"The Secret Pro" on Katusha and doping

[JRanton]

I have realized that following clinic logic this is an impossible conversation.

Consider the following options:

A poster knows who the mystery pro is, they can then either:
a) Tell everyone who it is, and blow the riders anonymity or
b) Not tell and be told by everyone else that they don't actually know who it is and that they are making it up.
Or A poster doesn't know who the mystery pro is, they can then either
a) Tell everyone they do know who it is, but isn't prepared to say, which takes you back to option b
b) Or say they don't know who the mystery pro is in which case the clinic will decide that they do in fact know but aren't prepared to say.
c) Or they can guess

If I didn't know who the mystery pro was, I would guess, that judging by the grammar, that the original article wasn't written in English and the "ghost writer" translated it into English.



You think Fester would let one of his riders write a blog?

Why would Brailsford need to know about it? I thought it was just you, the ghost-writer and the rider involved?

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

Why do you think it is Adam?

Susan

ETA: There are about 30 Australians in the WorldTour (always assuming it is an Australian rider).

Like the Radio it was a guess, gutfeeling.

Which Grand Tour, Classic or World Championship has Hansen finished highly placed in?

Please fill me in, I did not read that in this article:
http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2012/12/the-secret-pro-the-off-season/

Nevertheless, let's follow the secret one, may be a hoax of course.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

One argument against it being Adam Hansen is that the "secret pro" says he didn't touch his bike in the month of October. Adam rode the Tour of Beijing, which was held that month.

 

[Netserk]

Like the Radio it was a guess, gutfeeling.
Please fill me in, I did not read that in this article:
http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2012/12/the-secret-pro-the-off-season/

Nevertheless, let's follow the secret one, may be a hoax of course.

http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2012/12/the-secret-pro/

His identity is known to only three people: the Pro, the ghost writer, and myself. The writer and myself carry cyanide tablets in case there is a leak, and the pro will ride off into the sunset and will never be heard from again.

What we will hear about is the inside scoop of what the pros are talking about. The things that matter to them, but cannot say publicly. The things that they cannot tell journalists for fear of repercussion. This is where you’ll hear these ramblings.

I can tell you a few things, but I won’t divulge any more. He is a Pro within the ranks of the top teams in world cycling. He has raced multiple Grand Tours, Classics and World Championships, and finished highly in some. We can also tell you that he will be frank and up-front with his opinions and views. He will tell it like it is, without fear or favour, because nobody will know who he is…

The first post will be next week and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you.

 

[Frosty]

Must be doing a decent job at keeping a secret if we cant agree on someone (although not a huge amount has been said yet). Having said all that the first name which came into my head hasnt been mentioned by anyone here yet, despite him still fitting all the criteria.

Difficult to guess though isnt it; rooming with a well known rider could mean someone who roomed for ages with a rider or it could have just been at one race.

 

[JRanton]

Must be doing a decent job at keeping a secret if we cant agree on someone (although not a huge amount has been said yet). Having said all that the first name which came into my head hasnt been mentioned by anyone here yet, despite him still fitting all the criteria.

Difficult to guess though isnt it; rooming with a well known rider could mean someone who roomed for ages with a rider or it could have just been at one race.

Jens Voigt?

I was having a think about who it was today and Voigt seems to fit all the criteria.

I've now ruled out Eisel for a few reasons. He raced in October for one.

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2012/12/the-secret-pro/

Thanks, that narrows it down. Let's see what it will bring.

 

[M Sport]

Jens Voigt?

I was having a think about who it was today and Voigt seems to fit all the criteria.

I've now ruled out Eisel for a few reasons. He raced in October for one.

Voigt only did one tour this year, the 'Pro' mentions Grand Tours, i.e. more than one this year.

I doubt all of the information given will be entirely accurate though, if it were then a quick twenty minute excel exercise will have it narrowed down to 37 riders or so of which there would be a couple of clear candidates.

 

[JRanton]

Voigt only did one tour this year, the 'Pro' mentions Grand Tours, i.e. more than one this year.

I doubt all of the information given will be entirely accurate though, if it were then a quick twenty minute excel exercise will have it narrowed down to 37 riders or so of which there would be a couple of clear candidates.

For me, I bang my head against the wall out on the road all season long so I really enjoy the off-season. This year for me has been a long one too, with Grand Tours and all.

I think the way it's phrased leaves it slightly open to interpretation as to whether the pro rode just one Grand Tour in 2012 or more than one.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Thanks, that narrows it down. Let's see what it will bring.

Prediction: Another variation on "cleanest peloton ever."

What's the point of knowing who if it's more junk just like a number of veterans have provided for media?

 

[supercameron]

http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2013/02/let-the-season-begin/


My guess is that he rides for Garmin-Sharp as they got new laptops and mobile phones, possibly Robbie hunter.

Not too sure on which teams have electronic companies as minor sponsors though and this throws my whole theory out the window

 

[webvan]

The watch could be a Garmin Forerunner sports watch. I'm not aware of watch brands sponsoring cycling teams these days...it did serve Festina well though back in the day!

 

[Benotti69]

Seems to be a fan of Armstrong.

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

Seems to be a fan of Armstrong.

Also not too likeable towards Kimmage.

''Plus it seems like these old-school do-gooder journalists, some weren’t very good riders when they rode anyway.''

 

[hrotha]

I never understood what the relevance of that is supposed to be. That's also why I didn't understand why some guys were wasting their time arguing the other day that Kimmage was, in fact, a very talented rider, as if his work would suddenly be worthless if he hadn't been good as a cyclist.

 

[the asian]

Then surely a SKY guy.

 

[sublimit]

I hope its not, sounds like he could be.

He sounds like a Euro rider not British but who knows.

 

[SundayRider]

I never understood what the relevance of that is supposed to be. That's also why I didn't understand why some guys were wasting their time arguing the other day that Kimmage was, in fact, a very talented rider, as if his work would suddenly be worthless if he hadn't been good as a cyclist.

Surely just making the Tour makes you by definition a talented rider?

 

[hrotha]

Surely just making the Tour makes you by definition a talented rider?

Way to miss the point entirely.

 

[SundayRider]

Way to miss the point entirely.

I wasn't arguing against your point.

 

[Mr.38%]

The watch thing is a smoke screen.

 

[del1962]

I never understood what the relevance of that is supposed to be. That's also why I didn't understand why some guys were wasting their time arguing the other day that Kimmage was, in fact, a very talented rider, as if his work would suddenly be worthless if he hadn't been good as a cyclist.

Someone made disparaging remarks about Brailsfords cycling carreer (a Kimmage fangirl), a rather wittty riposte back was made about Kimmage, just a lighthearted comment as far as I could see, then someone else took full offense at this remark, much ado about nothing as the bard once said, but so is the Sky thread, so I guess it was appropriate.

 

[JimmyFingers]

he really sounds like he is an Aussie the way he was talking about the TDU and Adelaide

 

[Froomador]

http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2013/02/let-the-season-begin/


My guess is that he rides for Garmin-Sharp as they got new laptops and mobile phones, possibly Robbie hunter.

Not too sure on which teams have electronic companies as minor sponsors though and this throws my whole theory out the window

Hate to make the detective work harder but each Sky rider receives a new iPhone (with personalized case)and iMac from the team every year.

BMC riders get given new Blackberry's every year, not sure they receive laptops though.

In the case of Sky and BMC, these 'goodies' are not sponsored but purchased by the team (possibly subsidized by distributor) to ensure that the entire team has a consistent communication platform.

I can't comment on other teams but I know for certain on the above two.

 

[TheGame]

The October thing is a bit of a smokescreen. As discussed early in the thread the rider did ride very briefly in October. But its fair to say his season ended in September.

D12 is a huge clue, whittles it down to about ten teams

He is not a native English speaker, and he has already been named in this thread.