What's the worst race loss ever?



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Chris M wrote:

> I want to hear the best tall tales combining elements from as many different actual events as
> possible. Bruce scores only 2 points from his effort.

It is one of the Grand Tours. Robert Millar and Luis Hereras are off the front up the major climb.
Hereras is sitting on, whining and complaining that he is tired. Millar tries to drop him, but the
Colombian is towed back up by Miguel Indurain who appears from nowhere. Millar insists and his
attack takes him clear, just in time for him to be directed left while the others continue right.
Millar is never heard from again until he resurfaces in a Cycle Sport column.

Meanwhile, back down the valley, Pedro Delgado has chased hard all day since he arrived at the start
line 2 minutes late and only gets back on when the bunch is erroneously stopped at a level crossing.
As they get restarted, Jonathan Vaughters is stung by a bee and has to retire since he is not
allowed to take corticosteroids. Alex Zulle (who IS taking corticosteroids) crashes. Lance Armstrong
and Dag-Otto Lauritzen bridge up to the break, on their own, at the same time, while riding as
individuals, not as a team. Claudio Chiappucci wins the little-known "Lapin" prime for bunny-hopping
his bike over the top of every major climb.

On the descent, an unknown French rider breaks his forks and is disqualified for outside assistance
while repairing them at a local forge. Greg Lemond's superior aerodynamics are obvious as he opens
up a gap of 8 seconds over Laurent Fignon. Alex Zulle demonstrates the futility of prescription
sunglasses when he falls off on the wet descent.

As the riders approach the bunch sprint at the mountain-top finish, Wilfred Nelissen falls off on
the last roundabout, taking out Alex Zulle, but remounts just in time to collide with a gendarme who
is taking a photograph. Laurent Jalabert who is on Nelissen's wheel crashes heavily, but later goes
on to win the Polka Dot jersey, despite being classified as a sprinter. In the confusion, a giant
Coke bottle swings out onto the course, knocking over Djamolidine Abdujaparov. Mario Cipollini wins
the sprint into Luz Ardiden by a tyre's width from Marco Pantani and Edith Rumsas. Three riders
(finishing 63rd, 75th and 122nd) were selected for dope control but no illegal substances were
found, although a subsequent urine test reveals that one of the Belgian mechanics has a pregnant
camel.. Stephen Roche is given oxygen at the finish, Richard Virenque is given aspirin and
Christophe Bessons is given mineral water.

Will that do for a start? STF.
 
"Stewart Fleming" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> Marlene Blanshay wrote:
>
> > Wasn't that Laurent Jalabert, in 1994?
>
> No, Jalabert hit the elbow of a policeman who was taking a
photograph for someone
> in the crowd.

I thought Nelissen hit the policeman and Jalabert hit Nelissen.

JT

--
*******************************************
NB: reply-to address is munged

Visit http://www.jt10000.com
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"Ken Papai" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> "john david faull" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:p[email protected]...
> >
> >
> > Maybe LANCE saw it because he was in front of them? You know Ken, its alot easier to see when
> > you are not behind someone else. Usually when you see things like that you give some sort of
> > indication to the guys behind you, LANCE didn't. It all happpened very quickly and LANCE just
> > barely missed the motorcycle himself. More cynical people might suggest that LANCE saw the
> > motorcycle and basically tried to lead the rest of those guys right into it, but you and I know
> > LANCE would never do something like that.
> >
> >
> > John
> >
> > ps. I'm astonished you thought your hero was riding Time pedals before the new SPD-SLs came out.
> > I would have assumed you owned a few pairs of 7401s so you could be "Like LANCE".
>
> Who are you? You're funny!

God you're dense, Kenny. He's John David Faull, it says so right there on his message to you.

You're right about him being funny, though. He is. Almost as funny as you not knowing what kind of
pedals LANCE uses.

As for the worst race losses of all time, I'm surprised none of you have mentioned the time I lost
the District Championships in the match sprint by only a few inches. Truly heartbreaking.

-RJ
 
I'm one of the many people who think you are an idiot.

John

On Sat, 11 Jan 2003, Ken Papai wrote:

>
> Who are you? You're funny!
>
 
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

> I thought Nelissen hit the policeman and Jalabert hit Nelissen.
>
> JT

OOps, yes you are correct. Jalabert was following Nelissen. STF
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Carl
Sundquist) wrote:

> Furthermore, at that time I was training about 150 miles/day to get in shape for the Norwest Cup
> in Minneapolis. A race where LANCE and I exchanged a bit of nasty smacktalk before he quit because
> the weather was too crappy.

How did you do in that race?

--
tanx, Howard

remove YOUR SHOES to reply, k?

For some people, quantity IS quality...
 
"john david faull" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> I'm one of the many people who think you are an idiot.

Young John-David Dude, You're getting funnier -- keep it up. Save your best stuff for me. The
ego needs it.

-Ken

"One of the many people who think John David-Faull, though young, is the next Amit + Vardi + LANCE"

>
> John
>
>
> On Sat, 11 Jan 2003, Ken Papai wrote:
>
> >
> > Who are you? You're funny!
> >
> >
> >
 
"Howard Kveck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> > Furthermore, at that time I was training about 150 miles/day to get in shape for the Norwest Cup
> > in Minneapolis. A race where LANCE and I exchanged a bit of nasty smacktalk before he quit
> > because the weather was too crappy.
>
>
> How did you do in that race?
>

I won the sprint points competition, but finished by drifting in after the peloton.
 
"Bruce Johnston" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> Since you referenced the same one from CN, I'll take mine down.
>
Thank you, I appreciate it. And so does Rob Karman, as selling pics is how he makes his living.

cheers, Jeff
 
[email protected] (Tony) wrote:

>I was listening to a sports talk radio show yesterday on my drive to work and they were discussing
>the recent woes of the local football team. Some fans were calling in saying it was perhaps the
>worst loss of all time. It got me to thinking of the cycling equivalent.
>
>So, what is the worst pro cycling race loss of all time?

I think some of the Worlds' lost by the italian team might fit very well in
it.

Like: 1978 at Nurburgring. Moser is the defending champion and obviously the strongest on in the
race. About 20-25 km to go, he breaks away with Gerrie Knetemann, a good time trialist but for sure
not a good sprinter. Moser is too confident of winning, probably pulls too much and gets beaten by a
quarter of a wheel.

1981 in Prague. In the leading group of about 30 riders there are 8 italians, among whom top level
sprinters like Saronni and Moser. Saronni should be the elected leader, but no one works really for
him. Just a climber (Panizza IIRC) leads him out in the sprint, exposing him too early in front.
Old fox Freddy Maertens takes his wheel and burns him out when Saronni starts slowing his speed,
altough the flemish rider was already a falling star, who did not win anything important in the
last few years.

1990 in Japan, Utsonomya (sp?). A breakaway is making it, with a dozen of riders still having about
5 minutes over the peloton with just a few laps to go. Although future classics winner Franco
Ballerini is the break, the italians lead the peloton's chase. No other real stars in the break, the
best riders being probably belgian Dirk De Wolf and Dag Otto Lauridsen. So the chances of Ballerini
winning could be very high. The whole italian team gets exausted in the chase and when with 1 lap to
go they almost get the breakaway they don't have the power to control the race any more. The late
great Rudy Dhaenens escapes, finding a great help in De Wolf, who had not been caught yet. The two
flemish riders start to pull each other in Baracchi Trophy-like fashion and arrive 1st and 2nd. The
group about 50" behing is regulated by Gianni Bugno.

2001 in Lisbon. You all remember about Simoni being chased by Lanfranchi and Bettini sprinting with
no help to end up 2nd, don't you?
 
"Stewart Fleming" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Chris M wrote:
>
> > I want to hear the best tall tales combining elements from as many
different
> > actual events as possible. Bruce scores only 2 points from his effort.
>
> It is one of the Grand Tours. Robert Millar and Luis Hereras are off the
front
> up the major climb. Hereras is sitting on, whining and complaining that
he is
> tired. Millar tries to drop him, but the Colombian is towed back up by
Miguel
> Indurain who appears from nowhere. Millar insists and his attack takes
him
> clear, just in time for him to be directed left while the others continue right. Millar is never
> heard from again until he resurfaces in a Cycle
Sport
> column.

And you just have to read the rest of it in the original post.

Stewart, you have just proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are an official old fart since
no youngster would ever understand half of that let alone know it well enough to write it.
Congradulations.
 
Tom Kunich wrote:

> Stewart, you have just proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are an official old fart since
> no youngster would ever understand half of that let alone know it well enough to write it.
> Congradulations.

'80s and '90s Euro-racing a speciality :) I was kicking myself after I wrote that when I forgot to
include Jacky Durand in a 200km solo breakaway. STF
 
"Stewart Fleming" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I was kicking myself after I wrote that when I forgot to include Jacky
Durand
> in a 200km solo breakaway.

Especially the part about members of the peloton congratulating him on his win.
 
"Tom Kunich" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> I can't believe my eyes. Jeff Jones got it wrong? Impossible!!!
>
> Bauer moved over on Claude who was all over the bike in his sprint. As he came up on Bauer's left
> side he either tapped Steve or hit a bump or something and fell into Bauer. Steve felt Criquelion
> hit him in th eback and pushed him off with his elbow. It happened so quick that even Bauer
> thought that he had elbowed Claude out of the blue and so Steve slowed up and lost a definite win
> to Fondriest.
>
> The whole thing dragged on forever as Criquelion showed himself to be an absolutely terrible
> loser. It just so happened that someone was taking movie film at the time and caught it all on
> film. It was a little hard to make out but Claude definitely fell into Steve before Steve elbowed
> him off.
>
> Steve didn't fall and lost the biggest race of his life because he thought that he'd caused Claude
> to fall.

You stupid ****! You really **** me off,man! You should have been in Claude's place. You wouldn't
say these stupid things now. Bauer joined Criquielion and Fondriest in the last km at the foot the
climb Kruisberg after an intensive chase during several km in a race of +/- 250km. When you do such
an action, i can tell you it's almost impossible to beat two riders who rode in front and who were
preparing the sprint which means that they took the time to drop their pulse. Bauer knew that he
would have 1% chance to beat them. So he took the lead and started the sprint. Notice that is harder
to win a sprint when you're leading then when you're in someone's wheel. Bauer started and moved
away from the barrier. Criquielion saw a possibility to get through. He had enough space. Criq was
riding for his own public and had a great day, sitting in bauers wheel he was is a very good
position. Bauer felt Claude coming and moved back to the barrier making his ellbows wide. At that
moment Claude rode next to Bauer, claude's front wheel was at the height of the back of frontwheel
of Bauer. So Criq was one wheeldistance behind bauer. Bauer knew he couldn't win that sprint and
kept going back to the barrier. I'm not sure if there was any contact between bauers elbow and Criq,
but by moving back to the barrier and making his elbows wide he took away Criq's space when he was
riding next to him. That's how he forced him into the barrier. Offcourse there was also Fondriest
who took the other side to pass Bauer. Bauer couldn't stop fondriest because He didn't have the
strength no more to win that sprint and because the other barrier was to far from him to get
fondriest in it too. Do you think when a rider TAKES the lead of a group to start the sprint ,after
a km-chase, that he thinks that he can win? No, when you think you can win you choose a wheel
because that gives you much more chance. The sprint in the tour of 1983 (16 stage, St-Etienne)
between Henk Lubberding and Michel Laurent was almost exactly the same. Lubberding forced Laurent in
the barrier but he got disqualified and Laurent was given the victory. That was a right decision. If
you don't understand this you really don't understand what cycling
is.
 
Worst loss ever? We're talking about the domestic US scene as usual right? Had to be when Dirk Friel
outsprinted Jacob Fetty at the 99 Tour of Pettycoat Junction. Man, that was some intense ****!

Did anyone mention the MAESTRO of losing...Max Sciandri? 1 - His Milan San Remo loss to Gabriele
Columbo. 2 - His Giro stage loss to Bjarne Riis - "losing to a guy like Riis!"

Also, you have to mention another good 2nd place winner, Lance Armstrong. 1 - Tour stage 95? Trying
to outsprint Russian ex-track rider Sergei Outchschakav(?) from behind with 40 meters to go. I
thought he was going to wait until after the finish line to sprint. 2 - Letting Pascal Richard
school him at L-B-L
 
Fab5Freddy wrote:

> Did anyone mention the MAESTRO of losing...Max Sciandri? 1 - His Milan San Remo loss to Gabriele
> Columbo. 2 - His Giro stage loss to Bjarne Riis - "losing to a guy like Riis!"

3. Leeds International. He had it sewn up until he choked (again) in the sprint. Didn't turn up for
the podium presentation, didn't collect his prize money, team lost out on the share.

Is anyone keeping track of thread latencies? It's been ages since anyone last posted to this thread
and suddenly two (or 3 now) come along in the same week. STF
 
They printed sections out of the film in Winning Magazine if memory serves. It showed that Claude
fell into Bauer first and that Steve pushed him away.

I don't know where you get the idea that there is something wrong with Bauer moving back towards the
barriers to try to cut Criquelion off. If he did it suddenly and Claude had no way to avoid contact
that would be one thing but slowly taking away the space is a standard sprint tactic and there's
nothing wrong with it.

As for Fondriest - he was a LONG way behind and there was no way he could have beaten Bauer if Steve
hadn't let up.

"Kenny" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Tom Kunich" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > I can't believe my eyes. Jeff Jones got it wrong? Impossible!!!
> >
> > Bauer moved over on Claude who was all over the bike in his
sprint. As he
> > came up on Bauer's left side he either tapped Steve or hit a bump
or
> > something and fell into Bauer. Steve felt Criquelion hit him in th
eback and
> > pushed him off with his elbow. It happened so quick that even
Bauer thought
> > that he had elbowed Claude out of the blue and so Steve slowed up
and lost a
> > definite win to Fondriest.
> >
> > The whole thing dragged on forever as Criquelion showed himself to
be an
> > absolutely terrible loser. It just so happened that someone was
taking movie
> > film at the time and caught it all on film. It was a little hard
to make out
> > but Claude definitely fell into Steve before Steve elbowed him
off.
> >
> > Steve didn't fall and lost the biggest race of his life because he
thought
> > that he'd caused Claude to fall.
>
> You stupid ****! You really **** me off,man! You should have been
in
> Claude's place. You wouldn't say these stupid things now. Bauer joined Criquielion and Fondriest
> in the last km at the foot
the
> climb Kruisberg after an intensive chase during several km in a race of +/- 250km. When you do
> such an action, i can tell you it's
almost
> impossible to beat two riders who rode in front and who were
preparing
> the sprint which means that they took the time to drop their pulse. Bauer knew that he would have
> 1% chance to beat them. So he took
the
> lead and started the sprint. Notice that is harder to win a sprint when you're leading then when
> you're in someone's wheel. Bauer started and moved away from the barrier. Criquielion saw a
> possibility to get through. He had enough space. Criq was riding
for
> his own public and had a great day, sitting in bauers wheel he was
is
> a very good position. Bauer felt Claude coming and moved back to
the
> barrier making his ellbows wide. At that moment Claude rode next to Bauer, claude's front wheel
> was at the height of the back of frontwheel of Bauer. So Criq was one wheeldistance behind
> bauer. Bauer knew he couldn't win that sprint and kept going back to the barrier. I'm not sure
> if there was any contact between bauers elbow and Criq, but by moving back to the barrier and
> making his elbows
wide
> he took away Criq's space when he was riding next to him. That's how he forced him into the
> barrier. Offcourse there was also Fondriest who took the other side to pass Bauer. Bauer
> couldn't stop
fondriest
> because He didn't have the strength no more to win that sprint and because the other barrier was
> to far from him to get fondriest in it too. Do you think when a rider TAKES the lead of a group
> to start
the
> sprint ,after a km-chase, that he thinks that he can win? No, when you think you can win you
> choose a wheel because that gives you much more chance. The sprint in the tour of 1983 (16 stage,
> St-Etienne) between Henk Lubberding and Michel Laurent was almost exactly the same.
Lubberding
> forced Laurent in the barrier but he got disqualified and Laurent
was
> given the victory. That was a right decision. If you don't understand this you really don't
> understand what
cycling
> is.
 
"Tom Kunich" <[email protected]> wrote in news:S8m1a.7183$1q2.681122
@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net:

> They printed sections out of the film in Winning Magazine if memory serves. It showed that Claude
> fell into Bauer first and that Steve pushed him away.
>
> I don't know where you get the idea that there is something wrong with Bauer moving back towards
> the barriers to try to cut Criquelion off. If he did it suddenly and Claude had no way to avoid
> contact that would be one thing but slowly taking away the space is a standard sprint tactic and
> there's nothing wrong with it.
>
> As for Fondriest - he was a LONG way behind and there was no way he could have beaten Bauer if
> Steve hadn't let up.

Tom, I think you're wrong on this one. IMHO, its *never* ok to not hold your line in the closing
meters of a sprint. One good reason I can think of is that a lot of guys (stupidly) sprint with
their heads down. They would never even see you moving over, even if you did it slowly. Is winning
the race worth sending your competitors to the hospital? Not to mention it is poor sportsmanship. If
you're faster, why do you need to take away the other guy's line to the finish? I forgot though, you
wouldn't know, as all of the races you win never come down to a sprint ;)

- Boyd
 
"Boyd Speerschneider" <[email protected]>
>
> Tom, I think you're wrong on this one. IMHO, its *never* ok to not hold your line in the closing
> meters of a sprint. One good reason I can think of is that a lot of guys (stupidly) sprint with
> their heads down. They would never even see you moving over, even if you did it slowly. Is winning
> the race worth sending your competitors to the hospital? Not to mention it is poor sportsmanship.
> If you're faster, why do you need to take away the other guy's line to the finish? I forgot
> though, you wouldn't know, as
all
> of the races you win never come down to a sprint ;)
>

Boyd,

You need to watch a keirin. It doesn't matter that they are on a track; they are still sprinting.
 
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