Oh! I do love this article on RDV...

[xmoonx]

If the likes of Merckx, Gimondi or De Vlaeminck were generalists, it's because they were multi talents and stronger than the average riders. That's all.

Generalist? Mercx was a generalist De Vlaeminck was NOT! His palmares are almost exclusively classics and the sprinters jersey in GT's. A true classics harda$$.
I have a tremendous amount of admiration for RdV's accomplishments but he comes across like a tired old fart. When Mercx, Hinault or Kelly gets interviewed they are far more classier and in touch and maybe why this is the case "His only involvement in cycling was as a mentor for some rider from Zimbabwe but watched the Tour of Flanders at home, claiming he had not been invited by the organisers."

 

[Echoes]

He was.

J'ai aussi affronté De Vlaeminck. Lui ne se trompait jamais. De tous les coureurs que j'ai connu, c'est celui qui courait le mieux. En grande condition, il était d'une lucidité parfaite. Il savait toujours où mettre ses roues. [...] Et je ne parle pas que des classiques. Dans les courses par étapes aussi, il était très fort! Et, malheureusement pour moi, il disputait plus souvent le Giro que Bernard [Hinault]

I've also competed against De Vlaeminck. He never made mistakes. Of all the riders I've known, he was the one who rode the best. In top condition, he was perfectly lucid. He always knew where to put his wheels. [...] And I'm not only talking about classics. In stage races, he was very strong as well! And unfortunately for me, he raced the Giro more often than Bernard.

Francesco Moser in Vélo Magazine #414


Hinault classy in interviews? Lol

Merckx? He's kept defending dopers.

Kelly? He never addressed the issue of doping (bout of acute PDMitis?).

Roger is a class act.

 

[fatsprintking]

RDV could only compete against the people of his time in the cycling of his time. In this context he sits at the very top of the sport. He competed against the best rider of all time and yet his own palmares stacks up against anyone. What would it have looked like without EM? He is no product of marketing and PR and appears to genuinely not give a **** about what others think of him – I would rather honesty than attempts to foster an image any day.

Whether his era was better or not is a moot point. The 70’s was a great time for cycling and RDV was one of the greats of this time. The fact that the names of the people he competed against still have such resonance today is a testament to how well cycling has managed to merge its past into its present. Its why we can have this debate.

 

[ChopperArris]

Fausto Coppi is the only man ive ever considered handsome.

I'm new 'ere - any other fetishes you want to advertise, apart from the obvious hooter-lurve?

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Yeah and RDV had to compete against those stars in almost every race he rode. The fact is that the talent pool in modern cycling is diluted due to specialization - the point I think the great man was trying to make.

Exactly. Nail. Hammer. Head.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

The breadth of the sport these days is far greater. In the 70's you basically could make a living on the road, and maybe as a 6 day racer. These days you have riders making a good living focused only on Cross, Mtn Bike, Endurance racing, Track, even Gran Fondo's. Instead of being focused on 3 countries there are opportunities to race world wide

I used to think that specialization was a bad thing for the sport but now I realize that it is a symptom of the health of the sport.

Wait, I think we're talking about specialization WITHIN a single sport, e.g., road racing. I don't think it's particularly helpful for the sport when some riders are absolutely focused on one or two single events. Then again, there are sufficient races to permit such specialization.

 

[hfer07]

&#8220]
The damn truth

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

A little late to respond, but the article is very RDV, nice to see the man hasn't changed a bit. For many years now there's always an RDV article published right before Roubaix of him voicing his opinion. I think his criticism of Pozzato and the like is pretty obvious, agree with it to a certain point, it is a different era though and I accept that, he clearly doesn't. His disdain for Boonen came from his raver disco coke fiend episode a couple years ago, believe Boonen's move to Monoco to escape his fans in Belgium and live an anonymous life didn't sit well with RDV either.

Of all the former pros from that era his fitness level for being in his 60's now is phenomenal, the best from his class. To this day known to go out on regular training rides with the local clubs and have a dig.

 

[Echoes]

Roger's fitness at age 61: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrCXanMpD84