[email protected] (K. J. Papai) writes:
<snip>
> Well written Tim but I have to add my own cheap two cents.
>
> Pro Racing in 2004 is not Pro Racing in 1994 or 1984.
Yes, that's true and is true from several perspectives.
> Money influences so many decisions. Not Lance as you say. Money
> sways top talent and GOOD for them who get it. Sponsors want
> certain results and find the guys who can deliver them.
And- again this follows in the wake of Lemond- racers are paid almost
competitively with many other sports. Perhaps not the ridiculous
buckets of cash and fabulous prizes showered on NBA, MLB and NFL
players, but those sports are out of control. With that increase in
money comes an increase in pressure for results.
I think this has led to a significant increase in the sophistication
of doping. Doping used to be the purview of the soigneurs and is now
supervised by licensed physicians. The tools are more effective (as
Verbruggen stated almost 10 years ago, EPO was the first doping tool
that really worked reliably) and more dangerous.
> 2004 is more competitive than 1994 and WAY MORE than 1984.
Yes, for several reasons. The points system makes the individual
results of every rider important- in the days of Merckx, et al, the
gregarios didn't have to worry about where they finished in the race.
They buried themselves, limped home or even just dropped out of the
race. But now, every UCI point gained by every rider on the team is
important.
Second, the stratification of the teams is not as rigid as it was, and
teams tend to have multiple leaders. The Zulle-Jalabert combination
at ONCE was really quite something to watch in action. By comparison,
look at how Rik II did everything he could to squelch Merckx in the
latter's first couple of years as a pro. In the old days there was
one leader and one leader only. At the start of any given race, there
were maybe five contenders unless something weird happened. But the
social structure of Europe has loosened immensely and with it the
rigid structure of teams is not as pronounced as it was. Successful
directeurs sportifs have learned how to work with this to best
advantage: Saiz, Riis, etc.
Oddly enough, I don't think Bruyneel is in that mix; he is rather old
school and the team exists to serve the needs of one man in one race.
The result is a team that dminates one race and is merely somewhat
competitive in most others.
> There are more Classics Specialists than there are Tour Specialists
> these days.
Makes sense, doesn't it? There are few riders with the combination of
skills to win the Tour de France: Armstrong, Ullrich, maybe Hamilton.
Mayo doesn't yet but he is not yet mature. Julich did have the talent
but didn't have the head for it. Pantani's victory was a one-off.
The genetic sweepstakes are pretty selective for Tour winners. There
are many more riders with the abilities to win the Classics and the
smaller stage races. Luck is a greater factor in one-day races, too.
> The top 300 Pro Racers in the world is a Deep Pool of talent, far
> deeper than the top 300 of ten or twenty years ago.
I agree.