T-Nielsen said:I could have sworn that Candybutt,,... erh I mean Fuglsang said that same thing months ago.
Dedelou said:you kidding, right? That was the team with the most wins at the time. conflicts mostly in the press room.
TourOfSardinia said:Little Chris Horner
Sat in the corner,
Eating American pie;
He climbed up a hill,
Without taking a pill,
And said 'What a Wonderboy am I!
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Dedelou said:you kidding, right? That was the team with the most wins at the time. conflicts mostly in the press room.
Red Lobster said:I'm with pugdog on this ... LVC in the '86 Tour was bad, essentially two separate teams, the Hinault faction vs. the LeMond faction. Sure they were a winning team - tough NOT to win with that line up, featuring two of the best riders of all time - and sure it didn't have the circus atmosphere of today's RSNT, but it was infighting worthy of a Jerry Springer episode.
BillytheKid said:I imagine there's more drama in most teams than we think. RSNT is a Bruyneel/Armstrong descendant and just is limelighted by frothing at the mouth fanatics who keep the focus there and only there. OK Andy Schleck is injured in a crash, Cancellara was injured in a crash. Klöden has a knee problem. American riders couldn't not make the Tour Team until Johan was reminded his title sporsor is U.S. All the other "recent" news is hardly a surprise.
This team is simply under the magnifying glass more than others here.
The punching bag. But sport is all about drama. I prefer it on the road in a race.
I watched the TdF 2003 stage to Luz A last night. Amazing the number of fans lining the final climb compared to what we see today. Great racing despite it all.
DominicDecoco said:Exactly. Coming into June/July in great form with a overall victory i Luxembourg and great showing in Suisse for Frank - it's a disgrace. Jakob is twice the rider than Horner is and he is twice the person off the bike as well.
I've said it before; Jakob should have had his tongue deep up in Lance's something. It worked for Horner.
Christian said:The more I think about it the more Fuglsangs exclusion seems insulting since he did both preparation races of which he won one and showed promising form in the other, while Horner did none
There is no logical reason to replace him by Horner, it's all but obvious that this was the sponsor's call ...![]()
DominicDecoco said:Exactly. Coming into June/July in great form with a overall victory i Luxembourg and great showing in Suisse for Frank where he dropped several riders, including Rui Costa, before Frank attacked. looked really comfortable overall. It's a disgrace. Jakob is twice the rider than Horner is and he is twice the person off the bike as well.
I've said it before; Jakob should have had his tongue deep up in Lance's something before the team selection. It worked for Horner.
Unlike Horner who has been absolutely brillaint, right?.. 11th in Vuelta is just a good as Horners 9th in the Tour.qwerty16 said:Fuglsang has disappointed in all Grand Tours he has ridden so far.
Fuglsang had no intention of a top result in the GC this year. He was there for Frank. Watch stage 8 again. Did exellent and then took a day off on the next stage.qwerty16 said:And he dind't have a great showing in Switzerland, where he recorded a 4th & a 3rd in 2010 & 2011, both times with F. Schleck
True. He did great in Tirreno. Back in, what was it?.. March? And a top-10 in a race like California is hardly noticeably, is it. And he was even the team leader in that race.qwerty16 said:I'm sure Luxembourg is the only notable performance of Fuglsang this season, while Horner has a 2nd in Tirreno plus top-10 in Pais Vasco and California.
They are. They are better GC riders than Jakob. But they didn't steal his position in the last hour. Horner did. Horner is the one I'm comparing him with.qwerty16 said:No need really to take Fuglsang with Andy absent, with Klöden, Fränk, Zubeldia already there who are better GC-riders. And Monfort, who outperformed Fuglsang in last years Vuelta, almost always shows he is a better domestique than Fuglsang.
Jakob is leaving this team just as everyone else is. And 'a level above in GC-riding'? Are we still basing this in his epic top-10 in the race that is California?...qwerty16 said:With Fuglsang probably leaving the team next year you might as well take Horner, who is simply just a level above Fuglsang in GC-riding anyway.
qwerty16 said:Fuglsang has disappointed in all Grand Tours he has ridden so far. And he dind't have a great showing in Switzerland, where he recorded a 4th & a 3rd in 2010 & 2011, both times with F. Schleck there and both times followed by very disappointing showing in the Tour de France by the way. Luxembourg is the only notable performance of Fuglsang this season, while Horner has a 2nd in Tirreno plus top-10 in Pais Vasco and California.
No need really to take Fuglsang with Andy absent, with Klöden, Fränk, Zubeldia already there who are better GC-riders. And Monfort, who outperformed Fuglsang in last years Vuelta, almost always shows he is a better domestique than Fuglsang. With Fuglsang probably leaving the team next year you might as well take Horner, who is simply just a level above Fuglsang in GC-riding anyway.
qwerty16 said:Fuglsang has disappointed in all Grand Tours he has ridden so far.
Christian said:Yes I agree with all of this but it still seems ridiculous to replace him with Horner out of all people. If they had left Fuglsang off for Irizar, Roulston or Gerdemann it would have been legit, but the thing that bugs me is that Horner did none of the preparation races ...
That being said I agree that Horner's domestique potential might still be higher than Fuglsang's. It's just not fair, that's allBut life ain't fair innit?
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BillytheKid said:I imagine there's more drama in most teams than we think. RSNT is a Bruyneel/Armstrong descendant and just is limelighted by frothing at the mouth fanatics who keep the focus there and only there. OK Andy Schleck is injured in a crash, Cancellara was injured in a crash. Klöden has a knee problem. American riders couldn't not make the Tour Team until Johan was reminded his title sporsor is U.S. All the other "recent" news is hardly a surprise.
This team is simply under the magnifying glass more than others here.
The punching bag. But sport is all about drama. I prefer it on the road in a race.
I watched the TdF 2003 stage to Luz A last night. Amazing the number of fans lining the final climb compared to what we see today. Great racing despite it all.
BillytheKid said:I imagine there's more drama in most teams than we think. RSNT is a Bruyneel/Armstrong descendant and just is limelighted by frothing at the mouth fanatics who keep the focus there and only there. OK Andy Schleck is injured in a crash, Cancellara was injured in a crash. Klöden has a knee problem. American riders couldn't not make the Tour Team until Johan was reminded his title sporsor is U.S. All the other "recent" news is hardly a surprise.
This team is simply under the magnifying glass more than others here.
The punching bag. But sport is all about drama. I prefer it on the road in a race.
I watched the TdF 2003 stage to Luz A last night. Amazing the number of fans lining the final climb compared to what we see today. Great racing despite it all.
Cimber said:He did quite well in the Vuelta last year, expecially considering he hadnt prepared for it, and did it following the Tour. Finished 11 overall and had a day in the leaders jersey. Was in top 10 till the last hard stage (iirc) where the fatigue from the Tour started to kick in.
I think he could have done quite well in this years Giro too (which was his big goal), but in the Tour he has indeed not been great.
He wants to move to another team, to get a spot in the TDF, and to be a captain. I'm not sure if he wants to be the captain in the TDF itself, maybe our Danish friends can help us out with that?Logic-is-your-friend said:Well, it's all in the eye of the beholder though. And maybe the fact that finished 11th said more about that Vuelta than about him. Look at what guys were in front of him and what preparation they got (coming back from injuries etc). Monfort, his teammate, also rode the TDF and as a domestique, yet easily placed himself before Fuglsang in both Tour and Vuelta of 2011. If i remember correctly, Fuglsang was supposed to be team leader for Vuelta and had a free role for the Tour, or maybe this is just the impression i got. So i don't see how he should "demand" a spot for the TDF, let alone as a captain (which he stated).