Galic Ho said:
Yes I do watch cycling.
Do take into consideration though that most people here hate insomnia. I live in Australia. I'm not ruining my sleeping patterns again for some minor race like Paris Nice without someone like Contador or Andy Schleck riding it. It's not worth it. We're 8 hours ahead of the racing times in Europe, so by the time they end, it's really late here.
I'll watch the Giro and Tour for the most part, but if I feel like doping is being shoved down my throat by unrepentant cheats, I won't watch. For the record that only happened during last years Tour. Still my favourite Tour I've seen was the 2007 one...and I know how doped that was. It just wasn't shoved down my throat by guys who appeared like a magician out of nowhere and started winning. I'd rather game or watch a movie or a downloaded tv show when that happens. Note it only really happened in 2012. It was the repetition.
Note I am more than happy to be corrected. Parrulo was right to correct my order of stage events time wise. That was wrong. But my context was still IMO adequate. BTW if I don't watch the races fully I often watch the clips I can find. I also read up on the results. But yeah, not living in Europe means I don't watch as much as I would if I lived there. I can't afford to with time zones. Being an insomniac blows.
Note this year, I want Sky to go full *** dope wise. I want it to be obvious and I've based this off of what Froome was saying just after the Olympics. He wanted to be top dog in 2013. That unbridled ambition coupled with a throw all caution to the wind dope wise approach is what I want to see...so they get exposed. Well correction. So his ridiculousness nets exposed. It's dangerous. Really dangerous because IMO it shifts the entire field and how they approach doping. It's like an arms race of doping. Cycling does not need another USPS decade of deceit.
Note I did clarify my stance. I don't think Porte should be kicked to the curb. But he has crossed a line in the minds of many here. This is just the start. He is potential GT GC material if he picks the right race which I think could be the Vuelta. Purito, AC and Valverde are all probably going for the Tour. So they'll counter Froome there. Add in Andy Schleck. Wiggins has the Giro against Nibali (Ferrari boy is my bet there) so Porte should get the Vuelta against weaker opposition.
Just take all that front group on Porte's win today. I have zero faith in Nicholas Roche. His cousin, I think is the talented one. Where is he? Talansky is really questionable as well. He was up there. Scarponi and Menchov will take anything to win. So Porte ain't alone. Just a bit dodgier today than the rest.
I'm not saying fry only Porte just that on this one occasion, this one time, he was a lot better than everyone else and it's still early days. He's gotta lot of room to grow with the season. If he comes out and massacres the chrono, then someone needs to tell him to hold back. You don't go whole hog this early on. That's just stupid. The wiser entertainer leaves the ignorant fans savoring some hope of competition. It's called anticipation. Anticipation beats the done and dusted method everytime. Why? Because you appear susceptible to defeat. Think LA in the 2003 Tour. Ullrich was equal to him. Made for much better viewing.
Anyone take a look to see where Astarloza finished? 10 minutes back. That's what happens when you go clean. You suck.
PS: Apologies for using NOTE too often. I edited this post about 3 times and didn't notice.
Since you apparently didn't see the race under discussion, here's a summary: Porte didn't do anything special. He rode with the front group, who were putting out respectable but not brilliant power. Talansky rode like an inexperienced race leader, attacking 3 times. Here's his own words:
“I was feeling incredible on the climb and I got carried away with it too much,” Talansky told VeloNews. “The first two attacks were all right. The third one was one too many. In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have gone. That was the difference."
Porte countered at 1.4 km to go and got a gap. Some negative racing ensued. The leaders looked at each other, waiting for someone to chase. Finally, Talansky, who had already popped, was forced to take up the chase. Too little. Too late.
Some measure of proportionality is in order. Porte made a smart move. He won mostly with his head, not his legs. This wasn't exactly a Lance performance.
If Menchov is doping with all the Rasmussen/Rabo stuff hitting the fan, he's an idiot. If Scarponi is doping after CONI and team suspensions, he's an idiot too. Certainly their performances weren't special.
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