graeme brown

[stefrees]

I know he has a reputation, but what the hell was his spring all about yesterday and how the hell did he not get disqualified? seb chavanels was pretty bad too, which makes ben swifts efforts look even better. its on youtube.

 

[dse1969]

I'm not sure what video you were watching stefrees but that was the perfect finale from Brownie. Apart from moving slightly right which due to the left turn would have happened naturally, he held a perfect line. Great win Brownie!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcoP41-YVdU

 

[Stani Kléber]

We must have been watching a different race. I see Brown go into Swift and Chavanel. He starts on the left of the road and moves to the right for no apparent reason during the sprint. He's lucky not to be disqualified.

Not for nothing do others consider him the most dangerous (for the wrong reasons) sprinter in the bunch.

 

[asockpuppet]

You must be watching a different race...nothing wrong with that sprint.

 

[stefrees]

You must be watching a different race...nothing wrong with that sprint.

there is no reason for him to go from left to right (could quite easily have taken swift down with him) then go back left again. if it was the 1st time he'd done something like it maybe you could say it was a one off, but its not....

 

[blackcat]

 

[asockpuppet]

there is no reason for him to go from left to right (could quite easily have taken swift down with him) then go back left again. if it was the 1st time he'd done something like it maybe you could say it was a one off, but its not....

Perhaps a bit of pro cycling education is needed here. Browns sprint was about as clean as it gets....regardless of what YOU might think, Brownie is a marked man by the commissaires because of his past indescretions, if there was even the slightest reason to relegate him, he would of been. He wasn't, because it was clean...end of argument

 

[stefrees]

Perhaps a bit of pro cycling education is needed here. Browns sprint was about as clean as it gets....regardless of what YOU might think, Brownie is a marked man by the commissaires because of his past indescretions, if there was even the slightest reason to relegate him, he would of been. He wasn't, because it was clean...end of argument

not just me that thinks that, quite a few more, a couple of reports ive read and even swift himself who (according to an interview with bc) said he was miffed by what brown did but his ds told him that was normal. that was NEVER a clean sprint. a clean spring = what bennati has done many a time.

 

[Bala Verde]

That sprint looks as clean, and clever, as it gets. For the brief moment he moves slightly to the right, that is called 'closing the door' for his competitors. It's what happens in a sprint, it's smart and legal, and if you don't like it, or find it too dangerous, you shouldn't be there in the first place. It wasn't as if he slammed them into the sides, caused an accident, or did something entirely unexpected. All spinters do it to blow off the competition and wheelsuckers in particular, hoping that they wanted to overtake on that side, and get squeezed in a little.

 

[blackcat]

not just me that thinks that, quite a few more, a couple of reports ive read and even swift himself who (according to an interview with bc) said he was miffed by what brown did but his ds told him that was normal. that was NEVER a clean sprint. a clean spring = what bennati has done many a time.

"The new Dutch team Vacansoleil were on the front leading it out and I had Graeme Brown's wheel while last years winner Weylandts was on the side fighting me for Brown's wheel. The finish was 400 or 500 metres uphill and cobbled which was tricky for a sprint. Graeme then gave Denis a big hook and I was stuck in the middle and that took a lot of speed off and I was stuck in too big a gear. So then I was just drag racing Graeme up the side. Chavanel was on the right and I was in the middle and Graeme and I were pulling away when he swung right and put me into Chavanel."

"My directer at the end said that is normal for him so oh well. Even if we had gone in a straight line, I don’t know if I would have beaten him."

Asked how he is finding the level as a professional after three top 10s (individual), Ben replied "It is my first year as a pro so to get any result is great. We got third in a team time trial (Qatar) but I got dropped so I never felt part of that. The form since then has slowly been coming on. I then got 10th in a flat race in Switzerland and then 8th in a hilly one (62nd GP Lugano no less) the next day. I did one more race that was super hard and then I got ill and had four days off the bike.

"I was trying to use this race as a training race after the illness. Before this I had done four hours, six and half and then a four and half in Italy trying to get fit again. The team is really great and the guys give you so much information that I have tried to take the opportunities when they have given me them."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcoP41-YVdU

check the overhead Swift, stop whinging when you get your doors blown off.

Weylandt is his name, no plural.

 

[mr. tibbs]

I'm afraid I have to agree with the OP here, but my judgement may be skewed b/c, as is mentioned above, Brown IS a "marked man b/c of his past indescretions." I've actually not been a Brown fan since he caused a crash in the finale of the TDU or Qatar a couple years back. (I don't remember exactly which race)

But you can see that he def seems to come across that other guy's line, effectively boxxing him in. If it's not illegal, it certainly seems like poor sportsmanship.

But this is just an amateur judgement from a grainy youtube (thanks for posting the link), so Take with Salt.

 

[stefrees]

I'm afraid I have to agree with the OP here, but my judgement may be skewed b/c, as is mentioned above, Brown IS a "marked man b/c of his past indescretions." I've actually not been a Brown fan since he caused a crash in the finale of the TDU or Qatar a couple years back. (I don't remember exactly which race)

But you can see that he def seems to come across that other guy's line, effectively boxxing him in. If it's not illegal, it certainly seems like poor sportsmanship.

But this is just an amateur judgement from a grainy youtube (thanks for posting the link), so Take with Salt.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/jan07/jan30news2

you'd think brown would have learned. boxing in is one thing where you dont change your line to let someone have a clear sprint, but moving from left to right like brown did is very dangerous. as you can see from the link, hes not the most popular rider in the peleton

 

[tifosa]

The sprint was fair. Where is it written that one's bad reputation as a sprinter, must precede the sprinter's arrival at the finish? If you're in the mix, expect the unexpected.

 

[Tapeworm]

Have to say as sprints go this one looked fine. Have a look at almost closely contested sprint, rarely is it a perfect straight line. Seems like there was more argy-bargy with the two behind Brown.

Did anyone else notice on the youtube clip at around 21sec a rider in blue and white seems to unclip from his pedal? He veered sharply to the right too...

 

[The Falcon]

he's come a long way from when he raced A grade in the Friday night Crits at Waratah Park but the style of sprinting is unchanged

 

[lookkg386]

Looked fair to me, I always like watching the overhead shots of a sprint, you'd be suprised how much these blokes move from side to side, this was as just a typical sprint, clear win for Brown.