I also had some dislike towards this team but nowadays I kind of enjoy that hate: an exciting new team that developed its core of star riders (Degenkolb, Kittel, Barguil, Dumoulin) instead of buying out riders like BMC, has a presence in every race of the calendar (even the least suited) and generally has a positive approach to racing...can't understand that hate. Just because they pull back some lame breaks to win a sprint? Yeah that kind of what you do when you have a great group of sprinters. Shame on the other teams that can't stop them...Libertine Seguros said:Giant-Alpecin: a horrible jersey for a horrible team.
trevim said:I also had some dislike towards this team but nowadays I kind of enjoy that hate: an exciting new team that developed its core of star riders (Degenkolb, Kittel, Barguil, Dumoulin) instead of buying out riders like BMC, has a presence in every race of the calendar (even the least suited) and generally has a positive approach to racing...can't understand that hate. Just because they pull back some lame breaks to win a sprint? Yeah that kind of what you do when you have a great group of sprinters. Shame on the other teams that can't stop them...![]()
Libertine Seguros said:And Marcel Kittel's haircut alone is enough reason to root for anybody to beat him. Other than Peter Sagan or Simon Gerrans, obviously.
Bye Bye Bicycle said:What's wrong with Marcel Kittel's haircut?
And of course Giant is a great team, one of the few out there with some kind of group spirit.
Libertine Seguros said:On their squad, I don't mind Barguil or Arndt and I kind of like Degenkolb, but apart from that, they fill me with either complete apathy or outright distaste.
Maaaaaaaarten said:So basically you just hate Kittel, not Giant?
I mean, if we include Tom Dumoulin, who tends to ride pretty aggressively in hilly stages - so I don't see why you would dislike him - you like all their main riders.
I think you just hate Kittel so much you're emanating hate, pouring it out freely over all of Giant-Alpecin.![]()
Maaaaaaaarten said:So basically you just hate Kittel, not Giant?
I mean, if we include Tom Dumoulin, who tends to ride pretty aggressively in hilly stages - so I don't see why you would dislike him - you like all their main riders.
I think you just hate Kittel so much you're emanating hate, pouring it out freely over all of Giant-Alpecin.![]()
Libertine Seguros said:Giant-Alpecin: a horrible jersey for a horrible team.
Libertine Seguros said:Teams that set up around a sprint the vast majority of the time - and as Kwibus notes, race organizers who allow this miserable model of racing to be successful and proliferate - strangle all that is enjoyable out of the sport. The best thing I can say about Giant is that they're not good enough at it to match the HTC model, but if they could do, they would just do that: hold the break at 2-3 minutes, never enough to even dare to dream, then pull them back at a time set perfectly to prevent any counterattacks, then launch the fastest sprinter. You may as well switch the TV on 30 seconds from the end of the stage, you'll see everything you need.
Bye Bye Bicycle said:So this single eight/nine-man team is able to control pelotons of 150-180 riders, right?![]()
trevim said:I didn't mean to cause such an argument but I can't understand the hate for a team that rides to the best of their skills to maximize the number of wins. I have a bigger dislike for the other teams which don't even try to derail them.
[I'm not the biggest fan of Kittel either though]
trevim said:I didn't mean to cause such an argument but I can't understand the hate for a team that rides to the best of their skills to maximize the number of wins. I have a bigger dislike for the other teams which don't even try to derail them.
[I'm not the biggest fan of Kittel either though]
I find F1 boring all the time...didn't get the point, sorryLibertine Seguros said:Michael Schumacher raced to the best of his skills to maximize his number of wins. I found F1 absolutely unwatchably dull during his years of domination.
trevim said:I find F1 boring all the time...didn't get the point, sorry![]()
Libertine Seguros said:Giant-Alpecin: a horrible jersey for a horrible team.
Armchair cyclist said:The lack of rationality in your argument is exposed by you declaring this before we even know what the jersey looks like.
Not quite sure what your contention is: that Kittel should not be allowed to be a cyclist, or that his team shouldn't try to put him in the best position to win?