Team Ineos (Formerly the Sky thread)

[The Hitch]

Re: Re:

Poels could have rode up that climb on one wheel and he'd still have pulled back Aru, Valverde et. al. It's becoming more and more a joke.

Still the favorites are very equal in strength. Until now the most impressive Sky/Froome has been humilitating the other teams (downhill attack/Sagan attack) and taking 40s on Mollema in the ITT.

Don't get me wrong, I despise Sky (except Nieve), but until now this not out of this world.

What does it matter if you claim to despise Sky or not? Do you know how many times over the years people would come to the clinic and say things like "I hate Armstrong but I don't think he's doping, he just trains harder and wants it more than the others"

 

[The Hitch]

Re:

Climbing speeds don't seem that outrageous to me. Probably said everyone's on the limit. Mostly because all the guys that could actually do better, either **** up preparation, rode the Giro, or crashed. Still it makes Contador frying the train on the Col du Noyer in the Dauphine look all the more impressive

this kind of argument always forgets (or deliberately ignores) the fact that in the extremely dodgy years (silly term considering it assumes those aren't over) the guys who were coming 30th were doping. In other words, even to acheive a speed of 1 or 2 minutes slower everyone had to dope. But now they all ride it (and faster) clean?

 

[ferryman]

The arrogance and condescension in both froome's and brailsford's comments yesterday made Armstrong almost sound believable and a nice guy. How any cycling fan can support these clowns amuses and bemuses me# but Most of all they just give me the dry boak.

 

[hrotha]

I have to be very sceptical of any claims about the Sky pace being too high. There's a small peloton keeping up with such pace, after all. Of course Poels is going to hang on to such a group, even at Vacansoleil.

 

[thehog]

Re:

I have to be very sceptical of any claims about the Sky pace being too high. There's a small peloton keeping up with such pace, after all. Of course Poels is going to hang on to such a group, even at Vacansoleil.

Keeping up or hanging on? As soon as there is a MTF & Froome attacks, all will be out the back quicker than you can say ''marginal gains'.

 

[el chava]

Re: Re:

Poels could have rode up that climb on one wheel and he'd still have pulled back Aru, Valverde et. al. It's becoming more and more a joke.

Still the favorites are very equal in strength. Until now the most impressive Sky/Froome has been humilitating the other teams (downhill attack/Sagan attack) and taking 40s on Mollema in the ITT.

Don't get me wrong, I despise Sky (except Nieve), but until now this not out of this world.

What does it matter if you claim to despise Sky or not? Do you know how many times over the years people would come to the clinic and say things like "I hate Armstrong but I don't think he's doping, he just trains harder and wants it more than the others"

I'm not saying they aren't doping, it's pro sports after all. Just that until now we haven't seen a proper mano-a-mano fight. In fact, excluding the ITT, the favorites are VERY close to eachother. I mean a guy like Yates is still
within 3 min with almost no support in the mountains. But yeah, this will probably all change in the alps.

I am not saying the others aren't wanting the victory, but sometimes it really doesn't look like it. Instead they fight for team GC, bring liability riders (Nibali,Valverde), have several leaders, fighting for green, stage victories or just sleeping (Quintana) and so on.

 

[Blakeslee]

It was depressing watching what the Sky team did today. I really thought cycling had turned a corner with the upholding of the Contador suspension and all of the riders who finally came forward during the Armstrong investigation. What Brailsford and Sky has been doing spits in the face of this notion.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Re:

I'm convinced Team Sky is doping, but how to prove it? The UCI isn't doing anything, the media and the "fans" are just as uncritical as in the US Postal era. Nothing has changed. A good start would be to force Team Sky to publish Henao's blood profile, and to investigate Froome's missed doping test of last year, when the hotel owner was blamed. This should be the job of UKAD (UK Anti-Doping), but you don't hear anything from them.

 

[LeSensei]

I guess you have to give them credit until things start looking bad. What doesn't make sense to me is Contador getting busted, and Team Sky and Froome, who have sometimes delivered similar or even stronger performances than Contador not getting caught. Something smells fishy here.
UCI is a mafia, and of course SKY is money. No doubt about that.

 

[QuickZulu]

FFS these guys are taking the piss in this race. If Astana's Giro 2015 train were filthy cheats, then Sky have raised the cheating bar significantly in this tour. Postal days again.

 

[The Hitch]

Re: Re:

I'm convinced Team Sky is doping, but how to prove it? The UCI isn't doing anything, the media and the "fans" are just as uncritical as in the US Postal era. .

Nah. The fans are generally critical. That's why the media has been trying to paint the fans as yobs for the last few years and using racist rhetoric against the French, exactly like Armstrong used to.

Why do you think Brailsford keeps inventing new stories every year instead of sticking with the old ones and why they keep trying these publicity stunts like releasing magically found never before seen data.

Its because they are frustrated with the continued absence of belief from the cycling world outside those with a financial interest in promoting sky as clean. But Brailsford only knows how to use a hammer - cheap pr, and he keeps reverting back to that.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Re: Re:

I'm convinced Team Sky is doping, but how to prove it? The UCI isn't doing anything, the media and the "fans" are just as uncritical as in the US Postal era. .

Nah. The fans are generally critical. That's why the media has been trying to paint the fans as yobs for the last few years and using racist rhetoric against the French, exactly like Armstrong used to.

Why do you think Brailsford keeps inventing new stories every year instead of sticking with the old ones and why they keep trying these publicity stunts like releasing magically found never before seen data.

Its because they are frustrated with the continued absence of belief from the cycling world outside those with a financial interest in promoting sky as clean. But Brailsford only knows how to use a hammer - cheap pr, and he keeps reverting back to that.

Okay, I didn't mean cycling fans in general, but the people who are blindly supporting Team Sky. Many people who have been following cycling for years are much more critical indeed.

 

[meat puppet]

Moreover, LBL is basically the who's who of blood doping if we look at winners/podium. So not a very good defence, IMHO.

Sky bugs me more than usps did because they will probably pull this off. Better pr, less abrasive frontman and most importantly they saw lance go down and quite likely did their homework.

 

[Cannibal72]

Re:

Moreover, LBL is basically the who's who of blood doping if we look at winners/podium. So not a very good defence, IMHO.

Sky bugs me more than usps did because they will probably pull this off. Better pr, less abrasive frontman and most importantly they saw lance go down and quite likely did their homework.

All the Ardennes classics really: http://www.irishpeloton.com/2010/04/drugs-week-in-the-ardennes/


To the bolded: basically Indurain and Banesto then, and look at how they pulled it off.

 

[Gung Ho Gun]

Re: Re:

Moreover, LBL is basically the who's who of blood doping if we look at winners/podium. So not a very good defence, IMHO.

All the Ardennes classics really: http://www.irishpeloton.com/2010/04/drugs-week-in-the-ardennes/

"If the results of all the dopers were to be wiped from the record books, needless to say the history of the Ardennes classics would have a very different look. Andy Schleck would be adding Fléche Wallonne to his victory in Liége-Bastogne-Liége last year. Frank Schleck and Samuel Sanchez would both have won Liége-Bastogne-Liége twice, while Jens Voigt would have won his first monument classic in 2005. Paolo Bettini would have won Amstel Gold twice in 2004 and 2007, a race he never actually won and alarmingly, Lance Armstrong would have won Amstel Gold in 2003 despite finishing only 8th on the day."

"But all this what-ifness is a pointless game. Time is better spent looking to the future and to riders who win whilst racing clean. As Lionel Birnie also said this week:

'It’d be great if Valverde won none [of the Ardennes classics] and the races were won by riders the sport can be proud to hail as champions.'

Well, I think Mr. Birnie got his wish last Sunday as Phillipe Gilbert was first up the final ascent of the Cauberg to claim his first Ardennes classic."


Awesome.

 

[BYOP88]

So G and the Altitude native had a "rest day" yesterday, so I'm guessing Poels and Landa will be due one in one of the upcoming stages?

 

[Robert5091]

If Sagan joined Sky, the TV rights for the tour would have to be sold as a "pictural journey through the French landscape" or "The current state of French Agriculture"

 

[Catwhoorg]

Re:

So G and the Altitude native had a "rest day" yesterday, so I'm guessing Poels and Landa will be due one in one of the upcoming stages?

G had a mechanical, which led to a long delay to get help, then as he couldn't get back, took it easier.

 

[Cannibal72]

Re: Re:

Moreover, LBL is basically the who's who of blood doping if we look at winners/podium. So not a very good defence, IMHO.

All the Ardennes classics really: http://www.irishpeloton.com/2010/04/drugs-week-in-the-ardennes/

"If the results of all the dopers were to be wiped from the record books, needless to say the history of the Ardennes classics would have a very different look. Andy Schleck would be adding Fléche Wallonne to his victory in Liége-Bastogne-Liége last year. Frank Schleck and Samuel Sanchez would both have won Liége-Bastogne-Liége twice, while Jens Voigt would have won his first monument classic in 2005. Paolo Bettini would have won Amstel Gold twice in 2004 and 2007, a race he never actually won and alarmingly, Lance Armstrong would have won Amstel Gold in 2003 despite finishing only 8th on the day."

"But all this what-ifness is a pointless game. Time is better spent looking to the future and to riders who win whilst racing clean. As Lionel Birnie also said this week:

'It’d be great if Valverde won none [of the Ardennes classics] and the races were won by riders the sport can be proud to hail as champions.'

Well, I think Mr. Birnie got his wish last Sunday as Phillipe Gilbert was first up the final ascent of the Cauberg to claim his first Ardennes classic."


Awesome.

I enjoyed that bit too. Damn those dirty cheats stealing wins from the squeaky-clean Schleck brothers!

 

[Beech Mtn]

NBCSN's US Tour broadcast just reported that Brailsford claims Sky have supposedly purchased a whole truck full of washers and dryers so that each rider has his own machine, so his laundry isn't washed in the same machine with anyone else's clothes, so as not to pass germs from one to another. Sweet Jesus.

 

[kwikki]

Maybe he's playing people at their own game

 

[thehog]

Re:

NBCSN's US Tour broadcast just reported that Brailsford claims Sky have supposedly purchased a whole truck full of washers and dryers so that each rider has his own machine, so his laundry isn't washed in the same machine with anyone else's clothes, so as not to pass germs from one to another. Sweet Jesus.

That's 9 washer dryers! What about the environment? :lol:

 

[SeriousSam]

All the power will come from the Dawg's post stage warm down to reduce the environmental impact

 

[Benotti69]

Re:

NBCSN's US Tour broadcast just reported that Brailsford claims Sky have supposedly purchased a whole truck full of washers and dryers so that each rider has his own machine, so his laundry isn't washed in the same machine with anyone else's clothes, so as not to pass germs from one to another. Sweet Jesus.

Rings a bell.

"Might as well win". :lol:

All this then they ride down the road in the pissing rain swallowing all the dirt of the road. What is the point?

Lies to feed the myth. The fans love it. Expect washing machine sales to increase as guys want their raphas washed in separate machines from the rest of the house.

 

[Saint Unix]

Re:

All the power will come from the Dawg's post stage warm down to reduce the environmental impact

The drum is connected directly to his crank. He just does one of his seated attack to run the centrifuge.