- Jul 10, 2014
- 14,994
- 25,994
- 28,180
- Jul 4, 2016
- 3,525
- 6,320
- 19,180
Other English members of staff. Roche is 100% Irish, he's from Dundrum.
- Aug 13, 2011
- 7,884
- 12,041
- 23,180
Right but that didn’t answer the question.
Would you prefer;
English, Irish, Scottish, and Wales riders,
Riders from his side of the pond,
United Kingdomers?
- Jul 4, 2016
- 3,525
- 6,320
- 19,180
Ireland isn't part of the UK.
In 1987, Carrera had 1 Irish, 1 Belgian, 3 Swiss and 13 Italian riders on its roster. There were no UK riders.
- Aug 13, 2011
- 7,884
- 12,041
- 23,180
At least John Gadret had the temerity to do it in the open AND being *** at it at the same time.
- Jul 16, 2015
- 5,374
- 13,954
- 23,180
The question answers itself really, i.e. the only reason Ayuso has become such a polarizing rider in online discussions and basically a lightning rod for angst and ire is because of Pog, Almeida and UAE fans erupting at the slightest hint of anything Ayuso. People can deny it but anyone who's pretty much ambivalent on the topic will have a good head scratch when seeing all the exaggerated hate this rider gets.
For example if the internet was populated by Geraint Thomas fans we'd be constantly hearing something similar about Chris Froome because yes, he attacked Thomas in the 2018 TdF, i.e. one example among countless others in cycling of such things (& way more obvious than anything Ayuso did last year). But, Pog and UAE have a huge amount of fans so absolutely everything that happens in UAE gets totally blown out of proportion.
Personally speaking I'll go straight to the point here and say despite the fact the evidence against Ayuso being a "terrible teammate" and rider is tenuous at best (like I said there are way more obvious examples of 'betrayals' that hardly get mentioned because the proportion of fans who make a fuss is way smaller), would it even matter... if Ayuso was actually a bad teammate towards Pog and Almeida? I mean seriously?
This is pro-sport. The value of a man on a bike is not determined by how well he serves Pog & UAE.
- Apr 14, 2021
- 1,598
- 3,010
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Today when the *** hits the fan, he’s going to drop before Pedersen does on Angliru - rather making himself look bad than god forbid being of any use for the team. If you think he gets disproportional amount of hate, I challenge you to come up with another guy who does something like that to that extent. Pretending you don’t have the legs so you don’t need to help your teammates is just so wrong and if you can’t see that, I don’t know what to tell you.
I’m a Pog fan and I have never written anything bad about Ayuso until this Vuelta. It’s not the refusal to submit to Pog that bothers me, it’s him sabotaging his teammates deliberately for no personal gain that does it.
I would also say that it's a fan fabricated drama. I never thought Pogacar seemed remotely bothered about the Galibier stage - it was Almeida who appeared frustrated with Ayuso. Pogacar and Ayuso don't race together loads so I suppose it's easy for people to say they don't get on etc, but as far as I'm aware there's never actually been any obvious sign of this.
- Jul 16, 2015
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- 13,954
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Among countless others I'll say straight off the bat Tom Pidcock in the 2023 TdF when he deliberately went rogue and avoided helping Carlos Rodriguez. People collectively shrugged.
It raised a few eyebrows and then everyone just got on with it. The very fact there's a real vocal element regurgitating the same biased appraisal of Ayuso's "sins" is pretty much evidence of Pog and UAE having a very committed and I'd wager younger fanbase, aka fans who might not have seen what this sport can deliver in terms of intra-team frictions and often downright hostilities. I say that because there's plenty of commentary from people on social media who're kidding themselves when they claim (I'll paraphrase here) Ayuso has somehow "damaged his own brand".
The fact is unless you're a hugely invested Pog, Almeida and UAE fan, no one cares. Nothing Ayuso has done on the negative scale stands out on its own merit.
- Nov 16, 2013
- 26,686
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The way Pog wrote messages to Del Toro telling him he would win the Giro when Ayuso was still the team's official leader is not a small sign of that? Or Ayuso never being put in the same races? And when he does like in Canada last year, he pulls for one kilometer on a flat road and then calls it a day because he thinks it looked like he put in an effort for the team.
- Jul 10, 2014
- 14,994
- 25,994
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Be he is of use, he won two stages for them. Most teams would kill for this result.
yes it's incredible how some fans petty agendas make them forget those athletes and teams train and work to WIN races.
- Apr 30, 2011
- 47,162
- 29,795
- 28,180
Who can forget the close battle between Team Soler and Team Vine last year?
- Sep 2, 2011
- 17,537
- 13,761
- 28,180
I could easily forget it if both Ayuso and Vine went for it this year with the winner being decided on Bola del Mundo with no fans in sight.
Team Soler and Team Ayuso are also becoming close contenders for the supercombative award
- Dec 28, 2010
- 4,138
- 3,105
- 21,180
As much as the UAE wants to win stages, Ayuso's attitude today is once again lamentable. Jay Vine and Soler have sacrificed themselves for him. He can't even make it to the final climb to help out on the queen stage. They shouldn't give more teammates to help him on the stages.
- Feb 20, 2012
- 53,933
- 44,320
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Absolutely no legs this Vuelta, winning 2 stages in this condition is a show of pure grinta and mental fortitude.
- Sep 17, 2020
- 982
- 1,604
- 8,180
- Sep 2, 2011
- 17,537
- 13,761
- 28,180
Stage hunters can't be at their best every day. That's why they're stage hunting to begin with.
Jay Vine has won two stages and is helping. There's another solution: not going for a stage the day before Angliru.
- Sep 14, 2009
- 6,300
- 3,561
- 23,180
Indeed. The fact is, this was ridiculously predictable.
Good thing for UAE that their team is so deep. But it really is the perfect marriage of a young/seemingly immature individual rider, and a mostly non-team approach of individual riders.
It will be interesting to see what next year holds
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