Adam Hansen

[MellowJohnny]

Without taintng the guy by creating a thread for him in the clinic but could Adam Hansen be the most consistent clean rider in the modern age?

As discussed on a previous thread I set up, perhaps riding the 3 tours each year and targeting breakaway moves is perhaps the best that a clean rider can do?

Big fan of this guy.

 

[sniper]

could Adam Hansen be the most consistent clean rider in the modern age?

 

[the delgados]

That's what everyone said about Michael Barry--good guy, total workhorse, etc. But we all know how that turned out.
I remember people looking at me like I just ran over their dog when my reaction to claims he was clean was very similar to the photo posted above.

 

[Benotti69]

Isn't Adam Hansen the guy who rides 3 GTs a year for last 3.5 years. Of course he is clean.........

 

[the delgados]

Oleg should snag him to help Contador on his quest for a million dollar bonus. It would be a perfect marriage.

 

[SeriousSam]

In other sports, we don't have the limits of natural human physiology thing. No magical 6w/kg that tells us the performance is unattainable clean. No performance implies a VO2max that has never been measured in tennis.

Yet they're doping more than even the cyclists, because it enhances performance and avoiding the tests isn't that hard.

Being able to tell when a performance is probably not even possible clean is an additional tool at our disposal, in cycling, to infer who dopes. But It doesn't help with identifying who doesn't dope. A performance that is believable or even plain average, means very little. I feel like cycling fans are especially prone to the fallacy that average or "believable" performances are a good indicator of cleanliness. .

 

[the delgados]

@SeriousSam
I agree. But they have a step up on fans of other sports with laughable drug controls who insist their heros are clean as a whistle.
I'm a huge fan of baseball (Toronto Blue Jays) and I used to get a ***-kicking from intelligent people who wouldn't even consider the notion that a journeyman like Jose Bautista would dope.
The guy was a journeyman MLB player at the end of his rope when he was picked up by the Jays. Then he turned into Babe effing Ruth, hitting home runs at will. Everyone bought into his claim that he turned into superman overnight by "tweaking his swing."

 

[42x16ss]

I have to be sceptical about Hansen. I strongly doubt that he's one of the top fuelers but surely you can't manage the mental and physical fatigue of three grand tours a year, every year for four years straight on top of showing well at Aus Nats, TDU as well as races like Turkey.

He doesn't win often but he's a very effective rider and does his job well. He gets in breaks at the Giro and Vuelta, pulls for Greipel on the flat and looks after Van Den Broeck in the hills. Hansen is one of the most reliable domestiques in the WT. Not spectacular, but you know that if he's given a job he'll do it. And do it well.I n a world as murky as pro cycling that's just about impossible clean.

It makes me sad because he's one of the nicest, most approachable guys getting around

 

[hrotha]

I think the whole GT shtick has little to no bearing on whether or not he dopes.

 

[the delgados]

Re:

I think the whole GT shtick has little to no bearing on whether or not he dopes.

Let's just say "pro cyclist" then, shall we?

 

[blackcat]

Re:

That's what everyone said about Michael Barry--good guy, total workhorse, etc. But we all know how that turned out.
I remember people looking at me like I just ran over their dog when my reaction to claims he was clean was very similar to the photo posted above.

He wrote that tale

On the Postal Bus: tales of debauchery

the editors description was
hookers, blow, ampoules of edgar, and potbelge suppositories, if Hunter S Thompson rode bikes for a living, he woulda been housed on this bus. it may not be a sanitorium on wheels, but it aint not an asylum heavywheeler /doublenegative

 

[blackcat]

Re:

I I feel like cycling fans are especially prone to the fallacy that average or "believable" performances are a good indicator of cleanliness. .

i will plagiarise this quote as my own, because it perfectly distills my thesis on baselining one's genetic talent.

great post SS.

 

[sniper]

Re:

I think the whole GT shtick has little to no bearing on whether or not he dopes.

why not. how often has that been done before? well, of course it has to do with team selection procedures also, but still.

together with his team history, you wonder why anybody would bet on him being clean/believable.
mellowjohnny doesn't seem to think he has a burden of proof though.

 

[blackcat]

less three GTs per, more GTs where he has a pretty good success record of making a break

who are the other riders who are great at making a moving

titi voeckler
gerrans
voigt voigt voigt bury my dope in 98 voigt
erik dekker
stephan auge
david millar add

now hansen is not in their league. but he can sniff out a move.

edit post: Millar also
well, if we include Millar and Dekker, Stuey mate too. definitely Stuey mate

 

[hrotha]

Re: Re:

I think the whole GT shtick has little to no bearing on whether or not he dopes.

why not. how often has that been done before? well, of course it has to do with team selection procedures also, but still.

together with his team history, you wonder why anybody would bet on him being clean/believable.
mellowjohnny doesn't seem to think he has a burden of proof though.

I don't bet on him being clean, but the GT shtick is ALL about team selection. How often has it been done before, you ask? Well, I'd ask: how often has it been tried before?

 

[Dear Wiggo]

I like Hansen. He's switched on and is doing a good job at marketing himself. Rarely wins, good worker, shows tenacity and grit. Doesn't do the rubbery face dance like some riders - Voekler a classic example.

 

[sniper]

Re: Re:

I think the whole GT shtick has little to no bearing on whether or not he dopes.

why not. how often has that been done before? well, of course it has to do with team selection procedures also, but still.

together with his team history, you wonder why anybody would bet on him being clean/believable.
mellowjohnny doesn't seem to think he has a burden of proof though.

I don't bet on him being clean, but the GT shtick is ALL about team selection. How often has it been done before, you ask? Well, I'd ask: how often has it been tried before?

fair enough.

(but with Sergeant and Aerts in charge, you can do the math on what the main team selection criteria are )

 

[IndianCyclist]

Re:

I like Hansen. He's switched on and is doing a good job at marketing himself. Rarely wins, good worker, shows tenacity and grit. Doesn't do the rubbery face dance like some riders - Voekler a classic example.

His team selects him for the GTs just because of his additional marketing potential and because of his good work ethic as well as teamwork plus they don't have that many experienced riders for the GTs.

 

[Dear Wiggo]

Not sure if you're in agreement, but Hansen does a fair bit of business outside riding his bike - that's the "marketing himself" bit I was alluding to.

 

[sniper]

Re: Re:

“I don’t know why the team keeps taking me!” Hansen told Cycling Weekly with a laugh. “Sometimes, I hope I don’t get selected!”
“I get the nice job of doing everything,” he said. “I help with the lead outs, I help with Van den Broeck on the climbs, I try to win stages, I get bottles…. I just keep busy.”

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/racing/giro-ditalia/adam-hansens-grand-tour-record-why-do-they-keep-selecting-me-173331#cAhZglpXVgRaZV8a.99

btw, he broke his sternum at the Giro 2013 and finished it nonetheless. I don't know in which stage he broke it, but is it 'normal' to continue with a broken sternum? (i realize not many will have experience with that, but one can ask)

 

[Dear Wiggo]

Without being told what meds you can take it's difficult to know. But riders can and do finish stages and / or GTs with broken bones. It's not unusual. Unlike that soft sport soccer / football where they take a dive if you look at them too hard.

 

[sniper]

Re:

Without being told what meds you can take it's difficult to know. But riders can and do finish stages and / or GTs with broken bones. It's not unusual. Unlike that soft sport soccer / football where they take a dive if you look at them too hard.

fair enough.
but i'm reading wikipedia on Sternal fracture and that aint nothing to joke about.
it typically (as you'd expect) affects the lung area:

Sternal fracture is commonly associated with injuries to the heart and lungs; if a person is injured with enough force to fracture the sternum, injuries such as myocardial and pulmonary contusions are likely.
Other associated injuries that may occur include damage to blood vessels in the chest, myocardial rupture, head and abdominal injuries, flail chest,[2] and vertebral fracture.[3] Sternal fractures may also accompany rib fractures and are high-energy enough injuries to cause bronchial tears (ruptures of the bronchioles).[9] They may hinder breathing.[9] Due to the associated injuries, the mortality rate for people with sternal fracture is high, at an estimated 25–45%.
(...)
in most cases treatment consists mainly of reducing pain and limiting movement

 

[sniper]

btw, he broke his sternum twice. Once in 2010 (and he did actually have to withdraw then),
http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/the-inside-story-of-hansens-remarkable-tour-ride/2010/07/06/1278182309976.html
and (allegedly) another time in 2013 (when he drove through the pain)
http://www.cyclingquotes.com/news/adam_hansen_chasing_record_in_2016/

 

[roundabout]

Re: Re:

I think the whole GT shtick has little to no bearing on whether or not he dopes.

why not. how often has that been done before? well, of course it has to do with team selection procedures also, but still.

together with his team history, you wonder why anybody would bet on him being clean/believable.
mellowjohnny doesn't seem to think he has a burden of proof though.

While Lejaretta doesn't have Hansen's run of triples, his run in the late 80's early 90's is more impressive as there was only 1 week between the Vuelta an the Giro then and he would finish top-10 in about 2 GTs out of 3 per year.

 

[Dear Wiggo]

Re:

btw, he broke his sternum twice. Once in 2010 (and he did actually have to withdraw then),
http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/the-inside-story-of-hansens-remarkable-tour-ride/2010/07/06/1278182309976.html
and (allegedly) another time in 2013 (when he drove through the pain)
http://www.cyclingquotes.com/news/adam_hansen_chasing_record_in_2016/

Anecdotally, if you can hang in there, you get a lot more air-time when riding with an injury. So you stand out from the crowd of 200 riders due to your injurous USP.

So if you can hack the pain, there's certainly an advantage to continuing with the injury for you and your team in terms of mentions on-air and the like.

Descending would probably be the most difficult with a sternum fracture, as you can't unload the front wheel, unlike climbing and a lot of flat riding.