Great article - Tyler Farrar's "whining"

[hektoren]

Just read a great article about Tyler Farrar's father, which made me realize a thing or two.
Having read the article, I suddenly remembered the Petacchi/Farrar controversy at the Giro of '09, earning Tyler the status as being a bit of a "whiner" among some on this forum, and last week's wagging of his finger at EBH after the last stage of Tirreno-Adriatico sort of confirmed that reputation. Taking EBH's all-over-the-place course at the finish into consideration, and Petacchi's ditto, last year, this article actually made me have another think.
Tyler is So not a whiner!

I ride bikes myself, both MTB's and road bikes, and usually put in about 16.000 km's every year. Not bad for a guy at 50, and not a day goes by without the urge to get moving. Over the years, there's been some falls. Both collarbones have been fractured, one ankle, knee and hip dislocated. (That hip hurt. The guy that found me said I fainted more than 20 times before the medics arrived). I've left some skin and blood here and there, and a helmet saved my life. But, having read this article, I consider myself to be among the really, really lucky ones, and Tyler and his father to be real, real heroes.

Please, do read!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/090721

 

[red_flanders]

Heavy stuff. Thanks for posting!

 

[ingsve]

That explains why Farrar can be such a wimp in alot of sprints. He's simply afraid or at least overly careful. That might stop him from ever becoming truely great.

 

[hektoren]

That explains why Farrar can be such a wimp in alot of sprints. He's simply afraid or at least overly careful. That might stop him from ever becoming truely great.

Have you read the article??? Upon reading the story, "Wimp" or "afraid" is very possibly the last two adjectives I'd use to describe Tyler Farrar, and your definition of "truly great" obviously differs a lot from mine. How very dare you?

 

[*G*K*S*]

I ride bikes myself, both MTB's and road bikes, and usually put in about 16.000 km's every year. Not bad for a guy at 50, and not a day goes by without the urge to get moving. Over the years, there's been some falls. Both collarbones have been fractured, one ankle, knee and hip dislocated. (That hip hurt. The guy that found me said I fainted more than 20 times before the medics arrived). I've left some skin and blood here and there, and a helmet saved my life. But, having read this article, I consider myself to be among the really, really lucky ones, and Tyler and his father to be real, real heroes.

Please, do read!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/090721

What does that article have to do with Tyler and his whining? What I got out of it is that his father Ed isn't a whiner.



/btw...cool story bro

 

[flicker]

Sorry about Ed. Could be any cyclist at any time. You need to watch out for the other guy best you can do.
That being said I do not have the balls or capabilities to sprint like the pros.
If Tyler has the talent he needs to watch out for the other guy. If other riders endanger Farrar and he is the designated leader then his team needs to deal with the offenders quietly and cleanly during the race.
Its a tough world in sports.

 

[theyoungest]

What does that article have to do with Tyler and his whining? What I got out of it is that his father Ed isn't a whiner.

Exactly. Nice article, his father deserves a lot of respect, and probably so does Tyler himself. But what makes him a "hero" is beyond me.

 

[hektoren]

What does that article have to do with Tyler and his whining? What I got out of it is that his father Ed isn't a whiner.



/btw...cool story bro

Well......
If there's a 1 in 4 chance for a pro-cyclist to be hospitalized during the season, and with this family's recent history in mind, I'd say it takes more than a small bit of courage and very careful deliberation to keep up an appearance in the pro peloton. Let's just say Tyler has a more realistic take on what could happen when you're boxed in against the barriers at a sprint, as a result of riders' disrespect for the UCI rules. Whining, it ain't.

 

[franciep10]

It's a great story but it still does not change the fact that tyler is a whiner

 

[flicker]

It's a great story but it still does not change the fact that tyler is a whiner

Cycling is a rough sport. Obviously Tyler has the financial backing to return to university get a degree and get a good job. So Tyler if the pot is to hot get out of the kitchen. You obviously have good, sensible and inteligent DNA.

 

[ingsve]

Have you read the article??? Upon reading the story, "Wimp" or "afraid" is very possibly the last two adjectives I'd use to describe Tyler Farrar, and your definition of "truly great" obviously differs a lot from mine. How very dare you?

Have you ever seen him sprint? Other riders just ride up beside him and push him off the wheel of his own leadout. Have you ever seen anyone push Cavendish off of Renshaws wheel? Farrar is not as good as other sprinters at fighting for positions in the last few kms before a sprint. I've often seen him pushed around and one possibility after reading the article is that he might be a bit too careful which I believe might ultimately be due to being a little afraid of hurting himself. That also explains why he seems to get more upset about irregular riding perhaps.

By truely great I mean riders that deliver whenever they get a chance. Cipollini was truely great, Cavendish most often as well. But Farrar at the moment does not have the same ability to perform at the same high level consistently because he gets pushed around in a way that Cavendish doesn't. And I believe that unless he gets a little thougher then he won't reach the same potential as other thougher sprinters.

 

[pedaldancer]

Fantastic read, I like countless others have a great deal of respect for Tyler's father.

There's something LA wrote in one of his books about "you give an inch, you get an inch", maybe next time Tyler feels hard done by he should keep it to himself, karma has funny ways of reimbursing you... Either that or he needs to man up!

 

[flicker]

Sorry Tyler, Sprinting and finishing the Vuelta takes Balls.

 

[hektoren]

Sorry Tyler, Sprinting and finishing the Vuelta takes Balls.

Oh, great! Another Neanderthal invite to a pi$$ing contest. I'm impressed.

 

[hektoren]

Have you ever seen him sprint? Other riders just ride up beside him and push him off the wheel of his own leadout. Have you ever seen anyone push Cavendish off of Renshaws wheel? Farrar is not as good as other sprinters at fighting for positions in the last few kms before a sprint. I've often seen him pushed around and one possibility after reading the article is that he might be a bit too careful which I believe might ultimately be due to being a little afraid of hurting himself. That also explains why he seems to get more upset about irregular riding perhaps.

By truely great I mean riders that deliver whenever they get a chance. Cipollini was truely great, Cavendish most often as well. But Farrar at the moment does not have the same ability to perform at the same high level consistently because he gets pushed around in a way that Cavendish doesn't. And I believe that unless he gets a little thougher then he won't reach the same potential as other thougher sprinters.

Yeah, the 11 wins of 2009 was handed to him on a silver plate, for sure.
Doh!
And his performance this year has been nothing but consistent.

9eme de la 3eme etape du Tour du Qatar (Dukhan - Mesaieed)
10eme de la 5eme etape du Tour du Qatar (Lusail - Madinat Al Shamal)
2eme de la 6eme etape du Tour du Qatar (Al Wakra - Doha Corniche)
4eme de la 1ere etape du Tour of Oman (Muscat Corniche - Muscat Corniche)
2eme de la 2eme etape du Tour of Oman (Nizwa - Samail)
3eme de la 3eme etape du Tour of Oman (Saifat Ash Shiekh - Qurayyat)
5eme de la 4eme etape du Tour of Oman (Ibri - Nakhal)
5eme de la 5eme etape du Tour of Oman (Wattayat - Sultan Qaboos Stadium)
3eme du Circuit Het Nieuwsblad - Circuit Het Volk
7eme de la 1ere etape du Tirreno - Adriatico (Livorno – Rosignano Solvay)
13eme de la 2eme etape du Tirreno - Adriatico (Montecatini Terme – Montecatini Terme)
4eme de la 3eme etape du Tirreno - Adriatico (San Miniato – Monsummano Terme)
6eme de la 7eme etape du Tirreno - Adriatico (Civitanova Marche – San Benedetto del Tronto)

 

[flicker]

Sorry I will side with Merckx and Armstrong if you are not first why bother.

Sprinting is a dangerous profession. Please realize that.

 

[ingsve]

Yeah, the 11 wins of 2009 was handed to him on a silver plate, for sure.
Doh!
And his performance this year has been nothing but consistent.

snipped...

I never said anything of the sort. Farrar is a very fast sprinter so of course he's going to win alot of races. That does not change the fact that at many occasions I have seen him lose out in the race for positions in situations where other top riders in the same situation often stand firm and hold their wheel.

But being so fast he really ought to be dominating more than he actually is. Compare those results you listed with Boonens in the same races. They have ridden most of the same races so far this year and Boonen has four wins already. In my opinion Farrar is just as fast if not faster sometimes than Boonen but why is it that Boonen manages to win alot more and often witout the help of any lead outs?

My point is that while Farrar is a very fast and accomplished sprinter he could be even greater if he was a little thougher in the man to man struggle for positions.

 

[elapid]

Nice article. But it is about Ed Farrar, not Tyler. It doesn't discuss Tyler's sprinting abilities, Tyler's riding skills and tactics (or lack thereof), or negate previous claims of him being a whiner. Also, how does this article make Tyler a hero (the most overused and inappropriate used word in the English language IMO)? I am not criticizing you or Tyler, but I am just not getting the same thing out of this article as you.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

It's a great story but it still does not change the fact that tyler is a whiner

Serious question here, why is Tyler a whiner?

I have read many articles on the guy and have yet to see him 'whine' - perhaps I have missed some and if so would be grateful to read it.

 

[42x16ss]

Serious question here, why is Tyler a whiner?

I have read many articles on the guy and have yet to see him 'whine' - perhaps I have missed some and if so would be grateful to read it.

+1! Why are so many of you ripping into Tyler for not riding more aggressively?

Whenever Tyler sees his father he must be constantly reminded of the damage that can be caused to the human body when things go wrong on the bike.

Just being able to sprint competitively at the ProTour level takes a hell of a lot of guts. For Tyler to be able to do this with his father's condition in the back of his mind is pretty impressive IMHO. Honestly, what is wrong with wanting to be certain that you will be able to walk away at the end of each race???

 

[ingsve]

+1! Why are so many of you ripping into Tyler for not riding more aggressively?

It's not a matter of ripping into him really but rather an observation of how he rides. I put no value judgement in how he rides. He's free to ride any way he feels comfortable with. Usually though the mindset of fans and riders alike is that people should do their very best to achieve the very best resuts. That's sort of the foundation of sports. But there are always other factors that come into play that can stand in the way of focusing only on results. I have no problem with that but I do think it's an interesting thing to identify and discuss.

 

[theyoungest]

+1! Why are so many of you ripping into Tyler for not riding more aggressively?

Whenever Tyler sees his father he must be constantly reminded of the damage that can be caused to the human body when things go wrong on the bike.

Just being able to sprint competitively at the ProTour level takes a hell of a lot of guts. For Tyler to be able to do this with his father's condition in the back of his mind is pretty impressive IMHO. Honestly, what is wrong with wanting to be certain that you will be able to walk away at the end of each race???

Take the example of Stuart O'Grady. Or Bobbie Traksel, recent winner of Kuurne. These guys have broken about every bone in their body, but they're still riding, and occasionally mixing it up in bunch sprints. That's still a notch above Tyler Farrar, in terms of guts.

 

[pedaldancer]

"Just being able to sprint competitively at the ProTour level takes a hell of a lot of guts"

Really? I think sprinting competitively on the ProTour takes talent and hard work, winning races takes guts...Agreed?

 

[hektoren]

Nice article. But it is about Ed Farrar, not Tyler. It doesn't discuss Tyler's sprinting abilities, Tyler's riding skills and tactics (or lack thereof), or negate previous claims of him being a whiner. Also, how does this article make Tyler a hero (the most overused and inappropriate used word in the English language IMO)? I am not criticizing you or Tyler, but I am just not getting the same thing out of this article as you.

I try to be not so literal when I read. Try to think a bit outside the box. Sure the article is about his father, but what can you safely infer from it?
When an accident like that happens to a next-of-kin, I bet there must've been some amount of deliberation, debate, conversation, careful examination of the pros and cons of continuing at the level Tyler's currently riding at. Spitting in the face of adversity and just pushing forward either takes some degree of stupidity or indeed, heroism.

It's a bit like the talkshow-host that interviewed an actor some years back. The actor and talkshow-host had both, at different times, been married to the same actress, and the talkshow-host said: "Oh, the conversation we could've had".....
Oh, the conversations Ed and Tyler must've had.......

 

[Oldman]

It's a great story but it still does not change the fact that tyler is a whiner

Raced with the kid from his Junior days until he got the big Contract. As a teammate and lead out for him on several occasions I can tell you he does not whine and takes responsibility for failing to produce when teammates have set him up. He learned early that injuries take you off the bike and someone jeopardizing your safety by being stupid or reckless may need a response. I can say that his Dad's injury reinforced that thought but he, like every serious sprinter; doesn't hold back.