Wheel Sucking?

[Benotti69]

I am getting bored of the term and accusations against riders. Should they ban riding behind each other....99% of the Peloton spends 99% of the time wheel sucking.

get over it.

 

[Midnightfright]

Almost all teams are wheelsuckers minus HTC!

 

[ElChingon]

The term arises only when a rider never tries to do anything in a race and just well sucks wheel. If a rider at least gives it the old college try to get a win they are not called wheel sucker. We've all seen the real wheel suckers who would never ever get to the front of the race and just sit there the whole race and not even try for a win, well they get the "Wheel Sucker" moniker and deserve it.

 

[fatsprintking]

I find it very frustrating when people accuse riders who are displaying excellent tactical nous of being "wheelsuckers". It almost seems like some people feel like you cant follow at any time regardless of the circumstances - even if you are hanging on by the skin of your teeth.

 

[Benotti69]

The term arises only when a rider never tries to do anything in a race and just well sucks wheel. If a rider at least gives it the old college try to get a win they are not called wheel sucker. We've all seen the real wheel suckers who would never ever get to the front of the race and just sit there the whole race and not even try for a win, well they get the "Wheel Sucker" moniker and deserve it.

In the pro peloton the DS have a lot of plans for riders, whether it be fetching bottles, chasing breaks, keeping team leaders out of the wind etc.....i doubt many wheel suckers get their contracts renewed and that is why it such a stupid thing to say.

And then race tactics can dictate whether to sit in the peloton and conserve energy for those going for the win.

 

[Thomsena]

Completely agree, benotti. There are no 'wheelsuckers' in pro cycling. It's a term used by people who usually have no knowledge in the sport or people who creates threads in the clinic.

 

[Dead Star]

Wheelsuckers...so if they just ride behind someone else, they're literally being towed by that rider in front? Tsk tsk. What Tomsena wrote.

 

[mewmewmew13]

Completely agree, benotti. There are no 'wheelsuckers' in pro cycling. It's a term used by people who usually have no knowledge in the sport or the people who creates threads in the clinic.

Yes, Benotti good point, it's become a term that gets flung about too carelessly.

 

[brianf7]

Wheel sucking or do you mean hanging in for dear life!!

If you have ever riden a crit you will know that if you cant hold a wheel you wont get to the finish.
leave a gap any more than 50 centermetrs and you gone.

 

[El Pistolero]

There are definitely people who can do better, but refuse to do so because they rather sit in the wheel all day. Painfully obvious in stage 14 of the VaE 2008 with regards to Leipheimer.

And then there's Filippo Pozzato...

 

[fatandfast]

this term is hardly used. Cadel had guys suck his wheel for 4 days..uphill!. He never mentioned the sucks in his draft. The time lost by Andy on the tours early climbs were because he didn't go positive and ride at his own pace or just jump and try to attack. If anybody hates the term wheelsucker it will be the guys in the first couple of climbing stages that sat in and waited. The non drafter is on the top step. Win or lose the winner of this years tour was won by a non wheel sucker

 

[Thomsena]

this term is hardly used. Cadel had guys suck his wheel for 4 days..uphill!. He never mentioned the sucks in his draft. The time lost by Andy on the tours early climbs were because he didn't go positive and ride at his own pace or just jump and try to attack. If anybody hates the term wheelsucker it will be the guys in the first couple of climbing stages that sat in and waited. The non drafter is on the top step. Win or lose the winner of this years tour was won by a non wheel sucker

This is exactly where it goes wrong. I know it's hard to imagine(!!) but perhaps Andy and the rest of the lot had a hard time climbing a ****ing mountain? Perhaps they didn't have the legs to make a successful attack? Perhaps they were on the limit and just barely hang on (I know it's hard to imagine since it's not a sport of fatigue... Oh, wait?..) - but no, that makes you a 'wheelsucker'... Pathetic. Pathetic term.

 

[swuzzlebubble]

 

[Tuarts]

That's a wonderful pic.

Imo, wheel sucking should be censored on a cycling forum.

 

[yourwelcome]

This is exactly where it goes wrong. I know it's hard to imagine(!!) but perhaps Andy and the rest of the lot had a hard time climbing a ****ing mountain? Perhaps they didn't have the legs to make a successful attack? Perhaps they were on the limit and just barely hang on (I know it's hard to imagine since it's not a sport of fatigue... Oh, wait?..) - but no, that makes you a 'wheelsucker'... Pathetic. Pathetic term.

+1

The most obnoxious of all I thought were the kind of accusations such as 'choker' towards Evans when he was just too beat to make up enough time on Sastre in the final TT a few years ago.

I can't think of a more typical example where a physical lack of oxygen throughput is deliberately cast as a character fault by people who ought to know better.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Thanks: new desktop photo for me (replacing the finish of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad)

 

[just some guy]

This is exactly where it goes wrong. I know it's hard to imagine(!!) but perhaps Andy and the rest of the lot had a hard time climbing a ****ing mountain? Perhaps they didn't have the legs to make a successful attack? Perhaps they were on the limit and just barely hang on (I know it's hard to imagine since it's not a sport of fatigue... Oh, wait?..) - but no, that makes you a 'wheelsucker'... Pathetic. Pathetic term.

I prefer the term defensive riding - Tactically smart often.

The king of defensive riding this year Fränk - When Andy attacked he had 1 job ride on Evans wheel and attack in the last km´s if he could- worked well on 1 occasion smart tactical riding

just wanted to post the picture again

 

[T-Nielsen]

[/QUOTE

Who is that wheelsucker at the back.

 

[just some guy]

[/QUOTE

Who is that wheelsucker at the back.

Rolland

The guy in the Saxo uniform was broken that day a sight not seen often

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Thor was a "wheelsucker" and a "disgrace" when he followed a sensible team strategy in Paris - Roubaix. When you are dealing with a stronger rider who you can beat in a sprint, you hold on to him for a sprint! All the more so if you have a team mate up in front.

Apparently, these people think that he had a radical personality transplant before the Tour de France. As opposed to being the same guy using a different strategy in different circumstances.

The "wheelsucker" thing is the negative flip side of the adulation given, rightly, to an attacking ride. The strategic use of drafting is in fact the defining feature of the sport.

 

[Oldman]

The term arises only when a rider never tries to do anything in a race and just well sucks wheel. If a rider at least gives it the old college try to get a win they are not called wheel sucker. We've all seen the real wheel suckers who would never ever get to the front of the race and just sit there the whole race and not even try for a win, well they get the "Wheel Sucker" moniker and deserve it.

"Pack filler", akin to the undertermined medium in sausage that contributes nothing but volume. Also related is the rider that sits on the front for no particular reason and defined as "Smart like tractor" or "Blood donor".

 

[Derrick]

One of the big plusses of wall to wall T.V. coverage is that it makes it plain who the soft tappers are.

Incidentally, has Leipheimer been mentioned at all?

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

The sould do a non-draft TdF! 200 people on a row, 3 meters between each.