Journalists vote athlete of the year 2010 - no cyclist makes it into the first 22!

[nobilis]

Alpine skiing is... well, if I'm honest, I just don't like it as a TV sport. I can see how it's more thrilling, more glamorous, but I find it more exciting to see the competitors face each other directly than just in time trial form. I like the subtle nuances of a more complex sport, such as when a biathlete has to trade off skiing slower for the last few metres to try to get their heart rate down, or take an extra few seconds over a shot while their competitors ride away around them so as to avoid rushing it and having to take a penalty loop. I like sports I can slowly be absorbed by then be gripped by. I will sit back and be gripped by the Nordic disciplines, but I get bored very quickly by Alpine. The problem is, I guess that makes me the minority, but then I'd also rather watch Le Mans than F1.

I can watch nordic skiing for hours without getting bored at all.
As for biathletes, I think they should be the absolute fittest athletes, because in addition to crosscountry skiing, they should have an excellent recovery to arrive fresher at the shooting range, and we all know that recovery is one of the most important indicators of cardiovascular fitness.

 

[stainlessguy1]

The Media

Which sporting events do 'journalists' have more fun at?

F1 with the freebies, beers and girls

Cycling with the vittel, cycling journalist parasites and 'girls'


You do the math

Yes , i happen to aggree , there is a huge tendency for the media to sway to large corporate sponsored events. It also matters who is doing the story and their individual biased opinions as the biased opinions of the editors or supervisors that allow the journalists to be at the said event in the first place .
Let us aggree on one thing, All sports have become commercial including the Olympics . The sports have even taken a step back and bow to the will of corporate sponsors and commercial time slots so that the entire event becomes more viewer friendly and fits exactly between news broadcasts .
Having said that; It is fair to say there is then a huge emphasis on how marketable an athlete becomes for the athlete of the year in any said category .

If you want to look at athlete of the year or athlete of the decade or beyond , i suggest we all base it on criteria like integrity , staying power , performance and the ambassadorship of the sport that the athlete represented , or sports that the athlete represented . I believe there is more to this title than just performance even though performance is most on our minds .
There are not to many people that fit a bill such as that. To be fair to athletes , sometimes it is best to set up categories to seperate the issues of motorsports vs. Human powered sports . etc .
Each sport has certain aspects of it that is unique to that sport and cannot really be combined or compared properly to other sports . These are fringe sports , such examples are round the world yacht racing , single handed . The RAAM is another (race across america ) , both sports are sleep depreviation type sports . The list can go on , but it wont matter .

The reality remains , society needs a hero , so one is picked . Someone everyone can wrap their beer steins around and salute at the pub .

WE have athletes of the year , we have beauty pageants .
Real athletes just smile at this and dont get to worried about who was picked .
Tomorrow is another day , and another race , tires to be pumped up and bananas shoved in a jersey ................

 

[Fly on the Wall]

Wow... I must lead a very sheltered life... or live in the wrong country. There are only 2 names on that list that I even recognize.

 

[nobilis]

"Hushovd named Norwegian athlete of the year for 2010"

I think that makes more sense, especially coming from a country where winter sports are the most popular sports and after an Olympic year, with the likes of Bjoerndalen, Svendsen, Bjoergen or Aksel Lund Svindal performing pretty well.


http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/hushovd-named-norwegian-athlete-of-the-year-for-2010

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

Vettel is on the list simply because F1 is quite popular. You might not like it, but being the top dog in an individual, big money sport means lots of recognition and acclaim.

I guess OEB is more mediatized than Svendsen, plus i think that they always take into account what he has accumulated over the years and still got it till now.
The same for Vonn, Alpine skiing has more publicity that nordic skiing, hence Vonn being there and not Neuner.

How about we start a thread about winter sports in the café?

Does more people really follow alpine skiing than biathlon? I've read that the biathlon WC outdraws all other winter sport WC's in Europe.

But I think that if you look at the big western nations that have been successful in winter sports, like Germany, France, Italy and the US, you'll probably find that they've had more success in alpine sking and that alpine skiers are far more recognized among casual sports fans who don't really follow any winter sport (The obvious exception is Germany where biathlon is popular.). I mean, who doesn't know who Lindsey Vonn is?

I am a big Neuner fan. I like pretty much all of the German team. Neuner is a lot of fun as a competitor because she is one of the best, but she has a fatal flaw (her shooting, especially from standing, is very unpredictable) which makes her unpredictable and thus makes the race entertaining - she could be a minute ahead coming into the final shoot and still throw it away, or she could be a minute behind and catch up cos her ski is so fast.

I'm interested to see how Miriam Gößner develops. She set the fastest course time in both the sprint and pursuit at Östersund, but her shooting is even worse than Neuner's. But considering they've lost a number of their big stars of late, the German biathlon team looks very strong for the future, both sexes included.

I actually think the german men's team is surprisingly unimpressive right now considering that Germany is head & shoulders above everyone else when it comes to participation (although the difference between Germany and the rest is even greater on the women's side) and money plowed into biathlon. Also, biathlon is far more popular than XC so they should be able to snatch some of the biggest skiing talents like the women's team did with Neuner and Gössner. Yet they have no one who can realistically challenge for the WC overall title and there are arguably 4 stronger teams in a relay.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

But the thing is, much of that German team is young, which is why they're looking strong for the future. Gößner is 20 and appears a natural successor to Neuner - as quick if not quicker at XC but just as bad if not worse at the shooting range - Schempp is 22, Peiffer and Neuner are both 23, Stephan is 24... you could, and perhaps should, argue that they don't have the elite talent on the men's side of the sport, but they do have a number of talents nevertheless.

I think the popularity of biathlon in Germany means the crossover of sports is much more due to prospective biathletes doing a bit of XC because it's the discipline they're better at than biathlon 'snatching' the XC talents. Neuner was doing biathlon from an early age and has done very little XC, while Gößner started out as a biathlete and was called up for the national XC team because of her fast performances on the skis as a biathlete; she has made her desire to return to biathlon very clear by turning down repeated requests to stay on in the XC team, preferring to race second-tier IBU Cup biathlon events if not selected for World Cup events.

 

[The Hitch]

Vettel is on the list simply because F1 is quite popular. You might not like it, but being the top dog in an individual, big money sport means lots of recognition and acclaim.

Yeah, and the protest from me throughout has been that its wrongly called "ATHLETE of the year" when hes getting it due to the fact that his sport has the most hype and money.

(The obvious exception is Germany where biathlon is popular.). I mean, who doesn't know who Lindsey Vonn is?

I would guess that no more than 5% of my friends have a clue in the world who Lindsey Vonn is, though 95% of them could probably name without fail every single player, coach, manager, chairman and physio in the Premier League.

 

[hector5950]

Perhaps if cycling wasn't viewed as such a joke by the mainstream sporting media, cyclists would get more respect.

 

[roundabout]

Neuner was doing biathlon from an early age and has done very little XC, while Gößner started out as a biathlete and was called up for the national XC team because of her fast performances on the skis as a biathlete; she has made her desire to return to biathlon very clear by turning down repeated requests to stay on in the XC team, preferring to race second-tier IBU Cup biathlon events if not selected for World Cup events.

http://de.eurosport.yahoo.com/21122010/73/goessner-jungs-trainiert.html

According to the last paragraph of this interview Gössner still dreams of making the team for the Nordic worlds in Oslo.

However realistically speaking at 20 she has achieved pretty much the maximum in XC with 2 medals from the major championships and i doubt that she the ability to win an individual medal at this age. OTOH she already has 2 podiums in biathlon and on a good day (like in Östersund) can medal in biathlon.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I think the offer was for her to spend the season with the XC team, which was why she wanted to prioritise the biathlon - before last season she had been prioritising the biathlon but disappointing World Cup performances allayed to strength at the XC made the national team for XC look at her. If she hasn't fully given up on XC, then that's a good thing, because she's good at it, obviously. But biathlon is Germany's favourite wintersport and she's made it clear that's where she sees the majority of her future.

My point above was that the crossover between XC and biathlon in Germany was due to biathletes crossing to do some XC rather than biathlon 'snatching' the XC talents, and I stand by that, since Gößner was a biathlete before she was an XC skier.

 

[simo1733]

Yeah, and the protest from me throughout has been that its wrongly called "ATHLETE of the year" when hes getting it due to the fact that his sport has the most hype and money.


I would guess that no more than 5% of my friends have a clue in the world who Lindsey Vonn is, though 95% of them could probably name without fail every single player, coach, manager, chairman and physio in the Premier League.

they should call it sports personality of the year like the beeb, but Vettel shouldn't be on that list either.Why isn't Jess Ennis on the list?World and European champ .pleasant and modest personality. Cuter than Vlasic.imo

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

But the thing is, much of that German team is young, which is why they're looking strong for the future. Gößner is 20 and appears a natural successor to Neuner - as quick if not quicker at XC but just as bad if not worse at the shooting range - Schempp is 22, Peiffer and Neuner are both 23, Stephan is 24... you could, and perhaps should, argue that they don't have the elite talent on the men's side of the sport, but they do have a number of talents nevertheless.

I agree, it's indeed a team (the men's) with potential, but perhaps lacking that real top talent. M.Fourcade, Bø, Hofer, Fak and Landertinger are about the same age or younger.

Gößner is much worse with the rifle than Neuner is. People forget that Magdalena's overall shooting speed and accuracy in the prone position is among the very best. She only struggles with precision in the standing shooting, whereas Gößner shoots slowly and has a low percentage in prone shooting in addition to being even worse standing up. I think she might turn out to be a better skier in the future though.

I think the popularity of biathlon in Germany means the crossover of sports is much more due to prospective biathletes doing a bit of XC because it's the discipline they're better at than biathlon 'snatching' the XC talents. Neuner was doing biathlon from an early age and has done very little XC, while Gößner started out as a biathlete and was called up for the national XC team because of her fast performances on the skis as a biathlete; she has made her desire to return to biathlon very clear by turning down repeated requests to stay on in the XC team, preferring to race second-tier IBU Cup biathlon events if not selected for World Cup events.

Yes, I didn't mean literally "stealing" talents from the XC team. That was poorly worded. I meant that a talented skier is more likely to pursue a career in biathlon, rather than XC, in Germany than in the other prominent biathlon/skiing countries and that's obviously an advantage.

Yeah, and the protest from me throughout has been that its wrongly called "ATHLETE of the year" when hes getting it due to the fact that his sport has the most hype and money.

Yeah, I got that. I'm afraid you're just gonna have to live with it.

I would guess that no more than 5% of my friends have a clue in the world who Lindsey Vonn is, though 95% of them could probably name without fail every single player, coach, manager, chairman and physio in the Premier League.

Okay, but she's still the biggest name in any individual winter sport by far.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I agree, it's indeed a team (the men's) with potential, but perhaps lacking that real top talent. M.Fourcade, Bø, Hofer, Fak and Landertinger are about the same age or younger.

I think this is the problem; Germany right now, on the men's side of things, are rather like the current, Valverde-less Movistar. They can put quite a few talents in the 6th-20th area but how many will be able to consistently win? You've just mentioned a group of youngish riders who have shown more, especially Bø, who has been in very good form this season.

Gößner is much worse with the rifle than Neuner is. People forget that Magdalena's overall shooting speed and accuracy in the prone position is among the very best. She only struggles with precision in the standing shooting, whereas Gößner shoots slowly and has a low percentage in prone shooting in addition to being even worse standing up. I think she might turn out to be a better skier in the future though.

Okay, I'll concede that. Lena's prone shoot is pretty consistent with those around her; it's all too easy to forget that because it comes first, so her erratic standing shoots are fresher in the memory come the end of the race, and all it takes is one memorable, catastrophic high-profile performance like Antholz '09 to create a reputation. Gößner's slowing her approach speed down and deliberately shooting more slowly this year because she'd rather lose 10 seconds at the shoot than 50 seconds going around the Strafrund, and she knows she can make that time back up in the ski. Of course, as we saw with her complete meltdown in the relay at Pokljuka, it won't always work like a dream like at Östersund...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Well, looking at today's result:
http://services.biathlonresults.com/results.aspx?RaceId=BT1011SWRLCP04SMRL

I think it's safe to say, that while they may have home advantage, and the Norwegians may have not put out their strongest team, we didn't expect THAT kind of dominance from the Germans. Two and a half minutes!

 

[theyoungest]

Maybe this discussion has veered slightly off (cycling) topic?

 

[stainlessguy1]

veered off ...

Maybe this discussion has veered slightly off (cycling) topic?

Ya think? lol

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Maybe this discussion has veered slightly off (cycling) topic?

Was this thread ever truly on (cycling) topic? Pretty much straight away it devolves into questioning who belongs on the list rather than bewailing why there are no cyclists.

 

[bicing]

Cancellara should have made the list instead of Murali. Murali played in two Cricket test match series and retired mid-year.

In the last 10 years would any other cyclists have made the list apart from Lance Armstrong or Alberto Contador?

P.S. El Pistelero asked "Does anyone take F1 seriously?" - Yes, developing countries. And funny how they call the NZ rugby union team "All back".

 

[stainlessguy1]

Last time i looked ,, yep its a bike , i am a cyclist , this is a cycling news forum

Was this thread ever truly on (cycling) topic? Pretty much straight away it devolves into questioning who belongs on the list rather than bewailing why there are no cyclists.

_________________________________________________________________

Well i think according to the heading of why no cyclists are ever picked by journalists , refers to the fact that we are trying to analyse why cyclists are never picked . AS cyclists , writing in a cycling forum it makes sense .
WE end up talking about whey the German bobsled team is so fast and the German Biathalon team shoots so well .
I have an answer to this . The bobsled team drinks more beer and is heavier and thus goes downhill better . The biathalon team drinks more " Ziel Wasser" , so it has better aim > hahaha ... so i guess we can say we are a bit off topic yes .

 

[Libertine Seguros]

_________________________________________________________________

Well i think according to the heading of why no cyclists are ever picked by journalists , refers to the fact that we are trying to analyse why cyclists are never picked . AS cyclists , writing in a cycling forum it makes sense .

And I was pointing out that very little of the thread has actually been doing this, right from the very start most of it has been about subjects other than cycling.

 

[delbified]

who cares what journalists think? they should report the news and leave it at that.

 

[stainlessguy1]

And I was pointing out that very little of the thread has actually been doing this, right from the very start most of it has been about subjects other than cycling.

Ya i noticed that too , oh well , that happens . smiles .

 

[stainlessguy1]

who cares what journalists think? they should report the news and leave it at that.

Its a hard job journalisim . Most think they are reporting the news , but humans are humans , its hard to stay neutral .
Few stay to the facts , some even try to make the news , instead of the fact , but in general most sensationalize the news . They feed off that and so do the ratings as we are glued to the TV .

Unless the journalist is a former athlete ,,, where is a journalist qualified to even use the power of circulation to vote on something like that . (athlete of the year ) Is a journalist's opinion better than the governing sports body .
I mean dont we already have enough armchair critics .
Maybe people should qualify for this task with some kind of credentials .

 

[jens_attacks]

i don't hate them(it's their job) but most of the these sport journalists are stupid wanccers.regarding cycling,the percentage of journalists wanccers is huge(just look at the german media,the queen of wanccersland).

 

[The Hitch]

I usually call sports journalists fake journalists. When I see in this country how much respect money and power someone who watches football for a living gets over someone who goes to war zones to cover real issues it makes me puke.

I read their articles and their never special.

But anyone who needs convincing, should watch (if possible) videos from Real Madrid tv from 2009 from a show they had called extra time (i think). They invited the biggest football "journalists" from around europe every week and the pettiness and stupidity of these guys was mind boggling.

I remember once watching in shock as the 4 discussed whether Juan Carlos Valeron could make it into the Spain squad. One asked how old he was and they all came to the agreement that he was in his mid 20's as they remember he was young when he broke out (Valeron was in fact 34 years old).

At another point the French top football journalist, who spent most of the time bragging that he knew top footballers personally (duh) totaly snapped and started shouting angrily at the english after the english one suggested that Benzema (who had been playing very poorly) was not good enough for the 1st team. His claim was that they were all picking on Benzema because he is French.

It was watching these guys for a few weeks that i realised how amateur the proffesion of football journalism can be. Maybe not all sports are like that, though many from my experience just have ex pros having ghost written articles for them - like Rusedski and Mcenroe writing tennis articles.