn;t ride and McEwin fled early after complaining about a DQ.

The only reason to not like Petacchi is that he doesn;t have enough flair.

Check the Vuelta. Zabel had the means to finish in the sprint.

P.S.
There used to be this guy named Fignon, an arrogant french a-hole, that i dont like.

 

[Hunter]

I do not understnad all the grief on Lance. he came back from cancer, just to win 5 Tours in a row! The tour is his goal, just as the Stanley Cup, and the Super Bowl is to other sports. If other riders wnat to win the Tour as bad as Lance the perhaps they can learn from him. If he raced in most of the major Tours I doubt he could do as well as he does in the TDF.
As far as dislikes of a certain racer well I do not personally know any of them to make a opinion.

 

[Spider1977]

Originally posted by Hunter
I do not understnad all the grief on Lance. he came back from cancer, just to win 5 Tours in a row! The tour is his goal, just as the Stanley Cup, and the Super Bowl is to other sports. If other riders wnat to win the Tour as bad as Lance the perhaps they can learn from him. If he raced in most of the major Tours I doubt he could do as well as he does in the TDF.
As far as dislikes of a certain racer well I do not personally know any of them to make a opinion.

I'm with you on this one Hunter.

 

[adelaide]

Originally posted by BugMan
Even the ever-tactful Phil Liggett, when he saw Mayo and Zubeldia jump around Ullrich close to the finish, said something like, "well, the Euskatel boys have gone and pulled the dirty on Ullrich". If Phil thinks it's dirty then...

what about cipo.He's more arrogant than the peloton put togethe, including lance and pettachi.

 

[colavitabolla]

I don't have anything against Cipo, I think he's great for the sport. He really brings alot of entertainment, although I can't say i agree with him abandoning a race when he sees a mountain on the horizon. But he definetly does bring a show to the sport of cycling, wasn't he one of the first people to wear matching yellow shorts when he was in the yellow jersey? only to be penalized by the organizers. Now look at what all the yellow jersey's are doing now? I think it will be a sad day when he does finally retire for real.

 

[Cipher]

I'm going retro and vote for Laurent Fignon. (Very arrogant, and a hug whiner).

 

[styles101]

My least favourite rider is David Millar. He complains about everything. what a suck! When he pulled that quitting maneuver at the Vuelta last year it showed no class.

Whine Whine whine.

 

[patch70]

Mederic Clain - the crash-maker.

 

[adamholck]

GILBERTO SIMONI.

Theres something about him that repulses me. Erik Zabel is one smooth cat.

 

[deWolf]

Originally posted by Kimi Iceman
i detest jan ullrich.....
drugs, ...

So, you detest Jan Ullrich for taking ecstasy during a long period of recovery for knee surgery. Drugs, of any kind for any purpose, are not to be tolerated. Fair enough.

As you learn more about this sport I would ask that you find out who Christophe Bassons is and what he stood for. You will then discover who lead the charge against him, turning him into a pariah.

The walls will come tumbling down.

 

[Roy Gardiner]

Originally posted by deWolf who Christophe Bassons is and what he stood for. ...who lead the charge against him, turning him into a pariah...walls will come tumbling down

Well said. I have to give away your exercise for the purpose of this post, sorry.

LA is Yes/No, black/white, 0%/100%. The concept of compromise does not seem to exist. This is not, of itself, a bad thing, but gives us some insight to the way he thinks.

On drugs, therefore, there will be 2 options.

1. 100% I've had so much pushed through me, and handled it, that the relatively small amounts involved in performance enhancement will never hurt me. I'll take anything and everything.

2. 0% I've had enough drugs for a lifetime. No more!

He claims attitude (2) and has never tested positive (yeah, ok, once supposedly but that really was nothing). His attitude to Bassons is, sadly, more consistent with attitude (1). LA is not a stupid man and would know the conclusions that could and would be drawn.

An alternative explanation is loyalty. LA is 100% loyal to his friends, and his hostility to Bassons could be because of loyalty to and solidarity with his professional colleagues in the peloton, who stand as one in silence (rightly or wrongly) over the whole drug question.

I hope to God that loyalty is the answer, that LA is clean, and that the walls do not tumble.

 

[drewjc]

pantani, then simoni.

 

[Climber_Andy1]

Oh lord, Cipollini!!!!

He's so conceited, thinks the world revolves around him. Reading his Cyclesport diaries made me realise moreso - no wonder they were cut off, suspiciously, after just three entries.

He rarely helps out..... I reckon some of his lead-out train members could do quite well if they were riding for themselves. Cipo's time is over, I hope he retires at the end of 2004.

 

[Roy Gardiner]

Originally posted by Climber_Andy1
Oh lord, Cipollini!!!!

He's so conceited, thinks the world revolves around him.

I disagree. His flashiness and big gob are deliberate, designed to raise his profile to the maximum. Note that when asked serious questions - such as 'Does he consider himself better than Binda?' - he answers with sensible, modest replies.

He rarely helps out..... I reckon some of his lead-out train members could do quite well if they were riding for themselves.

Of course he doesn't and they can. The difference between Lombardi and Cipo' is two or three bike lengths after 300k when Lombardi has done all the work. Lombardi has won bunch sprints in the Giro when Cipo wasn't there.

But it's also the difference between winning and losing. Cipo will win more than anyone else, under the right conditions, so that's why he's the boss. He was world champion; Lombardi almost certainly would not have won. It's like a poker player having all his cards face-up and still winning.

Cipollini is a clever, fast, brave rider who has redefined sprinting as a high-profile speciality, over a longer career than just about any other sprint finisher. Great man.

 

[tafi]

The most unlikeable pro i know is Mario Cipollini.
His post race temper tantrums are legendary (this year alone he has punched another rider and throw a water bottle at an official (or was that a camera man). Either way he is a poor sportsman who's erratic form has seen him consistently underacheive. As a rider who's physical build would indicate he is a classics rider he is next to useless without people like Scirea and Lombardi (and other poor sods) who have to push and mollycoddle the lazy ******* to the finish line.

Some would say the same for Petacchi, but at least with Petacchi, he is willing to admit his failings and give his competetors some credit. Cipollini is just plain arrogant.

Now am I hearing right? Zabel is not fast enough? He has been world number one for three years and has one four Milan-San Remo races, 6 green jerseys and a World Cup (as well as other major classics). Cipollini has never pulled off such consistent riding, and as he gets older his excuses become even more lame.

 

[Roy Gardiner]

Originally posted by tafi
he is a poor sportsman

His fellow professionals, best placed to judge, don't seem to agree.

who's erratic form has seen him consistently underacheive.

World's fastest roadman-sprinter for 10 years? Record number of Giro stage wins? I don't think so.

he is next to useless without people like Scirea and Lombardi

You can be sure that if Lombardi were faster than Cipollini he would not be the leadout man. How they earn their crust is to get the fastest man to the finish. They would be the first to complain if he worked and then lost the finish.

lazy *******

the man whose training regime impresses even the other pros, a tough bunch indeed?

Now am I hearing right? Zabel is not fast enough? ... Cipollini has never pulled off such consistent riding

Zabel is a campione, something Cipollini has never claimed. Cipo is a pure sprinter, and when all the chips are down - Zolder - the fastest in the World. You might say that if Zabel had had Cipo's team and vice-versa then Zabel would have won, and you could be right. Except that Cipo spent months setting that up, and it's the measure of him that he succeeded, and then won on the day. And when the conditions suit him, he is consistent. 4 TdF stages in a row, for example.

Sprinters are legendary for their temper, and Cipo may be worse than most. But don't forget that he has a reputation as one of the cleanest of sprinters, that his fellow pros think highly of him and that most of his personna is a put-on to gain publicity. And it works. Even Lance does not get the same year-round media coverage.

 

[Cru_Jones]

I would have tons more respect for Lance if he raced an entire season. I have heard him say the first year he dose not win the tour, he will never race the tour again, and go and do all the 1 day classics he has always missed. I would love to see this, and my respect for him would grow 10 fold. Right now he is like the NY Yankees, big budget, big team, narrow goals.

Jan is great, I love the fact he is no stranger to the discos and he puts on weight in the winters. Getting caught doing ecstasy just proves that he is a real person, living a real life. Cyclists in general, road cyclists in particular are so snotty about themselves, their teams, and their training that is gives a bad name to the sport. Yet at the same time they are more doped up than American football players. The double standard is gross, we have 24 year old pros dying in their sleep, and people worry about Jan's post season antics?

People like Jan and Mario C build the much needed character the pro peleton needs to keep the interest of the cycling fans. Lance is boring, his post race interviews are like watching grass grow. Maybe it's just because I am an American, but I can appreciate some **** talking. I thought it was great when Pantani was talking trash about Lance early this year, just claiming he was going to attack him in the mountains like no one else has before. Even if Pantani was a total disaster this year, those type of actions build character for the entire sport. Same w/ Simoni, let him talk trash, just makes it that much more exiting to tune in and watch him try to prove himself.

 

[Tuschinski]

I sincerely doubt there is a thing like a lazy pro cyclist... Ï remember when I saw Jan Ulrich up close with his "huge overweigth and lack of training".

I am thin and lean.... yet I looked like a bloody heavyweigth next to him... and he was 5 kgs to heavy. I understand that he needed to loose the weigth to be competitive, but jeez... I wouldn't want to live like that.

The eternal criticism on Mario C. amuses me greatly. The stress and duress sprinters can handle when going into the final 10 kms is amazing. It is an amzing physical ordeal to stay with the first 15 riders in that tombola. Yet Mario C is just doing that for ten years.

Mario doesn't finish the TdF. Well... he finishes the Giro, so it's his second great tour. In the fall he often has to go to the Vuelta. Heck... if I were his boss I would pull him out myself when the mountains are close! Why waste the effort? He is just doing what Lance and other GC riders do: He conserves his energy for his goals.

On riders getting angry after the finish... HEH. Your adrenaline is through the roof, you have exploded legs, lungs and head. You are filled with disapointment... You have an oxygen deficit and some bozo jumps you with a camera while you are tasting your blood in your mouth due to the effort you just made! Of course once in a while you deck someone! Mario C isn't the first and won't be the last to explode after the finish.

*sidenote* I remember a few years ago at a regional elite race that the winner was jumped after the finish... he shoved the reporter to the side. The reporter got angry and jumped in front of the rider... who at that barfed up all over the reporter and then buckled onto his knees... seemed he had a decent enough reason not to want to talk to the reporter The numbers two and three of the course were ready to kill the reporter and had to be stopped by their soigneurs. Sad and funny at the same time