Americans at the Worlds

[flicker]

Sorry

What I am saying is . In the tour de alvenir were the americans making any aggressive productive dominating moves. Were they racing for wins or high placings. Basiclly was there any intimidating dominating moves by the u23 group?USA I mean. I don't find coverage of the race and I don't speak French.

 

[ScottinPhilly]

The question is about disappointment with the US team, not the future of American cycling. That question can and will be answered in due time. I am disappointed with the team being sent to Switzerland. While it seems that most of the big names of professional cycling, i.e. Schleck, Cancellera, Cavendish,etc., consider it an honor to ride for thier respective teams, the American riders seem to be treating it like the NFL Probowl, a meaningless event at the end of a long season. This however is not the case and I for one would like to see more explainations in regards to the abscence of several of those already mentioned,especially our national champions Zabriskie and Hincapie. Obviously Horner, VanDevelde and to a lesser degree Leipheimer have injury excuses.

 

[flicker]

Sorry to get off track. The question is why no Dave Z. or Hincapie?
They both seem on track. The other top riders from the US are injured and Lance is busy working on whatever.

 

[BroDeal]

TWhile it seems that most of the big names of professional cycling, i.e. Schleck, Cancellera, Cavendish,etc., consider it an honor to ride for thier respective teams, the American riders seem to be treating it like the NFL Probowl, a meaningless event at the end of a long season.

The World Championship has been devalued since the mid 90s. Lots of top riders stopped racing it. It should be one or two weeks after the TdF. Instead it comes near the end of a long season. The UCI making the season even longer by adding the TDU to the ProTour did not help matters.

Having the WC at the end of the season is advantageous to the Italians because many of their top riders target Lombardia.

Horner would have been the U.S. best fit for the WC course. Too bad he is injured.

Have to agree with the "we suck" thought above. We just do not have much in the way of one day racers. Hincapie is basically it. His best days are behind him, and he was not that great during those best days.

 

[flicker]

Big George

I beg to differ Big George is quite good at one day 5- 0 clock shadow.
Almost as good as **** Nixon.

 

[Anonymous]

It's the only way he can win a race!!!!!

ruamruam

No doping controls either! win/win

 

[Anonymous]

It's pretty simple. Worlds is too late in the year.

If you've been living out of a suitcase for six months away from family and friends and you've had a fairly successful season, why go?

If you want the best riders regardless of country of origin, you need to move Worlds back to August.

Sandwich in between The Tour and The Vuelta.

Riders are dropping out one of the biggest races of the year to prepare for Worlds. If I were the organizers of the race, I'd be ****ed.

How cool would it be if a rider won Worlds then started the Tour of Spain two weeks later?

Also, here's a trivia question. Can you name the last rider to rider the tour as World Champion and truly compete for the yellow jersey?

So it is earlier in the year to European pros? I know there is a time difference, but I had no idea it was that drastic...

And the way the Italians go about it, I am guessing it must be March or so for them?

 

[egtalbot]

Maybe someone can answer this for me - what kind of money is there at the world championships?

Track and Field had this problem starting in the early 1990's - the best athletes started grumbling about not going to worlds. It didn't take long to institute big paydays and the best in the world started competing again.

Now, there are numerous differences between track and cycling on this, so it may not be the best comparision. But the takeaway is that at some point, it stopped mattering to athletes that it was "The Worlds" and the organizers had to give it some reason to matter again (in this case money). It's all well and good to say it's the worlds and it should matter, but if the athletes don't go, then it has to change.

All that said, I actually think the cycling worlds is pretty competitive and I'm not sure they need to change. I think it's the Americans in particular who are not going this year and I wouldn't change it just for Americans (we're weird not matter how you look at it). The cycling season can be pretty brutal and in this day and age, I would expect a handful of the top grand tour riders not to go to worlds as well.

In most sports, if you're one of the two or three best in the world at your sub-discipline, you have a chance of winning worlds. But in cycling, aside from the TT which is a very limited discipline (my favorite though), there's just one road race that has to serve as the worlds for Cavendish, Cunego and Contador alike. I'd argue that Cavendish and Contador pretty much couldn't win this year's worlds despite clearly being "the best". As such, you're always gonna see a number of the best riders not ride. Aside from Zabriskie in the TT, none of those Americans who are skipping really had a chance of being on the podium - Hincapie in his younger days maybe. maybe.

As an american, it's disappointing not to see mroe of the good guys there. as a cycling fan, I don't think their absence will have much impact aside from the inventor of Z-nuts.

 

[Oldman]

Stetina doesn't appear to have the power to step up to the European stage. I am watching results such as recent Tour d Avelnir LE MOnd won that one.
I mentioned his family because I think the best they ever did was in Pan Am games. National championsips don't mean squat IE John Howard ,Stetina Bros,
Tyler Hamilton. Except for Hamilton the other 2 did not make it on World Stage.

If you want to see bike races on TV you need LeMonds Armstrong leipheimers[/QUOTE]

Howard and Stetina competed clean and still do. When they train up they can still scare people and had much more potential than anyone you mentioned except Lemond.

 

[flicker]

Stetina

I was racing in US around those guys. They are dedicated disciplined athletes, winners.
John Howard , Dale and Wayne Stetina were professional cyclists racing against amatuers, which in my eyes was an unfair advantage.
However they do not have the personality to bring in the US sports spectators. They are mid-westerners, wasps, middle Americans.
Absolutely nothing wrong with that. They are bland and they never were able to leave the middle American comfort zone. I was at the Sea Otter and Dale broke away with a newbie runner in the Crit... they were awesome.
But I know the sport and they just don't attract fans. Maybe in Marathon or Tri they would be stars but right now they are stars only to the execs. at Shimano. When I see the Stetinas I go ZZZZZZZ.
John Howard the Texan enhanced.... sorry.
Mike Neel, George Mount, Boyer, Le Mond others you never heard of made the gutsy move to Europe.
It was a lot tougher some of them starved, all were homesick but they made the jump. Pioneers and they all excelled in their own ways. Guess what ;they made a way for all the U23 riders.

 

[Clemson Cycling]

What do you guys think about the future of Tejay Van Garderen

 

[flicker]

TJ looks aggresive confident and motivated . classics rider?

 

[rhubroma]

Ever since Armstrong decided the WC wasn't relevant the US riders (what a bunch of sheep they are) followed suit.

That they have been away from their families for so long? So what? They're pro bike racers in Europe. It's part of the friggin job. And it's not that the Italian's, for example, can be at home when riding the Vuelta.

There used to be an American contingent that respected the traditions of the sport, back in the 7-11, Lemond, Hampsten, et all days. My how things have changed and for the worse.

Not that it's entirely thier fault. How could it be when the UCI has fecked everthing up by trying to go more global in their megalomania? Why did they have to move the Vuelta to Sept. for example? Oh so we could have the TdU today and, now, the TdC right smack in the middle of the Giro. Fecking brilliant that!!

It's a corporate mentality. And the more corporate comes into cycling the more humanity goes out. In this LA has been simply the most perfect incarnation of the UCI's new corporate ideals. Well every institution deserves the frontman it gets. So the UCI gets it's kicks with its new non-Euro races and we, the fans of old, get to watch the traditional races of the sport - that made it what it was - with the exception of the Tour become more anemic every year. Such a shame.

Someone asked who was the last Tour champion to have won the WC. I think it's more telling to ask who was the last Tour champion to win Roubaix, or LBL? That's how much this sport has changed.