To Riders, Journo's and sports directors reading the forum...

[FreeWheelin]

To riders who read the forum,

Just to let you know Richie, you suddenly riding the giro and also planning to do the tour is quite odd. Is riding the giro going to help you get down to a good race weight and let your health improve after 3 months or illness? It will only make the illness worse and why didn't the giro help you get down to a good race weight last year?

Anthony Tan, please tell me why a forum is such an "evil place" when firstly you based a whole article (quite a bad one) on BroDeal who is a CYCLINGNEWS forum poster and secondly how is this cyclingnews forum much different than posting comments about blogs on cycling central? Why don't you learn to write better articles and stop being such a hypocrite?

Hi Mr Pro Cyclist,
Im a guy with a computer. You should listen to me about how your should ride your bike.

Sincerly,

Some guy with a computer.


Pfft. Its one thing, as fans, to share opininons 'I like this guy, I think this is good, I hate when such and such happens'. It is another thing, as fans, to tell a pro what they should and should not do.

 

[Parrulo]

Hi Mr Pro Cyclist,
Im a guy with a computer. You should listen to me about how your should ride your bike.

Sincerly,

Some guy with a computer.


Pfft. Its one thing, as fans, to share opininons 'I like this guy, I think this is good, I hate when such and such happens'. It is another thing, as fans, to tell a pro what they should and should not do.

just because we are not professional cyclists does that mean we are not entitled to have an opinion about how a rider rode a race and how he behaved? sorry thats just complete BS.

 

[FreeWheelin]

just because we are not professional cyclists does that mean we are not entitled to have an opinion about how a rider rode a race and how he behaved? sorry thats just complete BS.

Did you read what I said? In case you missed it.

It is one thing as fans to share opinions... ...It is another thing to tell a pro what they should do.

I agree we are entitled to have an opinion, but we are not entilted to tell someone who knows far more about a situation then we do, what they should or sould not do.

 

[Martin318is]

Did you read what I said? In case you missed it.

It is one thing as fans to share opinions... ...It is another thing to tell a pro what they should do.

I agree we are entitled to have an opinion, but we are not entilted to tell someone who knows far more about a situation then we do, what they should or sould not do.

If I can rephrase that a bit for you - feel free to tell me I am wrong and I will delete this, but:

"We are all entitle to have an opinion, but we are not entitled to expect that the subject of that opinion will accept it, nor indeed that they will even care or respect it."

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

just because we are not professional cyclists does that mean we are not entitled to have an opinion about how a rider rode a race and how he behaved? sorry thats just complete BS.

I don't think you undertand what he said.
He meant we have a right to express an opinion, but trying ot direct a post at a rider suggesting we know what he should be doing, is wrong.

 

[FreeWheelin]

Martin and Timmy; yes, you both managed to understand and explain my point clearly.
Thank you.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

These Forums are at their best during the live action when the comments
come spontaneously often adding greatly to the race in course
- and so no rider on his bike at that time could appreciate that.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Hi Mr Pro Cyclist,
Im a guy with a computer. You should listen to me about how your should ride your bike.

Sincerly,

Some guy with a computer.


Pfft. Its one thing, as fans, to share opininons 'I like this guy, I think this is good, I hate when such and such happens'. It is another thing, as fans, to tell a pro what they should and should not do.

So one can't have an opinion about a riders schedule? Lets remember that it is just an opinion. The procyclist will know more about scheduling 9 times out of 10 more than me or any other poster. But saying that the procyclist always knows more about cycling than a fan when they have followed the sport for a long time and understand the history is wrong.

I am not telling him what to do. Telling someone is direct and forceful.

AN opinion is a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. I am allowed to have one because of what I know about cycling. So I am obliged to say what I think about something and I may be right about it.

 

[Martin318is]

ACF, the phrasing you are using in your comments here implies that you think that someone saying your opinion is irrelevant means that you cannot continue to have that opinion.

The reality is that as I said a few posts higher up:
"We are all entitle to have an opinion, but we are not entitled to expect that the subject of that opinion will accept it, nor indeed that they will even care or respect it."

Any rider is well within their rights to state that the opinions here are meaningless - it doesn't mean that they ARE meaningless and it doesn't mean that they cannot continue to be expressed. It just means that, that rider doesn't respect them. Expecting some other situation is bordering upon delusional.

 

[FreeWheelin]

First off, sorry auscyclefan for singling you out by quoting you. My comment was aimed more generaly at many in the on-line community. People seem to think that because they a) have an oppinion and b) have a means of expressing that opinion (ie a forum) that it somehow makes them and their opinion valid and people, especialy the subject of that opion (in this case pro riders), should take notice.

Im not all that flash on this quoting stuff, so i will do it old school:

"AN opinion is a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty."

Nice little definition, I like it. I dont know if you made it up or got it from a dictionary. Either way it is good.

"I am allowed to have one because of what I know about cycling"

Well, actually you are 'allowed to have one' for no other reason than you are human. My grandmother is allowed to have an opion on cycling and she does not know what the TdF is.

"So I am obliged to say what I think about something and I may be right about it."

This is the issue; no. Your not obliged to say anything.

Finaly:

"The procyclist will know more about scheduling 9 times out of 10 more than me or any other poster. But saying that the procyclist always knows more about cycling than a fan when they have followed the sport for a long time and understand the history is wrong."

Yeah sure. If there was a cycling general knowladge test where the forum members were pitted against 100 pro riders, i would not be supriesed if the forum members won. But when it comes to citicizing an exact situation that is where we know nothing. We are given a press statment. That may be the truth it may be a lie. We dont know. We can guess, but that is all we have to go on. The rider, DS, team manger etc know the truth. Despite what our opions are of them, they are in that job becasue they are very good. They are not stupid. They know more about the effects the decision is going to have then we do. Who are we to think we know better?

We can have an opinion. - 'I think that is a very strange decision to make because....' But to cross the line and say 'DS X was stupid to do this becuase i said so' is wrong.

But hey, this is just MY OPINION.

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

I think we know by now that Anthony Tan is an a-hole, and interesting that he quotes Porte and then adds on his own thoughts of what Porte is thinking disguised as a quote from Porte.

Tan is as bad a journalist as there is. The guys written more crap than I care to remember

Exactly - journalists and riders need to grow a set and stop being such a bunch of babies.

They've taken on a public role - so they deserve all the comment and criticism that comes their way. They are quite happy to take the praise and the fawning but not the criticism.

I notice that they aren't complaining when ill informed, ignorant fanboy praise comes their way.

It's really that they don't like being criticised and don't like the fact that people have critical opinions of them.

And yes, Tan is very bad journalist which is damning considering the competition for most ignorant fanboy/girl hack and pr shill is very strong.

 

[Mellow Velo]

The reason that I say "potentially" is that you are quite right that it is amazing that the average pro cyclist would consider such a lawsuit given the time and low reward for doing so.

Absolutely.
You would have to be a small minded, desperate and pathetic individual, with too much spare time on your hands, to take out such a lawsuit. Could anybody be that stupid?..............Oh wait!

 

[movingtarget]

The internet and other electronic media is not about opinions it is opinions. For a lot of people it is all about being seen and heard. Most blogs are just opinions by people that have zero writing skills. There is another opinion. Describing this forum as evil is just ridiculous. It can get heated but that's what debate is all about. There is so much garbage on the internet but that is no different to a standard day's TV viewing. If people don't like it just stop reading or turn it off. It is a bit much when journalists, not exactly a profession known for high ethical standards, point the finger at the public for behaving badly or having extreme opinions.

 

[Cobblestoned]

I just don't feel adressed - and there is no reason I should

I can tell you that the problem are not the evil people - the problem are evil people who don't have a clue what they are talking about and tend to handle cyclists like machines.
Most of them never touched a bike or don't know what suffering, bad day, good day, feels like.

Then you also have those people and kids, who handle grown up men - made men with wife, few kids and a nice house - like idiots.

Then you also have those people who handle and judge young riders like made men, who are no more allowed to learn something or to do mistakes and learn from that.