The professional cycling thread

[anonymous-user]

How can you expect to be taken seriously if you use the term "plastic brit" yet you're throwing terms like "moronic" and "xenophobic" around...

FWIW I think all the marginal gains work, You can't be an average rider and take enough PEDs to win a GT and stay under the radar. This is why for all the suspicion I think Horner and Hesjedal won la vuelta and the giro clean .

[Granfondo]

pablo said:

How can you expect to be taken seriously if you use the term "plastic brit" yet you're throwing terms like "moronic" and "xenophobic" around...

FWIW I think all the marginal gains work, You can't be an average rider and take enough PEDs to win a GT and stay under the radar. This is why for all the suspicion I think Horner and Hesjedal won la vuelta and the giro clean .

But not Nibali who has won 4 GTs and how did you describe him "Zero credibility" so what evidence do you have that he is cheating?

[johnxjsc1985]

pablo said:

I think in most circumstances we can, you have to take results on merit and rarely do they arouse suspicion but Astana? Nibali?

Have the UCI conducted similar retrospective testing to that of the Athletics and London 2012

[ewenm]

Interesting report in the Italian press that for the final mountain stages Nibali swapped back to the shorter cranks he'd been training with.

[Dr Imran T]

Interesting stuff - I did hear about the acupuncture but hadn't thought much of it. I agree with the point that Nibali was looking tired and came back from a very long way.

I think the biggest problem for Nibali is riding for a team that is truly dubious at best. He should move away from that team, however I'm sure if he did move away and then didn't get any victories...

[mcelliott]

pablo said:

Hesjedal

So you will quite happily believe that this rider won the Tour of Italy clean. A rider who has admitted to doping throughout his early career, then miraculously stopped doping and won a major Tour. How does that work then?

[Granfondo]

mcelliott said:

pablo said:

Hesjedal

So you will quite happily believe that this rider won the Tour of Italy clean. A rider who has admitted to doping throughout his early career, then miraculously stopped doping and won a major Tour. How does that work then?

And Horner who like a fine wine got better with age (almost 42) when he overcame Nibali ( who you say is a doper) to win the Vuelta!

How does that work also?

[mcelliott]

Granfondo said:

mcelliott said:

pablo said:

Hesjedal

So you will quite happily believe that this rider won the Tour of Italy clean. A rider who has admitted to doping throughout his early career, then miraculously stopped doping and won a major Tour. How does that work then?

And Horner who like a fine wine got better with age (almost 42) when he overcame Nibali ( who you say is a doper) to win the Vuelta!

How does that work also?

Oh well that's easy to explain. He's embraced the Sky way of doing things - marginal gains. That can overcome any jet-fuelled doping.

[anonymous-user]

My issue with Astana is who they were, ONCE. They kept some of the old staff and that legacy sticks with them. People keep dragging up stuff like Vaughters past and that anyone who rides for him is doping, they call it guilt by association so my point is how come that cant apply to Astana, we know they cheat, we know the Iglinsky stories (where incidentally Astana didnt abide by the MPCC code and still rode the following week...) and they are managed by Vino himself, so as far as I am concerned, Nibbles should be nowhere near that team if he wants to maintain his credibility. Sadly they pay well and he can ride for GC, he could walk into any other team though. Thats what saddens me.

But as well you and I and everyone else knows, there is no smoking gun as far as Nibbles is concerned, no positive tests and he is very vocal in his defence of clean cycling.

He is a very talented rider, it just sucks that hes at a team with no credibility. Go back to 2012 and Astana were winning everything with nobodies. There is too much suspicion around Kazakh athletic success that I dont believe any of it. Horner? Hesjedal? yeah why not? stuff happens. We have to believe that these guys can win races too or else we might as well give up watching it all together.

All eyes to Utrecht then.

[Granfondo]

Like Geert Lienders at Team Sky who was banned for life for multiple doping violations?

[anonymous-user]

Yes, like leinders too. Fact is the world of pro cycling is small, if you want someone with experience you have to accept they might have a history....

[Don1]

Personally I don't think Nibbles helps himself with his attitude (think of the long running seeming vendetta with Sky/Froome), or the team he is part of. Having said that, consoling Chavez's family at the finish was a touch of class.

It was a very large turn around. It would be lovely to celebrate such a thing. Why can't I?

[mcelliott]

pablo said:

All eyes to Utrecht then.

You can go there if you want, I'm headed for Mont St Michel.

[Granfondo]

Don1 said:

Personally I don't think Nibbles helps himself with his attitude (think of the long running seeming vendetta with Sky/Froome), or the team he is part of. Having said that, consoling Chavez's family at the finish was a touch of class.

It was a very large turn around. It would be lovely to celebrate such a thing. Why can't I?

Would you if it was Froome?
If yes then you know the answer!

[Don1]

I'm patriotic?

[Granfondo]

Don1 said:

I'm patriotic?

Are you from South Africa by any chance?

[anonymous-user]

Kenya noob

[Granfondo]

pablo said:

Kenya noob

So you know he's not British then?

[Don1]

Granfondo said:

Are you from South Africa by any chance?

Hold on...

[ewenm]

Granfondo said:

pablo said:

Kenya noob

So you know he's not British then?

And Wiggins was born in Belgium...

The nationality arguments are always entertaining, but in the end pointless as it's determined by the rules of the sport.