IMHO nationality was less important an issue in the sky thing than was and continues to be asserted.
If a dutch, french or belgian team came on and literally said they reinvented the wheel in terms of prep, got jiffy bags and salbutamol puffers pinned on them, and won the tour several times with a never-was badzhilla survivor, there would have been irritation, vitriol and carnevalistic criticism too. I would have criticized them all the same.
Sky era was different also in the sense that professional physiologists were scrutinizing performances both online and in cycling media. W/kg was not a badge of honor. Also anti doping was still a thing and perhaps some critics thought sports organizations cared.
Now it's something else, although the performances are way worse, racing more boring & unbelievable.
Movement for incredible cycling used to be a joke courtesy of the mpcc. Now UAE and visma (until this year) embody it.
If a dutch, french or belgian team came on and literally said they reinvented the wheel in terms of prep, got jiffy bags and salbutamol puffers pinned on them, and won the tour several times with a never-was badzhilla survivor, there would have been irritation, vitriol and carnevalistic criticism too. I would have criticized them all the same.
Sky era was different also in the sense that professional physiologists were scrutinizing performances both online and in cycling media. W/kg was not a badge of honor. Also anti doping was still a thing and perhaps some critics thought sports organizations cared.
Now it's something else, although the performances are way worse, racing more boring & unbelievable.
Movement for incredible cycling used to be a joke courtesy of the mpcc. Now UAE and visma (until this year) embody it.