Riders who never lived up to the hype.



Wayne666 said:
Last year was the first time Simoni didn't finish on the podium, and he finished 4th, since '98 excepting the year he crashed out (2002). He won the Giro twice (2001 and 2003) and was second in 2005.

Other than Armstrong and perhaps Ullrich he has probably more GT success (7 podiums including two wins) in the last decade than any other rider, so I think retracting his inclusion was wise.
His original inclusion was because of the "podiums" and the hype presented before he missed the top steps each of those times, and the time he didn't.
 
Wayne666 said:
Last year was the first time Simoni didn't finish on the podium, and he finished 4th, since '98 excepting the year he crashed out (2002). He won the Giro twice (2001 and 2003) and was second in 2005.

Other than Armstrong and perhaps Ullrich he has probably more GT success (7 podiums including two wins) in the last decade than any other rider, so I think retracting his inclusion was wise.
Plus, I quite like him as a cyclist.
 
classic1 said:
Fons De Wolf
Danny Willems
Pascal Lino
Mirko Gualdi
Roberto Caruso
Jean-Phillipe Dowja
Greg Oravetz
Michel Zanoli
Brian Walton
Alexi Grewal
Allan Peiper
Phillip Bouvatier
Jay Sweet
Dimitri Konyshev
Jean-Luc Vandenbrouke
Did Thurau
Bradley Wiggins


Lino - definitely.

Peiper? Was there much hype about Allan??
I can't recall any great fanfare for him.
 
El Loto said:
Igor Astarloa
I'd say Mick Rogers to a certain extent too. Has he ever won a TT that wasn't a World Championship?
he won about 3 in season 2003, when he won Tour of Belgium, Tour of Holland, and the last incarnation of Tour of Germany, all on the back of making either the decisive break, and just enforcing the advantage in the TT. Think Criterium International.

May not have been those 3 Tours in particular. Was definitely Germany, when the race was only a 2.1 type classification. Not at the level it is since 3 Deutschland Tours ago.


How about this one,

Jamie Burrow. Englishman. Beat Pantani's climbing record on atleast one Tour de France climb when racing in espoirs, and in the same espoir tour, he beat the world espoir tt champion Thor Hushovd in the tt. About 99.

Spent 2 years at USPS, in 2000 and 2001. Obviously, the doping regime does not extend to first year pros, unless they are in the leadup races to the Tour.

That guy could have been anything, if he had the same doping logistic network behind him in the Pros that he obviously had providing him with his gear as an espoir.

Still rides for either and Italian or eastern European team, racing in Italy and Slovenia, and Slovakia and those new emerging cycling states. Never progressed. Regressedm, because of dope, lack of, and then all the complications of trying to live life as a pro on 10 grand a year, and making do. Does not help in training, nutrition, recovery, living, shopping groceries etc. And buying dope.

So, Jamie Burrow, perfect example, MULE > RACEHORSE, avec dopage.
 
limerickman said:
Lino - definitely.

Peiper? Was there much hype about Allan??
I can't recall any great fanfare for him.
Eddy Planckaert said he was the most talented 18 yo he had ever seen.

Then he got tha brain illness, damn, forgot the terminology.

Anyway, supposedly he was never the same rider. And that illness can affect the physiology and neuromuscular system from what I know. (layperson)
 
classic1 said:
Fons De Wolf
Danny Willems
Pascal Lino
Mirko Gualdi
Roberto Caruso
Jean-Phillipe Dowja
Greg Oravetz
Michel Zanoli
Brian Walton
Alexi Grewal
Allan Peiper
Phillip Bouvatier
Jay Sweet
Dimitri Konyshev
Jean-Luc Vandenbrouke
Did Thurau
Bradley Wiggins
Mcgee?

avec dope? could he win the Tour? Heck, if Landis can.
 
Jamie Burrow-that's a really interesting call. He's very much the forgotten man, even here in the UK. As a former U 23 World no.1 he clearly had some pedigree. Only had a season or so with USPRO before being released-supposedly on injury and illness grounds.
Despite riding with Micky Mouse outfits he continued to be capable of mixing it with the top guys. But here's the thing, he never got another offer from a ProTour outfit, not even as low paid pack fodder. I'm only guessing, but could it be that it got around that he wouldn't play the game?
thunder said:
he won about 3 in season 2003, when he won Tour of Belgium, Tour of Holland, and the last incarnation of Tour of Germany, all on the back of making either the decisive break, and just enforcing the advantage in the TT. Think Criterium International.

May not have been those 3 Tours in particular. Was definitely Germany, when the race was only a 2.1 type classification. Not at the level it is since 3 Deutschland Tours ago.


How about this one,

Jamie Burrow. Englishman. Beat Pantani's climbing record on atleast one Tour de France climb when racing in espoirs, and in the same espoir tour, he beat the world espoir tt champion Thor Hushovd in the tt. About 99.

Spent 2 years at USPS, in 2000 and 2001. Obviously, the doping regime does not extend to first year pros, unless they are in the leadup races to the Tour.

That guy could have been anything, if he had the same doping logistic network behind him in the Pros that he obviously had providing him with his gear as an espoir.

Still rides for either and Italian or eastern European team, racing in Italy and Slovenia, and Slovakia and those new emerging cycling states. Never progressed. Regressedm, because of dope, lack of, and then all the complications of trying to live life as a pro on 10 grand a year, and making do. Does not help in training, nutrition, recovery, living, shopping groceries etc. And buying dope.

So, Jamie Burrow, perfect example, MULE > RACEHORSE, avec dopage.
 
Actually, being realistic, he probably wouldn't even have been in the game sans dopage, so you were probably right first time. Not enough dope, not enough of the right dope, or possibly just a bad responder to dope. It is the latter factor that undermines the argument that goes 'let 'em all dope'. Individuals simply react differently to the juice. Which is why some super dopers are way ahead of their equally talented colleagues. There are some names that spring immediately to mind.
 
Gregers said:
Jamie Burrow-that's a really interesting call. He's very much the forgotten man, even here in the UK. As a former U 23 World no.1 he clearly had some pedigree. Only had a season or so with USPRO before being released-supposedly on injury and illness grounds.
Despite riding with Micky Mouse outfits he continued to be capable of mixing it with the top guys. But here's the thing, he never got another offer from a ProTour outfit, not even as low paid pack fodder. I'm only guessing, but could it be that it got around that he wouldn't play the game?
no, I would not consider the possibility he was clean, as he beat Pantani's records.

I also think it is a jump, to believe he "would not play the game" and "word got around". Unless you are Bassons, and have a voice, in the media, your face will barely be recognised, and I doubt you will ever have the profile. The cycling network is not omniscient, Patrick Lefevere can barely recognise a domestique of his in his own kit, let alone a rider in the pro-ams. Albeit one who was a number one espoir in 99.

The espoir rankings could be a little misleading, as riders in div1 were riding higher calibre events, still u23, and not geting the opportunity to win 2.3 tours, or 2.6 tours, which brought enough points to make him number 1.

No way he would have been clean if he was riding for an Italian espoir team which I believe he was on.

Reality is, when riders get to a big team, they can be left to rot in the wrong teams. If you are 25th man on a squad, or last guy signed even if you have talent to make the tour squad, you will not be on the A team, nor the B team, and you will be given a filler position, and not a proper program, and have to fill spots at the last minute without a race calendar mapped out, and without a race program that suits.

As a climber, he would need to ride certain races, classique des alps, GTs and Queen stages, the hillier tours and one day races in Italy and Spain. there are just not many races for pure climbers. And if you are not in the A team, the B team, you will have very few opportunities.

You have to ride folks off your wheel at the training camp in january and february to prove yourself, and that only manages to put off your teammates who hate your guts for riding them into hurt, during feb, when they had been on a couch or rehabbing for the last 6 weeks.

So even those politics can end up harming your opportunities and not helping them.

Without his old logistic network to deliever him the dope, and keep him doped, he would have regressed. Then losing the big contract with Postal, things would have conspired against him even further.

Obviously a talent, when on good gear. There are only one or two riders who could possibly beat Pantani's records, in the current peloton, and he can, albeit when doped.
 
limerickman said:
Peiper? Was there much hype about Allan??
I can't recall any great fanfare for him.
What thunder said. Peiper was an absolute freak junior. Best junior in Belgium by a mile. Used to kick Lemonds ****, thats how good he was. Then he got sick and although he was still good he never came back to the same level.
 
Until '04 I would have said Kloeden. Burst onto the scene in 2000 winning Paris-Nice, Tour of the Basque country, performing well at the Vuelta and winning the Bronze at the Sydney Olympics. A reasonable tour in 2001, then absolutely nothing until the German Champs in '04 and the Tour. He has all the stage racing abilities required, just not quite fulfilled his full potential.


Mirko Celestino
Sylvain Chavanel
Jerome Pineau
Patrick Sinkewitz
Abraham Olano
 
I've read 'Roule Britannia' by William Fotheringham and was amazed to read about the career of Graham Jones. Ok, so he wasn't necessarily hyped up, but he was compared to Anquetil in terms of class and he certainly showed that as an amateur. Who knows what kind of a career he may've had if he wasn't over-raced at Peugeot.
 
[size=-1]Jean-Francois Bernard jumped right out when I read the threads title. But Alex Zulle always reminded me of a rider who could have had better results then what he was predicted for.


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wolfix said:
[size=-1]Jean-Francois Bernard jumped right out when I read the threads title. But Alex Zulle always reminded me of a rider who could have had better results then what he was predicted for.


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Indeed. Even with the best preparation, he sucked. :D
 
Berzin - sure, he won his stuff during the Gewiss-Ferrari years, but a lot of people had him hyped as the next big thing. Instead, he just faded away slowly, year by year.
 
Tommy D
Zulle
Olano
Popo
Mayo

Tyler H - most consistent failure to stay upright.

Horner, but no one seems to notice him.

I don't think Chavanel's hype was his fault, more that he held the MJ in the flats for too long. He sure did try... a preview of clean cycling, in stark contrast to the ultra doped Roux.

Gawge H always was a support rider. I do like him, rather unassuming, not possessed of a titanic ego. The work ethic of Armstrong, without the assholiness.

In my youth, I never forgave Thevenet for trumping Eddy, even though he had considerable assistance. Didn't deserve the credit he got. Back then, I endured a lot of pain by imagining I was on EM's wheel...
 
breukink comes to mind. bernard only had a span of about 3 years to lead a team. he was quite young in the 87 tour when he was at his best. i wonder what kind of juice he was on for ventoux. that was an epic ****ing stage.