Tadej Pogacar and Mauro Giannetti

[Extinction]

depends on points of view. I don't spend that much time thinking about doping while I watch a race. this weekend the European cycling season begins. last night we had Willunga at TDU, Gp Marseillaise is next Sunday. I've never felt like "procycling is dead". procycling will keep rolling on, one way or another. ok, with a bit of heavy fuel boost, it will go eon

I don't either, however, the game has changed so much since the 80s. Too much economic power in a few teams. And where the money comes from sours the broth. Well, it's a metaphor for society at large. Cycling's shelf life depends upon many things, only one of which is doping. It's the next generation out on the road that's the biggest problem, as urban populations grow and training rides consequently become ever more perilous. People will start to opt for gravel and then road cycling, as we know it, dies.

 

[Froome]

Cycling is dead. Now they're talking about Teddy doing 8 watts per chilo for 20 minutes on a team managed by Gianetti-Matxin, the overseers of Ricco and Cobo, with Arab sports washing money. It may as well be called WWA on two wheels. Pog still looks like an adolescent Richie Cunningham trying to get a date. It's absolutely ridiculous

Clown show.

 

[Lorzenz08]

Yes, but nowhere is it more visible than cycling.

Yes but that is because it is an extremely pure " physical" sport. In the sense that most other sports rely a lot more on the technical part.
Like in football for example, you can have the best legs, heart and lunges but if youre not good with the ball, it doesnt matter.

 

[Extinction]

Yes but that is because it is an extremely pure " physical" sport. In the sense that most other sports rely a lot more on the technical part.
Like in football for example, you can have the best legs, heart and lunges but if youre not good with the ball, it doesnt matter.

Right and that's why the benefits of being a good responder make such a difference. Still, you have to be a great technician, with excellent craft.

 

[Cookster15]

Yes but that is because it is an extremely pure " physical" sport. In the sense that most other sports rely a lot more on the technical part.
Like in football for example, you can have the best legs, heart and lunges but if youre not good with the ball, it doesnt matter.

Football (soccer) is more skills based but at the highest level an advantage in endurance is a big advantage. Most goals are scored in the last 10 minutes due to accumulated fatigue during a 90 minute match. This is why most of the blood bags discovered in Operación Puerto were not linked to cyclists. And football certainly has the budgets to fund doping for an edge late in matches.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

No worries, guys. There will be no 8 w/kg this year. Not even 6 w/kg. It seems Teddy did all the things during the off season except proper training. He will be like Hamilton riding paniagua after his arrival to Europe (constantly dropped by big-ass guys). I'm more concerned about him possibly not finishing within the time limit on punishing UAE climbs.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

No worries, guys. There will be no 8 w/kg this year. Not even 6 w/kg. It seems Teddy did all the things during the off season except proper training. He will be like Hamilton riding paniagua after his arrival to Europe (constantly dropped by big-ass guys). I'm more concerned about him possibly not finishing within the time limit on punishing UAE climbs.

Any rumours about him having travelled to Thailand or other places over the winter?

 

[pastronef]

Any rumours about him having travelled to Thailand or other places over the winter?

I've read this Thailand mention a few times on twitter without anyone explaining me, despite my questions

 

[Unchained]

Yes, but nowhere is it more visible than cycling.

Apparently not an NFL fan!! And too much of the other pro football!! Baseball still has dozens of positives per year.. and some at MLB level.. NBA doesn't have a problem because it's part of their players union has different methods for handling it. If you watch NFL and don't see ped use, yikes!!!
Cycling has more of the outward appearance of eating disorders..
UCI has entire cycling internet lit up..teams, famous riders saying unethical practices common and specifically carbon rebreathing regiment by current champion and the UCI is quiet.. UCI talking about rider error being a minor component of crashing, first race of the year in Australia looked more like rugby or wrestling with multiple riders crashing..
And how could Sam Welsford not get a yellow card? Just math..Welsford crashed in 60% of the races he has done this year..!!!
Don't understand UCI math..have @140+ racers and same guys are falling off? Have team with the World Champion and TDF winner and credible accusation about techniques that skirt the rules..but if you want cycling to die, you get mountain of bad press and say nothing about it.. No other pro sport or players union would sit silent while all this is going on.. UCI should have held a midnight emergency meeting with the number of crashes in first race of the year..

 

[Extinction]

Apparently not an NFL fan!! And too much of the other pro football!! Baseball still has dozens of positives per year.. and some at MLB level.. NBA doesn't have a problem because it's part of their players union has different methods for handling it. If you watch NFL and don't see ped use, yikes!!!
Cycling has more of the outward appearance of eating disorders..
UCI has entire cycling internet lit up..teams, famous riders saying unethical practices common and specifically carbon rebreathing regiment by current champion and the UCI is quiet.. UCI talking about rider error being a minor component of crashing, first race of the year in Australia looked more like rugby or wrestling with multiple riders crashing..
And how could Sam Welsford not get a yellow card? Just math..Welsford crashed in 60% of the races he has done this year..!!!
Don't understand UCI math..have @140+ racers and same guys are falling off? Have team with the World Champion and TDF winner and credible accusation about techniques that skirt the rules..but if you want cycling to die, you get mountain of bad press and say nothing about it.. No other pro sport or players union would sit silent while all this is going on.. UCI should have held a midnight emergency meeting with the number of crashes in first race of the year..

Of course doping is rife in US football, as in other sports, but it's swept under the carpet, whereas in cycling it's been plain to see for decades. The arduous endurance nature of the sport has made medical "enhancement" inscribed in it's very history, like Tom Simpson's chiseled monument on Mount Ventoux. At least in terms of press and publications, no sport has been the objective of doping accusations like cycling. While not balanced in terms of the apparent free-pass other sports get in this regard, it's not unjustified. It's more difficult to sweep things under the rug in cycling, when you have a medical history of blood transfusions and Dr. Strangelove's part of the sport's clinical chart. Plus cycling fans are often very cognizant of this, whereas football fans only watch the game, without concern for who takes what, either because of total indifference or willful obliviousness. This is the real opiate of the people.

The more crashes in races and the more riders get run down by motorists while training is indeed the greatest threat to cycling's survival.

 

[Coffeeplanter]

And finally, the three-time Tour winner now uses ‘mental techniques’ to prepare for races. “I don’t talk to myself in the mirror, but sometimes, when I can’t sleep or before a race, I imagine a race situation. I imagine what could happen. In cycling, so many things can happen that you have to be mentally prepared.

Don't worry guys, he's just using mental techniques.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Seeing a lot recently about low cadence training being back in vogue, some of the UAE riders on the bandwagon too. Can't wait to hear from the commentators this year about how this revolutionary new method that Jan Ullrich definitely wasn't doing in 1996 is pushing riders to new heights. Watch this space.

 

[YellowSocks]

Don't worry guys, he's just using mental techniques.

Good news for UAE! Mental techniques seemed mainly to be Visma's playground until now.
(I love that Richard Plugge has these certifications in hypnosis, neuro linguistic programming and... "Time Line Therapy". It makes so much sense.)

 

[AmRacer]

Don't worry guys, he's just using mental techniques.

Pogi gives the bunch Pidcock moments (WTF).

 

[Mayomaniac]

Seeing a lot recently about low cadence training being back in vogue, some of the UAE riders on the bandwagon too. Can't wait to hear from the commentators this year about how this revolutionary new method that Jan Ullrich definitely wasn't doing in 1996 is pushing riders to new heights. Watch this space.

Every few years they re-invent the wheel once again to give us a reason for their performance, nothing new.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Cycling is dead. Now they're talking about Teddy doing 8 watts per chilo for 20 minutes on a team managed by Gianetti-Matxin, the overseers of Ricco and Cobo, with Arab sports washing money. It may as well be called WWA on two wheels. Pog still looks like an adolescent Richie Cunningham trying to get a date. It's absolutely ridiculous

Ahahah, you killed me with this.

 

[Casual cyclist]

Apparently, there is now talk about Teddy riding Roubaix this year. Would be hilarious if he rode and won it. Recall that it is supposed to be a classic flat race favoring "big guys" etc. etc. Would be fun to see another standard cycling wisdom go down the drain. Teddy will ride it on 40mm tires looking totally at ease the whole way and we will hear some more about how amazingly efficient motorcycle size tires are in spite of their weight and the cross section area facing the wind. Of course, they are efficient... for someone riding a motorcycle.

 

[Ripper]

Apparently, there is now talk about Teddy riding Roubaix this year. Would be hilarious if he rode and won it. Recall that it is supposed to be a classic flat race favoring "big guys" etc. etc. Would be fun to see another standard cycling wisdom go down the drain. Teddy will ride it on 40mm tires looking totally at ease the whole way and we will hear some more about how amazingly efficient motorcycle size tires are in spite of their weight and the cross section area facing the wind. Of course, they are efficient... for someone riding a motorcycle.

Everyone would shi*t themselves with fear if he saddles up, so of course he would win

 

[Casual cyclist]

From today's Cyclingnews: "Pogacar's unreleased wheel and brand new aero hack". "Unreleased" secret wheel sounds especially telling, in the light of the recent discussion here on where Pog's marvel bike EM propulsion is mostly located. Also note how closely and tightly the frame hugs that "unreleased" wheel. But, on the other hand, the picture showing Pog on his new bike has him trying to keep a flat back -- as opposed to his favorite Lance-like "coal miner" upright comfy position. At least, they appear to be making an effort to make the show look more believable. They must be reading this forum.

 

[Unchained]

From today's Cyclingnews: "Pogacar's unreleased wheel and brand new aero hack". "Unreleased" secret wheel sounds especially telling, in the light of the recent discussion here on where Pog's marvel bike EM propulsion is mostly located. Also note how closely and tightly the frame hugs that "unreleased" wheel. But, on the other hand, the picture showing Pog on his new bike has him trying to keep a flat back -- as opposed to his favorite Lance-like "coal miner" upright comfy position. At least, they appear to be making an effort to make the show look more believable. They must be reading this forum.

Does Chimera own the wheel brand also?

 

[Casual cyclist]

Does Chimera own the wheel brand also?

As in: "Away with this nonsense. Everyone knows that UAE is an outfit of integrity that would never stoop to motor doping?" Got you. But on a more serious note: we all understand that you do not need to own a whole wheel brand to produce a one-off "special" wheel in some well-equipped multimillion lab, don't we?

 

[Unchained]

I don't have the faintest idea of the reference. Team UAE, Tour UAE, all races that are sponsored by UAE, development teams and riders sponsored through UAE funds, and brands like Colnago are owned by investment groups,

Chimera for example is majority owner of Colnago. Because almost all most recognizable bike brands are owned by 3 or 4 companies, my question about the wheels was not functional or bait for scandal, but just a question about if " special wheels " are somehow another subsidiary of one of the major players, in this case it's Chimera...or maybe Amer Sports..

But I will take action with anyone, anytime at any scale if you are pushing the fantasy that Pogacar is using a motor wheel doping technology that is either unelectable or as part of a broad based international bicycle racing conspiracy.
And the amounts of money are so small, all the effort hardly seems worth it.. Most of the bike racing business model is based on branding and selling product.
Remember post Armstrong there are casinos and online gambling involved.. And Pog is not a money maker!!! If you want your theory to play out you let some no name rider use the wheels, bet big and walk with a few million per race..Pog is even money at best!!
Have you seen Richard Mille watch prices!!!?

 

[Casual cyclist]

I don't have the faintest idea of the reference. Team UAE, Tour UAE, all races that are sponsored by UAE, development teams and riders sponsored through UAE funds, and brands like Colnago are owned by investment groups,

Chimera for example is majority owner of Colnago. Because almost all most recognizable bike brands are owned by 3 or 4 companies, my question about the wheels was not functional or bait for scandal, but just a question about if " special wheels " are somehow another subsidiary of one of the major players, in this case it's Chimera...or maybe Amer Sports..

But I will take action with anyone, anytime at any scale if you are pushing the fantasy that Pogacar is using a motor wheel doping technology that is either unelectable or as part of a broad based international bicycle racing conspiracy.

Your unabashedly apologetic stance has been duly noted.

And the amounts of money are so small, all the effort hardly seems worth it.. Most of the bike racing business model is based on branding and selling product.
Remember post Armstrong there are casinos and online gambling involved.. And Pog is not a money maker!!! If you want your theory to play out you let some no name rider use the wheels, bet big and walk with a few million per race..Pog is even money at best!!
Have you seen Richard Mille watch prices!!!?

Sadly, it is not all that straightforward, dear sir. The thing is that competitive pre-monopolistic capitalism bit the dust more than a century ago. Now, as you noted yourself, very few entities own almost everything. So it is not like every particular "project" has to be immediately profitable. Profits are calculated on a much larger scale than what immediately meets the eye and what media's incessant "narrative" leads any consumer of its disorienting content to believe. Same with our indefatigable smiling-while-doing-600W friend. The "system", of which the righteous outfit UAE is just a cog, seems to be selling a real life superman-like story to the unwashed masses. What for? It must be some element of the current propaganda thrust: to keep their spirits up, make them content with their lives and their future prospects (or lack thereof) in spite of rising prices, mounting insecurity etc. Hard to say for sure: plans of this sort are usually not readily shared with the general public.

 

[Unchained]

Your unabashedly apologetic stance has been duly noted.



Sadly, it is not all that straightforward, dear sir. The thing is that competitive pre-monopolistic capitalism bit the dust more than a century ago. Now, as you noted yourself, very few entities own almost everything. So it is not like every particular "project" has to be immediately profitable. Profits are calculated on a much larger scale than what immediately meets the eye and what media's incessant "narrative" leads any consumer of its disorienting content to believe. Same with our indefatigable smiling-while-doing-600W friend. The "system", of which the righteous outfit UAE is just a cog, seems to be selling a real life superman-like story to the unwashed masses. What for? It must be some element of the current propaganda thrust: to keep their spirits up, make them content with their lives and their future prospects (or lack thereof) in spite of rising prices, mounting insecurity etc. Hard to say for sure: plans of this sort are usually not readily shared with the general public.

I certainly won't dip a toe into a discussion about how bike racing is some reflection on capitalism.. Sounds like a therapist is logical Lilly pad,
I got nothing.
But as far as secret space wheels that are only available to Pogacar and allow him to win, bypass public curiosity, scrutiny and avoid everything.. UCI..races,countries..
Ok I just went out for beer with Bigfoot.
When you do prove special wheels.. Send me the first available.. I will pay.. Lots of your stuff is like Pogacar is upsetting the world order in porn or Marvel universe.. Guy is a mid 20s bike racer getting it done.. He doesn't think heis super human why should anyone..? I think his humility is secret sauce. First hand I have been told stories of generosity, sincerity and helping his teammates.. Just because. Until then he might be a cheater but he does it helping others and with care.
26 year old helping 20,21 year olds for no reason other than because.. Good enough for me.
My keyboard muscles won't taper with firsthand stories about the guy not being a c%%t.
I am a fan!!!
Highest paid rider..why help others..?
Guy's humility is genuine

 

[Extinction]

I certainly won't dip a toe into a discussion about how bike racing is some reflection on capitalism...

It's pretty clear, however, that the UAE funding is a sports-washing enterprise, coming as it does from a nation that has no interest in cycling. It's meant to provide a "clean" image to the royal house in markets that matter to the oil business. Capitalism has thus been put to the service of state propaganda and the sport, for which Pogi and Mauro won't be denied the cover they enjoy. Now the big question is what's being covered up?