Is Simon Gerrans the best ever Australian roadie?

[42x16ss]

I should have chosen the word 'victory', not 'achievement'.

Bradman will never be matched, but he had who, the poms and not much else to compete against?

Fraser probably could have won 4 if they didn't ban her.

I rate Bradman and Fraser above Laver. Thorpe is up there. Heather McKay is getting there but squash is too small a sport.

Bradman is possibly world sports greatest outlier, his record is still ridiculous and probably always will be. As for lack of competition, South Africa, West Indies, India, Pakistan and New Zealand were also playing test cricket at the time with South Africa, India and the West Indies already turning out genuine world class players.

 

[Echoes]

There's more to Rod Laver than two Slams. Actually his first Slam is no major performance. He was an amateur and the best players of the time were pros (Gonzalez, Rosewall, Hoad, etc.). The 1969 Slam is a major performance but his most amazing achievement to me is the 1971 Tennis Champion Classic.

A series of winner-take-all matches (best of 5, ofc) against all top players of the time, he never lost a single one. Lol is this Cyclingnews?

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/archive/index.php/t-329647.html

1/2 New York Laver d Rosewall 6-3,6-4,7-5
1/10 Rochester Laver d Newcombe 6-4,6-2,4-6,5-7,6-4
1/13 Boston Laver d Roche 7-5,4-6,3-6,7-5,6-1
1/17 Philadelphia Laver d Emerson 6-2,6-3,7-5
1/21 New York Laver d Ashe 7-5,6-4,7-5
1/23 Detroit Laver d Okker 5-7,5-7,6-2,6-2,6-2
1/28 New York Laver d Ashe 3-6,6-3,6-3,6-4
2/4 Los Angeles Laver d Taylor 6-3,7-5,6-2
2/6 New York Laver d Okker 6-1,6-4,6-3
2/17 New York Laver d Ralston 3-6,6-1,6-4,6-3
2/19 New Haven Laver d Emerson 6-3,5-7,6-3,3-6,6-3

To decide the semifinal line-up outside the Laver-matches, the following matches were played:
Ralston bt. Roche. Ralston bt. Ashe. Ashe bt. Rosewall, Okker bt- Newcombe. Emerson bt. Taylor.

3/18 New York SF Laver d Ralston 6-3,6-4,7-5
New York SF Okker d Emerson 6-4,2-6,4.6,6-3,6-4

3/19 New York F Laver d Okker 7-5,6-2,6-1

This is like a Double GS tournament though on a longer period of time, but a double GS when 1st round is Ken Rosewall, 2nd round is John Newcombe, etc. Amazing!

 

[RiccoDinko]

My vote for Best Aussie Wheelsucker.

 

[trevim]

My vote for Best Aussie Wheelsucker.

Evans was giving him a run for his money but then he went rogue

 

[BigMac]

Best ever Australian roadie is durianrider followed by Cadel Evans.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I give him credit for being an even more hated rider than Evans at his prime (later in his career came the sympathy for Evans)...

 

[auscyclefan94]

The difference between Evans and Gerrans is that when Evans was alleged to have 'wheelsucked', it was only because he did not have the legs to ride on the front/attack whereby he was hanging on for dear life. Gerrans on the other hand wheelsucks because he is a leech.

 

[blackcat]

good thing that Gerro has busted his collar for the off-season, cos he usually disproportionately carries the Greenedge squadra at home.

No racing in off-season, means he can concentrate on the races that matter. And he took time off early, well, he finished at (before) Lombardy. maybe this year, 2015, he wins Lombardia, race of falling leaves. I might place a bet on him now.

 

[blackcat]

The difference between Evans and Gerrans is that when Evans was alleged to have 'wheelsucked', it was only because he did not have the legs to ride on the front/attack whereby he was hanging on for dear life. Gerrans on the other hand wheelsucks because he is a leech.

Gerrans is a winner. He may have never quite tested like Evans on the ergo, but Barrie Sanders was a reference for him and Cookie testing very high when they were young.

you are just a muppet AusCyclefan94, best stick to your neoliberalism tweets

 

[Ferminal]

I think without the January peak he's going to be in with a real shot on Via Roma. Aside from that I think he's due to get found out in major classics, at least I hope so.

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

No Aussie beats Phil Anderson.

As a Phil Anderson fanboy from wayback I even hesitated to report him to l'Arriviste's site when I came up his indescretion at the 1983 Dauphinee.

The teeth of a champion.

 

[Walkman]

Gerrans is a winner.

Uhm…that does not exclude him from being a wheelsucker.

Gerrans often wins because of the mindset of other riders. He is the epitome of an undeserving winner because he always rely on others in order to perform. Without hungry riders in the pack, Gerrans won't win. Some call him smart, others pathetic, but hey, winning is winning.

 

[blackcat]

No Aussie beats Phil Anderson.

As a Phil Anderson fanboy from wayback I even hesitated to report him to l'Arriviste's site when I came up his indescretion at the 1983 Dauphinee.

The teeth of a champion.

the cnut from trinity grammar

 

[nhowson]

Refusing to take a pull when it appears tactically astute is not wheelsucking.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Refusing to take a pull when it appears tactically astute is not wheelsucking.

Gerrans appears to believe that it NEVER appears tactically astute to take a pull though.

Whining at the World Championships that he had the legs but didn't have the chance to sprint it out was just the icing on the cake, and final proof that he thinks racing is something done by other people to take him to the line. You can talk about Valverde all you like in the closing kilometres, but before that Valverde was active. Gerrans didn't contribute at all, and that is a large part of why he didn't get to sprint for the win. Therefore, it would have been tactically astute, if he really did have the legs, to help chase Kwiatkowski, therefore he sucked wheel.

 

[Gaul 58]

[/Gerrans appears to believe that it NEVER appears tactically astute to take a pull though.

Whining at the World Championships that he had the legs but didn't have the chance to sprint it out was just the icing on the cake, and final proof that he thinks racing is something done by other people to take him to the line. You can talk about Valverde all you like in the closing kilometres, but before that Valverde was active. Gerrans didn't contribute at all, and that is a large part of why he didn't get to sprint for the win. Therefore, it would have been tactically astute, if he really did have the legs, to help chase Kwiatkowski, therefore he sucked wheel. QUOTE]

+1

 

[nhowson]

Gerrans appears to believe that it NEVER appears tactically astute to take a pull though.

Whining at the World Championships that he had the legs but didn't have the chance to sprint it out was just the icing on the cake, and final proof that he thinks racing is something done by other people to take him to the line. You can talk about Valverde all you like in the closing kilometres, but before that Valverde was active. Gerrans didn't contribute at all, and that is a large part of why he didn't get to sprint for the win. Therefore, it would have been tactically astute, if he really did have the legs, to help chase Kwiatkowski, therefore he sucked wheel.

Maybe he does, but he loses out as a result and that makes me think it doesn't make sense to be so angry about it. He uses what he thinks are his strengths and that makes him a different rider to Kwiatkowski as they have different strengths. Otherwise it would have been over before the second descent when every rider decided to attack when Kwiat did and Kwiat was strongest.

 

[blackcat]

Maybe he does, but he loses out as a result and that makes me think it doesn't make sense to be so angry about it. He uses what he thinks are his strengths and that makes him a different rider to Kwiatkowski as they have different strengths. Otherwise it would have been over before the second descent when every rider decided to attack when Kwiat did and Kwiat was strongest.

Kwiatkowski is one of those riders that can do it all, he can sprint, timetrial, and hang for dear life on climbs to defend on GC.

very solid rider. Not an unworthy World Champion

 

[blackcat]

Gerrans appears to believe that it NEVER appears tactically astute to take a pull though.

Whining at the World Championships that he had the legs but didn't have the chance to sprint it out was just the icing on the cake, and final proof that he thinks racing is something done by other people to take him to the line. You can talk about Valverde all you like in the closing kilometres, but before that Valverde was active. Gerrans didn't contribute at all, and that is a large part of why he didn't get to sprint for the win. Therefore, it would have been tactically astute, if he really did have the legs, to help chase Kwiatkowski, therefore he sucked wheel.

I was disappointed in his WC tilt, and following wheels. Yeah, he did do some pulls. But not enough when the race was leaving you

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

I was disappointed in his WC tilt, and following wheels. Yeah, he did do some pulls. But not enough when the race was leaving you

The fox knows many tricks, the hedgehog only one. But it's a good one.

Gerrans knows what his trick is and he uses it. Even when his competitors are yelling at him to behave less optimally. That's made him a huge over achiever. But occasionally his reliance on his one superb trick is too complete.

 

[blackcat]

The fox knows many tricks, the hedgehog only one. But it's a good one.

Gerrans knows what his trick is and he uses it. Even when his competitors are yelling at him to behave less optimally. That's made him a huge over achiever. But occasionally his reliance on his one superb trick is too complete.

but now it is a handicap.

it has worked too successfully for SG that now his competitors are unwilling to armchair him. They will not even bother yelling, they will just cease to get in a move with him. So his success, has neutralised his future success. Was it Kelly, or someone else, who said, his two wins in Canada this year, would see him being manned out of the race at the WC, coming into the race as favourite, he would not be given the opportunities once availed to him.

 

[nhowson]

Kwiatkowski is one of those riders that can do it all, he can sprint, timetrial, and hang for dear life on climbs to defend on GC.

very solid rider. Not an unworthy World Champion

Oh god, Kwiat deserved it more than Gerrans in every way. But it's just that Gerrans modus operandi is to sit in an armchair and jump out at the end because that works for him.