Twitter war against Vaughters

[Benotti69]

JV is a narrowminded git with penis-envy. He never quite cut it as a pro, still don't.

and you did of course....

now i suppose he's not cutting it as a Team Owner/DS either.

Not a JV or Garmin fan but lots and lots of stoopid comments on this thread.

Not a THor fan either.

 

[Benotti69]

Cancellara retweeting Armstrong retweeting O'Grady. Oh my.

the Omerta is strong with these ones young goggalor....

 

[spalco]

Maybe Thor should have been a little less outspoken about using the Vuelta just as a training ride...

 

[goggalor]

the Omerta is strong with these ones young goggalor....

What does this have to do with omerta?

Maybe Thor should have been a little less outspoken about using the Vuelta just as a training ride...

Didn't hurt Farrar.

 

[craig1985]

I just assumed that those doing the complaining regularly train with Hushovd in Monaco.

 

[El Pistolero]

Maybe Thor should have been a little less outspoken about using the Vuelta just as a training ride...

Maybe Vaughters should just shut up about all this ethical bull****. Every decent cyclist who's not riding for GC or in support of GC leader uses the Vuelta as a preparation race. Which is more than half the peloton.

 

[Astana1]

Bravo to Vaughters. He certainly has the stones to make tough and unpopular decisions; that are in the best interests of his organization.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Twitter is a terrible invention. His team his choices. Pros in any kind of sports should really quit using this horrible thing. Vaughters is already using too much time on it - why would he even bother answering them - and even politely? A '**** off' would be the right and simple answer.

Just like any form of social media - it has it's good aspects along with it's bad aspects.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

I do not know what the answer is, but I am getting very annoyed at riders pulling out halfway through a GT. The points competition in the Giro is usually completely messed up because the sprinters who get most of the early wins quit, leaving someone who was not competitive in the first two weeks to inherit the jersey.

Well, not really - its a points competition, not a sprinters competition - it rewards consistency, which is all about finishing the event.

As for answers - I don't think pulling out of a GT deliberately is an issue except for the Vuelta and that's mainly riders who are looking to do well at the Worlds - so the answer is to revert the Worlds back to its original August date.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Twitter is a terrible invention. His team his choices. Pros in any kind of sports should really quit using this horrible thing. Vaughters is already using too much time on it - why would he even bother answering them - and even politely? A '**** off' would be the right and simple answer.

C'mon - twitter is great.
'We' get to read the ramblings of many people without their copy & paste PR speak.
As for Vaughters - the claim was made on Twitter, so it is the best platform to respond, even though it is not the most ideal.

Is anyone remotely surprised that Hushovd will not be at Garmin next year?
Respect is earned, not just given out because you have the WC jersey - I don't think Hushovd covered himself in glory with some of his comments this year.
But even that aside - I would have been suprised had he been at the Vuelta this year, he has had a long and excellent season and he would have been merely spinning the legs in Spain, Garmin have many other riders who deserve a GT shot this year.

 

[simo1733]

LS you seem convinced that Thor has been excluded due to his decision to leave the team (and base much of your justification of JV's decision on that) yet ACF's post suggests that JV is saying that had nothing to do with his decision. Have you heard to the contrary or is ACF in some way part of the GreenEdge or broader Aussie conspiracy?

If the decision to leave had nothing to do with the decision to exclude Hushovd from the Vuelta (and I must say I struggle with that given JV did not come down in the last shower) then surely a keen Thor would have been an automatic selection perhaps at the expense of a Haussler (but wait is he not Australian?) or Tyler even.

As for the GE 'conspiracy' (even if it seems more like mateship in Thor's case


) the only legs I can see to that might be that there have been or may yet be possible similar Vuelta/other race exclusions (that we have not heard about) of
yet to be announced GE additions (who may have already advised their teams

as a matter of courtesy) and those in a position to both complain and to know
of these situations are doing just that i.e. squealing. By choosing to do so in
the case of Thor they are getting more bang for their buck (just as you would
have thought Garmin Cervelo might also have done) and at the same time not
revealing any confidences.

I guess we are going to hear about "Mateship" ad nauseum when GE hit the road.It's male bonding.Srictly Aussie.Srictly non homo erotic.A bit like girl power.Stuey must be scary Spice.

 

[kurtinsc]

I really don't understand this thread.

He decided to not bring Hushovd. Farrar is better in the flat sprints, and Haussler hasn't raced in a GT yet. I don't think a GT team works very well with all three present.

Thor wants to ride... but the only reasons to let him ride are:
1. He's the WC, so he can do anything he wants.
2. To keep him happy.

I don't see another reason. JV is giving Haussler a chance. Keeping Thor happy really doesn't matter... because Thor is leaving. That just makes it MORE sensible to bring Haussler to keep HIM happy because he's staying.

To be perfectly honest, I feel like there are more Garmin riders who have a better argument about being left off the Vuelta team then Thor.

 

[El Pistolero]

I really don't understand this thread.

He decided to not bring Hushovd. Farrar is better in the flat sprints, and Haussler hasn't raced in a GT yet. I don't think a GT team works very well with all three present.

Thor wants to ride... but the only reasons to let him ride are:
1. He's the WC, so he can do anything he wants.
2. To keep him happy.

I don't see another reason. JV is giving Haussler a chance. Keeping Thor happy really doesn't matter... because Thor is leaving. That just makes it MORE sensible to bring Haussler to keep HIM happy because he's staying.

To be perfectly honest, I feel like there are more Garmin riders who have a better argument about being left off the Vuelta team then Thor.

Here's the reason why: Thor wins stages. Farrar is the most overrated sprinter after this season if you ask me. I see no reason why Haussler and Thor couldn't be in the same team for the Vuelta... Thor has been a bigger team player than Farrar and Haussler combined. They should repay him.

What has Haussler done this season to show he deserves a spot anyway?

 

[blutto]

C'mon - twitter is great.
'We' get to read the ramblings of many people without their copy & paste PR speak.
As for Vaughters - the claim was made on Twitter, so it is the best platform to respond, even though it is not the most ideal.

Is anyone remotely surprised that Hushovd will not be at Garmin next year?
Respect is earned, not just given out because you have the WC jersey - I don't think Hushovd covered himself in glory with some of his comments this year.
But even that aside - I would have been suprised had he been at the Vuelta this year, he has had a long and excellent season and he would have been merely spinning the legs in Spain, Garmin have many other riders who deserve a GT shot this year.

...well...wonders never cease ( as the saying goes )....I find myself actually agreeing with you...

...oh no!...excuse me...I think I'm going to be real sick...sorry...

Cheers

blutto

 

[kurtinsc]

Here's the reason why: Thor wins stages. Farrar is the most overrated sprinter after this season if you ask me. I see no reason why Haussler and Thor couldn't be in the same team for the Vuelta... Thor has been a bigger team player than Farrar and Haussler combined. They should repay him.

What has Haussler done this season to show he deserves a spot anyway?

Regardles of what you think of Farrar, he can compete in mass sprints better then anyone else Garmin has.

As for what Haussler has done... where has he been given a chance? In Paris-Nice he was, and won the Points jersey. Qatar... he got 2nd overall.

About the only cobbled race he was allowed to ride for himself was E3 Prijs Vlaanderen. He's gotten no other GT or even major stage race opportunities from what I can tell.

As for repaying him... Thor's season already has 4 stage wins in PT/GT races. He had 3 last year (including the WC) and 4 in 2009 (including Green at Tour). They've provided him the opportunity to do about what his average has been the last few years depsite having more riders in the types of races he favors. Why do they "owe" him anything? I don't get that thought. Why doesn't he "owe" them the favor of not complaining out loud after they gave him a fairly successful season? In fact, why does either side owe the other anything?

Thor rode 1 GT in 2009, 2008, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001 despite being much more clearly the primary rider on his team. Garmin has a lot more mouths to feed when it comes to GT's. I fail to see the problem here.

 

[Escarabajo]

Riders that drop out of races for non-medical reasons should not be allowed to start the next premier event. Doing half a GT for training purposes then dropping out has become ridiculous. The last sprint stages come down to the best sprinter who has not yet quit.

How do you enforce it?

Fake Doctor's diagnostics can be done quite easily. Or fake injuries. How do you prove a rider wrong?

Note: I just read there was a bigger discussion after I wrote my post. never mind my note.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Here's the reason why: Thor wins stages. Farrar is the most overrated sprinter after this season if you ask me. I see no reason why Haussler and Thor couldn't be in the same team for the Vuelta... Thor has been a bigger team player than Farrar and Haussler combined. They should repay him.

What has Haussler done this season to show he deserves a spot anyway?

This is simple - Farrar is the better sprinter, Thor is the better all-rounder.
Farrar is not 'over-ratted', unfortunatley for him he is often up against Cav - is Cav even riding the Vuelta? If not then Farrar will do very well.

You are rewriting history if you think Thor was a team player this year, his wins were very much through his own enterprise and had little to do with a team effort, that is is a compliment to the guy, not a criticism.

As for Haussler, he has had a lot of bad luck with injuries - but he has been building up his form nicely of late. Add to it that he will be a hungry Haussler and he would be one of the first I would pencil in to the Vuelta squad.

 

[El Pistolero]

Regardles of what you think of Farrar, he can compete in mass sprints better then anyone else Garmin has.

As for what Haussler has done... where has he been given a chance? In Paris-Nice he was, and won the Points jersey. Qatar... he got 2nd overall.

About the only cobbled race he was allowed to ride for himself was E3 Prijs Vlaanderen. He's gotten no other GT or even major stage race opportunities from what I can tell.

As for repaying him... Thor's season already has 4 stage wins in PT/GT races. He had 3 last year (including the WC) and 4 in 2009 (including Green at Tour). They've provided him the opportunity to do about what his average has been the last few years depsite having more riders in the types of races he favors. Why do they "owe" him anything? I don't get that thought. Why doesn't he "owe" them the favor of not complaining out loud after they gave him a fairly successful season? In fact, why does either side owe the other anything?

Thor rode 1 GT in 2009, 2008, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001 despite being much more clearly the primary rider on his team. Garmin has a lot more mouths to feed when it comes to GT's. I fail to see the problem here.

Haussler was co leader in every classic he started. He failed miserably. And his Paris-Nice wasn't good either. Points jersey in a one week race, what do you buy with that? 2 stage wins at Qatar is all he has done this season. That was February.

Last year he won a stage in the Tour and the Vuelta. What more reason do you need to put him in the Vuelta?

And what do his amount of wins last year have to do with this? Should Phil have stopped his seasons after 7 wins because he isn't allowed to pass that this season? Crazy reasoning.

Garmin have had nothing to do with Thor's victories. He did it all him self.

Ps: Check out this year's Vuelta. Not so many stages for Farrar

 

[El Pistolero]

This is simple - Farrar is the better sprinter, Thor is the better all-rounder.
Farrar is not 'over-ratted', unfortunatley for him he is often up against Cav - is Cav even riding the Vuelta? If not then Farrar will do very well.

You are rewriting history if you think Thor was a team player this year, his wins were very much through his own enterprise and had little to do with a team effort, that is is a compliment to the guy, not a criticism.

As for Haussler, he has had a lot of bad luck with injuries - but he has been building up his form nicely of late. Add to it that he will be a hungry Haussler and he would be one of the first I would pencil in to the Vuelta squad.

Thor lead out Farrar for his wins. Thor gave up Roubaix so Vansummeren could win(he could have acted like a **** and worked together with Cancellara to catch the front group).

I'm not arguing that Haussler should be left out, I think it's important that all decent cyclists get to ride at least one GT this season. There's someone you can throw out of Garmin and replace him with Thor. And it's not Haussler.

And yes, Cavendish is riding the Vuelta, but there aren't many flat stages this year. A lot of stages suit Thor Hushovd...

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Thor lead out Farrar for his wins. Thor gave up Roubaix so Vansummeren could win(he could have acted like a **** and worked together with Cancellara to catch the front group).

I'm not arguing that Haussler should be left out, I think it's important that all decent cyclists get to ride at least one GT this season. There's someone you can throw out of Garmin and replace him with Thor. And it's not Haussler.

And yes, Cavendish is riding the Vuelta, but there aren't many flat stages this year. A lot of stages suit Thor Hushovd...

Bull****, Garmin was actually riding to catch the leading group.

 

[El Pistolero]

Bull****, Garmin was actually riding to catch the leading group.

Everyone knew Sep Vanmarcke was never going to close that gap in his own, that was more controlling than actually chasing.

Cancellara complained to Thor at Roubaix and Thor said he wasn't allowed to do anything and that he should ask Vaughters if Thor could cooperate which Cancellara did(we all saw that on tv). Thor wanted to do something, but Vaughters didn't let him and we now know Vaughters is vindictive enough to leave Thor out of the Tour if he failed to win Roubaix after they catched the breakaway.

 

[GJB123]

Regardles of what you think of Farrar, he can compete in mass sprints better then anyone else Garmin has.

As for what Haussler has done... where has he been given a chance? In Paris-Nice he was, and won the Points jersey. Qatar... he got 2nd overall.

About the only cobbled race he was allowed to ride for himself was E3 Prijs Vlaanderen. He's gotten no other GT or even major stage race opportunities from what I can tell.

As for repaying him... Thor's season already has 4 stage wins in PT/GT races. He had 3 last year (including the WC) and 4 in 2009 (including Green at Tour). They've provided him the opportunity to do about what his average has been the last few years depsite having more riders in the types of races he favors. Why do they "owe" him anything? I don't get that thought. Why doesn't he "owe" them the favor of not complaining out loud after they gave him a fairly successful season? In fact, why does either side owe the other anything?

Thor rode 1 GT in 2009, 2008, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001 despite being much more clearly the primary rider on his team. Garmin has a lot more mouths to feed when it comes to GT's. I fail to see the problem here.

Quite right. If I am not mistaken, he probably receives a very handsome monthly financial thank you from Garmin-Cervélo so Thor should just stop whining and get on with his alternative preparation for the WC. If realy wants to f*** over Vaughters he should make sure that he beats Haussler and Farrar in the sprint to a consecutive WC.

Regards
GJ

PS Vaughters isn't the only DS taking this particular line. For example Bruyneel won't field Ben Hermans for the Vuelta for exactly the same reasons and I think if we put our collective head to it we could easily find similar examples.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Thor lead out Farrar for his wins.

Which means that Tyler is a better sprinter than Thor.

Thor gave up Roubaix so Vansummeren could win(he could have acted like a **** and worked together with Cancellara to catch the front group).

As I said, you're re-writing history, Garmin won because they had the numbers. If Schumi was not up the road Thor would have had to work with FC - who still got away on the run in.

I'm not arguing that Haussler should be left out, I think it's important that all decent cyclists get to ride at least one GT this season. There's someone you can throw out of Garmin and replace him with Thor. And it's not Haussler.

And yes, Cavendish is riding the Vuelta, but there aren't many flat stages this year. A lot of stages suit Thor Hushovd...

Likewise, I am not saying Thor should be left out.
However, as he would be building for the WC I would not expect him to do much in the race. So it comes down to going with an all round team. GC, sprinters, lead-out etc and both Haussler and Hushovd would have similar roles, which is why I would give the nod to Hungry Haussler.

 

[ingsve]

I don't get that thought. Why doesn't he "owe" them the favor of not complaining out loud after they gave him a fairly successful season? In fact, why does either side owe the other anything?

Where has Hushovd complained out loud? All I've seen Hushovd say is that he's disappointed and surprised. It's other people that have been outspoken about it, not him.

 

[Anonymous]

Haussler was co leader in every classic he started. He failed miserably. And his Paris-Nice wasn't good either. Points jersey in a one week race, what do you buy with that? 2 stage wins at Qatar is all he has done this season. That was February.

Last year he won a stage in the Tour and the Vuelta. What more reason do you need to put him in the Vuelta?

And what do his amount of wins last year have to do with this? Should Phil have stopped his seasons after 7 wins because he isn't allowed to pass that this season? Crazy reasoning.

Garmin have had nothing to do with Thor's victories. He did it all him self.

Ps: Check out this year's Vuelta. Not so many stages for Farrar

I'd cut Haussler a little slack. His knee was hurt pretty bad last year. It takes a while to come back in the best of circumstances. If you need confirmation of this just look at Boonen.