Adrien Costa is the next Greg Lemond

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

For the people who want to follow him this year...

He'll do Circuit des Ardennes (starts tomorrow, interesting parcours and some lower level pro riders at the start), L-B-L (without pressure, not as teamleader) and Tour de Bretagne, but his big goals will come later this year with the Ronde de l'Isard (instead of California), Giro u23, Tour of Utah and the Tour de l'Avenir obv.

If the Baby Giro invites are as predicted, i.e. one billion Italian teams, splitting the big Italian talents among many many teams made up of riders who are not in the same league, it will be a bizarre race. We could have a small number of super teams (Axeon, Colombia) with domestiques who could put hours on most of the field.

 

[yaco]

This is one American rider who I'm confident will have an excellent career as a WT rider.

 

[del1962]

Just read on the Tour L'Avenir site

in the absence of Adrien Costa who has decided to take a break from cycling.

https://www.tourdelavenir.com/en/powless-the-climber-from-sacramento/

 

[memyselfandI]

Like I said earlier.. It's too early to say nothing. Where's Oskar Svendsen, Dale Parker et cetera? They were superhuman talents too. But. It's deeply human thing to do and to feel like he probably does. All the best for him whichever way he takes. :Neutral:

 

[Moviefan1203]

Costa has immense talent, but his break from cycling is certainly unorthodox. I hope he finds his peace in life.

 

[del1962]

More info about his break

https://www.tourdelavenir.com/en/adrien-costa-a-favorite-takes-a-break/

This was an incredibly tough decision for me to make, but for my personal development I think it’s the best option, he said. I want to take time to do other things that I’ve always been passionate about and finding a new balance between the sport I love and the rest of my life. (…) I dream of achieving so much in cycling, but at my age it’s important to remember that I have time on my side and that the worst thing I could do is rush myself and ultimately burn out before I’m ready.

I’ll take the rest of the season to study and travel in Europe, and give myself the time and the space that I need to prepare myself for the future, There’s so much I want to achieve, not just in cycling but in life in general, and I want to make sure that I make the right calls at this stage of my career.

 

[Vesica]

Bump. Does anybody know if Costa will ride again in 2018? He's on the roster for Axeon for coming year.

 

[perico]

Bump. Does anybody know if Costa will ride again in 2018? He's on the roster for Axeon for coming year.

That’s very encouraging news... was wondering myself. Time is still on his side and hopefully he has his head cleared after the awful tragedies surrounding the team last year.

 

[Squire]

It's strange that there's been no word about him anywhere. You'd think there would be more interest in one of the biggest talents in cycling. But as Vesica points out, he's listed as an Axeon rider for 2018.

 

[yoyokt]

I wondered same thing, but see he has posted some rides on instagram, and did some group rides on strava so hes certainly still on his bike

 

[fauniera]

Re:

It's strange that there's been no word about him anywhere. You'd think there would be more interest in one of the biggest talents in cycling. But as Vesica points out, he's listed as an Axeon rider for 2018.

The news story with all the info will come out soon after the deadline for the CQ game obviously. Or for the youth game.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I remember watching him back in 16 in Utah and where he probably was the most promising, young rider I had ever seen... He was just crazy good. Hope he gets back on his bike!

 

[Akuryo]

Re: Re:

It's strange that there's been no word about him anywhere. You'd think there would be more interest in one of the biggest talents in cycling. But as Vesica points out, he's listed as an Axeon rider for 2018.

The news story with all the info will come out soon after the deadline for the CQ game obviously. Or for the youth game.

Since the deadline has passed ... I picked him anyway. Too much upside if he comes back for those few points.

 

[jsem94]

Wasn't good enough for me, how many points would he acquire in the best case scenario? 350? There's other low point picks with a better return guarantee.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

It's strange that there's been no word about him anywhere. You'd think there would be more interest in one of the biggest talents in cycling. But as Vesica points out, he's listed as an Axeon rider for 2018.

The news story with all the info will come out soon after the deadline for the CQ game obviously. Or for the youth game.

Since the deadline has passed ... I picked him anyway. Too much upside if he comes back for those few points.

Yeah I took him. I'm gonna be rooting for him anyway....this will give me more of a reason. I'm still waiting for a great US rider.

 

[fauniera]

"Inquire at Koos Moerenhout tells us that the American will make his comeback in 2018. When that is going to be, they discuss in February during the first training camp in California."

http://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/316206/tien-neoprofs-om-op-te-letten-in-2018.html

Translate

 

[exub]

Sounds like a silent ban.

 

[DNP-Old]

“I’m just not ready to come back yet,” said Costa. “The more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn’t want to hold a spot on the team when that meant denying someone else of the opportunity.

“Since I stopped racing in April 2017, I've learned a lot about myself and realized how big, and unbalanced, of a part of me was cycling.

“I knew that if I was going to race again, it'd be in a much different, more relaxed way. I wasn't able anymore to have the single-minded, razor-sharp focus for training and racing that I once woke up with daily. I knew I had to lean on other things in life to provide me more balance and more happiness overall.

“After some time back in the US, I've been travelling and working in France, allowing myself to explore my other interests while also getting back to the basic joy of riding a bike for pleasure.

“When it came to thinking about racing, however, I could tell my heart was not 100% in it. And cycling is such a hard sport that there's no faking it when that's the case. So as our Axeon team camp draws near, I realized that the team deserved more than a half-assed version of me. I decided that I didn't want to take a much more deserving, much more motivated individual's place in the team, and that I didn't want to be paid to race mediocrely in just a few events in 2018.

Won't be too long before we read a retirement statement me thinks. This kid has completely checked out.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

“I’m just not ready to come back yet,” said Costa. “The more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn’t want to hold a spot on the team when that meant denying someone else of the opportunity.

“Since I stopped racing in April 2017, I've learned a lot about myself and realized how big, and unbalanced, of a part of me was cycling.

“I knew that if I was going to race again, it'd be in a much different, more relaxed way. I wasn't able anymore to have the single-minded, razor-sharp focus for training and racing that I once woke up with daily. I knew I had to lean on other things in life to provide me more balance and more happiness overall.

“After some time back in the US, I've been travelling and working in France, allowing myself to explore my other interests while also getting back to the basic joy of riding a bike for pleasure.

“When it came to thinking about racing, however, I could tell my heart was not 100% in it. And cycling is such a hard sport that there's no faking it when that's the case. So as our Axeon team camp draws near, I realized that the team deserved more than a half-assed version of me. I decided that I didn't want to take a much more deserving, much more motivated individual's place in the team, and that I didn't want to be paid to race mediocrely in just a few events in 2018.

Won't be too long before we read a retirement statement me thinks. This kid has completely checked out.

If we do it’s perfectly reasonable choice. The life of a professional endurance athlete really wouldn’t suit most people, even people who have the talent to be very good at it.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

“I’m just not ready to come back yet,” said Costa. “The more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn’t want to hold a spot on the team when that meant denying someone else of the opportunity.

“Since I stopped racing in April 2017, I've learned a lot about myself and realized how big, and unbalanced, of a part of me was cycling.

“I knew that if I was going to race again, it'd be in a much different, more relaxed way. I wasn't able anymore to have the single-minded, razor-sharp focus for training and racing that I once woke up with daily. I knew I had to lean on other things in life to provide me more balance and more happiness overall.

“After some time back in the US, I've been travelling and working in France, allowing myself to explore my other interests while also getting back to the basic joy of riding a bike for pleasure.

“When it came to thinking about racing, however, I could tell my heart was not 100% in it. And cycling is such a hard sport that there's no faking it when that's the case. So as our Axeon team camp draws near, I realized that the team deserved more than a half-assed version of me. I decided that I didn't want to take a much more deserving, much more motivated individual's place in the team, and that I didn't want to be paid to race mediocrely in just a few events in 2018.

Won't be too long before we read a retirement statement me thinks. This kid has completely checked out.

If we do it’s perfectly reasonable choice. The life of a professional endurance athlete really wouldn’t suit most people, even people who have the talent to be very good at it.

Agreed. I don't think he'll race again, and if he doesn't it will be at the amateur level only.

Not everyone, even those with immense talent can deal with the life style it takes to be a pro athlete. I'd read that someone who had enough talent to be a pro cyclist said he could never have dealt with the lifestyle it takes to be a pro cyclist. He couldn't deal with the amount of time away from home. It makes sense. Some personalities just wouldn't fit. It takes a lot.

 

[manafana]

indeed talent alone is not enough, best of luck to him whatever he decides, and hopefully he does keep cycling in some form

 

[Squire]

So the thread should be renamed 'Adrien Costa is the next Oskar Svendsen'?

 

[GuyIncognito]

Re:

So the thread should be renamed 'Adrien Costa is the next Oskar Svendsen'?

Ignazio Moser, Campbell Flakemore...etc. etc.

 

[Parker]

He's certainly never coming back now. He's lost a leg in a horrific climbing accident. Poor bloke.

https://www.gofundme.com/supportadriencosta

 

[luckyboy]

Stunned by that. Wow.

He was just amazing in 2016. Interviewed him at the TOB when he was a stagiaire for QuickStep – he crashed out hard on one of the early stages but seemed like a great guy. Shame that he never realised his talent and now never will be able to, at least in pro cycling.