The New World Champion! Appreciation

[El Pistolero]

I really don't understand the motives of this little agenda of yours, but regardless of them, a little success...?

- Most successful nation at this year's WCs
- Just had 2 men on the podium of a GT
- Cooke and Pooley both have WC and Olympic medals of the past few years, plenty of them gold
- Have won at least 1 stage at the last 9 GTs, spread across 4 riders
- Have just completely controlled a WC road race from start to finish

GB are a major cycling nation and their riders have a chance of winning just about every major race going.

Controlling a flat stage is not a hard thing to do. Italians did it better in 2002.

There's only two races that matter on the WC: elite man road race and elite man time trial. This is not ****ing track and field where medals of a nation count as something prestigious for crying out load.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

There's only two races that matter on the WC: elite man road race and elite man time trial. This is not ****ing track and field where medals of a nation count as something prestigious for crying out load.

You do realise we finished top of your particular little table too, don't you?

 

[Mambo95]

Controlling a flat stage is not a hard thing to do. Italians did it better in 2002.

The Italians in 2002 had 12 riders though, not 8.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

I certainly don't feel its much different than the comments being made by aussies fans after Cadels tour win

They had every right to make them, too. It was a magnificent performance from somebody who had paid his dues over the years. The Belgians have every right to feel the same after Gilbert's exploits this year. And so do we after today. It's sad that some can't let us enjoy that.

 

[goggalor]

The Italians in 2002 had 12 riders though, not 8.

But add Germany and Norway (of all teams, what hell were they doing at the front?) and you get a decent amount of riders.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

But add Germany and Norway (of all teams, what hell were they doing at the front?) and you get a decent amount of riders.

Give over. We only saw Grabsch, and even then, not at all for the last third of the race. I think Arvesen put in 1 turn of about 3 minutes.

 

[hatcher]

It may not be as obvious with other nations as there are a lot of British posters on here. I think its just alot of pride and joy at what is a huge stepping stone for British cycling that is rubbing people up the wrong way along with a couple of ppl geniunely being smug. I certainly don't feel its much different than the comments being made by aussies fans after Cadels tour win

I agree entirely.

And to be fair the 20 pages in the race thread immediately following Cav's win were basically filled with people whinging about how undeserved it was (as are the next 40!). No wonder certain British fans went into smug/arrogant/**** taking mode.

 

[Descender]

Give over. We only saw Grabsch, and even then, not at all for the last third of the race. I think Arvesen put in 1 turn of about 3 minutes.

Grabsch, Klier, Knees, Arvesen, Day, Rach... GB did a great job and it is a deserving win for Cav. The problem is, this was not a deserving world championship.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Cav deserved to win on that parcours, because he was the best sprinter and it was set up for a sprint. And his team did the bulk of the work to guarantee the sprint, and this WC should be as much theirs as his.

However, that parcours did not deserve to host the World Championships, because the World Championships should be something special, it should have some sense of occasion to it. Apart from them wearing national team jerseys, that could have been any major tour flat stage in recent memory, and the only one-day races at any decent level I can name that even come close to being as un-selective are Vattenfall Cyclassics and the Scheldeprijs.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

Cav deserved to win on that parcours, because he was the best sprinter and it was set up for a sprint.

Set up for a sprint by his incredible team.

How do you think the race would have panned out if, like last year, GB only had 3 entrants?

 

[pmcg76]

The level of Australian moaning on here is unbelievable.

Much worse than when Cadel won the Tour. And at least in this race the best rider won.

Well if you were asking me who was the best rider over the entirety of the race, then the deserving winner would have been Wiggins or Millar or Thomas or any of the British team who busted their balls all day. Cavendish was the best in the last 200 metres.

 

[Anonymous]

As I said earlier, only thing worse than a bad winner is a bad loser.

In retrospect I am rather proud of the respect and congratulations I offered Cadel when he won, despite not liking him, despite thinking he was the biggest wheelsucker around, I like to think that I, and many others acted graciously in respect of his victory.

I think the large majority of brits have conducted themselves excellently today, no crowing, no showing off, no gloating, merely congratulations.

There are some very bad losers around this place who have shown themselves up somewhat today.

 

[El Pistolero]

You do realise we finished top of your particular little table too, don't you?

Like I said, medal table in cycling is something I've never heard of. It was a flat worlds so you were always going to win lol. Next year you guys will be nowhere at the Worlds again.

Do a medal table for a sport that has more than 2 real events lol. Not cycling =/

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I offered congratulations to Cadel, and I've offered them to Mark too.

I thought the 2011 Tour de France route was a pathetic sham and have said as much on many occasions. Doesn't stop me congratulating Cadel for being the best on the day. And the same goes for Cavendish. I have praised his team especially, who were brilliant today. But it doesn't stop me thinking the route was awful and unacceptable for a World Championship.

 

[Anonymous]

There's only two races that matter on the WC: elite man road race and elite man time trial. This is not ****ing track and field where medals of a nation count as something prestigious for crying out load.

So the womens race isnt worth anything? Sexism at its very worst.

 

[El Pistolero]

So the womens race isnt worth anything? Sexism at its very worst.

Nothing to do with sexism. It's just not a well developed branch of the sport. Women cycling is in its baby shoes.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

1 United States 12 8 5 25
2 Russia 9 4 6 19
3 Kenya 7 6 4 17
4 Jamaica 4 4 1 9
5 Germany 3 3 1 7
6 Great Britain 2 4 1 7

Keep dreaming. I wonder how many white Brits got your medals there

No, your medal table of the elite mens TT and RR being the only races that count. We were top of that medal table, not the athletics WC medal table.

I'll choose not to take offence at the racism of your last remark, but the mods certainly might.

 

[El Pistolero]

No, your medal table of the elite mens TT and RR being the only races that count. We were top of that medal table, not the athletics WC medal table.

I'll choose not to take offence at the racism of your last remark, but the mods certainly might.

Has nothing to do with racism. It's just that in a sport like track and field I find black athletes to be genetically superior in a lot of events. As you had a lot of colonies there are a lot of people in these ex-colonies that naturalize them self and become Brit. Where's the racism?

 

[hrotha]

Set up for a sprint by his incredible team.

How do you think the race would have panned out if, like last year, GB only had 3 entrants?

Germany and Australia would have stepped up. Same outcome.

 

[rides like a girl]

I really don't understand the motives of this little agenda of yours, but regardless of them, a little success...?

- Most successful nation at this year's WCs
- Just had 2 men on the podium of a GT
- Cooke and Pooley both have WC and Olympic medals of the past few years, plenty of them gold
- Have won at least 1 stage at the last 9 GTs, spread across 4 riders
- Have just completely controlled a WC road race from start to finish

GB are a major cycling nation and their riders have a chance of winning just about every major race going.

I hate when the US compares medal count in the Olympics, like it shows how great we are, it doesn't show that. I think perhaps you are going a bit too far with your statements in the joy of the win.

I bet you could make a list like that for most every nation by cherry picking the stats that work for you. I will pick Spain, not my country of birth, but a fan of their cycling. Here is a list off the top of my head for them:
-I think Spain's two first places in 2 of the 3 GT's this year trumps the second and third in the Vuelta
-Spain has a couple mens olympic gold medals in road racing and time trial, including the current road racing gold medalist.
-Spain has a rider tied with the most Rainbow jerseys
-Spain has more WC medals than GB ever!
-Spain has stage wins the last 9 GT

The bolded part of your statement is really what I can't understand...Where are the GB riders that are going to win the classics? I missed them in Paris-Robaix, G-W, Tour of Flanders, Amstel? I didn't see a GB rider making a run at winning the Giro or the Tour recently. Seemingly when close to winning a GT, a Spanish rider is better.

I don't think Cav winning is undeserved, he won. He will wear the jersey for the year. Might not see it next year in the front of as many races as we did this year with Thor. I base that on Cav's limitations when it isn't a sprint finish, his team switch and his racing calendar if he goes to the Olympics. There just aren't that many sprint stages in GT's vs one day classics and hilly stages of GT's if he has a new team and is racing the Olympics.

Before you call me a hater, I actually like Cav. I met him in Pau, the rest day of the Tour in 2010. Good sport with fans signing all the autographs and posing for photos when other riders didn't hang around. Congrats on the great plan and his ability to continue the plan when the lead out ran out of gas and he was left on his own.

The GB revolution is just that a revolution in GB cycling. I don't see today, this week or this year as a shift to a new world order in cycling.

I still think the Best Cyclist of the 2011 is Gilbert for his accomplishments over the racing year.

 

[ScottyMuser]

Germany and Australia would have stepped up. Same outcome.

possibly, although probably (like last year) different winner. There'd also be less control from both teams, IMO, as both nations did have a rider or 2 who would go in breaks - so not as "all eggs in one basket" aims as the GBR team

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Nothing to do with sexism. It's just not a well developed branch of the sport. Women cycling is in its baby shoes.

So it isn't sexism - just ignorance.

 

[El Pistolero]

So it isn't sexism - just ignorance.

How many female cyclists can make a living of their job? How many of them still have a job besides cycling?

I remember Marianne Vos saying on Vive le Vélo that she barely makes enough to focus on her cycling. If the best in the world barely makes enough to focus on her job then I don't want to know what the average female cyclist earns... Definitely not enough to live of it and thus they can't completely focus on their sport.

As such, I find it hard to call it a professional sport just yet. Only the top female cyclists can live of cycling.

 

[Anonymous]

[/B]The bolded part of your statement is really what I can't understand...Where are the GB riders that are going to win the classics? I missed them in Paris-Robaix, G-W, Tour of Flanders, Amstel? I didn't see a GB rider making a run at winning the Giro or the Tour recently. Seemingly when close to winning a GT, a Spanish rider is better.

Erm, Cavendish has already won a monument, Stannard came close in KBK (and will quite probably win a semi classic in the future), Geraint Thomas coming very close in Flanders and possibly would have won had he not been riding for Flecha (and will almost certainly win Flanders or Roubaix in the future), and would have made a real threat in Roubaix had he not crashed (and remember he podiumed on the Roubaix stage of the Tour)

and its very convenient to say they havent had a run at winning the Tour or the Giro when they have just put two riders on the podium in Spain (and one of those was riding the Tour in arguably better condition before he crashed).

You need to open you eyes..

You are letting your hate cloud your judgement

 

[King Of The Wolds]

[/B]

I hate when the US compares medal count in the Olympics, like it shows how great we are, it doesn't show that. I think perhaps you are going a bit too far with your statements in the joy of the win.

I bet you could make a list like that for most every nation by cherry picking the stats that work for you. I will pick Spain, not my country of birth, but a fan of their cycling. Here is a list off the top of my head for them:
-I think Spain's two first places in 2 of the 3 GT's this year trumps the second and third in the Vuelta
-Spain has a couple mens olympic gold medals in road racing and time trial, including the current road racing gold medalist.
-Spain has a rider tied with the most Rainbow jerseys
-Spain has more WC medals than GB ever!
-Spain has stage wins the last 9 GT

The bolded part of your statement is really what I can't understand...Where are the GB riders that are going to win the classics? I missed them in Paris-Robaix, G-W, Tour of Flanders, Amstel? I didn't see a GB rider making a run at winning the Giro or the Tour recently. Seemingly when close to winning a GT, a Spanish rider is better.

I don't think Cav winning is undeserved, he won. He will wear the jersey for the year. Might not see it next year in the front of as many races as we did this year with Thor. I base that on Cav's limitations when it isn't a sprint finish, his team switch and his racing calendar if he goes to the Olympics. There just aren't that many sprint stages in GT's vs one day classics and hilly stages of GT's if he has a new team and is racing the Olympics.

Before you call me a hater, I actually like Cav. I met him in Pau, the rest day of the Tour in 2010. Good sport with fans signing all the autographs and posing for photos when other riders didn't hang around. Congrats on the great plan and his ability to continue the plan when the lead out ran out of gas and he was left on his own.

The GB revolution is just that a revolution in GB cycling. I don't see today, this week or this year as a shift to a new world order in cycling.

I still think the Best Cyclist of the 2011 is Gilbert for his accomplishments over the racing year.

I didn't say we were better than Spain. Spain are the best cycling nation in the world. I said we've had more than a little success, in response to a post that said just that.

In reponse to another point, I'd say that Thomas should be considered a contender at the cobbled monuments (and Hammond is still around), Cavendish at GW and Wiggins is likely to be considered a threat at any GT. Maybe Froome will prove to be too. I take your point on the hilly classics.