Vaughters Stirs 2010's Pot!

[slovakguy]

Vaughters slams Armstrong’s Tour performance - wielertom.com

wow! something in the wine j.v.'s drinking? swiping at armstrong and wiggo and scoring points?! maillot jaune performance here.

hats off to you, j.v.

 

[alienator]

Those are a$$hat comments. Trash talk from any source diminishes any sport...or in the case of the US, athletic games.

 

[slovakguy]

cannot agree with your sentiments. incendiary, yes. somewhat off target, sure. asshat? not in any sense. give vaughters his due--he gets a nice jab in on wiggo's 4th place and makes a nice assessment of how astana rode the 2009 tour. but to give you your point, perhaps there is something specific you disagree with in j.v.'s opinions?

 

[alienator]

cannot agree with your sentiments. incendiary, yes. somewhat off target, sure. asshat? not in any sense. give vaughters his due--he gets a nice jab in on wiggo's 4th place and makes a nice assessment of how astana rode the 2009 tour. but to give you your point, perhaps there is something specific you disagree with in j.v.'s opinions?

I disagree with trash talk, in general. It's the action, not necessarily the message. I could care less what's said in those cases. The mere saying speaks volumes of the speaker. I don't care who the speaker is or what the sport is.

 

[swampy1970]

... and Vaughters has moustachio-man now. He's got nothing else but to talk $hit.

So, we have the 'fact' that Astana took it easy for Lance - which doesn't bode well for either Levi or Kloden as they cracked. Frank Schleck nor Wiggo lacked the firepower too.

Contador, Shrek Jr and Lance on the podium again this year. Contador is an unknown so far, Schleck has a dodgy knee and Lance-a-lot has been riding better than he did in the Tour last year (reportedly)

This years tour should be much more interesting especially on the run in to the Alps on that long hard stage through the Jura. Will The Shack team dismantle Astana on the long flat stages with pave in them - like they worked over Zulle's team in 99 or will Astana just drag Alberto to the mountains and tell him to feck off up the road? Does Alberto now have a bit more tactical nouse about him to stay closer to the front on those tricky flat stages and will Vino remember that he said he'd not riding for the win? Will baby Schlek just sit and watch those two fcuk each other over and take advantage of the situation in the mountains?

I don't forsee anyone else getting on the podium. There's some good climbers but they lack the power in the TT's and have weak teams. There's too many high hilly/mountain stages to allow a general strong guy to finish top 5 - those 4 mountain stages in the Pyrenees are going to be killer. I've been up that side of the Marie Blanque with fresh legs when I was a 1st Cat and I'd be hating life to start the day with that climb after 4 days straight racing in the mountains - after 17 stages and the last rest day. 4km of 10 to 12% near the top and a fairly technical descent to the Solour and then the mountain top finish on the Tourmalet. Even ridden tempo that side of the Marie Blanque is an a$s-kicker. And while the pyreenean stages don't take in the true 'circle of death' its a way better finale to the mountains that the damp squib that was Ventoux last year.

 

[limerickman]

Vaughters slams Armstrong’s Tour performance - wielertom.com

wow! something in the wine j.v.'s drinking? swiping at armstrong and wiggo and scoring points?! maillot jaune performance here.

hats off to you, j.v.

Vaughters was interviwed in the Guardian last week and he seems pee'd off with SKY and how they recruited Wiggins.
And he's pee'd off because Wiggins had committed his future to JV.

Following day, Wiggo comes out and takes issue with JV's claim that "SKY are the most unpopular team in the peloton",.

A lot of bad blood there, it seems.

 

[swampy1970]

A lot of bad blood there, it seems.

I wonder why...

lol

Are we taking bets on how many gallons of Bailsford Blood have been synthesized yet?

 

[slovakguy]

Vaughters was interviwed in the Guardian last week and he seems pee'd off with SKY and how they recruited Wiggins.
And he's pee'd off because Wiggins had committed his future to JV.

Following day, Wiggo comes out and takes issue with JV's claim that "SKY are the most unpopular team in the peloton",.

A lot of bad blood there, it seems.

first, tipping of the hat to swampy for his post. nice points all around and the marie blanque stage should (fingers crossed) make for some good viewing. i'm sure if vaughters had been a touch more reasonable he'd remember that, even if astana were soft pedaling, neither wiggins nor f. schleck climbed over him. but j.v. is in a temper.

and to lim's post, it has been quite some time since the peloton has seen such acrimony in the press. granted most of the time it's kept out of the press, but the cat-fighting between armstrong-contador, hincapie-astana/columbia, and vaughters-sky should make some for some nice racing this year. honestly, vaughters does seem to be bringing a knife to a gun fight given the team line-ups. make or break year for christian vande velde?

 

[alienator]

make or break year for christian vande velde?

Yup. I predict he'll win Kona.

 

[Chavez]

Contador is an unknown so far

I don't know how you can say Contador is an "unknown" -his 2 TdFs, Giro, and Vuelta make him pretty "known."

I think it's fair to question the team around him but it was pretty apparent that when both he and Armstrong were getting the same protection, LA couldn't hang with him on the hills.

 

[limerickman]

first, tipping of the hat to swampy for his post. nice points all around and the marie blanque stage should (fingers crossed) make for some good viewing. i'm sure if vaughters had been a touch more reasonable he'd remember that, even if astana were soft pedaling, neither wiggins nor f. schleck climbed over him. but j.v. is in a temper.

and to lim's post, it has been quite some time since the peloton has seen such acrimony in the press. granted most of the time it's kept out of the press, but the cat-fighting between armstrong-contador, hincapie-astana/columbia, and vaughters-sky should make some for some nice racing this year. honestly, vaughters does seem to be bringing a knife to a gun fight given the team line-ups. make or break year for christian vande velde?

If Vande Velde can recreate his 2007 TDF, then it's game on.

There has been a lot of mainstream media interest in the SKY team over this side of the pond, since the takeover.

Wiggins is talking about going for overall TDF win.

I don't know what Brailsford is doing but Wiggins sounds pertty confident.
Wiggins has said that he only views Contador and the Shreks as rivals for the TDF.

 

[roadhouse]

“I won’t be forgetting this comment anytime soon. What a tool.” ~ gotta love it!

 

[slovakguy]

If Vande Velde can recreate his 2007 TDF, then it's game on.

There has been a lot of mainstream media interest in the SKY team over this side of the pond, since the takeover.

Wiggins is talking about going for overall TDF win.

I don't know what Brailsford is doing but Wiggins sounds pertty confident.
Wiggins has said that he only views Contador and the Shreks as rivals for the TDF.

understandable the interest in this team & wiggins' confidence. right out of the wrapping paper and they have favourites in several disciplines. brailsford should have his hands full for the tour trying to accomodate so many focal points. boassaon hagen being in the mix for the green especially when cav hits those mountains, wiggo for overall, although a bit average in the mountains in terms of support or to vie for the jersey. should make for a good season once these preliminary rounds are done.

 

[Eldron]

Ahhh JV - isn't he the "Lance and the whole team tooks drugs!!!! No wait - I was wrong - here's a signed affidavit saying I have never seen ANY cyclist taking drugs". Great for his cred....

IF Astana were soft pedalling to save Lance's rep then heavan help every other professional cyclist in the 2010 TdF when Astana and Shacko start pedalling at full speed

JV sounds like a spoilt 5 year old mouthing off on the playground gym.

Let your legs (or your charge's legs) do the talking I always say...

 

[Scotttri]

Evans can keep with Armstrong in the hills. If BMC are invited. He cant match Schleck or Contador, but I think he can keep with Evans, and perhaps be more consistant then the other two. I think if he's there he's a chance of a podium. ( If there's not a team time trial that is......havn't looked at the course that is )

 

[roadhouse]

Ahhh JV - isn't he the "Lance and the whole team tooks drugs!!!! No wait - I was wrong - here's a signed affidavit saying I have never seen ANY cyclist taking drugs". Great for his cred....

IF Astana were soft pedalling to save Lance's rep then heavan help every other professional cyclist in the 2010 TdF when Astana and Shacko start pedalling at full speed

JV sounds like a spoilt 5 year old mouthing off on the playground gym.

Let your legs (or your charge's legs) do the talking I always say...

+1. that was the first thing i thought.

 

[swampy1970]

I don't know how you can say Contador is an "unknown" -his 2 TdFs, Giro, and Vuelta make him pretty "known."

I think it's fair to question the team around him but it was pretty apparent that when both he and Armstrong were getting the same protection, LA couldn't hang with him on the hills.

I was talking about so far this year... He took a lot of time off at the end of last year so it'd be interesting to see what form he's in. I really don't see him regressing any...

 

[swampy1970]

Evans can keep with Armstrong in the hills. If BMC are invited. He cant match Schleck or Contador, but I think he can keep with Evans, and perhaps be more consistant then the other two. I think if he's there he's a chance of a podium. ( If there's not a team time trial that is......havn't looked at the course that is )

I predict that Evans will be shelled out the back by the second pyrenean stage and acquire that trade mark "I'm going to burst into tears and sulk in my room all night" look. A great bike rider for sure but I don't think he's capable of handling the stress and pressure of the Tour. Maybe he should skip the Tour and have a good crack at the Vuelta. It'd be nice to see him get a grand tour win.

 

[tonyzackery]

Boy, if you cyclist-types are put-off by this rather benign comment from Vaughters, I strongly suggest you don't put your sensitivities in harm's way by going into arenas where real trash-talking occurs...

Real trash talking (Vaughters wasn't "trash-talking" in the true sense) is akin to placing a friendly wager on a sporting contest - makes things much more interesting when there's something on the line, be it money or your ego...further, it can get into head of a weak-minded individual - that's the primary reason why a perpetrator (Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco, Kevin Garnett, etc...) does it - it's psychological warfare...

 

[tonyzackery]

Boy, if you cyclist-types are put-off by this rather benign comment from Vaughters, I strongly suggest you don't put your sensitivities in harm's way by going into arenas where real trash-talking occurs...

Real trash talking (Vaughters wasn't "trash-talking" in the true sense) is akin to placing a friendly wager on a sporting contest - makes things much more interesting when there's something on the line, be it money or your ego...further, it can get into head of a weak-minded individual - that's the primary reason why a perpetrator (Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco, Kevin Garnett, etc...) does it - it's psychological warfare...