The professional cycling thread

[anonymous-user]

Philippa York has written a piece that appears in Cycling News

She raises a point that I have noted a couple of times - Froome's cadence. Now, I am in no position to judge on how someone like Froome pedals, but the difference between Froome the climber and Froome the (flat) TTer is noticeable

Anyway, here is the article in case you haven't seen it

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/philippa-york-...

[_dobbo_]

JPJPJP said:

Philippa York has written a piece that appears in Cycling News

She raises a point that I have noted a couple of times - Froome's cadence. Now, I am in no position to judge on how someone like Froome pedals, but the difference between Froome the climber and Froome the (flat) TTer is noticeable

Anyway, here is the article in case you haven't seen it

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/philippa-york-...

She's as guilty of the rest of lauding Yates' performance - let's not forget he's a former banned drugs cheat.

So Froome is the bad guy and "Yates restored a lot of faith in the sport with his ride", if we are prepared to have a very short memory.

Froome is innocent until proven guilty. It very well may come but it hasn't yet. Holding Yates up as some example undermines her point massively.

And again, I like Yates a lot, but let's not pretend he's some paragon of virtue.

[anonymous-user]

I remember Yates' drug test failure and resultant ban

And I recall the team saying something along the lines of

It was our fault because the team Dr didn't apply for a TUE for the medication

Something like that.

No denial of the taking of the terbutaline (asthma treatment), simply that the necessary paperwork hadn't been filed. "Licenced cheating" I have seen it referred to as

On TUE's, I was curious about the numbers granted and found this



here http://www.uci.ch/clean-sport/therapeutic-use-exem...

[Digger]

What caused the dip 09-10?

[_dobbo_]

JPJPJP said:

I remember Yates' drug test failure and resultant ban

And I recall the team saying something along the lines of

It was our fault because the team Dr didn't apply for a TUE for the medication

Something like that.

No denial of the taking of the terbutaline (asthma treatment), simply that the necessary paperwork hadn't been filed. "Licenced cheating" I have seen it referred to as

So Yates gets a free pass because his excuse is believable? If he'd ridden for team Sky it would be a totally different story.

Seems to me a lot ofcycling fans have very short memories except when it comes to successful British cyclists.

I want Froome to be clean, I hope Froome is clean, I'm not sure what happens to pro cycling if he isn't. He'll be pilloried and deservedly so. It will genuinely spoil my enjoyment of the sport.

Beefy Contador was back and a hero the moment his ban ended. I can't see that happening if Froome is found to be doping. Who didn't love watching Contador in last year's tour? Can you see the same happening with Froome?

[NRS]

Whoever is winning is an evil cheat. Those behind are the plucky underdogs that are not on drugs as they are behind. Never mind that they are equally likely to have cheated/ still be cheating.

[SydneyBridge]

My solution is to let anyone take whatever they like and create an equal playing friend.
I say this with a huge amount of cynicism but if everyone was loaded to the eyeballs, the best really would be the best.

And yes, i am really joking

[anonymous-user]

_dobbo_ said:

So Yates gets a free pass because his excuse is believable? If he'd ridden for team Sky it would be a totally different story.

Seems to me a lot ofcycling fans have very short memories except when it comes to successful British cyclists.

I want Froome to be clean, I hope Froome is clean, I'm not sure what happens to pro cycling if he isn't. He'll be pilloried and deservedly so. It will genuinely spoil my enjoyment of the sport.

Beefy Contador was back and a hero the moment his ban ended. I can't see that happening if Froome is found to be doping. Who didn't love watching Contador in last year's tour? Can you see the same happening with Froome?

No free pass. He was banned.

I expect he may well be on medication now, as many others in the peloton may well be too

He, or they, may have tue in place to cover the use of particular medications over and above the standard thresholds.

I expect plenty of pro cyclists and other athletes live permanently on various medications at doses up towards the wada allowable limit (e.g. salbutamol 1000ng/ml blood)

Are such athletes clean?

[Campagnolo]

SydneyBridge said:

My solution is to let anyone take whatever they like and create an equal playing friend.
I say this with a huge amount of cynicism but if everyone was loaded to the eyeballs, the best really would be the best.

And yes, i am really joking

My solution is the exact opposite of yours!

[ferrisbueller]

JPJPJP said:

_dobbo_ said:

So Yates gets a free pass because his excuse is believable? If he'd ridden for team Sky it would be a totally different story.

Seems to me a lot ofcycling fans have very short memories except when it comes to successful British cyclists.

I want Froome to be clean, I hope Froome is clean, I'm not sure what happens to pro cycling if he isn't. He'll be pilloried and deservedly so. It will genuinely spoil my enjoyment of the sport.

Beefy Contador was back and a hero the moment his ban ended. I can't see that happening if Froome is found to be doping. Who didn't love watching Contador in last year's tour? Can you see the same happening with Froome?

No free pass. He was banned.

I expect he may well be on medication now, as many others in the peloton may well be too

He, or they, may have tue in place to cover the use of particular medications over and above the standard thresholds.

I expect plenty of pro cyclists and other athletes live permanently on various medications at doses up towards the wada allowable limit (e.g. salbutamol 1000ng/ml blood)

Are such athletes clean?

I was thinking about his on my own ride today.

During the Armstrong period, and before, there were so many people cheating that IIRC the number of "clean" riders in the top 10 of those tours, total, was in single digits. Is the sport cleaner now, or are the cheaters smarter? I don't know. Number suggest the climbs are slower but it's hard to compare different days, conditions, bikes, riders, preceding stages and race conditions (though in certain cases some historic times are incredible in context).

If I understand correctly, Froome has done the equivalent of blowing a positive roadside sample. As such, he's riding pending investigations, confirmation (or not) and subsequent formalities with a potential ban, with retrospective action and potential ongoing.

If that breathtest analogy is projected forward then once he's done the time for his crime, he's allowed back, as would you or I be after serving a ban. Everyone knows you've had a ban, it's a matter of record, and you'll be suspected from thereon. It doesn't mean you're illegal every time you ride/drive.

Unless there are lifetime bans handed out for all offences, you're always going to have someone who has served a ban in the peloton somewhere, including at the front. The rights and wrongs of that are where the divides come to light I think.

[Some Gump]

If Gump rose to power, there would be no duration on drugs bans. Get caught, find a new career.
I'd also have all TUE's published, or preferably just remove them. I get that would be discriminationary, but meh you','re trying to find the best cyclist in the world. It's not meant to be an inclusive "anyone's have a go" club!

[anonymous-user]

How Froome won the Giro... Stage 19

Quite an interesting read. Lots can be read between the lines too. As sanitised as anything ever is from Sky

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/44372328

[JuniorD]

JPJPJP said:

How Froome won the Giro... Stage 19

Quite an interesting read. Lots can be read between the lines too. As sanitised as anything ever is from Sky

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/44372328

The detail of the plan is quite incredible, even if articulated with exuberant rose-tited hindsight. However, even more remarkable is how a team capable of such detailed planning and perfect execution is incapable of remebering what was in a jiffy bag that transported by person from Manchester to France via Switzerland.

[anonymous-user]

JuniorD said:

The detail of the plan is quite incredible, even if articulated with exuberant rose-tited hindsight. However, even more remarkable is how a team capable of such detailed planning and perfect execution is incapable of remebering what was in a jiffy bag that transported by person from Manchester to France via Switzerland.

Indeed. The relevant page from https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cms... is worth revisiting

[BrotherMouzone]

JPJPJP said:

How Froome won the Giro... Stage 19

Quite an interesting read. Lots can be read between the lines too. As sanitised as anything ever is from Sky

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/44372328

Thanks for the link.

Quite possibly the best stage I have ever watched since I started following cycling (mainly TdF and Olympics) from the Armstrong years.

Truly memorable and entertaining stage.

[DeltonaS]

JuniorD said:

JPJPJP said:

How Froome won the Giro... Stage 19

Quite an interesting read. Lots can be read between the lines too. As sanitised as anything ever is from Sky

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/44372328

The detail of the plan is quite incredible, even if articulated with exuberant rose-tited hindsight. However, even more remarkable is how a team capable of such detailed planning and perfect execution is incapable of remebering what was in a jiffy bag that transported by person from Manchester to France via Switzerland.

Well planned (although they didn't have much too loose) but overdramatic. But that's Teamsky, that's Brailsford. Weight of water bottles, energy bars, marginal gains jada jada.

A bit of necessary PR in rough days.

Froome won the Giro in both descents.

Dumoulin had more than 3 minutes on Froome, Sunweb didn't take any risks, made the decision to wait for Reichenbach twice and was stuck in a group of riders that had other plans.

Dumoulin should move to another, better team where he get's more support.

[_dobbo_]

DeltonaS said:

Dumoulin should move to another, better team where he get's more support.

To be fair to Sunweb, Dumoulin did win the Giro riding for them last year.

[anonymous-user]

The former Sky team Dr, Richard Freeman, is writing a book "The Line: Where Medicine & Sport Collide"

He seems to have made a full and complete recovery from the stress that contributed to him resigning from British Cycling and withdrawing from giving evidence to the DCMS committee in parliament.

Presumably he is writing said book on a laptop. Maybe he will be more careful with this one than the one containing supporting evidence in "the jiffy bag case" that was stolen whilst he was on holiday in Greece

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2018/06/09/for...

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 10th June 16:04

[anonymous-user]

What about this Tour de France stage? (edited to add profile pic)

https://www.letour.fr/en/stage-17



I think it could be fantastic

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 20th June 11:27

[spikeyhead]

JPJPJP said:

What about this Tour de France stage?

https://www.letour.fr/en/stage-17

I think it could be fantastic

That does look explosive, far tighter racing on short stages