Re: Re:
When I first skimmed your post, I only read the middle, and I thought initially you were writing about Romario. Thinking about this reminded me of the number 9 Ronaldo, and of Ronaldinho, and Kaka, who Tonton mentioned earlier, and thus to a point I suggest should be added to carton's remarkably good post. The parallels between Brazillian footballers and Colombian cyclists have been laid out many times; they are both (perceived as, obviously) otherwordly, exotic (but just familiar enough that they're not alienating - the names are Spanish/Portugese, after all), magical at the more ethereal and aesthetic elements of the sport (climbing and playmaker/forward), amusingly incompetent at the more grounded, gritty, physical aspects (TTing/cobbles, defending/goalkeeping - and it's a testament to the power of this myth that twenty years of bulky and dirty defensive midfielders from Dunga to Fernando, including one of the most conservative and defensive World Cup-winning teams of all time, have done very little to shake it), brought up in an environment that breeds talent (the Andes, street football), and innocent. It's those last two points I think are most significant in this context. Firstly, the view of all Colombians as brilliant pocket climbers is the one real counterweight to the prevailing narrative of cycling these days, which is one of suffering; while everyone else is a 'hard man aesthete', as carton so elegantly puts it, the Colombians descend from their exotic peaks with pure natural talent. The response of the forum to an European pro who showed immense talent but didn't keep in shape would be a collective grunt: being professional and working hard is part of being a cyclist these days, and if you can't do that it's inevitable that you'll fade away. But Betancur is granted indulgence; part of the reason for this, I suspect, is that no one follows Colombian domestic cycling, so when their riders come and shine brightly in the European scene it's more explosive and interesting than when an Paris-Roubaix Espoirs or Avenir winner moves on to the next level (I realise Colombians have won and routinely race Avenir). This vision of natural brilliance is significant to both of carton's scenarioes, I suggest, both the wasted brilliance one that attached itself to Ronaldo or the dilettante genius narrative that defined Romario. Secondly, our South Americans traditionally ride/play with innocence, joy, a pure naiveté: witness the stereotype of jogo bonito, or the real life comments of various Cafe de Colombia riders about how they didn't really understand tactics and just perpetually attacked in their first Giro. Betancur defines this innocence, at first with his attacking and now with his fatness.
(DISCLAIMER: the sweeping statements above are not my own views, they are an attempt to capture a predominant narrative.)
gospina said:
When I first skimmed your post, I only read the middle, and I thought initially you were writing about Romario. Thinking about this reminded me of the number 9 Ronaldo, and of Ronaldinho, and Kaka, who Tonton mentioned earlier, and thus to a point I suggest should be added to carton's remarkably good post. The parallels between Brazillian footballers and Colombian cyclists have been laid out many times; they are both (perceived as, obviously) otherwordly, exotic (but just familiar enough that they're not alienating - the names are Spanish/Portugese, after all), magical at the more ethereal and aesthetic elements of the sport (climbing and playmaker/forward), amusingly incompetent at the more grounded, gritty, physical aspects (TTing/cobbles, defending/goalkeeping - and it's a testament to the power of this myth that twenty years of bulky and dirty defensive midfielders from Dunga to Fernando, including one of the most conservative and defensive World Cup-winning teams of all time, have done very little to shake it), brought up in an environment that breeds talent (the Andes, street football), and innocent. It's those last two points I think are most significant in this context. Firstly, the view of all Colombians as brilliant pocket climbers is the one real counterweight to the prevailing narrative of cycling these days, which is one of suffering; while everyone else is a 'hard man aesthete', as carton so elegantly puts it, the Colombians descend from their exotic peaks with pure natural talent. The response of the forum to an European pro who showed immense talent but didn't keep in shape would be a collective grunt: being professional and working hard is part of being a cyclist these days, and if you can't do that it's inevitable that you'll fade away. But Betancur is granted indulgence; part of the reason for this, I suspect, is that no one follows Colombian domestic cycling, so when their riders come and shine brightly in the European scene it's more explosive and interesting than when an Paris-Roubaix Espoirs or Avenir winner moves on to the next level (I realise Colombians have won and routinely race Avenir). This vision of natural brilliance is significant to both of carton's scenarioes, I suggest, both the wasted brilliance one that attached itself to Ronaldo or the dilettante genius narrative that defined Romario. Secondly, our South Americans traditionally ride/play with innocence, joy, a pure naiveté: witness the stereotype of jogo bonito, or the real life comments of various Cafe de Colombia riders about how they didn't really understand tactics and just perpetually attacked in their first Giro. Betancur defines this innocence, at first with his attacking and now with his fatness.
(DISCLAIMER: the sweeping statements above are not my own views, they are an attempt to capture a predominant narrative.)
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