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wasted talents

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L'arriviste

L'arriviste

Feb 23, 2010
2,114
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With the resurrection of this rather excellent thread, I note a lot of early calls on Valjavec. Guess this week's events put a darker spin on that...

Didn't read all 13 pages of the thread thus far, but Wilfried Nelissen struck me (and the barriers) as a talent who was ruined by injury. Awful teeth, good sprinter. Probably would have turned into one of those Flemish hardmen.

_00109.jpg


For those who remember Wilf's career, please note that I have resisted the temptation to show that photo because I am rather squeamish of the blood-bone axis. :eek:
 
I

issoisso

Mar 18, 2009
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L'arriviste said:
With the resurrection of this rather excellent thread, I note a lot of early calls on Valjavec. Guess this week's events put a darker spin on that...

Didn't read all 13 pages of the thread thus far, but Wilfried Nelissen struck me (and the barriers) as a talent who was ruined by injury. Awful teeth, good sprinter. Probably would have turned into one of those Flemish hardmen.

_00109.jpg


For those who remember Wilf's career, please note that I have resisted the temptation to show that photo because I am rather squeamish of the blood-bone axis. :eek:
Click to expand...

Interestingly, if not for the same accident, Jalabert may have remained a sprinter first and foremost for the rest of his career.
 
mortand

mortand

Oct 30, 2009
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Roberto Sgambelluri. One of "the gang of four" Italians who destroyed the peloton in the U23 World Champs 1996 in Luzern. He finished 2nd in the RR, behind Giuliano Figueras, and in front of Luca Sironi and Paolo Bettini, and 2nd in the TT, beaten by Sironi, but didn't make much - if any at all - impact in the pro ranks. Neither did Sironi by the way.

I have a feeling Sgambelluri may have been involved in some way in the infamous Giro 2001 scandal, but I actually can't remember. Anyway, his career ended in 2004 without anyone really noticing, and he never turned out to be that factor in stage races and the hilly classics that most experts were expecting.
 
alberto.legstrong

alberto.legstrong

Mar 22, 2010
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marinoni said:
Gilles Delion. As for more current riders Popovych comes to mind. He was regarded as a once in a generation talent as an U23 rider and absolutely stomped Boonen in the U23 world rankings his last year. After a couple impressive Giros it's all gone kind of flat.
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Popo was the 1st name I thought of. And sorry, but, Floyd Landis.
 
T

theyoungest

Jan 11, 2010
15,082
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issoisso said:
My turn to post one, I guess.

This one boggles the mind. It's been my pet peeve for years. What happened to this guy?

Imagine a guy shows up at the junior worlds and rides both the TT and the road race.
Imagine he's the strongest in the road race, drops everyone except Cunego who leeches off his wheel, puts a minute into the pack with no help from anyone, and only just loses the road race to Cunego who dropped him on the technical downhill (Cunego was racing "at home". he knew the downhill.). In the TT he was second behind Cancellara.

Imagine he has no other results. Ever. I cannot find the slightest trace of this guy before or after that, other than a brief glimpse of his name in the startlist for the 2002 Giro delle Regioni.

Ruslan Kaimoumov
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A Google search also gives a 4th place in the 1999 U23 Worlds?
 
P

pmcg76

Mar 6, 2009
4,552
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Eddy Bouwmans, white jersey at the Tour in 92, then nothing.

Beat Zberg, unbelievable in his first season as a pro in 92, won Etoile de Besseges, Top 10 at Dauphine, Du Pont, Switzerland, Tirreno-Adriacto, Lombardy but never backed up those performances.

Mark Scanlon, world Junior champion in 98 ahead of Pozzatto, best results as a pro, stage Tour of Denmark, Irish champion.

Jeff Evanshire, a bigger talent than Lance but never made it.
 
P

pmcg76

Mar 6, 2009
4,552
440
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mortand said:
Roberto Sgambelluri. One of "the gang of four" Italians who destroyed the peloton in the U23 World Champs 1996 in Luzern. He finished 2nd in the RR, behind Giuliano Figueras, and in front of Luca Sironi and Paolo Bettini, and 2nd in the TT, beaten by Sironi, but didn't make much - if any at all - impact in the pro ranks. Neither did Sironi by the way.

I have a feeling Sgambelluri may have been involved in some way in the infamous Giro 2001 scandal, but I actually can't remember. Anyway, his career ended in 2004 without anyone really noticing, and he never turned out to be that factor in stage races and the hilly classics that most experts were expecting.
Click to expand...

I think Sgambelluri was involved in the Giro raids, he did disappear after that.

Viatcheslav Djavanin and the other Russian guy, 1-2 in the 91 Worlds in Stuttgart but never made it as pros.
 
I

issoisso

Mar 18, 2009
4,186
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Edwig Van Hooydonck. 2 Ronde van Vlaanderens by the age of 23. Then suddenly nothing.

Or, as he put it when he retired early:

"It's become impossible to compete clean"

joy118118 said:
Because isso wrote Ruslan Kaimoumov. So......
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Sorry about that :eek:
 
alberto.legstrong

alberto.legstrong

Mar 22, 2010
908
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Max Cadence said:
Greg LeMond

currently sits in a state of wasted mental anguish

could have won more tours de france than anyone ever, had that been important enough to focus on back then
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I think that's a foolish comment. If you don't think the vast vast majority of molestation victims aren't in a state of mental anguish, you really are trying hard to even consider the impact that has. (I only say that in the event there is someone out there who somehow is truly happy that has been molested. otherwise replace 'vast vast' with 'every victim')

I think in terms of success, he is not wasted at all, but clearly a man who struggles to find peace. I hope he finds it.
 
V

Von Mises

Aug 5, 2009
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9,980
issoisso said:
Edwig Van Hooydonck. 2 Ronde van Vlaanderens by the age of 23. Then suddenly nothing.

Or, as he put it when he retired early:

"It's become impossible to compete clean"
Click to expand...

It is a bit of exaggeration. 2 Rondes were by the age of 25 and he also won here and there in later years (stages at Vuelta and Romandie). Though, the point is still valid. He retired rbecause couldnt compete with dopers anymore.
 
I

issoisso

Mar 18, 2009
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Von Mises said:
It is a bit of exaggeration. 2 Rondes were by the age of 25 and he also won here and there in later years (stages at Vuelta and Romandie). Though, the point is still valid. He retired rbecause couldnt compete with dopers anymore.
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I was talking about the major races.

But yeah, you're semi-right about the age (He was 24). Let that be a lesson: never do maths after a sleepless night of academic partying :D
 
E

Echoes

Oct 8, 2009
3,391
6
13,485
L'arriviste said:
Wow, yeah, I remember him at Panasonic Sportlife then Novémail Histor. And the hairstyle promised so much... :D
Click to expand...

How is it that people remember Eddy Bouwmans for this silly white jersey that no one care for? Because it's the Tour?

I was 10 in 1993. My clearest memories of Eddy were his wins in the Alps Classic 1993 and the 1st stage of the International Criterium 1994, in a VERY VERY impressive way. I remember that because he had just learned French at that time.

Bouwmans was a super talent. As an amateur he won the Flèche ardennaise and a stage with a 50km solo.

Just like van Hooydonck and Maassen, his palmarès was stolen away by dopers. :mad:
 
F

Frosty

Jun 25, 2009
3,234
2
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Not sure if he's already appeared in the thread but what about Juan Miguel Mercado? Comes 5th in the vuelta at the age of 23, career goes downhill and then there doesnt seem to be any record of him in the last few years.
 
R

Rick B

May 5, 2010
1
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0
Who is the Saeco guy in the photo?

As other wasted talents / riders that didn't live up to their promising starts, I would nominate:

Kaschechkin
Pecharromans
Basso (nobody mentioned him yet!?)
T. Dekker
Quaranta
Zabriskie (after his fall in yellow, where'd he go?)
 
E

Echoes

Oct 8, 2009
3,391
6
13,485
issoisso said:
As far as I can tell, 1987 is not after his two Rondes :)
Click to expand...

I know. You were correct. From 1994 onwards, he could only do well on the semi classics like his Brabantse Pijl or Ghent-Ghent, and even then rarely he could win but in the long classics, the dopers really stole him.

I put that vid because I saw that recently on youtube and I was really impressed by the way he won it in his very first year as a pro. The best Belgian rider of his generation. :)

issoisso said:
As for the second video, are you expecting me to speak dutch out of thin air? :D
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That was his accusation from 2006. Museeuw had admitted to taking dope earlier that year and then the 3 ex-Telekom.

Van Hooydonck said that in his days, many Belgians went away to Italy because here in Belgium they couldn't do it. Museeuw was one of them. He found it lying that he admitted to doping use only in his last years and found him abnormally strong notably in the Brabantse Pijl of 1996 because he did Harelbeke the day before while he, Edwig, did not. He thought he was fresher but the other guy climbed Alsemberg with 2 cogs more.

He also said that Aldag who just admitted to doping had cought him on the GP Eddy Merckx while he had no reference in ITT and EVH was a former winner.
 
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