Neworld said:
JMB,
Please don't stop talking about 'those days'... I only started to really race in my last yr of high-school and up here in Canada that is between April and Sept. I had to do something when the dream of Hockey success plummeted like an anvil (ha ha). So, in 87 I made my first race and looked up to Bauer as he was/is a Canuck, started off in hockey and then made the switch to cycling. I'm no Bauer that's for sure.
To bad for Bauer on at least 3 occasions: 1984 Olympics and A. Grewal testing positive for something and claiming he took a 'herbal' supplement; at the Worlds with Claude C, and Paris-Roubaix (losing by what 1 cm).
I remember a CBC spotlight on him and his coach said Bauer was obviously a slow climber but fearless descender...do you agree with that? There was an interview with SB at that time and was trying to figure out why at the end of his career he couldn't keep up, and he tried so many different options but they just weren't working, he looked truly depressed. He retired a couple of years later. I cannot remember the book I read it in but it was quoting SB during the end of one of his TdF's and he said something like," I cannot figure out where some of these riders have all their legs? See that kid over there he has more Testosterone right now than I do!"
I went down to the Altanta Olympics and cheered him on. Waited for him at the finish and jumped the barriers to chat with him wearing some homemade white shirts with Canadian flags spray-painted on them...I said, "Mr. Bauer great ride, great attempt at bridging, what do you think?" He looked at me and said, "thanks, have you seen my girl-friend?"
I was like Huh? How would I know where his Gfriend was. Then he just politely rode away and I realized he was probably freak'n tired and the last thing he wanted to do was chat to me after that long ride. Jokes on me. Good guy, and I continually hear what a solid person he was. I have yet to hear he doped and in his new DS role he overtly denounces dopers.
Sorry for the blethering but what is your insight into the days when you raced at high levels vs today and all the extra 'in-race' communication and information riders have now? Do you think it takes the spontaneity out of racing? Do you think its necessary?
Cheers
NW
In terms of Bauer, well... he was The Man of his era. A one-day hard man that could tough it out in the mountains, and someone nobody wanted to have with them coming to the line. Sort of a neo-Eddy. He even rocked out on the track. I've written before how my father thought Criquelion dove into a too-small hole in 88 to avoid losing to him (this event was not brought up in the 'crash for bail' thread).
Everyone I know who knows the riders of that era, and ones who have worked with Bauer, have all been emphatic on his cleanliness. Apart from that I don't have anything personal to add. I really do think he was clean, but that's certainly nothing concrete.
As to radios, which is what I think you were talking about, that's an interesting topic. After racing I spent 5 years as a Directeur Sportif, and that has coloured my opinion, I'm sure.
As a DS it brings the operatic drama of bike racing to you. And that is a huge thing. A lot of cyclists aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, and if your job is to make sure your guys are garnering media exposure, then the radio is a blessing. There is a lot of action going on in the team car - race radio, rider radio, cell phone to other DSs, cell phone to support (feed zone, etc.), start throwing in live TV feeds and it can be a bit of ****show.
I personally think that the rider radios were a positive addition to the sport (much to my parent's chagrin - they hate them). To me, bike racing is a grand operatic sporting event with all the drama of a classic opera. Old grudges, new riders, sudden up and comers, rider's favorite courses, hometown area, etc. etc.
That coupled with the undeniable fact that cycling is a team sport makes the radios a plus for me. It allows a team to maximize its collective potential, and as a cycling team that's what pays the bills and ultimately develops riders. No one can win a race on their own (except Ballerini at Paris-Roubaix, that still sticks in my throat). Mind you, this also places a lot more responsibility on the DS. Suddenly being able to come up with tactical changes on the fly, responding to disaster, having a fluid strategy, understanding what the hell's going on, and who is capable of doing what - to say nothing about being able drive well - overrode the previous requirements of filling out forms and getting to the race on time (that's been a little simplified for this rant...).
So yeah, radios good, Bauer good. That's enough of me...
)
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