2019 Alien Awards

[Koronin]

By the way: God I hate the use of the words "alien" and "nuclear" all the damn time on this freakshow of a subforum. Why can't you just talk like normal people? Why would aliens be better at riding a bike than people for whom the bikes are designed? And why on earth would exposition to nuclear radiation help improve one's abilities on a bike? I don't see the current peloton littered with 32-year-old Ukrainians.

Maybe it's just down to not being familiar with the idioms of the English language? "Out of this world" means amazing, hence extraterrestrial, used a lot in the 90s when pros were intimating a performance was unnaturally amazing, e.g. doped. Thus an alien performance.

Nuclear in context just means explosive or unbounded power. In 50s B movies, when someone is irradiated with nuclear radiation they literally glow, which also has been adapted in the doping context, e.g. "he took so much testosterone he was still glowing when he got tested."

Another annoying metaphor, thanks for adding to my list.

I am familiar with the English language, I just for some reason find these idioms or metaphors or euphemisms or whatever you'd call them incredibly irritating.

Maybe it doesn't help that they completely unjustifiedly so often are thrown at each and every rider who is able to push one more watt than his nearest competitor in a given race or than he presumably previously had been able to push.

Maybe because we all watched too many sci fi B movie growing up? (Although some can be very good movies.) I think the problem isn't that they are used, but they are over used like so many other things get over used.

 

[Squire]

I, for one, love the extraterrestrial, mutant, and nuclear references.

My favourite alien performance? I must say I was entertained by this year's Gabrovski in San Luis. You could hear all the Geiger counters in South America crackling while he was steaming up that climb.

Oscar Rodriguez leaving Majka behind as if the Pole was a club rider gave me Santi Perez vibes from 2004, and was quite enjoyable. Sweet nostalgia!

The surprising performances among the star riders don't have the same wow factor. Froome in the Giro was mostly just annoying, especially all the PR bull afterwards, but I have to take my hat off for the audacity.

In quite sad news, Andrea Innocenti's strong performance on the Vetta Amiata in the U23 race Toscana Terra di Ciclismo Eroica in April, after just graduating from the juniors last year, turned out to be of the alien kind. The next big hope for Italian cycling (best junior last year) tested positive for testosterone shortly after. Let's hope the other promising Andrea doesn't go the same way (Bagioli, that is).

 

[the delgados]

By the way: God I hate the use of the words "alien" and "nuclear" all the damn time on this freakshow of a subforum. Why can't you just talk like normal people? Why would aliens be better at riding a bike than people for whom the bikes are designed? And why on earth would exposition to nuclear radiation help improve one's abilities on a bike? I don't see the current peloton littered with 32-year-old Ukrainians.

Maybe it's just down to not being familiar with the idioms of the English language? "Out of this world" means amazing, hence extraterrestrial, used a lot in the 90s when pros were intimating a performance was unnaturally amazing, e.g. doped. Thus an alien performance.

Nuclear in context just means explosive or unbounded power. In 50s B movies, when someone is irradiated with nuclear radiation they literally glow, which also has been adapted in the doping context, e.g. "he took so much testosterone he was still glowing when he got tested."

Another annoying metaphor, thanks for adding to my list.

I am familiar with the English language, I just for some reason find these idioms or metaphors or euphemisms or whatever you'd call them incredibly irritating.

Maybe it doesn't help that they completely unjustifiedly so often are thrown at each and every rider who is able to push one more watt than his nearest competitor in a given race or than he presumably previously had been able to push.

Hey, wanna come to my next party (keyboard malfunction. Cannot access question mark).

You know threads like these are tongue-in-cheek, right

Sort of a way to poke fun at a sport that constantly takes fans for idiots.

 

[The Hegelian]

I'll tell you what tobydawg: you make something of a compelling point on the 2019 thing.

I take full responsibility for that brain fart.

As for the metaphors: language is always merely shared convention. The logical positivists lost that debate in 20th century.

 

[42x16ss]

I'm the last person on earth to think someone's clean. In the Froome example, though, I don't think it was as extraordinary (with all the trappings of that word) as people claim.

He got away from two tired contenders and a couple guys battling for the white jersey who had zero to gain by reeling him in. The two contenders waited too long, then didn't work together well and basically failed to benefit from the teamwork. The other two simply got towed. It was closer to a three person individual race and Froome won it, which wouldn't be that surprising in context especially considering the delayed response.

Bad tactics, bad situation and tired legs all gave Froome a route to victory.

He rode the best climber in the race, and the guy entrenched in third completely out of the race over a couple of climbs, while showing only glimpses of previous form prior.

The whole Giro was ridden at such a ridiculous pace, Pinot damn near ended up hospitalised.

Sorry, George Bennett summed it up best, even if he didn't intend to stir up a controversy

He's the best GT rider of his generation. Why is it surprising that he rode a guy off his wheel once he fully recovered?

Right. Froome magically "recovered" during a GT that was ridden so hard that three of the world's best stage racers blew up completely, one almost ending up in hospital...

 

[SHAD0W93]

Re: Re:

^It was so strange, wasn't it? A guy who used to barely get up mountains...now is sprinting at the top of them. Umm...

Remember Cavendish and Hushovd on Mont Ventoux?

To be fair Hushovd won a mountain stage way before Thomas.

 

[Robert5091]

does that 'recovery' trump major tom?

after finishing 2nd in worlds TT........he stated 'my bodies in pieces'

yet? a few days later he finished 4th in RR..........a race designed to thwart testers..

Tommy D has some good "glue" to pull himself together.

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

I'm the last person on earth to think someone's clean. In the Froome example, though, I don't think it was as extraordinary (with all the trappings of that word) as people claim.

He got away from two tired contenders and a couple guys battling for the white jersey who had zero to gain by reeling him in. The two contenders waited too long, then didn't work together well and basically failed to benefit from the teamwork. The other two simply got towed. It was closer to a three person individual race and Froome won it, which wouldn't be that surprising in context especially considering the delayed response.

Bad tactics, bad situation and tired legs all gave Froome a route to victory.

He rode the best climber in the race, and the guy entrenched in third completely out of the race over a couple of climbs, while showing only glimpses of previous form prior.

The whole Giro was ridden at such a ridiculous pace, Pinot damn near ended up hospitalised.

Sorry, George Bennett summed it up best, even if he didn't intend to stir up a controversy

He's the best GT rider of his generation. Why is it surprising that he rode a guy off his wheel once he fully recovered?

Right. Froome magically "recovered" during a GT that was ridden so hard that three of the world's best stage racers blew up completely, one almost ending up in hospital...

does that 'recovery' trump major tom?

after finishing 2nd in worlds TT........he stated 'my bodies in pieces'

yet? a few days later he finished 4th in RR..........a race designed to thwart testers..

Mark L

Yes, but only just. If it wasn’t for Jefferau, Dumoulin and Valverde would rightly be sharing the spoils as far as I’m concerned.

 

[hfer07]

Some folks already stated it

Froome's Nuclear Giro was out of this world & Le Tour too had "G" not gotten ahead earlier to claim leadership....
Some folks say Tommy D was nuclear too, but I just simply believe he had it with the Sky scam and he's simply trying to level up to them-but I didn't see him pulling a Finestre or something even close to that atrocity so....

 

[Robert5091]

If TommyD does just the TdF, I fear he'll turn up looking anorexic.

 

[Savant12]

Froome at the Giro for me. It was an impressive feat considering how he raced in the previous two weeks.

I wonder if it would be considered less alien if Dumoulin didn't fanny around in the chase/descents and actually controlled the time gap and came out on top on GC.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Re:

Has everyone forgotten Gonzalo Najar in the Vuelta a San Juan, or is this thread only for casting unfounded accusations at your chosen hate figures?

That was San Juan 2018
This is San Juan 2019
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/vuelta-a-san-juan-king-of-the-mountains-zamora-suspended-for-epo/

 

[Escarabajo]

They didn't get the memo not to use epo in a UCI sanctioned event. LOL. In the meantime all the other pros...

 

[F_Cance]

VdP today. That was too insane.

 

[therealthing]

I'd say MVDP today takes the early crown for the most extra-terrestrial performance of the season so far. Every time I re-watch it, it looks more and more ridiculous. Literally led out a bunch sprint and won from miles out.

 

[Koronin]

Last year was bad enough, this year is even worse. It's looking more and more like we're back in the 90's/early 2000's.

 

[42x16ss]

I'd say MVDP today takes the early crown for the most extra-terrestrial performance of the season so far. Every time I re-watch it, it looks more and more ridiculous. Literally led out a bunch sprint and won from miles out.

When you combine it with another level of dominance at CX level, sure doesn't look good. The one and only thing going for him is the pedigree.

 

[Ripper]

I'd say MVDP today takes the early crown for the most extra-terrestrial performance of the season so far. Every time I re-watch it, it looks more and more ridiculous. Literally led out a bunch sprint and won from miles out.

When you combine it with another level of dominance at CX level, sure doesn't look good. The one and only thing going for him is the pedigree.

Ah, you mean the fact that his dad was a doper?

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Re:

Last year was bad enough, this year is even worse. It's looking more and more like we're back in the 90's/early 2000's.

Well Dawg at the Giro was the sign that anything goes.

Times have changed
And we've often rewound the clock
Since the Puritans got a shock
. . .
Why, nobody will oppose.
When ev'ry night the set that's smart is in-
Truding in nudist parties in
Studios.
Anything goes.
...

Cole Porter

 

[42x16ss]

I'd say MVDP today takes the early crown for the most extra-terrestrial performance of the season so far. Every time I re-watch it, it looks more and more ridiculous. Literally led out a bunch sprint and won from miles out.

When you combine it with another level of dominance at CX level, sure doesn't look good. The one and only thing going for him is the pedigree.

Ah, you mean the fact that his dad was a doper?

I forgot he rode for PDM Was still a good rider though. Don't forget Poulidor was snubbed by the peloton because he had no issues with the doping controls.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

Last year was bad enough, this year is even worse. It's looking more and more like we're back in the 90's/early 2000's.

Well Dawg at the Giro was the sign that anything goes.

I agree with you. That entire episode just reopened the doors.

 

[Cookster15]

Re:

ha ha!...........just as honest

mknd ya gotta love MVDP............completely burying himself emptying the tank to win..............collapsing
with effort over the line

but where was the laboured breathing? seemed rather theatrical rather than necesary...playing to the audience..

Where was the laboured breathing? Huh? What do you think it looks like after a long anaerobic effort? He had just emptied the tank after riding into oxygen debt pulling back to the two leaders. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... Theatrical? Perhaps, but I think the effort was pretty obvious and the result did not stand out as alien to me - at least not for the reasons you have cited.

 

[SafeBet]

How long can Primoz Roglic's peak last? That is the question. The whole Giro? Giro+Tour? His whole career?

Stiff competition (Astana, MvdP) but my alien award goes to him thus far.

 

[therealthing]

Re:

How long can Primoz Roglic's peak last? That is the question. The whole Giro? Giro+Tour? His whole career?

Stiff competition (Astana, MvdP) but my alien award goes to him thus far.

Yes- for a training race he destroyed everyone without breaking a sweat. Thought that sprint on stage 1 was the most suspect.

 

[ppanther92]

Re:

How long can Primoz Roglic's peak last? That is the question. The whole Giro? Giro+Tour? His whole career?

Anything is possible. Wiggins' 2012 was also considered impossible until it happened. After every race he won, someone claimed he peaked too early but eventually he went on to win ever race that year. Froome pretty much did the same in 2013.