Team Ineos (Formerly the Sky thread)

[the sceptic]

“the biggest error, in my opinion, is to assume
that there is a known limit of human capability,”
Kerrison adds. “

Possibly my favourite skybot quote ever.

 

[Electress]

A clear books' gap is opening up between Team Sky and the rest of the peloton. Following the signing of Roche their current library on the Death Star now includes books by Wiggins (In Pursuit of Glory, On Tour, My Time, and The Official Bradley Wiggins Opus); Roche (Inside the Peloton); Froome (The Climb); and Ellingworth (Project Rainbow); plus The Pain & the Glory, 21 Days to Glory, and The Team Sky Way. No other team can boast such a volume of volumes in English. Nor, I think, in any other language.

What this is proof of I don't know. You decide.

I think it demonstrates a clear desire to capitalise on the wave of interest before the Executive MAMILs who have got into cycling find another trend to jump onto - a few years ago it was hiking, then marathons, the surfing, then triathlons, now cycling. Question to ask is 'what's next and when?'

Friends of mine work at Sky - not the cycling team, but the business. Lot of pretty hilarious stories of the ridiculous amounts of money being spent on super expensive bikes by fat executives who can hardly make it to the end of the street on them.

Wow those limeys sure have been busy.

Yeah, but most of them are pretty crap. Someone bought me Wiggins' My Time and it was almost unreadable. As for the Chimp Paradox… perfectly pitched I'd say for the Executive MAMIL - kind of marginal gains for management success. Just a dressed up self help book. If you can wade through all the Moons and Tribes nonsense.

 

[Parker]

I think it demonstrates a clear desire to capitalise on the wave of interest before the Executive MAMILs who have got into cycling find another trend to jump onto - a few years ago it was hiking, then marathons, the surfing, then triathlons, now cycling. Question to ask is 'what's next and when?'

Yellow Jersey Press (which probably published half the cycling books) has been been thriving for over fifteen years now. They built up their business in a time when British cycling had very little profile. But there have always been British cycling fans and they tend to be intelligent and read books. A lot of books. You seem to think that books are elitist somehow. The preserve of the rich.

Friends of mine work at Sky - not the cycling team, but the business. Lot of pretty hilarious stories of the ridiculous amounts of money being spent on super expensive bikes by fat executives who can hardly make it to the end of the street on them.

So they're cycling. Good for them.Do you want to discourage that? Should it be restricted to people with the right genetics.
And they're rich. Why would you buy a crap bike if you're rich?

 

[fmk_RoI]

Someone bought me Wiggins' My Time and it was almost unreadable. As for the Chimp Paradox… perfectly pitched I'd say for the Executive MAMIL - kind of marginal gains for management success. Just a dressed up self help book. If you can wade through all the Moons and Tribes nonsense.

My Time was pretty bad, but then none of the Wiggins books have done anything for me. Haven't tried the Chimp Paradox. If I'd know there was mooning in it though...

 

[Electress]

Yellow Jersey Press (which probably published half the cycling books) has been been thriving for over fifteen years now. They built up their business in a time when British cycling had very little profile. But there have always been British cycling fans and they tend to be intelligent and read books. A lot of books. You seem to think that books are elitist somehow. The preserve of the rich.


So they're cycling. Good for them.Do you want to discourage that? Should it be restricted to people with the right genetics.
And they're rich. Why would you buy a crap bike if you're rich?

Seriously, you could not be more wrong if you tried.

Perhaps my tone wasn't helpful, but I was merely pointing out that in the UK at least, there has been a sudden flurry of books about cycling because cycling has become trendy, particularly amongst a certain set. Becoming trendy doesn't mean to say that there weren't fans before, nor that there won't be more fans afterwards. Hopefully some of those who follow the trend will stick with the sport. However, it does mean that - IMO - you can expect the peak demand and interest to change in the coming years after the trend has moved on to other things.

Given that burgeoning trend, writers and riders - and others - are moving to capitalise on the moment…IMO, that means books are being written too early, or are just poor, because they've been rushed out. Most autobiographies fall into this category for me. And call me elitist, but I do like quality writing, and stuff with content rather than stuff churned out and badly written, albeit that I understand why they want to make hay while the sun shines.

As for finding some of these Executive MAMILS amusing - yes, I do. But it's all gentle teasing, not some class war vitriol. (Believe me, I'm in no position to begin a class war). But I do have a number of friends who fall into and out of the next trendy thing with a great regularity, do none of them with any consistency - indeed, it's more about having the kit.

And there is a difference in buying a quality bike that is suitable for the standard you are. I'm sorry, but I think it is a bit silly to buy a £20,000 bike when you can scarcely reach the end of the street, no matter how rich you are. They'd be much better off buying a less expensive bike they could actually comfortably ride. (Or, in some cases, actually would ride, because they are scared of getting it stolen because it was an ex-Sky bike which they've bought which was once touched by a random Team Sky member's buttock. So really, it's not for cycling on at all, it's only for owning / admiring the bike) But of course it goes without saying that if that's how they want to spend their money, of course, it's up to them. It's their money, after all. But I do happen to think it is ridiculous. But don't worry, we're still all friends.

 

[Electress]

My Time was pretty bad, but then none of the Wiggins books have done anything for me. Haven't tried the Chimp Paradox. If I'd know there was mooning in it though...

These are chimps we're talking about. You know how much primates like to moon

Horses for courses, though - one mate of mine really took the whole 'chimp' thing to heart. I am now in his 'tribe'...

I could never get around the moment I was expected to give my 'inner chimp' a name…poor long suffering thing. Handy to have it around to blame it for every crap decision I've ever made though…(it's all its fault I contributed to this thread…)

 

[the sceptic]

sky thread buried on the 2nd page, what is going on around here.

time for some Brailsford words of wisdom.

Brailsford also said that he thought eventually a rider would be able to win all three, but without all the information available him, he couldn’t say if it would possible next year, whether for a Team Sky rider or not.

“Well, at some point in time, somebody’s going to win all three, I’d have thought. So why not us? You’ve got to think about new challenges and new ways of doing it. But then you’ve also got to look at the performance side of it.”

Read more at http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news...and-tour-challenge-139294#1RRgJXlVJ6xB1zKF.99

 

[heart_attack_man]

sky thread buried on the 2nd page, what is going on around here.

time for some Brailsford words of wisdom.

I came in here for the lolz. I wasn't disappointed. Good ol' team sky... Why not us, indeed...

 

[Dear Wiggo]

Did someone say 1 million monies?

 

[thehog]

sky thread buried on the 2nd page, what is going on around here.

time for some Brailsford words of wisdom.

Well Oleg will spot 250k each just for signing up. Imagine the gear Dawg could get for that!

(not to mention the Gucci for lady Dawg).

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

aaaaaaaaand we're back.

 

[sniper]

Well Oleg will spot 250k each just for signing up. Imagine the gear Dawg could get for that!

(not to mention the Gucci for lady Dawg).

that's one fine painting, hog.
who gets the credits?

 

[sniper]

aaaaaaaaand we're back.

how you been, martin?

 

[LaFlorecita]

that's one fine painting, hog.
who gets the credits?

http://www.sarahhallidayart.com/new-releases/5/

 

[sniper]

http://www.sarahhallidayart.com/new-releases/5/

cheers!
not bad.

 

[gooner]

My Time was pretty bad, but then none of the Wiggins books have done anything for me. Haven't tried the Chimp Paradox. If I'd know there was mooning in it though...

These are chimps we're talking about. You know how much primates like to moon

Horses for courses, though - one mate of mine really took the whole 'chimp' thing to heart. I am now in his 'tribe'...

I could never get around the moment I was expected to give my 'inner chimp' a name…poor long suffering thing. Handy to have it around to blame it for every crap decision I've ever made though…(it's all its fault I contributed to this thread…)

I thought this was funny while reading Roy Keane's book this week.

The sports psychology is useful, but in moderation. The lad who went to the World Cup with the England team, Dr. Steve Peters, has written a book called The Chimp Paradox, about the chimp in your head. The chimp is running the show. I tried to read it - I'm open minded - but my chimp wouldn't let me.

 

[the sceptic]

I thought this was funny while reading Roy Keane's book this week.

does that mean you no longer believe in marginal gains?

 

[Electress]

Good ole Roy Keane.

Didn't Cavendish have some rather understated comments (for him) about the chimp stuff at one point…something to the effect that he couldn't be doing with it. Can't find it offhand, but I was pleased to hear someone wasn't sold. Never felt Cav. was SKybot material, really.

That art…

Sky no longer feels like quite the Terreur it did. I would love to know why they've had such a year…and whether I can look forward to its being repeated.

As for Brailsford, every time he opens his mouth I feel the desire to mute the TV and find another sport. He's like the Dementer of Cycling, feeding upon any passion, sense of excitement, desire, creativity, joy…Has he ever done a none calculated move in his whole life, I wonder???

 

[JimmyFingers]

You seem familiar

 

[Electress]

You seem familiar

Perhaps I'm the voice of reason…?

 

[mrhender]

Paul Dimeo on Team SKY

Future: Clean Teams and Legal Nightmares?
Another factor in Armstrong’s demise was the anti-doping ethos developing in a number of professional teams. This not only served to promote the values of anti-doping within cycling but also suggested to the outside world that banned substances and techniques were not necessary to be successful in cycling. One such example is Team Sky whose road race squad was built on the back of sustained achievements in track cycling. Led by David Brailsford, a rule was established that any rider with any form of doping sanction would not be invited to join Team Sky. Such was Brailsford’s determination to keep up this image of a drug-free team that he refused to invite David Millar to join and Millar was allowed to join Team GB for the London 2012 Olympics (and captain the Scottish cycling team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games). Brailsford may be a pure anti-doper but the line between public and private financing is slightly blurred with Team Sky and Team GB. Government-managed National Lottery funds have supported British cycling for the Olympics and other international events. As such, any hint of doping would be highly controversial given the implied responsibility to the British public regarding the spending of Lottery funds. Another caveat to Team Sky’s anti-doping regime is that the riders have benefited from a highly rationalised, scientific approach in which they are micro-managed, advised by experts, placed in a highly competitive environment and supported by new research on technology, training and nutrition. In other words, they have many forms of legal performance enhancement. The achievements of Team Sky are quite remarkable. When Bradley Wiggins won the 2012 Tour de France, he became the first British cyclist to do so. Perhaps even more noteworthy, his early career was as a specialist short-distance track rider, quite different to the variety and distances involved in a Grand Tour. Assuming that he is not doping, the support provided by Team Sky is so extensive that he has made the change successfully from one discipline to another. During the same Tour, Wiggin’s teammate Chris Froome made public his resentments that Wiggins was team leader, and claimed that he could win the Tour if given the freedom to compete against Wiggins rather than play the supportive role. He went on to achieve this in 2013, perhaps showing stronger cycling than Wiggins had in 2012 due to the lack of support from other team members (Wiggins had withdrawn before that start of the race and Geraint Thomas cracked his pelvic bone in an accident during the race). Team Sky therefore has produced two of the best cyclists in the world without resorting to doping. We shall not know for certain if Team Sky are completely ‘clean’ (though there is no evidence to suggest they are cheating). History suggests that any period in which cycling authorities claim to be cracking down on doping is later found to be questionable in that respect. It is an illusion that enhanced anti-doping efforts necessarily lead to a reduction in doping. Such suspicion is not merely idle speculation. WADA and the UCI have agreed that samples can be retrospectively tested after eight years. This means that they do not believe that current athletes who do not test positive are clean

Apologise for the hard read.

no link, PDF only

 

[blackcat]

Apologise for the hard read.

no link, PDF only

the guy is a fricken idiot.

 

[mrhender]

the guy is a fricken idiot.

But nevertheless interesting to have the "scientist'" view on display here

 

[Dear Wiggo]

proceeds of gambling, and its inherent destruction of society cannot be sullied with doping allegations?

good grief.

 

[blackcat]

spam this drongo

http://rms.stir.ac.uk/converis-stirling/person/11222
https://twitter.com/pd4_paul