Sunweb

[Parker]

Time for a big fat apology, isn't it?

Unless you know the actual details of this, then no it isn't.

 

[HelloDolly]

No comments on why SUNWEB terminated Hirschi's contract out of the blue

Word on the street is they was something suspect that they dont want to have in the team

I said this weeks ago that Hirschi was terminated by the team as seen as a risk and got ridiculed by Fmk-Roi and Parker

I heard from a relatable source

But some people are just idiots and some who think they are journalists are deluded

Guess Hirschi is safe at UAE (um) and under Cancellara

 

[Mr.38%]

Unless you know the actual details of this, then no it isn't.

You and your internet friend just learned the difference between reading up things on the web and having contact to actual people who know other people in the small world of bicycle racing.

And btw, you got something on your nose, there.

 

[samhocking]

To be fair to 38% the team has just said they cancelled Hirschi's contract due to a perceived risk the rider wasn't being transparent. It's gonna be something ridiculous and innocent like he took some ketones, went on a training camp, had a private massage or something, but Sunbwen are extremely tight on rules and regulations. What was it, the rider have 48 protocols to follow. Even how to do a podium ceremony is a rule etc.

 

[BlueRoads]

I'm not sure I understood that right. Did the team say that, or is it speculation? Because if they said that it's clear to me this is about doping, whether actually doping or something like ketones. The sponsors would not see a rider who took a longer massage and lied about it as a risk, even if the team might hate it, so "risk to the sponsor" and "not transparent" is pretty clear to me. But, like I said, I'm not sure whether this is just speculation and bs-talk.

 

[pastronef]

ketones are not doping.
SUnweb-DSM has a long lasting team view on everything. the team comes first, the "keep challenging" mantra they had from the start. no individual comes before the team. no primadonna, no extarnal coach, the racing program is decided by the team, you dont choose your races, every training session, every thing. there are 48 protocols. SUnweb-DSM arent goint to allow anyone to change that. so better be without a rider that put the team philosophy at risk, than keeping it and having to deal with that.

 

[HelloDolly]

This is more than simple violation of rules . Hirschi did not want to leave Sunweb and had spent 3 years following the rules up to last year . The team got rid of him

Last year there were issues as they were looking to offload while at the Tour even though he was wining

I guess if it were Ketones or non completion of training,etc then why has Cancellera included an non disclosure agreement

Would it not be better to come out and say what it is ...Many teams use ketones

 

[pastronef]

in an environment where almost EVERYBODY shouts or hints at DOPING when a rider wins or gets better or has a break out season, or looses time, or gets ill, or trains in a place, or trains in another place, or talks, or doesnt talk, why would DSM come out with that "risk for team and sponsor?"
if doping was really involved be sure we wouldnt have heard anything from them

 

[Mr.38%]

Working with certain coaches outside of the team?

A former Sunweb coach who is now with BORA told me, they are very strict (like they are strict with everything).

 

[Berflamand]

in an environment where almost EVERYBODY shouts or hints at DOPING when a rider wins or gets better or has a break out season, or looses time, or gets ill, or trains in a place, or trains in another place, or talks, or doesnt talk, why would DSM come out with that "risk for team and sponsor?"
if doping was really involved be sure we wouldnt have heard anything from them

But isn't this kind of the point? That we indeed haven't heard anything from any party involved?

Now journalists have contacted some sources who might have let something slip but there's still no official communication, not from DSM, not from Hirschi and his entourage.

 

[pastronef]

But isn't this kind of the point? That we indeed haven't heard anything from any party involved?

Now journalists have contacted some sources who might have let something slip but there's still no official communication, not from DSM, not from Hirschi and his entourage.

the "risk for team and sponsor" line wouldnt have come out from DSM if it involved doping. there would be silence. not someone from the team talking about the "risk for team and sponsor"

 

[Leinster]

Maybe it’s as simple as he doesn’t want to follow Covid protocols, and that’s the literal risk to the team and sponsors that DSM are referring to. And Canc knows that if it gets out that Hirschi’s a Covid-denier/anti-vaxer/Q that it might hurt his career even more than a doping positive, hence the NDA...

 

[Sciatic]

That’s possible, but it really doesn’t fit with “not being transparent.” If he ‘s refusing the vaccine there’s no need for transparency.

 

[Rackham]

It's pretty damned obvious "what" they meant when they leaked these insinuations. But the ambient hypocrisy in cycling & pro-sports is suffocating tbh.

i.e. Armstrong & all the others weren't outliers, they're the "business as usual" ones who got caught for xyz reasons (sometimes stupidity, accidents or even politics, like Lance). I'll simply state the fact Mark Hirschi is a very capable & talented bike rider who evolves in a profession which has certain "demands" & needs. And if someone, somewhere insinuates Team Sunweb are unaware (or were) of the methods in the peloton & all pro-sports... I can only shrug.

That's not how the real world works.

 

[pastronef]

it´s not damn obvious. because the backlash from anything doping related problem causing them to sever the contract will hit the team and sponsors too. and Sunweb-DSM are not dumb. if it was a Clinic matter they´d shut up, and not leak stuff to press and the web and give them a reason to guess around.

 

[spalco]

it´s not damn obvious. because the backlash from anything doping related problem causing them to sever the contract will hit the team and sponsors too. and Sunweb-DSM are not dumb. if it was a Clinic matter they´d shut up, and not leak stuff to press and the web and give them a reason to guess around.

But why phrase it like that?

I agree the most likely explanation is, that Hirschi's success from the point of view of Sunweb went over his head and he's maybe become a bit too individualistic and focused on himself instead of the team, but to send out a statement like this, I don't see how you can read it any other way but doping-related.

If that's not what it is, whoever said that about Hirschi must be either malicious or stupid.

 

[Rackham]

it´s not damn obvious. because the backlash from anything doping related problem causing them to sever the contract will hit the team and sponsors too. and Sunweb-DSM are not dumb. if it was a Clinic matter they´d shut up, and not leak stuff to press and the web and give them a reason to guess around.

But that's exactly what just happened... & nothing has hit the sponsor. The same way all the Sky doctor stuff hasn't impacted Ineos, Froome or whomever. Because there's no political will to go further. "Dope" is a Secret de Polichinelle, i.e. a fake secret. You guys act like it's some sort of big news, when in reality, it's only "big" when there's power behind the story willing to take matters further (as with Lance).

This recent stuff was merely leaked to hurt Hirschi's image among the plebeians" who daydream whilst watching TV, nothing else. Maybe he'll get a couple of additional impromptu "surprise" controls whilst cycling god knows where in training, but that's about it.

 

[spalco]

but why leak something that could make people hint at doping? if he doped he did WHILE he was racing and winning at SUNWEB, wearing their jersey.
would they want people to think about "Hirschi doping at Sunweb" just to make the door hit him on his way out?
it´s crazy

Maybe, but then the statement is stupid, since it does, evidently and objectively, make people speculate about doping.

 

[pastronef]

But that's exactly what just happened... & nothing has hit the sponsor. The same way all the Sky doctor stuff hasn't impacted Ineos, Froome or whomever. Because there's no political will to go further. "Dope" is a Secret de Polichinelle, i.e. a fake secret. You guys act like it's some sort of big news, when in reality, it's only "big" when there's power behind the story willing to take matters further (as with Lance).

This recent stuff was merely leaked to hurt Hirschi's image among the plebeians" who daydream whilst watching TV, nothing else. Maybe he'll get a couple of additional impromptu "surprise" controls whilst cycling god knows where in training, but that's about it.

but why leak something that could make people hint at doping? if he doped he did WHILE he was racing and winning at SUNWEB, wearing their jersey.
would they want people to think about "Hirschi doping at Sunweb" just to make the door hit him on his way out?
it´s crazy

God knows where? it´s in his ADAMS whereabouts system. and team training camps and riders training camps are known.

 

[Sciatic]

but why leak something that could make people hint at doping? if he doped he did WHILE he was racing and winning at SUNWEB, wearing their jersey.
would they want people to think about "Hirschi doping at Sunweb" just to make the door hit him on his way out?
it´s crazy

God knows where? it´s in his ADAMS whereabouts system. and team training camps and riders training camps are known.

Yes, but sometimes riders can get tricky about their whereabouts

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ya9RVtTjHB0

 

[pastronef]

Yes, but sometimes riders can get tricky about their whereabouts

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ya9RVtTjHB0

sure, after the season that lasted until October, he had planned to go to a far-away hidden training camp in December to prepare for Paris-Nice 3 months later, and Sunweb discoveded it and cancelled his contract.

 

[Tinnekeisabella]

Talking about whereabouts, Hirschi is very noticeable absent from racing with his new team...Strange story

 

[pastronef]

he´ll start his season in Catalunya, then Pays Basque, then Ardennes